The earliest Icelandic prose belongs to the beginning of the twelfth century. when Ari the Wise (1067-1I-18) composed a history of his na tive island and its population in the Islendinga bOk (The Book of the leelanders), which is a revision of an earlier work by Ari. The value of this work is historical rather than literary, for its facts, while detailed and reliable, are not presented in an interesting style. It has been edited, with It German introduction and notes (Halle. 18911. The LatirIngi Ma-bok (Land taking Book), also by Ari. is based upon the earlier Islendinga-bok It describes the discovery and settlement of leehaml. and contains detailed ac counts of 3000 persons and 1700 places. It was continued by others. There is an English trans lation by T. Ellwood (London, IS9ti). These works entered largely into the composition of the annals of the early kings of Norway. com posed a century later by Snorri Sturluson (q.v.). under the title of the Ileiniskringla (Circuit of the World). the opening word of the work. This work deserves special notice as being the most im portant historical contribution of the 'Middle Ages.
It is characterized by n vivid style. and so strongly does it appeal to the Icelandic consciousness that it is still the most popular after the Bible in Iceland. A new translation into DanoNor wegian has been made (1909) by 1:. storm. and published with a subvention by the Norwegian Parliament. The best edition in the original is that edited by P. ( N93.19111). A tinuation of the lit irnskriagla tea by several 1111111I/ts. It hasIaiec been IrmslatVI) iron English, DIIVId Laing (London, Pitt and 18891, and by 11. Nlorris and E. trig nilsson (London, L115 1. other histories belong ing to a later period art Hat•gorb6k, contain ing a rather etaiiiised -election of sagas, the •irr•gingasaga. ‘shiell tells of the introduction Ili into the Faroe Islands (translat ed by York Powell, 18961. and the Orkney inglisaga, relating the history of the earls of the Orkneys. The parts of the rhitegarbtik relating to the discovery of .1ineriea have been edited by A. .11. Beeves iu The •'inding of Wine(and the flood (London, 1599). The compilation of the laws of the island attracted the attention of the leelanders at an early period, and in II1S it complete code. known as the Graruis (gray goose), which had been derived froth the aneient Norse law, was submitted to the .f/thing. or popular assembly. in 1123 the of the Church, sett led and reduced to writing. A collection of these enactments in the ancient. and subsequent codes has been made by Stepliensen and Sigurdsson (Copenhagen, 18531. under the title of Laga.safa handa Islandiau.
Of hardly inferior interest to the Edda and the lleittivkringbi arc the sagas (q.v.). This term in its broadest sense includes all Icelandic prose works of a narrative (•iameter. Thus.
strictly. speaking. .lei's works cited above are sagas, as is also the ff•intsk•imgo. But as gen t rally used the term saga is applied to shorter narratives, the interest of whirl] centres its one person. The scene Of Ills. saga may be laid either wholly or in part in Iceland. or occasionally al together outside of Iceland. Sagas are divided into several classes, the first of which is the inythie-herilie. The representatives of this class often give a later version III sonic well-known story width appears in other literatures. This is notably III' ea.ae with the most interesting representative. the l'i;istorgo sago, earlier traces of which appear in the Eiblas, and a later version in the alit d 1(1.s•.). It has been trans lated by 11'. 'Morris and E. \lagnfissou (London. 1870). I ilkina Saga. treating of Dietrich of Bern. is later. and shows German inlhienee. The Fridthiofs Saga is of special interest as being the earliest version of the story ionth• famous by the Swedish poet 151.w.1. number of legendary stories were translated into leelandie prose. the most important of which is the Saga rf and Josaphat (9).-.). The qerranl and most characteristic class of sagas are the family sagas, itevounts of individual men and their families. These biographies. as they W0111.1 now be ealled. deal with the earliest settlers of the island, and extend to about 1050. They are marked by great simplicity of style, with frequent highly dramatic extreme detail. espe• daily in connection with genealogies and chro nologies. and keen characterization. A striking feature of all the sagas is the introduction of verses supposed to be the work of the characters. This is particularly noticeable in the iiornialc.v Naga, which contains an average of over one tas•in to each page. The family sagas are subdivided into two classes, the larger sagas and the smaller sagas. To the first beltmg the .176/s, the ryas, the La.rela In, and the Egrbungja. Of these. the first has been admirably translated by t:. 11ebbe Dasent (2 vols.. Edinburgh. 18(11), and the last eta: translated in n condensed form by Sir Walter Scott. The Eqils Sago has been edited with a German introduction and notes by Finnur Jt'aisson 1Ihalhe, 1894), and in the saute series the Las(l(rla Saga has appeared, edited by Kr. Kaalund (18911). Among the smaller sagas, the most interesting are the Kormaks Naga and tho Naga of Gunalang Serpent Tony , both of which ire love tales. Apart from their literary quali ties, the Icelandic sagas are of great NIIILIV imoa throwing light upon many Old Norse enstoins religious, legal, and social—that would other wise be entirely unknown. This is especially true of the Egrbyggja. For the English reader, the introduction to Dasent's translation of the Evils Saga is of interest in connection with the general subject of sagas.