Iceland’s literary tradition is famous for its sagas and ancient Eddaic poetry. Less known abroad are the sagnakvæði, or narrative poems, that form a bridge between medieval epic and the realm of fairy-tale. Preserved not under a single author’s name, but as anonymous voices from the past, these works are rooted in oral tradition and reflect centuries of storytelling.
A medieval form with fairy-tale spirit
Sagnakvæði, which means “narrative poems,” were composed in a style called fornyrðislag. This metre is a hallmark of Old Norse poetry, found in the legendary Eddaic poems of the Middle Ages. While their metre is archaic, their subject matter recalls later medieval romances and familiar European fairy-tales. Many sagnakvæði are emotive and beautiful, striking a different tone from the rhymed epics known as rímur that appeared later.
Though the tales themselves likely originate in the Middle Ages, it was not until the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries that they were written down. Initial collectors included Gissur Sveinsson (1604–1683) and Árni Magnússon (1663–1730), both antiquarians dedicated to Iceland’s literary past. Yet the people who preserved these stories in memory, providing material for the collectors, were often women. At the time of collection, sagnakvæði were very much living as women’s literature, not only focusing on female characters but passed from mother to daughter in oral performance.
Stories shaped by women and the supernatural
Across the body of sagnakvæði, familiar fairy-tale motifs appear. A princess transformed into a dog, a mysterious stepmother, enchanted animals, and cunning witches all play their part. The poem “Hyndluljóð hin nýju” tells of Signý Logadóttir, a princess cursed by her stepmother and turned into a hyndla (female dog). In time, Signý herself breaks the curse and wins happiness after a prince falls for her during her brief return to human form.
In “Gullkársljóð,” Æsa, another princess, leaves her parental home to join Gúllkár, a suitor from the elfin realm of Álfheimar. Other examples, such as “Vambarljóð,” showcase outlandish transformations: a king’s daughter is turned into a stomach, only to be restored by marrying a reluctant king. Needlework, dreams, and supernatural intervention recur as key themes, often with an undercurrent of resilience and wit.
Some poems show remarkable preservation of ancient poetic features. “Þóruljóð”, about a giant or unusually tall woman who visits a farm at Yuletide, appears to retain particularly archaic language and structure, suggesting it is among the oldest or best-preserved of the sagnakvæði.
While the authors remain unknown, these poems give a voice to women’s experience and imagination, blending the supernatural with everyday struggles and joys. Through sagnakvæði, the echoes of medieval Iceland are heard not in grand halls, but by the hearth, passed quietly from one generation to the next.
Sources
- Wikipedia
- Wikipedia (Icelandic) in Icelandic
