Snorri Sturluson, Heimskringla

Jan Alexander van Nahl (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. 1230

Places

Norway (Country of Origin; Publication/ performance)

Genres and Modes

Story Collection

Resources

Heimskringla is the modern name for a medieval collection of Old Norse Kings’ sagas, which tell the story of Nordic kingship from mythical times to the late twelfth century. The name derives from the first words of the first saga in the compilation, kringla heimsins, “the circle of the world”, introducing a section on medieval geography. In modern editions, this collection comprises sixteen individual sagas and is thus the largest extant compilation of Kings’ sagas. Heimskringla was probably composed around 1230 and is often ascribed to the Icelandic chieftain and poet Snorri Sturluson (1179–1241), although no medieval manuscript of Heimskringla mentions his name. Since the seventeenth century, …

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4237 words

Citation: van Nahl, Jan Alexander. "Heimskringla". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 15 November 2022 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=40715, accessed 21 November 2024.]

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