Old Norse translation of Walter of Châtillon's Alexandreis
Alexanders saga is an Old Norse translation of Alexandreis, an epic Latin poem about the life of Alexander the Great written by Walter of Châtillon, which was itself based on Quintus Curtius Rufus's Historia Alexandri Magni.[1] It is attributed in manuscripts of the saga to Brandr Jónsson, bishop of Skálholt who is also said to have been responsible for authoring Gyðinga saga.[1][2] Kirsten Wolf has commented on the saga's literary qualities thus: "Alexanders saga [...] has stirred the admiration of scholars and writers for centuries because of its exceptionally imaginative use of the resources of language and its engaging narrative style."[3]
Manuscripts
Alexanders saga is preserved in five medieval Icelandic manuscripts and a number of later manuscripts, of which only Stock. Papp. fol. no. 1 has independent textual value.[1][4] The main manuscript source of the text is AM 519a 4to, dating from 1270-1290.[5] A fragment of the saga appears in AM 655 XXIX 4to which dates from the same period.[6] It is also found in AM 226 fol (and its copy AM 225 fol) which contains the Biblical compilation Stjórn. In these manuscripts Alexanders saga comes after Rómverja saga and before Gyðinga saga.[7][8] In AM 226 fol, AM 225 fol, and Stock. Perg. 4to no. 24 the text is shorter than AM 519a 4to and also contain a translation of Epistola Alexandri ad Aristotelem.[1]
Kalinke and Mitchell identified the following manuscripts of the saga:[9]
Editions
- Unger, C. R., ed. (1848). Alexanders saga: Norsk bearbeidelse fra trettende aarhundrede af Philip Gautiers latinske digt Alexandreis. Christiania: Feilberg & Landmark.
- Jónsson, Finnur, ed. (1925). Alexanders saga : Islandsk oversættelse ved Brandr Jónsson (biskop til Holar 1263-64). Copenhagen.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Helgason, Jón (ed.). Alexanders saga: The Arna-Magnæan Manuscript 519a, 4to. Copenhagen.
- Laxness, Halldór, ed. (1945). Alexandreis: það er Alexanders saga mikla (in Icelandic). Reykjavík: Heimskringla.
- Ingólfsson, Gunnlaugur, ed. (2002). Alexandreis, það er, Alexanders saga á íslensku (in Icelandic). Reykjavík: Steinholt.
- de Leeuw Weenen, Andrea, ed. (2009). Alexanders Saga: AM 519A 4to in the Arnamagnaean Collection, Copenhagen. Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press.
Further reading
- Ashurst, David (2009). The Ethics of Empire in the Saga of Alexander the Great: a study based on MS AM 519a 4to. Reykjavik: Bókmenntafræðistofnun Háskóla Íslands.
- Ashurst, David (2000). "Bleikir Akrar - Snares of the Devil? The Significance of the Pale Cornfields in Alexanders saga" (PDF). Saga-Book. 25: 272–291. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 August 2019.
- Würth, Stefanie (2005). "Historiography and Pseudo-History". In McTurk, Rory (ed.). A Companion to Old Norse-Icelandic Literature and Culture. Malden, Oxford, Victoria: Blackwell Publishing. pp. 155–172.
References
- ^ a b c d Wolf, Kirsten (1993). "Alexanders saga". In Pulsiano, Phillip; Wolf, Kirsten (eds.). Medieval Scandinavia: An Encyclopedia. New York: Garland. pp. 7–8. ISBN 0824047877.
- ^ Wolf, Kirsten (1988). "Gydinga Saga, Alexanders Saga, and Bishop Brande Jónsson". Scandinavian Studies. 60 (3): 371–400. ISSN 0036-5637. JSTOR 40918962.
- ^ Wolf, Kirsten (2011). "Review of Alexanders Saga: AM 519a 4o in the Arnamagnæan Collection, Copenhagen". The Journal of English and Germanic Philology. 110 (2): 276–278. doi:10.5406/jenglgermphil.110.2.0276. ISSN 0363-6941. JSTOR 10.5406/jenglgermphil.110.2.0276.
- ^ Wolf, Kirsten (2011). "Review of Alexanders Saga: AM 519a 4o in the Arnamagnæan Collection, Copenhagen". The Journal of English and Germanic Philology. 110 (2): 277. doi:10.5406/jenglgermphil.110.2.0276. ISSN 0363-6941. JSTOR 10.5406/jenglgermphil.110.2.0276.
- ^ a b "Alexanders saga | Manuscript | Handrit.is". handrit.is. Archived from the original on 27 October 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-27.
- ^ a b "Alexanders saga | Manuscript | Handrit.is". handrit.is. Archived from the original on 27 October 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-27.
- ^ a b "Stjórn mm. | Manuscript | Handrit.is". handrit.is. Archived from the original on 26 October 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-27.
- ^ a b "Stjórn | Manuscript | Handrit.is". handrit.is. Archived from the original on 26 October 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-27.
- ^ Marianne E. Kalinke and P. M. Mitchell, Bibliography of Old Norse–Icelandic Romances, Islandica, 44 (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1985), p. 21.
