12-508: Sverris saga is one of the Kings' sagas . Its subject is King Sverre Sigurdsson of Norway (r. 1177–1202) and it is the main source for this period of Norwegian history . As the foreword tells us, the saga in its final form consists of more than one part. Work first began in 1185 under the king’s direct supervision. It is not known when it was finished, but presumably it was well known when Snorri Sturluson began writing his Heimskringla in
24-559: A hostage. Styrbjörn goes back to Sweden to take the Swedish throne. Styrbjörn has sacrificed to Thor , but Eric the Victorious has sacrificed to Odin and has promised to belong to Odin within ten years if he wins. When the forces meet, Þorgnýr the Lawspeaker has created an ingenious war machine by tying horses and cows together with spears and spikes. This war machine wreaks havoc among
36-486: A surprise attack and entered the castle through a secret door. While the castle's inhabitants ate dinner, the Baglers burned everything inside the castle and threw a dead man into the only well that was used for drinking water. In 1938, a skeleton was discovered in the filled in well at the site, it was later retrieved in 2016. In 2024 the skeleton was identified as a man who had been injured and died shortly before being placed in
48-416: Is the most detailed in the depiction of the many battles Sverre led to win and retain the monarchy in the country, The saga is particularly detailed when it comes to Sverre's speeches, as well as his battles and military strategy. Kings%27 sagas Kings' sagas ( Icelandic : konungasögur , Nynorsk : kongesoger, -sogor , Bokmål : kongesagaer ) are Old Norse sagas which principally tell of
60-403: Is written in a unique style that to some degree seems to be inspired by the long medieval tradition of hagiography . The style and focus of Sverris saga is very unlike that of the earlier Norwegian synoptics . Instead of narrowly focusing on the king and major events of state, Sverris saga is a detailed and rich biography with a large cast of characters, elaborate scenes and dialogue. The saga
72-551: The Battle of Kalvskinnet ( slaget på Kalvskinnet ) outside Nidaros in 1179. Central to this part is Sverre Sigurdsson 's claim to be the son of King Sigurd Munn and his struggle against his rival claimant Magnus Erlingsson . Sverre's supporters were called the Birkebeiners while his opponents were known as the Baglers . According to the foreword, Grýla was written by Karl Jónsson ,
84-429: The 1220s since Snorri ends his account where Sverris saga begins. Thus the saga is contemporary or near-contemporary with the events it describes. The saga is obviously written by someone sympathetic to Sverre’s cause, but the strict demands of the genre ensure some degree of impartiality. The first distinct part of the saga is called Grýla and describes the events until the aftermath of Sverre's first major victory at
96-459: The Abbot from Þingeyrar monastery in the north of Iceland . Karl Jónsson is known to have visited Norway from 1185 to c. 1188. Sverre is supposed to have served as Grýla ’s main source and decided what should be written. The Saga ends at Sverre's death in 1202 and was completed afterwards, perhaps by Karl Jónsson as well. The saga recorded a battle at Sverresborg castle in 1197. The Baglers launched
108-551: The Lawspeaker . In the story, Styrbjörn becomes the leader of the Jomsvikings and makes war against the Danes, until he makes peace with the Danish king Haraldr Gormsson who in return gave Styrbjörn his daughter and 100 ships. However, Styrbjörn is not happy with the agreement and attacks Denmark with an even larger fleet and forces king Harald to give him 200 ships and the king himself as
120-585: The Swedish Champion ) is a short story, a þáttr on the Swedish claimant and Jomsviking Styrbjörn the Strong preserved in the Flatey Book (GKS 1005 fol 342-344, ca 1387-1395). It is inserted together with Hróa þáttr heimska in the description of Olaf Haraldsson 's wooing of the Swedish princess Ingegerd Olofsdotter . Their purpose appears to be to present the Swedish court, its traditions and Þorgnýr
132-889: The lives of semi-legendary and legendary (mythological, fictional) Nordic kings , also known as saga kings . They were composed during the twelfth through the fourteenth centuries, primarily in Iceland , but with some written in Norway . Kings' sagas frequently contain episodic stories known in scholarship as þættir , such as the Íslendingaþættir (about Icelanders), Styrbjarnar þáttr Svíakappa , Hróa þáttr heimska , and Eymundar þáttr hrings (about people from elsewhere). Including works in Latin, and in approximate order of composition (though many dates could be off by decades) In Norwegian Styrbjarnar %C3%BE%C3%A1ttr Sv%C3%ADakappa Styrbjarnar þáttr Svíakappa ( The Tale of Styrbjörn
SECTION 10
#1732855886722144-457: The well in the same timeframe as described in the saga. Genetic evidence indicated that the man was 30 to 40 years old when he died and that he came from an area that was controlled by the Baglers, which suggested that the Baglers threw one of their dead soldiers into the well. According to Sverris saga , the Baglers wanted to make the castle uninhabitable for Sverre and the Birkebeiners. Grýla
#721278