Ynglingasaga

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Illustration to Ynglingasaga by Gerhard Munthe

The Ynglingasaga belongs to the medieval literature of Iceland and is the first chapter of the Heimskringla , a chronicle of the Norwegian kings , written by Snorri Sturluson . The legend was written in the old Icelandic language around 1230 . The Ynglingasaga drew from the now lost poetry Ynglingatal . In addition, Snorri also used the Háleyingatal , a genealogical poem about the Jarle von Helgeland , and “ Af Upplendinga konungum ”, a short text from the Hauksbók. There is a genealogy that ranges from Óláfr trételgja to Óláfr Geirstaðaálfr.

This saga is about the sex of the Ynglinge , who are mentioned in the old English saga Beowulf under the name "Scylfings". It tells of the arrival of the Norse gods in Scandinavia and how Freyr founds the house of the Ynglings in Uppsala . The saga follows the events of the Swedish Ynglings until the time when the family moved to Norway. They are mentioned in the saga as the ancestors of Harald Fairhair .

As with Saxo Grammaticus the old gods are at Snorri euhemeristisch seen as ancient kings who had been deified later.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Rudolf Simek , Hermann Pálsson : Lexicon of Old Norse Literature. The medieval literature of Norway and Iceland (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 490). 2nd, significantly increased and revised edition. Kröner, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-520-49002-5 .
  2. Beowulf, translated by David Write, Penguin Classics, 1957
  3. Snorri Sturluson: Heimskringla . Translated by Felix Niedner under the title "Snorris Königsbuch" I.-III.Diederichs Verlag 1965, reprint Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft Darmstadt o. J. The Ynglingasaga is in volume I.

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