num_pages: 256
description: Written around AD 1200 by an unnamed Icelandic author, the Orkneyinga Saga is an intriguing fusion of myth, legend and history. The only medieval chronicle to have Orkney as the central place of action, it tells of an era when the islands were still part of the Viking world, beginning with their conquest by the kings of Norway in the ninth century. The saga describes the subsequent history of the Earldom of Orkney and the adventures of great Norsemen such as Sigurd the Powerful, St Magnus the Martyr and Hrolf, the conqueror of Normandy. Savagely powerful and poetic, this is a fascinating depiction of an age of brutal battles, murder, sorcery and bitter family feuds.
language: English
title: Orkneyinga Saga: The History of the Earls of Orkney
titlecomplete: Orkneyinga Saga: The History of the Earls of Orkney
characters: Sigurd Eysteinsson, Svein Asleifarson, Máel Brigte, Harald Hárfagri, Ingibjörg Finnsdóttir, Saint Magnus, Karl Hundason, Einarr Rognvaldarson, Rögnvald Kali Kolsson, Thorfinn Sigurdsson, Paul Thorfinnsson, Sigurd Hlodvirsson
genres: Literature, 13th Century, History, Classics, Scotland, Mythology, Medieval, Poetry, Folklore, Nonfiction
ratings_count: 666
places: Orkney, Scotland
publisher: Penguin Classics