Old Icelandic––A Brief Chronology

Ca. 0 AD – some Germanic tribes leave Scandinavia

Viking era – ca. late 8^th century to 1066

Ca. 874-930 – Iceland settled by mostly Norwegian Vikings (pagans) – bring along Eddic and Skaldic poetry

930 – Althing (world's first parliament) founded

Ca. 930-1030 – saga action period

1000 – Althing decided that Iceland should be Christian

Ca. 1125 – Latin alphabet used for first time to write the vernacular language, Old Icelandic

Ca. 1180-1280 – saga-writing period

1179-1241 – Snorri Sturluson's dates – Snorri wrote the Prose Edda, Heimskringla (history of Norwegian kings) and much more

Types of Old Icelandic Literature:

Eddic poetry                                      Skaldic poetry

sacred poetry                                   secular poetry

clerical literature                              historiographers

kings' sagas                                    family sagas (sagas of Icelanders)

fornaldar sögur (sagas of ancient times, i.e. pre-viking) –  Volsungasaga is one example

Sturlunga saga                                lygi sögur (lying sagas)

riddara sögur (chivalric sagas)