Sagas of Icelanders

The sagas of Icelanders, also called family sagas, are a special group of stories from old Iceland. They tell tales about real events that happened mostly in Iceland from the ninth to the early eleventh centuries, a time known as the Saga Age. These stories were written in Old Icelandic, an old language that people spoke in Scandinavia long ago.

These sagas focus on families, their histories, and the many conflicts that happened among the first people who lived in Iceland. They give us a rare look at life, customs, and beliefs in medieval Scandinavian societies, especially before people there believed in Christianity.

Many of these sagas were finally written down in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, even though the events they describe happened much earlier. We often don’t know who wrote them. For example, some think a man named Snorri Sturluson might have written Egil's Saga, but we aren’t sure. Today, the main collection of these old Icelandic stories is cared for by a group called Hið íslenzka fornritafélag.

Historical time frame

The sagas were written in different time periods, and a scholar named Sigurður Nordal grouped them into five periods based on when they were written and how they were developed.

These periods include sagas about poets from 1200 to 1230, family sagas from 1230 to 1280, stories that focus on storytelling from 1280 to 1300, historical traditions from the early fourteenth century, and fiction from the fourteenth century. This way of grouping the sagas has been questioned by some people.

Sigurður Nordal

skalds (such as Fóstbrœðra saga)

Family sagas (such as Laxdæla saga)

(such as Njáls saga)

List of sagas

Here is a list of some famous Icelandic sagas. These stories are old tales written in a special language called Old Icelandic. They tell about events that happened in Iceland long ago, mostly between the 800s and 1100s.

• Atla saga Ótryggssonar
• Bandamanna saga
• Bárðar saga Snæfellsáss
• Bjarnar saga Hítdælakappa
• Droplaugarsona saga
• Egils saga Skalla-Grímssonar – Egil's Saga
• Eiríks saga rauða – Saga of Erik the Red
• Eyrbyggja saga
• Færeyinga saga
• Finnboga saga ramma
• Fljótsdæla saga
• Flóamanna saga
• Fóstbræðra saga (two versions)
• Gísla saga Súrssonar, (two versions)
• Grettis saga – Saga of Grettir the Strong
• Grænlendinga saga – Greenland saga
• Gull-Þóris saga
• Gunnars saga Keldugnúpsfífls
• Gunnlaugs saga ormstungu
• Hallfreðar saga (two versions)
• Harðar saga ok Hólmverja
• Hávarðar saga Ísfirðings
• Heiðarvíga saga
• Hrafnkels saga
• Hrana saga hrings (post-medieval)
• Hænsna-Þóris saga
• Íslendingabók (One of the earliest sagas written about the founding of Iceland by a priest called Ari Þorgilsson working in the early 12th century)
• Kjalnesinga saga
• Kormáks saga
• Króka-Refs saga
• Laxdæla saga
• Ljósvetninga saga (two versions)
• Njáls saga
• Reykdæla saga ok Víga-Skútu
• Skáld-Helga saga (known only from rímur and later derivations of these)
• Svarfdæla saga
• Valla-Ljóts saga
• Vatnsdæla saga
• Víga-Glúms saga
• Víglundar saga
• Vápnfirðinga saga
• Þorsteins saga hvíta
• Þorsteins saga Síðu-Hallssonar
• Þórðar saga hreðu
• Ölkofra saga

Some sagas are thought to be lost, like Gauks saga Trandilssonar. There are also shorter stories called "Tales of Icelanders" and some contemporary sagas that are part of larger collections.