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Sagas are stories mostly about ancient Nordic and Germanic history, about early Viking voyages, the battles that took place during the voyages, about migration to Iceland and of feuds between Icelandic families. They were written in the Old Norse language, mainly in Iceland.〔(''Old Norse saga, class of heroic prose narratives'' (Merriam-Webster) )〕 The texts are tales in prose which share some similarities with the epic, often with stanzas or whole poems in alliterative verse embedded in the text, of heroic deeds of days long gone, "tales of worthy men," who were often Vikings, sometimes pagan, sometimes Christian. The tales are usually realistic, except legendary sagas, sagas of saints, sagas of bishops and translated or recomposed romances. They are sometimes romanticised and fantastic, but always dealing with human beings one can understand.〔( ''De islandske sagaer'' by Peter Hallberg, Stockholm: Svenska bokförlaget, Bonniers) )〕 ==Background== The term ''saga'' originates from the Norse ''saga'' (pl. ''sögur''), and refers to (1) "what is said, statement" or (2) "story, tale, history". It is cognate with the English word ''saw'' (as in ''old saw''), and the German ''Sage''. Icelandic sagas are based on oral traditions and much research has focused on what is real and what is fiction within each tale. The accuracy of the sagas is often hotly disputed. Most of the manuscripts in which the sagas are preserved were taken to Denmark and Sweden in the 17th century, but later returned to Iceland. Classic sagas were composed in the 13th century. Scholars once believed that these sagas were transmitted orally from generation to generation until scribes wrote them down in the 13th century. However, most scholars now believe the sagas were conscious artistic creations, based on both oral and written tradition. A study focusing on the description of the items of clothing mentioned in the sagas concludes that the authors attempted to create a historic "feel" to the story, by dressing the characters in what was at the time thought to be "old fashioned clothing". However, these clothing are not contemporary with the events of the saga as they are a closer match to the clothing worn in the 12th century.〔(''Clothing In Norse Literature'' (HistoriskeDragter.dk) )〕 There are plenty of tales of kings (e.g. ''Heimskringla''), everyday people (e.g. ''Bandamanna saga'') and larger than life characters (e. g. ''Egils saga''). The sagas describe a part of the history of some of the Nordic countries (e.g. the last chapter of ''Hervarar saga''). The British Isles, northern France and North America are also mentioned. It was only recently (start of 20th century) that the tales of the voyages to North America (modern day Canada) were authenticated.〔''Strange Footprints on the Land'' (Author: Irwin, Constance publisher: Harper & Row, 1980) ISBN 0-06-022772-9〕 Most sagas of Icelanders take place in the period 930–1030, which is called ''söguöld'' (Age of the Sagas) in Icelandic history. The sagas of kings, bishops, contemporary sagas have their own time frame. Most were written down between 1190 to 1320, sometimes existing as oral traditions long before, others are pure fiction, and for some we do know the sources: the author of King Sverrir's saga had met the king and used him as a source.〔( ''Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages'' (The Skaldic Project) )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Saga」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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