Anonymous, Strengleikar [Stringed Instruments]

Aðalheiður Guðmundsdóttir (University of Iceland)

Ed. by Ármann Jakobsson, University of Iceland
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.3.4: Icelandic Writing and Culture.
Vol. editors: Ármann Jakobsson (University of Iceland), Sven Hakon Rossel (Universitat Wien), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen (University College London)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. 1250

Places

Norway (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Story Collection

Resources

The Strengleikar are a collection of chivalric romances that were translated from one or more collections of French poems (lais) at the instigation of King Hákon gamli Hákonarson (King Hákon the Old) of Norway, who reigned from 1217 to 1263. King Hákon commissioned the translation of works that would give his subjects an insight into the magnificent world of chivalry and show them the proper way for knights to behave in the courts of kings. The first chivalric romance to be translated at King Hákon’s order was possibly Tristrams saga ok Ísöndar, the prologue to which states that Brother Robert translated it in 1226. Other romances translated at …

Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are a member (student of staff) of a subscribing institution (see List), you should be able to access the LE on campus directly (without the need to log in), and off-campus either via the institutional log in we offer, or via your institution's remote access facilities, or by creating a personal user account with your institutional email address. If you are not a member of a subscribing institution, you will need to purchase a personal subscription. For more information on how to subscribe as an individual user, please see under Individual Subcriptions.

1798 words

Citation: Guðmundsdóttir, Aðalheiður. "Strengleikar". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 12 December 2022 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=40713, accessed 19 May 2024.]

Save this article