Skjöldunga saga
The Skjöldunga saga was an Old Norse legendary saga. Dating from c. 1180 – 1200, the saga was lost in its original form. The saga focused on the Danish dynasty of Scylding, the same semi-legendary dynasty featured in the Old English poem Beowulf. The fragmentary Icelandic text known as Sögubrot af nokkrum fornkonungum is believed to be based on the Skjöldunga saga, perhaps deriving from a late version of that work. Another surviving source that contains material from the saga is Arngrimur's Ad catalogum regum Sveciæ annotanda.
Arngrímur Jónsson paraphrased parts of it into Latin, and parts of it are thought to be preserved in other sagas, including Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta and Ragnarssona þáttr. It may relate to Saxo Grammaticus and contain a version of the story that inspired the lost Ur-Hamlet and ultimately William Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Related Reading
- Neijmann, Daisy L. A History of Icelandic Literature
- Ólason, Vésteinn "Family Sagas" in A Companion to Old Norse-Icelandic Literature and Culture
- Jakobsson, Ármann "Royal Biography" in A Companion to Old Norse-Icelandic Literature and Culture
- Ross, Margaret Clunies Old Icelandic Literature and Society
- Würth, Stefanie "Historiography and Pseudo-History" in A Companion to Old Norse-Icelandic Literature and Culture
Category:Kings' sagas
Category:Legendary sagas
Category:Lost literature
Category:12th-century literature
Category:Scyldings