Sigrgarðs saga frækna: A normalised text, translation, and introduction

ABSTRACT: This article provides the first complete translation into English of the fifteenth-century Icelandic romance Sigrgarðs saga frækna [the saga of Sigrgarðr the Valiant], along with a normalised edition of the earliest manuscripts based on that of Agnete Loth. The introduction shows that the saga artfully combines material from both the learned tradition of romances and exempla, and from traditional wonder-tales, showing an unusual warmth towards low-status genres and characters. It argues that the setting of the story articulates Icelandic identity by associating it with the otherworldly setting of the heroes ’ climactic quest, and studies the constructions of gender implicit in the saga. While clearly heteronormative and potentially patriarchal in its ideological commitments, the saga probes and arguably destabilises the patriarchal culture of late medieval Iceland. RÉSUMÉ: Cet article constitue la première traduction complète en anglais de Sigrgarðs saga frækna [la saga de Sigrgarðr le vaillant], un roman islandais du XVe siècle, avec une édition normalisée sur la base de l’édition par Agnete Loth de