History Literature / TheIcelandicSagas

* WarriorPoet: Egill in ''Egils Saga'', as well as several others collected in ''[[http://www.amazon.com/Sagas-Warrior-Poets-Diana-Whaley/dp/0140447717 Sagas of Warrior-Poets]]''.

This fuzziness is not suprising as, in its basic meaning, the term ''saga'' can encompass almost all narrative prose of medieval Norse-speaking Europe[[hottip:*:Which, besides UsefulNotes/{{Norway}}, UsefulNotes/{{Sweden}}, UsefulNotes/{{Denmark}} and UsefulNotes/{{Iceland}} also included Orkney, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and some bilingual places -- like [[InDublinsFairCity Dublin]], the Isle of Man, the Hebrides, and Caithness in {{Scotland}}.]]. Medieval Iceland, however, was exceptionally productive in literary output, the place where writers most consequently used their native Norse (as opposed to Latin), and where most manuscripts of Old Norse literature were preserved.

This page is currently under construction, so things are going to look somewhat uneven for the time being.

* OffOnATechnicality: As Old Icelandic society did not have writing, all legal procedures were conducted by strictly formalized oral interactions. Consequently, there was a lot one could do wrong, and exploiting technical errors made by the enemies was an extremely common strategy. In any CourtroomEpisode, villains will always try this, but neither will heroes pass up on a good opportunity.

* TwoGuysAndAGirl: Often the follow-up of a MyGirlBackHome situation (see above). By far the most famous instance is ''Laxdoela Saga''. For some reason or other, this trope is also ''always'' the main plot device in any of the "Sagas of Poets", a subgroup of the Sagas of Icelanders, where the poet-protagonist will compete with another older or richer suitor for the hand of a beautiful woman, and usually lose. An example for this subgenre would be the ''Saga of Gunnlaugr Serpent-Tongue''.

* TheMagnificent: Nick- or bynames are almost ubiquitous in the saga universe.

* '''Contemporary Sagas''' (''Samtímasögur''): Works of contemporary history, recording then-recent history of the 12th and 13th century. As such, they are historical sources of high value. The most important work of this group is ''Sturlunga saga'', a chronicle focusing on the Sturlungs, the powerful clan of Icelandic landholders and officials of which SnorriSturluson was an offspring.

[[quoteright:305:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/EgilSkallagrimsson_17c_MS_3780.jpg]]

* ''Literature/SagaOfTheVolsungs''

* EveryoneIsArmed: The norm for adult, free males in Norse society was to always carry weapons when away from home. This shows in the sagas. Common weapons in the sagas are axes, short-swords and spears, while long swords, bows and 'halberds'[[hottip:*:A frequently used translation of terms like ''atgeir'', ''höggspjót'' and ''kesja''; the exact look of these weapons is unclear (if they are historical fact at all).]]appear more rarely.

* AnAxeToGrind: Axes were common weapons among the Norse. The norm for an adult male was to always have one around, or else a sword, short-sword or spear instead.
* AnimalStereotypes: Some Norse animal names are also first names. A saga character with an "animal name" will frequently have the qualities associated with this animal: Someone called Ref ([[CunningLikeAFox fox]]) will be clever and resourceful, characters called Mord ([[WickedWeasel marten]]) are shrewd and devious, and people called Bjorn ([[EverythingsWorseWithBears bear]]) are bound to be fearless, formidable fighters.

* HornyVikings: In the original sense, where ''viking'' meant pirate. Interestingly, the mythification of the Vikings of old started as early as the Middle Ages, for example in such texts as ''Saga of the Jomsvikings'', the legends of Literature/{{Ragnar Lodbrok and his sons}}, ''Literature/{{Heimskringla}}'' and ''Egil's Saga''. Many elements of the modern Viking stereotypes and Viking tropes are lifted from these sagas -- although most certainly ''not'' horned helmets.

* '''Sagas of Kings''' (''Konungasögur''). Narratives relating the lifes of kings and earls. Kings' sagas originated from historiography and were written with the claim of (at least approximate) factuality. Because of that, ''saga'' is also translated as "history" in the context of the Kings' sagas. Most Sagas of Kings are about the kings of UsefulNotes/{{Norway}}.

* VigilanteExecution: Manslaughter was ''not illegal'' for a free man under Norse law. However, for a killing to count as manslaughter, you had to declare your deed before witnesses (that is, your name, whom you had killed, and where you had left the body) at the first settlement you reached where you weren't likely to be instantly killed as vengeance by a friend or relative. Failing to do so made the killing a murder, a contemptible crime.

* {{Tricksters}}: Several sagas, such as Gisli Sursson's, have a character named Ref -- Icelandic for [[CunningLikeAFox "Fox"]] -- who always lives up to his name. There is also a Saga of Ref the Sly, where the titular hero tricks [[WarriorPrince Harald Hardradi]].

* HornyVikings: In the original sense, where ''viking'' meant pirate. Interestingly, the mythification of the Vikings of old started as early as the Middle Ages, for example in such texts as ''Saga of the Jomsvikings'', the legends of Literature/{{Ragnar Lodbrok and his sons}}, ''Heimskringla'' and ''Egil's Saga''. Many elements of the modern Viking stereotypes and Viking tropes are lifted from these sagas -- although most certainly ''not'' horned helmets.

!! The Icelandic Sagas are the TropeNamer for:
* GenerationalSaga

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* ProudWarriorRace : No more then anyone else at the time really. But Vikings took violence for granted as a part of life and often delighted in talking about it and so have an unusual reputation for this.

* '''Sagas of Saints''' (''Heilagra manna sögur''), '''Apostles''' (''Postola sögur''), and '''Bishops''' (''Biskupa sögur''): Genres that were intended for the religious education of the Icelanders. The contents were lives of Saints, biblical stories, and biographies of early Icelandic bishops. These religious genres marked the beginning of Icelandic literature in the 11th century and turned Old Norse into a literary language.

* '''Legendary Sagas''' (''Fornaldarsögur'' -- literally "Old Age Sagas"). Heroic legends set in the so-called ''fornaldar'' or Old Age, which, in the worldview of the Icelanders, means more or less the time before the settlement of Iceland by the Norse c. 870 AD.[[hottip:*:This is quite stunning considering that Icelandic genealogies would, taken at face value, place the exploits of Sigurd the Dragonslayer at around 800 AD.]] Much of the legendary lore covered in the Legendary sagas is very old, often even predating the Viking Age. The ''fornaldarsögur'' were not claimed to be factual, but it was usually assumed (this being already the Christian era) that there was a core of truth in the old legends.

* '''Contemporary Sagas''' (''Samtímasögur''): Works of contemporary history, recording then-recent history of the 12th and 13th century. As such, they are historical sources of high value. The most important work of this group is ''Sturlunga saga'', a chronicle focusing on the Sturlungs, the powerful clan of Icelandic landholders and officials of which Snorri Sturluson was an offspring.

* HornyVikings: In the original sense, where ''viking'' meant pirate. Interestingly, the mythification of the Vikings of old started as early as the Middle Ages, for example in such texts as ''Saga of the Jomsvikings'', the legends of Ragnar Lodbrok and his sons, ''Heimskringla'' and ''Egil's Saga''. Many elements of the modern Viking stereotypes and Viking tropes are lifted from these sagas -- although most certainly ''not'' horned helmets.

* AnimalStereotypes: Some Norse animal names are also first names. A saga character with an "animal name" will frequently have the qualities associated with this animal: Someone called Ref ([[CunningLikeAFox fox]]) will be clever and resourceful, characters called Mord ([[EverythingsWickedWithWeasels marten]]) are shrewd and devious, and people called Bjorn ([[EverythingsWorseWithBears bear]]) are bound to be fearless, formidable fighters.

The Icelandic/Old Norse word ''saga'' means, basically, story.[[hottip:*:Depending on the context, it can also mean "statement", "account" or "message". The Icelandic plural is ''sögur''.]] And ''the'' sagas are anonymous narratives in the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Norse#Old_West_Norse Old West Norse]] language that were penned in the [[TheHighMiddleAges 13th and 14th century]] by {{UsefulNotes/Iceland}}ers, in Iceland, and preserved in Iceland; which is where the term "Icelandic Sagas" comes in.

* '''Legendary Sagas''' (''Fornaldarsögur'' -- literally "Old Age Sagas"). Heroic legends set in the so-called ''fornaldar'' or Old Age, which, in the worldview of the Icelanders, means more or less the time before the settlement of Iceland by the Norse c. 870 AD.[[hottip:*:This is quite stunning considering that Icelandic genealogies would, taken at face value, place the exploits of Sigurd the Dragonslayer at around 800 AD.]] Much of the legendary lore covered in the Legendary sagas is very old, sometimes even predating the Viking Age. The ''fornaldarsögur'' were not claimed to be factual, but it was usually assumed (this being already the Christian era) that there was a core of truth in the old legends.

This fuzziness is not suprising as, in its basic meaning, the term ''saga'' can encompass almost all narrative prose of medieval Norse-speaking Europe[[hottip:*:Which, besides UsefulNotes/{{Norway}}, UsefulNotes/{{Sweden}}, UsefulNotes/{{Denmark}} and UsefulNotes/{{Iceland}} also included Orkney, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and some bilingual places -- like [[InDublinsFairCity Dublin]], the Isle of Man, the Hebrides, and Caithness in {{Scotland}}.]]. Medieval Iceland, however, was exceptionally productive in literary output, the place were writers most consequently used their native Norse (as opposed to Latin), and where most manuscripts of Old Norse literature were preserved.