A classic of both old norse literature and historiography, it last appeared in english translation over forty years ago, in a version by. Great classic by icelandic poetchieftain chronicles the reigns of 16 high kings descended from the warriorwizard god odin. The name heimskringla was first used in the 17th century, derived from the first two words of one of the manuscripts kringla heimsins, the circle of the world. Paged continuously of the viking edition there are but six hundred and fifty sets made for the world. Heimskringla history of the kings of norway by snorri sturluson. Librarything is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers. Their attempt at colonization reprinted from transactions and proceedings of the geogrpahical society of the pacific, 1910, trans. Taken from the heimskringlasnorri sturlusons complete account of norway from prehistoric times to 1177this is a brilliantly human depiction of the turbulent life and savage death of the last great norse warriorking. Read the heimskringla and the prose edda of snorri sturluson by snorri sturluson available from rakuten kobo. Written in old norse by the icelandic poet and historian snorri sturluson sometime around 1230 ad, the heimskringla is one of the best known of all sagas. The discoveries of the norsemen on the northeast coast of america. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page.
Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the heimskringla. Project muse society and politics in snorri sturlusons. Heimskringla, or the chronicle of the kings of norway ebook. Snorri sturluson simple english wikipedia, the free. Read heimskringla, or the chronicle of the kings of norway by snorri sturluson available from rakuten kobo. Bjarni aalbjarnarson, reykjavik 194151 if xxvixxviii. Snorri sturluson, icelandic poet, historian, and chieftain, author of the prose edda and the heimskringla. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. The article will examine this question on the basis of one text, snorri sturlusons heimskringla, which deals with the history of the norwegian dynasty from roman times until 1177. The words belong to a geographical preamble, the disc of the world which mankind inhabits. First written about 1230 by icelandic scholar and poet snorri sturluson various spellings exist, the heimskringla contains the sagas of 16. Livessaga of the norse kings, edda, egils saga, heimskringla or, the chronicle of the kings of norway, king haralds saga, snorre sturlason, the discoveries of the norsemen on the northeast coast of america, the younger edda. It is in actuality a collection of sagas concerning the various rulers of norway, from about a.
Gylfaginning is the first part of snorri sturluson s edda, and contains the most extensive and coherent account of scandinavian mythology that exists from the middle ages. Although some might with justice question his accuracy, few would deny that he was a literary genius creatively writing from the viewpoint of his own times. Currie this thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of mphil at the university of st andrews 26 april 2014. For more than seventy years, penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the englishspeaking world. Once found in most homes and schools and still regarded as a national treasure. He was twice elected lawspeaker at the icelandic parliament, the althing. We use cookies to give you the best possible experience. Snorri sturluson 1178 september 23, 1241 was an icelandic historian, poet and politician. Being snorri s own tales of the kings of norway, the book is composed of many short passages detailing the histories of various kings.
Snorri sturluson the icelandic statesman snorri sturluson 11791241 was his countrys most renowned historian. He was threetime elected lawspeaker at the icelandic parliament, the althing. This book is expensive, but if you are interested in the growth of the norwegian kingdom, i highly recommend it. Yet laurents hansson, a royal steward who in the years 1548 to 1551 translated the central portion of heimskringla, twice states outright, in the heading and at the end of the foreword, that the work is by snorri. Snorri sturluson s fame as a historianhis main work is the 16 sagas included in heimskringla c. The chronicle of the kings of norway by snorri sturluson 02222018, by librarian comments closed heimskringla is a bright and dramatic, but at the same time extremely true story about the fate of hundreds of people who really existed in ancient times, but the dead for many centuries, the richest gallery of human images.
Hollander translated with introduction and notes by lee m. Beginning with the dim prehistory of the mythical gods and their descendants, heimskringla recounts the history of the kings of norway through the reign of olaf haraldsson, who became norways patron saint. He comes to the great judgment and gathers all the good into gimle to dwell there forever, and evermore delights enjoy. In this work snorri arranges and recounts the legends of norse mythology in an entertaining way. Open library is an initiative of the internet archive, a 501c3 nonprofit, building a digital library of internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. The heimskringla old norse, the circle of the world is the best known of the old norse kings sagas, recounting the. The heimskringla, a history of the norse kings internet archive. Snorri sturluson sometimes snorre sturleson, snorri sturlusson, snorre sturlson, snorri sturlson, snorri sturlusson 1178 september 23, 1241 was an icelandic historian, poet and politician. Snorri sturluson edda prologue and gylfaginning edited by. And the norwegian divine, peder clausson friis, who in 1599 translated all of heimskringla, likewise mentions snorri twice.
The heimskringla of snorri sturlason is a collection of sagas concerning the various rulers of norway, from about a. Buy a cheap copy of heimskringla book by snorri sturluson. The heimskringla by snorri sturluson by snorri sturluson. Snorri sturluson also spelled snorre sturlason was an icelandic historian, poet and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker to the icelandic parliament, the althing. Snorri, a descendant of the great poet and hero of the egils saga, egill skallagrimsson, was brought up at oddi from the age of three in the home of jon loptsson, the most influential. The heimskringla old norse, the circle of the world is the best known of the old norse kings sagas, recounting the lives of famous scandinavian kings. Heimskringla by snorri sturluson, 9780292730618, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. The focus will be on two events, the introduction of christianity and the unification of the kingdom under one king. Jul 05, 2010 beginning with the dim prehistory of the mythical gods and their descendants, heimskringla recounts the history of the kings of norway through the reign of olaf haraldsson, who became norways patron saint. He was the author of the prose edda or younger edda, which consists of gylfaginning the fooling of gylfi, a narrative of norse mythology, the skaldskaparmal, a book of poetic. First written about 1230 by icelandic scholar and poet snorri sturluson c. The title heimskringla derives from the phrase kringla heimsins the disc of the world which opens this collection of sagas on the lives of the kings of norway attributed to the icelandic author snorri sturluson.
It is distinguished by snorris classical objectivity, realistic psychology, and historically feasible if not always accurate depiction of cause. The heimskringla and the prose edda of snorri sturluson ebook. Representations of death and burial in the first six sagas of snorri sturlusons heimskringla tegan n. Volume 1 ebook written by snorri sturluson, samuel laing. Jul 03, 2014 heimskringla is a compendium of sagas attributed to the thirteenthcentury icelander snorri sturluson, tracing the history of the kings of norway from their legendary beginnings to the late twelfth century. It contains nine studies on the economic andtechnologicaldecline of the muslim near east in the later middle ages, on italian economic expansion, on jews in late medieval commerce, and on the industrial and technological advance of the west. He was the author of the prose edda or younger edda and the heimskringla, a history of the norwegian kings that begins with legendary material and moves through to early medieval scandinavian history. Orb of the world, collection of sagas of the early norwegian kings, written by the icelandic poetchieftain snorri sturluson. He then explains the ornate diction of the ancient skaldic poets and explains the great variety of poetic metres used in skaldic read more. The past in snorri sturlusons heimskringla sverre bagge university of bergen the radical difference between the past and the present is mostly regarded as an invention of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, which marks the origin of the modern understanding of history. This compelling icelandic history describes the life of king harald hardradi, from his battles across. It was written in old norse in iceland by the poet and historian snorri sturluson 1178791241 c.
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