Oldest Saga of St. Olaf
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The Oldest Saga of St. Olaf or the First Saga of St. Olaf is one of the kings' sagas
Kings' sagas
The kings' sagas are Norse sagas which tell of the lives of Scandinavian kings. They were composed in the 12th to 14th centuries in Iceland and Norway....

. It is the earliest Norse biography of King Óláfr Haraldsson. Early scholars judged it to be among the very first sagas written, perhaps around 1160, but later scholarship has moved the date up to the end of the 12th century. One fragment with a hagiographic flavour was once thought to belong to the saga but more recent research indicates that it is from another text. Like other kings' sagas the Oldest Saga cites old skaldic poetry to decorate and verify the narrative.

Only six or seven short fragments are preserved of the work but the Legendary Saga of St. Olaf
Legendary Saga of St. Olaf
The Legendary Saga of St. Olaf or Helgisaga Óláfs konungs Haraldssonar is one of the kings' sagas, a 13th century biography of the 11th century Saint Olaf II of Norway. It is based heavily on the largely lost Oldest Saga of St. Olaf. The composition is primitive and clumsy and the saga essentially...

is clearly heavily based on it and often used to make assumptions about its scope. Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was twice elected lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing...

 used the Oldest Saga or some work derived from it when he composed his Separate Saga of St. Olaf
Separate Saga of St. Olaf
The Separate Saga of St. Olaf is one of the kings' sagas. It was written about King Olaf II of Norway , later Saint Olaf , patron saint of Norway.-History:...

and the Heimskringla
Heimskringla
Heimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson ca. 1230...

. Styrmir Kárason is also thought to have used the Oldest Saga in the composition of his Óláfs saga.

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