Snorri sturluson also spelled snorre sturlason was an icelandic historian, poet and politician. First written about 1230 by icelandic scholar and poet snorri sturluson c. Snorri sturlusons edda viking society for northern research. The heimskringla of snorri sturlason is a collection of sagas concerning the various rulers of norway, from about a. In 2010, on the night of snorri sturlusons murder, september 23, i sat on the stones surrounding his hot tub at reykholt in western iceland and dabbled my feet in the warm pool. 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.
In him were united the experienced statesman and the manysided scholar. Jan 10, 2019 gylfaginning, or the tricking of gylfi, is the first part of snorri sturlusons prose edda. Snorri sturluson as depicted at the saga museum in reykjavik. Snorri sturluson, heimskringla, translated by alison finlay and anthony faulkes, 3 vols, vol. In 1215 he was elected lawspeaker of the althing, the icelandic parliament, and office he held twice for a number of years. Through the whole history, one senses the gradual rise of a national awareness. Nov 12, 2012 nancy marie brown is the author of song of the viking. Gylfaginning, or the tricking of gylfi, is the first part of snorri sturlusons prose edda. Gustav storm med illustrationer af halfdan egedius, christian krogh, gerhard munthe, eilif peterssen, erik werenskiold, wilhelm wetlesen. Snorri and the making of norse myths, a biography of the thcentury icelandic chieftain and writer, snorri sturluson. The extensive annotations and clarifications make this an ideal reference work for navigating the labyrinth of icelandic and norse sagas and other literature from the scandinavian side of the sea.
Poem hunter all poems of by snorri sturluson poems. Books by snorri sturluson sorted by popularity project. It was written in old norse in iceland by the poet and historian snorri sturluson 1178791241 c. He was an important member of the sturlungar family, whose history is recorded in islendinga saga, written by his nephew sturla.
A cold mist replaced the sunshine of thingvellir, where id walked, picking blueberries, that afternoon, memorizing the verse on the bronze. To solve the conflict icelands lawspeaker jon loftsson was called in. Viking society for northern research, 2011 2014 ralph west, snorri sturluson and egils saga. Media in category snorri sturluson the following 19 files are in this category, out of 19 total. He was threetime elected lawspeaker at the icelandic parliament, the althing.
Svensk tidskrift nordic pioneers of liberal thought. 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 1179 23 september 1241 was an icelandic historian, poet, and politician. Orb of the world, collection of sagas of the early norwegian kings, written by the icelandic poetchieftain snorri sturluson. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 180 pages and is available in paperback format. Nov 12, 2015 snorri, who was the son of sturla thortsson d. 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. Snorri sturluson definition of snorri sturluson at. 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. Snorri sturluson s fame as a historianhis main work is the 16 sagas included in heimskringla c. 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 heimskringla by snorri sturluson by snorri sturluson. Snorri is the most celebrated figure in icelandic literature, remembered for his dramatic renditions of history. The uppsala codex parchment of about 20 names snorris book as edda.
The prose edda contains a wide variety of lore which a skald poet of the time would need to know. 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. Great classic by icelandic poetchieftain chronicles the reigns of 16 high kings descended from the warriorwizard god odin. The main subject of the present article, snorri sturlusons heimskringla, was written in the vernacular, not by a learned theologian but by a secular aristocrat. Or, the chronicle of the kings of norway by snorri. Snorri sturluson1 1179 23 september 1241 was an icelandic historian, poet, and politician. Snorri wrote the prose edda as an instruction manual on how to write the kind of oldfashioned. Snorri sturluson books list of books by author snorri sturluson. The work is often assumed to have been written, or at least compiled, by the icelandic scholar and. Being essentially a transcription of minstrelsy related to these kings, the text is narrative, and often has bits of poetry thrown in. Gylfaginning is the first part of snorri sturlusons edda, and contains the most extensive and coherent account of scandinavian mythology that exists from the.
When snorri was 3 years old his father sturla was involved in a conflict with father pall solvason of reykholt. The uppsala codex parchment of about 20 names snorri s book as edda. Prose eddagylfaginning wikisource, the free online library. The death of snorri sturluson in 2010, on the night of snorri sturlusons murder, september 23, i sat on the stones surrounding his hot tub at reykholt in western iceland and dabbled my feet in the warm pool. Snorri sturluson 11791241 icelandic poet, prose writer, and historian. Snorri sturluson the catholic encyclopedia religionfacts. Society and politics in snorri sturlusons heimskringla. Snorri sturluson 1179 1241 is icelands greatest historian. Nome completo snorri sturluson nascimento 1178 ou 1179 comunidade islandesa. Snorri sturlusons fame as a historianhis main work is the 16 sagas included in heimskringla c. Bergen nonb digifoto 20151021 00229 nb mit fnr 10145 b.
The gylfaginning deals with the creation and destruction of the world of the norse gods, and many other aspects of norse mythology. The saga of the last viking warrior by andrea hopkins, snorri sturluson and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Snorri sturluson, born 1179, hvammur, icelanddied sept. The focus will be on two events, the introduction of christianity and the unification of the kingdom under one king. Snorri sturluson was an icelandic historian, poet, and politician. During snorri s times, however, the christian church strongly discouraged anything that was connected with the heathen past. It is distinguished by snorris classical objectivity, realistic psychology, and historically feasible if not always accurate depiction of cause and effect, all these counterbalanced by the pleasure he took, to use one literary. Perspectives on the cultural activity of myth, mythological. Snorri sturluson simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Snorri sturluson 11791241, apparently in iceland after his first visit to norway to visit the two rulers in 121820, and is thus an example of the modification of the skaldic tradition brought about by.
The first edition of the novel was published in 1220, and was written by snorri sturluson. Books by snorri sturluson sorted by popularity project gutenberg. Snorri sturluson poems poems of snorri sturluson poem. Snorri sturluson books list of books by author snorri. Other rulers weakened the pdf kingdom by their fratricidal struggles or wars with pretenders. Snorri sturluson 1178 september 23, 1241 was an icelandic historian, poet and politician. As a child he went to the school of saemund the wise at oddi, of which, at that time, saemunds grandson jan loptsson was the head.
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 snorri sturluson biography poem hunter. Written in iceland a century after the close of the viking age, it tells ancient stories of the norse creation epic and recounts the battles that follow as gods, giants, what was the beginning, or how did things start. The prose edda, also known as the younger edda, snorris edda icelandic. He was twice elected lawspeaker at the icelandic parliament, the althing. Snorri was icelands greatest saga writer and the author of heimskringla, the history of the norwegian kings, proseedda, with a lot of information about nordic mythology and poetry, and he is also believed to be the writer of egils saga, the saga of egill skallagrimsson. The main characters of this classics, history story are. The assumption that snorri sturluson is responsible for writing the edda is largely based on the following paragraph from. Snorri sturluson 11791241 was one of the most prominent chieftains in iceland and an active participant in the internal struggles on the island. Partially because of this, the kind of poetry snorri liked was becoming unpopular and was being replaced by new styles of poetry. Snorri sturluson, icelandic poet, historian, and chieftain, author of the prose edda and the heimskringla.
The younger edda, also known as snorres edda, or the prose edda, is a collection of old norse poems preserved by snorri sturluson 11791241. Snorri sturluson was born in hvammur i dolum commonly translated as hvamm or hvammr into the wealthy and powerful sturlungar family of the icelandic commonwealth in 1179. Or, the chronicle of the kings of norway by snorri sturluson. This study investigates the credibility of the descriptions of prechristian cultic leadership and rituals in snorri sturlusons hakonar. While snorri sturluson appears to have been a nasty man, his fame rests on his literary genius, all in all the greatest of ancient scandinavia. 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. Notes appendix to olaf trygvesons saga groenlendinga aattr. Jul 12, 2019 snorri sturluson1 1179 23 september 1241 was an icelandic historian, poet, and politician.
Tales from norse mythology selected and translated by jean i. He was elected twice as lawspeaker to the icelandic parliament, the althing. The prose edda of snorri sturlson translated by arthur gilchrist brodeur 1916 the prose edda is a text on old norse poetics, written about 1200 by the norwegian poet and politican snorri sturlson, who also wrote the heimskringla. He was the author of the prose edda or younger edda, which consists of gylfaginning the fooling of gylfi, a. Project gutenberg offers 62080 free ebooks for kindle, ipad, nook, android, and iphone. Snorri sturluson simple english wikipedia, the free. His writings include the prose edda and the heimskringla, which along with the poetic edda are the major primary sources for germanic mythology and religion. The heimskringla and the prose edda of snorri sturluson. The prose edda of snorri sturlson, free ebook global grey. The prose edda by snorri sturluson, paperback barnes. Heimskringla addressed itself to a norwegian and egils saga to an icelandic audience jonas kristjansson 1977, 47172. The second part of the prose edda is called the skaldskaparmal and the third hattatal. The prose edda forms the basis of what the world knows as norse mythology, and contains legends of the creation of the cosmos and the bestknown stories of odin, thor, and the other gods.
During snorris times, however, the christian church strongly discouraged anything that was connected with the heathen past. Buy a cheap copy of heimskringla book by snorri sturluson. Mar 26, 2018 by snorri sturluson 9 editions first published in 1966 not in library snorre sturlason. Project gutenberg offers 61,970 free ebooks to download. Born to a wealthy and powerful family, snorri inherited a significant amount of property and became known as a poet. Sagas of the norse kings by snorri sturluson, samuel laing, rasmus bjorn anderson. Snorri sturluson viking society for northern research. The prose edda, also known as the younger edda, snorri s edda or simply edda, is an old norse work of literature written in iceland in the early th century. This compendium of the norse kings chronicles is a great effort to keep the flavor and literary rhythym of the original works by snorri sturluson. Phenomenal woman, still i rise, the road not taken, if you forget me, dreams. Snorri sturluson the icelandic statesman snorri sturluson 11791241 was his countrys most renowned historian. Together with the poetic edda, it comprises the major store of scandinavian mythology. This bath of snorri is among the bestknown heritage sites in iceland.
The prose edda is the most renowned of all works of scandinavian literature and our most extensive source for norse mythology. Snorri sturluson was born at hvammur in dalir vest iceland at 1179. Snorri sturluson is, without compare, the greatest historian of the middle ages. Being snorris own tales of the kings of norway, the book is composed of many short passages detailing the histories of various kings. Free download or read online the prose edda pdf epub book. The heimskringla and the prose edda of snorri sturluson ebook. Snorri sturluson definition, icelandic historian and poet. A cold mist replaced the sunshine of thingvellir, where id walked, picking blueberries, that afternoon.
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