Hjálmþés saga ok Ölvis
Hjálmþés saga ok Ölvis is a late legendary saga without an apparent historic basis. It is about two children of a jarl, and one of them is Hjálmþér whose evil stepmother commands him to work as a thrall until he has performed an impossible task.
In its present form, it stacks different motifs on top of each other.[according to whom?] However, according to Icelandic philologist Finnur Jónsson the various Hjálmþésrímur which appear in the saga reveal that it once had a different structure.[1]
There are many folk tales similar to Hjálmþés saga ok Ölvis, including a number of medieval Irish stories,[2] the Northumbrian tale The Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh (also known as The Laidly Worm of Bamburgh (or Bamborough).
Sources
- Ohlmarks, Åke. (1982). Fornnordiskt lexikon. Tiden. ISBN 91-550-2511-0
References
- ^ Finnur Jónsson, Fornaldarsögur og nogle dermed beslægtede sagaværker 1923
- ^ Ralph O’Connor, ‘ “Stepmother Sagas”: An Irish Analogue for Hjálmþérs saga ok Ölvérs', Scandinavian Studies, 72 (2000), 1–48.
External links