The Heimskringla and the Prose Edda

THE HEIMSKRINGLA (Old Norse, 'the Circle of the World') is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas, recounting the lives of famous Scandinavian kings. First written about 1230 by Icelandic scholar and poet Snorri Sturluson (c. 1179-1241), the HEIMSKRINGLA contains the sagas of 16 Norse kings, beginning with the legendary Swedish dynasty of the Ynglings, followed Norwegian rulers from Harald Fairhair up to the death of Eystein Meyla in 1177, just before the birth of Snorri Sturluson. The PROSE EDDA is a collection of Norse mythology and epic poetry. It consists of the Gylfaginning ("the fooling of Gylfi"), a collection of Norse mythology, and the Skáldskaparmál, a book of poetic language used by Norse poets. THE • Ynglinga Saga• Halfdan the Black Saga• Harald Harfager's Saga• Hakon the Good's Saga• Saga of King Harald Grafeld and of Earl Hakon Son of Sigurd• King Olaf Trygvason's Saga• Saga of Olaf Haraldson (St. Olaf)• Saga of Magnus the Good• Saga of Harald Hardrade• Saga of Olaf Kyrre• Magnus Barefoot's Saga• Saga of Sigurd the Crusader and His Brothers Eystein and Olaf• Saga of Magnus the Blind and of Harald Gille• Saga of Sigurd, Inge, and Eystein, the Sons of Harald• Saga of Hakon Herdebreid (Hakon the Broad-Shouldered)• Magnus Erlingson's SagaTHE PROSE • Gylfaginning• Skáldskaparmál