Heimskringla
Heimskringla is the
Old Norse name of a collection of
kings' sagas recorded in Iceland around
1225 by the poet and historian
Snorri Sturluson (1179â€"1242). The collection contains tales about the
Norwegian kings, beginning with the legendary Swedish dynasty of the
House of Ynglings, followed by accounts of more historical Norwegian rulers of the
10th to
12th centuries, up to the death of
Eystein Meyla in
1177.
The Heimskringla traces
Odin and his followers from the East, from
Asaland and
Asgard, its chief city, to their settlement in
Scandinavia. It narrates the contests of the kings, the establishment of the kingdoms of
Norway,
Sweden, and
Denmark, the
Viking expeditions and the conquests of
England. The stories are told with a life and freshness, giving a picture of human life in all its reality. Some of the
Sagas of the "Heimskringla" are romances, full of adventures, while at the same time they lie completely within the range of history and may be regarded as authentic. The Saga of
Olaf Haraldson is the main part. His 15 year long reign takes up about one third of the entire work. That of
Harold Hardrada narrates his expedition to the East, his brilliant exploits in
Constantinople,
Syria, and
Sicily, his scaldic accomplishments, and his battles in
England against
Harold, the son of
Earl Godwin, where he fell at
Stamford Bridge in
1066 only a few days before Harold himself fell at the
battle of Hastings. This Saga is a splendid epic in prose, and is also of particular relevance to the history of
England. The first part of the Heimskringla is rooted in
Norse mythology; as it advances, fable and fact all curiously intermingle, and it terminates in factual history.
The Heimskringla was translated into English by
Samuel Laing in
1844. Several modern editions are available. There is also a separate edition dealing with just the life of
Harold Hardrada, entitled
King Harald's Saga: Harald Hardradi of Norway.
The Heimskringla contains the following sagas (see also
List of Norwegian monarchs):#
Ynglinga saga# Saga of
Halfdan Svarte (the Black) # Saga of
Harald HĂĄrfagre (died ca.
931)# Saga of
Hakon the Good (died
961)# Saga of King
Harald Grafeld (died
969)# Saga of King
Olaf Tryggvason (died
1000)# Saga of
Olaf Haraldson (died
1030), excerpt from
conversion of Dale-Gudbrand# Saga of
Magnus the Good (died
1047)# Saga of
Harald Hardrade (died
1066)# Saga of
Olaf Kyrre (died
1093)# Saga of
Magnus Barefoot (died
1103)# Saga of
Sigurd the Crusader (died
1130) and his brothers# Saga of
Magnus the Blind (dethroned
1135) and of
Harald Gille (died
1136)# Saga of
Sigurd (died
1155),
Eystein (died
1157) and
Inge (died
1161), the sons of Harald# Saga of
Hakon Herdebreid (died
1162)# Saga of
Magnus Erlingson (died
1184)
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Heimskringla in modern Norwegian (bokmĂĄl) on Wikisource
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Heimskringla in Old Norse from «Kulturformidlingen norrøne tekster og kvad» Norway.
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Heimkringla in Modern Icelandic on Wikisource
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Heimkringla in English on Wikisource
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Berkeley page on Snorri Sturluson's textHeimskringla is also the name of a weekly
newspaper published in
Winnipeg,
Manitoba,
Canada. It contains articles written in
Icelandic of interest to Icelandic Canadians.
