Providing an overview of the past two decades of scholarship, it discusses the vexed relationship between verse and prose and. He married a daughter of the scottish king malcolm, and their son was called thorfin. King hakon was of a remarkably cheerful disposition, clever in words, and very condescending. History of denmark, sweden, and norway by samuel astley dunham 1839 370 pages. Snorro sturlesons history of the norse kings is built out of these old sagas. Snorris account begins with a mythological account of the gods euhemerized as in edda in the ynglinga saga, and then goes through the history of the kings of norway starting with harald. Apr 25, 2020 looking to get inspired on your trip to norway. As a hostage, king olaf took his son, who was called hunde or whelp. History of the kings of norway by snorri sturluson 1991, paperback rowlinghardcover these historians pointed out that snorris work had been written several centuries after most of the events it describes. Please click on the largest square in the upper right corner to view the tree in full screen mode.
The unification of norway the royal house of norway. The icelander snorri sturlusons heimskringla from ca. Its remarkable if norway has been able to learn from the mistakes of others without having to make the same mistakes itself. King haralds saga by snorri sturlason, translated by magnus magnusson and paulsson herman. Good seasons also there were, both by sea and land. The chronicles record the history of the small norse kingdom of the isle of man and the hebrides, which was under norwegian influence from the viking. And to what extent is it possible to describe this rfeeling. Librivox recording of early kings of norway by thomas carlyle, read by librivox volunteers. Snorri sturlusons heimskringla, written in iceland around 1220 probably as a gift for the king of norway.
But norway was in the 12th century plagued by civil wars and several pretenders to the throne claimed to be sons to former kings in order to gain popular support. The norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of harald fairhair and the previous petty kingdoms which were united to form norway. The petty kingdoms of norway were the entities from which the later kingdom of norway was founded. This family tree shows the kings of norway marked with a crown going back to king carl johan, king of norway and sweden from 1818. King oscar ii of sweden and norway, and his family 1899. It tells the tale of norse gods and their descendants, the norse kings then focuses on the norwegian offspring up until the xiith century. Charles xiv john king of sweden and norway 17631844. Hardaknuts last transaction with him was, to make a firm peace and even familytreaty sanctioned by all the grandees of both countries, who did indeed mainly themselves make it. Heimskringla or the chronicle of the kings of norway by snorri. It was written in old norse in iceland by the poet and historian snorri sturluson 1178791241 c. He sent men to norway to king harald, with the errand that the messengers should present him with a sword, with the hilt and handle gilt, and also the whole sheath adorned with gold and silver, and set with precious jewels.
Although norway was the poorer country with the smaller population and had to hold an army of some 11 000 men at norways own cost, the taxes sent to denmark equaled more than norway 506 000 riksdalerdenmark 854 000 riksdaler of the total. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Once found in most homes and schools and still regarded as a national treasure, heimskringla influenced the thinking and literary style of scandinavia over several centuries. The chronicles of the kings of mann and the isles is a source text that has often been neglected.
In histories of england rapins excepted next to nothing has been shown of the many and. Eric bloodaxe, whose practical reign is counted to have begun about a. Beginning with the dim prehistory of the mythical gods and their descendants, heimskringla recounts the history of the kings of norway through the reign of olaf haraldsson, who became norways patron saint. Written around 1220, this is an account of the early kings of norway. Number of pages 854 id numbers open library ol5909229m lc control number 64010460 oclcworldcat 638953. Modern norway two important features in norwegian history of the late 19th and early 20th cent. This compelling icelandic history describes the life of king harald hardradi, from his battles across. Publishing history this is a chart to show the publishing history of editions of works about this subject. What is a good book on norways culture and history. Plus, i think really good view on character of those nations, seen by the outsider. What are the best books on early norwegian history.
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. Dawn of swedish history heimskringla and ynglingatal snorre sturleson, the great historian and poet of iceland, of the earlier half of the thirteenth century, is considered to be the author of the history of the kings of norway which, after the first words of the first chapter, has been called heimskringla. It is to this fact, that any little history there is of the norse kings and their old tragedies, crimes and heroisms, is almost all due. The narrative history of those early kings of norway traditionally. The norwegian monarchy dates back more than one thousand years. Pdf the early norwegian kings are scarcely attested in sources earlier. Two princes norway fortinbras becomes angry gathers a group of thugs and criminals behind his uncles back threatens to invade denmark is told off by his uncle goes against poland instead denmark hamlet becomes angry decides to kill his uncle then does nothing for a very long time except get a lot of innocent people killed ghost old hamlet, king of denmark.
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. It is from these sources that the following rough notes of the early norway kings are hastily thrown together. The position of king of norway has been in continuous existence since. Some of this is found in ancient family registers, in which the pe. History is littered with examples of the reverse, where countries learn only from their own mistakes, as experienced by economic actors, voters and politicians.
The history of norway has been influenced to an extraordinary degree by the terrain and the. The norwegian monarch is the monarchical head of state of norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. Jan 15, 2020 harald gille magnusson, king of norway d. From the time of harald fairhair until the present day, norway has had more than 60 named sovereigns.
Heimskringla, the chronicle of the kings of norway. John king of denmark, norway, and sweden britannica. It covers also history of other countries denmark, sweden and finland, but its damn interesting how their stories intertwine and its really difficult to see norway s history without denmark and sweden. Livessaga of the norse kings by snorri sturluson, 1964, published for the americanscandinavian foundation by the university of texas press edition, in english. History of the kings of norway reprint by snorri sturluson, hollander, lee m. Dawn of swedish history heimskringla and ynglingatal. Heimskringla, or the chronicle of the kings of norway by snorri sturluson this free downloadable ebook can be read on your computer or ereader. This evening becca told me about heimskringla or the chronicle of the kings of norway by the medieval historian snorri sturluson ca. The icelanders, in their long winter, had a great habit of writing. This book is an examination of some of the principal issues arising from the study of the kings sagas, the main narrative sources for norwegian history before c. Search the history of over 406 billion web pages on the internet. Old fortinbras of norway challenges old hamlet of denmark to do battle they make an agreement of lands the victor should receive after the battle old hamlet kills old fortinbras in battle and gets the lands promised by him fortinbrass brother takes power in norway the story so far 1. Check out the best museums in norway to visit in 2020. Vladimir of rus and harald fairhair of norway jstor.
Jul 05, 2010 beginning with the dim prehistory of the mythical gods and their descendants, heimskringla recounts the history of the kings of norway through the reign of olaf haraldsson, who became norway s patron saint. Frederick ii, king of denmark and norway 155988 who failed in his attempt to establish complete danish hegemony in the baltic sea area in the seven years war of the north 156370 but maintained enough control over the baltic trade to guide denmark to a period of prosperity in the later years. He was more successful in fostering the commercial development of danish burghers to challenge the power. Along the x axis is time, and on the y axis is the count of editions published. Immerse yourself into worldclass art, exciting history, and mindbending science. Snorre sturleson, the great historian and poet of iceland, of the earlier half of the thirteenth century, is considered to be the author of the history of the kings of norway which, after the first words of the first chapter, has been called heimskringla. A th century history of the kings of norway, from prehistoric times to 1177. History of the norwegian people in america by olaf morgan norlie 1922 520 pages. The aim of this article is to outline the contours of a norwegian national identity. In theory almost all norwegian kings until 19 descended in an unbroken paternal line from harald hairfair who united norway about 885.
This is in keeping with its origin as the coat of arms of the kings of norway during the middle ages. John, king of denmark 148115 and norway 148315 and king as john ii of sweden 14971501 who failed in his efforts to incorporate sweden into a danishdominated scandinavian union. An account of the ancient history of the norwegian kings translated and annotated by david and ian mcdougall with an introduction by peter foote published 1998, reprinted 2006 isbn 978 0 903521 40 6 price. History is littered with examples of the reverse, where countries learn only from their own mistakes, as experienced by economic actors, voters. The liberalisation of the economy was just as important, according to a new book celebrating norwegian history of equality from 181420. Heimskringla, by snorri sturlason project gutenberg. On the first element, heimskringla is is of enormous importance in both mythological and historical studies relating to viking and medieval scandinavia. Named after the homonymous geographical region, haralds realm was later to be known as the kingdom of norway. Snorri sturlusons fame as a historianhis main work is the 16 sagas included in heimskringla c. That there should be perpetual peace, and no thought of war more, between denmark and norway.
Heimskringla, or the lives of the norse kings by snorri sturlason. As long as hakon was king in norway, there was good peace between the bondes and merchants. Heimskringla is the most well known of the old norse kings sagas. The earliest preserved reference to the colour of the arms is the kings saga written down in 1220. Heimskringla or the chronicle of the kings of norway index. The footnotes, editing and translation were all excellently done. Being essentially a transcription of minstrelsy related to these kings, the text is narrative, and often has bits of poetry thrown in. Heimskringla, or the chronicle of the kings of norway. Astri my astri publishing, deb nelson gourley, specializes in bilingual english norwegian books on norwegian heritage, culture, history, language and genealogy. The history of a norwegian national identity what is a nation state.
Before the unification of norway in 872 and during the period of fragmentation after king harald fairhairs death norway was divided in several small kingdoms. This complete english translation is by samuel laing. History of the church and state in norway from the tenth to the sixteenth century by thomas benjamin wilson 1903 428 pages. This might be regarded as a somewhat subjective view of the history of norway as seen from a norwegians point of view. He was more successful in fostering the commercial development of danish burghers to. Harald fairhairs father, halfdan the black, was a petty king in the. Harald fairhair, regarded as the first norwegian king, united the petty kingships of norway into a single realm in about 885. Or, the chronicle of the kings of norway by snorri. After his death earl sigurd showed no obedience or fealty to king olaf. At this time a king called athelstan had taken the kingdom of england. Most of the text were composed on the isle of man around 1260. In 1884 the king appointed johan sverdrup as prime minister, thus. We are proud to present this work in full length and i old norse. Some could have been as small as a cluster of villages and others comprised several of todays counties.
Sweden and finland, but its damn interesting how their stories intertwine and its really difficult to see norways history without denmark and sweden. Being snorris own tales of the kings of norway, the book is composed of many short passages detailing the histories of various kings. Heimskringla or the chronicle of the kings of norway by snorri sturlson c. Mobi files can be read on kindles, epub files can be read on other ebook readers, and zip files can be downloaded and read on your computer. There probably are some details that are forgotten and possibly also a couple of slight inaccuracies in the following. It is from these sources, greatly aided by accurate, learned and unwearied dahlmann,1 the german professor, that the following rough notes of the early norway kings are hastily thrown together. In this book i have had old stories written down, as i have heard them told by intelligent people, concerning chiefs who have have held dominion in the northern countries, and who spoke the danish tongue. Astri my astri publishing, deb nelson gourley, english.
It was written in old norse in iceland by the poet and historian snorri sturluson 1178791241 ca. The heimskringla is a must read for any one interested in norse history and lorehowever this is a large body of work comprising the lives of the norse rulers and it is not for the light hearted and in my opinion you must have more than a passing interest in norse history to a fully commit to this book and b fully appreciate its contents. Pdf the early kings of norway, the issue of agnatic succession. As a result, most of the kings taxes came from norway. Frederick ii king of denmark and norway britannica. Charles xiv john king of sweden and norway 1763 1844. Beginning with the dim prehistory of the mythical gods and their descendants, heimskringla recounts the history of the kings of norway through the reign of olaf haraldsson, who became norway s patron saint. List of books and articles about norwegian history. Kings sagas and norwegian history department of history. The history of norwegian equality the fight for equal rights was not necessarily, however, what led norway to being at the forefront of equality. Contents, halfdan the black saga harald harfagers saga hakon the.