Nornagests þáttr

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Nornagest's death
of Gunnar Vidar Forssell
The Norns (1889)
by Johannes Gehrts

The Nornagests þáttr or the Nornagest saga is a prehistoric saga about the Nordic hero Nornagest.

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Nornagest was the son of a Dane named Thord von Thinghusbit, who once lived on the Grøning estate in Denmark . When he was born, three Norns arrived and announced the fate of the child. Two gave him gifts. But Skuld , the youngest of the Norns, who imagined the other two weren't taking her seriously, was determined to keep the other two's promises. Hence she prophesied that his life would last no longer than the burning candle next to his cradle. With the presence of mind, the eldest Norn put out the flame and asked her mother to hide the candle well.

When Nornagest was grown, he became the keeper of the candle and is said to have lived 300 years. He took part in the battles of Sigurd , spent time with Ragnar Lodbrok's son Björn Eisseite and his brothers, with Starkad , with the Swedish King Sigurd Hring , with King Erik at Uppsölum , with King Harald Fairhair and with King Hlodver in Germany .

Legend has it that King Olaf Tryggvason brought Nornagest to his court when he was trying to convert the Norwegians to Christianity . In the third year of King Olaf's reign, Nornagest presented to the king and asked to join his bodyguard. He was unusually tall and strong and marked with age. Later, at the request of the king, Nornagest allowed himself to be baptized and lit the candle associated with the prophecy of Norn Skuld. He died just as the candle burned down.

References

The story of Nornagest is told in the Nornagests þáttr , which were written around 1300. The story was later inserted as an episode of the Óláfs ​​saga Tryggvasonar , which is in the medieval Icelandic manuscript Flateyjarbók .

Remarks

  1. ↑ Eiríkr at Uppsölum is almost a pseudonym for the Swedish king. However, this could mean Erik Refilsson , Erik Björnsson , Erik Anundsson or Erik VIII, the joyful winner .
  2. ↑ Hlodver of Germany probably refers to either Ludwig the German or Ludwig II of Italy .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Peter A. Munch: Norse Mythology: Legends of Gods and Heroes . ( Memento of the original from July 14, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 1.1 MB; German: "Nordic Mythology: Legends of Gods and Heroes") The American-Scandinavian Foundation, New York 1926 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / files.meetup.com