Author Description

THIS BOOK IS IN DANISH AND SWEDISH ONLY. The Icelandic Hakonar saga Harekssonar is a short exemplum-like tale of a young Norwegian who visits the court of the Danish king Sven Estridsen. It was probably originally written by Abbot Arngrimr Brandsson (d. 1361) of the Benedictine monastery of Pingeyrar in northern Iceland. Only three incomplete manuscripts have been preserved, constituting less than half the text. The present edition is the first to take account of the entire known Old Icelandic manuscript material and includes a 17th-century Latin translation made for the benefit of the Danish historian Stephanius (d. 1650). The introductory chapter on the motifs of the saga is written by the Finnish scholar Mirjam Lanjala, who did preparatory work on the edition in the 1960s. The introductory chapter is in Swedish language, while the main body of the work is in Danish.