Heimskringla: The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway (Forgotten Books)

Heimskringla is the best known of the old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson (1179 - 1242) ca. 1230. 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).Heimskringla is a collection of tales about the Norwegian kings, beginning with the legendary Swedish dynasty of the Ynglingas, followed by accounts of historical Norwegian rulers from Harald Fairhair of the 9th century up to the death of the pretender Eystein Meyla in 1177. The exact sources of his work are disputed, but included earlier kings' sagas, such as Morkinskinna, Fagrskinna and the twelfth century Norwegian synoptic histories and oral traditions, notably many skaldic poems. Snorri had himself visited Norway and Sweden. For events of the mid 12th century, Snorri explicitly names the now lost work Hryggjarstykki as his source. The composition of the sagas is Snorri's. (Quote from wikipedia.org)About the AuthorSnorri Sturluson (1178 - 1241)Snorri Sturluson (1178 - September 23, 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet and politician. He was three-time elected lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. 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 language, and the Ha'ttatal, a list of verse forms. He was also the author of the Heimskringla, a history of the Norwegian kings that begins with legendary material in Ynglinga saga and moves through to early medieval Scandinavian history. For stylistic and methodological reasons, Snorri is often taken to be the author of Egils saga. As a historian a Table of Contents......Page 2 PREFACE......Page 3 The Ynglinga Saga,......Page 5 Halfdan the Black Saga......Page 31 Harald Harfager's Saga......Page 36 Hakon the Good's Saga......Page 61 Saga of King Harald Grafeld and of Earl Hakon Son of Sigurd......Page 82 King Olaf Trygvason's Saga: Part I......Page 93 King Olaf Trygvason's Saga: Part II......Page 119 King Olaf Trygvason's Saga: Part III......Page 141 Saga of Olaf Haraldson: Part I......Page 164 Saga of Olaf Haraldson: Part II......Page 192 Saga of Olaf Haraldson: Part III......Page 218 Saga of Olaf Haraldson: Part IV......Page 243 Saga of Olaf Haraldson: Part V......Page 267 Saga of Olaf Haraldson: Part VI......Page 291 Saga of Olaf Haraldson: Part VII......Page 317 Saga of Olaf Haraldson: Part VIII......Page 343 Saga of Magnus the Good......Page 374 Saga of Harald Hardrade: Part I......Page 401 Saga of Harald Hardrade: Part II......Page 431 Saga of Olaf Kyrre......Page 464 Magnus Barefoot's Saga......Page 470 Saga of Sigurd the Crusader and His Brothers Eystein and Olaf......Page 489 Saga of Magnus the Blind and of Harald Gille......Page 520 Saga of Sigurd, Inge, and Eystein, the Sons of Harald......Page 535 Saga of Hakon Herdebreid ("Hakon the Broad-Shouldered")......Page 557 Magnus Erlingson's Saga......Page 571 Table of Contents 2 Heimskringla; or The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway 3 Snorri Sturluson 3 PREFACE 3 The Ynglinga Saga, 5 Halfdan the Black Saga 31 Harald Harfager's Saga 36 Hakon the Good's Saga 61 Saga of King Harald Grafeld and of Earl Hakon Son of Sigurd 82 King Olaf Trygvason's Saga: Part I 93 King Olaf Trygvason's Saga: Part II 119 King Olaf Trygvason's Saga: Part III 141 Saga of Olaf Haraldson: Part I 164 Saga of Olaf Haraldson: Part II 192 Saga of Olaf Haraldson: Part III 218 Saga of Olaf Haraldson: Part IV 243 Saga of Olaf Haraldson: Part V 267 Saga of Olaf Haraldson: Part VI 291 Saga of Olaf Haraldson: Part VII 317 Saga of Olaf Haraldson: Part VIII 343 Saga of Magnus the Good 374 Saga of Harald Hardrade: Part I 401 Saga of Harald Hardrade: Part II 431 Saga of Olaf Kyrre 464 Magnus Barefoot's Saga 470 Saga of Sigurd the Crusader and His Brothers Eystein and Olaf 489 Saga of Magnus the Blind and of Harald Gille 520 Saga of Sigurd, Inge, and Eystein, the Sons of Harald 535 Saga of Hakon Herdebreid ("Hakon the Broad-Shouldered") 557 Magnus Erlingson's Saga 571