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H
eimskringlaor more precisely, the manuscript Kringlahas long
dominated scholarship in two areas: medieval Norwegian history and
saga studies. Although it is known to be based on earlier writings,1
Heimskringlas popularity in both medieval and modern times has caused
it to be held up as a standard against which other historical writing is judged. The
fact that it is attributed to Snorri Sturluson, a well-known literary figure and a
prominent player in the power politics of thirteenth-century Iceland, adds to its
attraction. Since the proposed author is also given credit for one of the best known
(and perhaps the earliest) of the Icelandic family sagasEgils saga Skalla-Grms-
sonar 2as well as the Edda, we appear to have examples of the works of a known
author unparalleled in medieval Iceland. The temptation to draw biographical or
literary-historical conclusions on the basis of these attributions is almost irresist-
able. It should, however, be resisted. In the following I will argue that Snorris author-
ship of Egils saga and Heimskringla should not be taken for granted, and that recent
arguments reversing the traditional dating of the two works should be rejected.
If Egils saga and Heimskringla are assumed to have been written by Snorri,
scholars are faced with certain questions. Textual critics must explain why, although
Egils saga and Heimskringla have many passages in common, there are also signifi-
* Versions of this paper were presented at a meeting of the Society for the Advancement of Scan-
dinavian Study in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1991 and at the Tenth International Saga Conference in
Trondheim, Norway, in 1997.
1. As Theodore Andersson has pointed out, Heimskringla is by no means a first formulation, but
a final fusion. It is a synthesis in a very narrow, almost editorial, sense (1993, 12). Lars Lnnroth sees
its author as primarily a patron of literature and the centre of a large network of scribes, informants
and collectors of traditional material (1965, 14). In spite of these caveats, Snorris authorship of Heims-
kringla is still spoken of in the same way as Sturla rarsons authorship of slendinga saga, in contrast
to the enterprises of the compilers of Sturlunga saga and Flateyjarbk.
2. The suggestion that Snorri Sturluson was the author of both Egils saga and Heimskringla was first
made by Grundtvig in the introduction to his translation of Heimskringla (Grundtvig 1818, xxix). The
idea was kept alive by Gubrandur Vigfsson and received its first scholarly treatment at the hands of
Bjrn Magnsson lsen (1904). Since receiving the stamp of approval of Sigurur Nordal in his edition
of Egils saga as the initial volume of the series slenzk fornrit, Snorris authorship of both works is often
accepted without comment. For the history of scholarship on the subject, see lason 1968.
Bibliography
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