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The Saga

Extended Prose Forms

A medieval Icelandic prose narrative form recounting the lives, feuds and genealogies of historical or legendary Icelandic families, kings or heroes, written in a spare, understated prose style with minimal authorial comment, standing among the great vernacular prose achievements of medieval European literature.

Facts
Place of Origin
Iceland, 13th-14th century, recording events chiefly set in the 9th-11th century settlement period. 1
Structure
Extended prose narrative, unrhymed and generally unversed, in a spare, restrained style, often incorporating genealogies and occasional embedded verse (skaldic stanzas) attributed to characters. 1
Notable Example
Njal's Saga and Egil's Saga, among the most celebrated of the Icelandic family sagas. 1
Connections

Form Of Genre

Source Encyclopaedia Britannica

Influenced By

Eddic Verse, Forms
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.View the Source

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