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Egill Skallagrímsson in a 17th- century manuscript of Egils Saga

Grettir is ready to fight in this illustration from a 17th-century Icelandic manuscript

The Sagas of Icelanders (Icelandic: Íslendingasögur)—many of which are also known as family sagas—are prose histories mostly describing events that took place in Iceland in the 10th and early 11th centuries, during the so-called Saga Age. They are the best-known specimens of Icelandic literature.

The Icelanders' sagas are a literary phenomenon of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. They are focused on history, especially genealogical and family history. They reflect the struggle and conflict that arose within the societies of the second and third generations of Icelandic settlers.

The authors of these sagas are unknown. One, Egils saga, is believed by scholars^[1] to have been written by Snorri Sturluson, a descendant of the saga's hero, but this remains uncertain. The standard modern edition of Icelandic sagas is known as Íslenzk Fornrit.

List of Icelanders' sagas[link]

• Bandamanna saga
• Bárðar saga Snæfellsáss
• Bjarnar saga Hítdœlakappa
• Brennu-Njáls saga - considered by some the greatest of Icelandic prose sagas
• Droplaugarsona saga
• Egils saga Skalla-Grímssonar - tells of the adventures of Egill Skalla-Grímsson, the warrior-poet and adventurer
• Eiríks saga rauða
• Eyrbyggja saga
• Færeyinga saga
• Finnboga saga ramma
• Fljótsdæla saga
• Flóamanna saga
• Fóstbrœðra saga (two versions)
• Gísla saga Súrssonar, (two versions) of an outlaw poet.
• Grettis saga
• Grœnlendinga saga
• Gull-Þóris saga
• Gunnars saga Keldugnúpsfífls
• Gunnlaugs saga ormstungu
• Hallfreðar saga (two versions)
• Harðar saga ok Hólmverja
• Hávarðar saga Ísfirðings
• Heiðarvíga saga
• Hrafnkels saga
• Hrana saga hrings (post-medieval)
• Hænsna-Þóris saga
• Kjalnesinga saga
• Kormáks saga
• Króka-Refs saga
• Laxdæla saga
• Ljósvetninga saga (three versions)
• Reykdœla saga ok Víga-Skútu
• Svarfdœla saga
• Valla-Ljóts saga
• Vatnsdœla saga
• Víga-Glúms saga
• Víglundar saga
• Vápnfirðinga saga
• Þorsteins saga hvíta
• Þorsteins saga Síðu-Hallssonar
• Þórðar saga hreðu
• Ölkofra saga

See also[link]

• Norse Saga
• Family saga

References: English translations[link]

• Örnólfur Thorsson (1997). The Complete Sagas of Icelanders. 5 vols. Reykjavik: Leifur Eiriksson Publishing Ltd.^[2]
• Örnólfur Thorsson, et al. (eds.) (2000) The Sagas of the Icelanders: a selection. Penguin Books

References: studies[link]

• Arnold, Martin (2003). The Post-Classical Icelandic Family Saga. Lampeter: Edwin Mellen Press
• Karlsson, Gunnar (2000). The History of Iceland. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press
• Liestol, Knut (1930). The Origin of the Icelandic Family Sagas. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press
• Miller, William Ian (1990). Bloodtaking and Peacemaking: Feud, Law, and Society in Saga Iceland. Chicago: University of Chicago Press

External links[link]

• Icelandic Saga Database A website with all the Icelandic sagas, along with translations into English and various other languages
• Proverbs and Proverbial Materials in the Old Icelandic Sagas
• Icelandic sagas - a selection in Old Norse
• Sagnanet Photographs of some of the original manuscripts

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