Among the romance sagas of medieval Iceland, Sigurðar saga fóts stands out for its narrative of rivalry, trickery and shifting loyalties between royal suitors. Likely composed between the mid-1300s and the mid-1400s, the saga sheds light on the kinds of stories that captured Icelandic imaginations beyond the better-known family sagas.
A tale of kings, trickery and unexpected generosity
The story centres on three royal households: King Knútr of Sjóland, his daughter Signý, King Ásmundr of Húnaland, and Sigurðr (whose name gives the saga its title), a young king of Valland famed for his swiftness. According to the plot, while King Knútr is away, Ásmundr betroths himself to Signý. However, Sigurðr also secures a promise from Knútr to marry her. At the celebratory feast, Ásmundr manages to make off with Signý through a clever ruse. A duel between the rival kings is inevitable, and although Sigurðr loses, Ásmundr ultimately grants him Signý’s hand.
Rather than continuing as enemies, the two kings soon find their interests joined. Ásmundr later courts Elena, the daughter of King Hrólfr of Irland. When Ásmundr is defeated in battle, it is Sigurðr who comes to his rescue, leading eventually to Ásmundr’s successful wooing of Elena. The story’s focus on shifting alliances and acts of generosity between men has drawn the attention of modern scholars, who notice that such relationships are sometimes portrayed as even more significant than the romantic unions at the heart of the plot.
Legacy in manuscripts, poetry and song
Sigurðar saga fóts survived in numerous handwritten manuscripts from at least the seventeenth century into the early twentieth, with copies preserved in collections in both Iceland and abroad. The saga’s popularity led to its adaptation into rímur (a type of narrative Icelandic epic poetry) on several occasions, including the earliest set, Sigurðar rímur fóts og Ásmundar Húnakonungs, from the early fifteenth century. Later generations continued to compose rímur on the saga well into the nineteenth century.
Its story also travelled beyond Iceland. The first half of Sigurðar saga fóts inspired a Faroese ballad, Ásmundur Aðalsson, which became one of the earliest recorded ballads of the Faroe Islands. Even into the twenty-first century, the saga has been mined for inspiration, as with the 2010 novel bearing its name. Editions, both print and digitally available translations, make the saga accessible to modern readers interested in the medieval taste for romance, rivalry and reconciliation.
