is among the best-known medieval sagas of Icelanders. It is extant in three versions. The earliest manuscript fragment of the saga, AM 445 c I 4to, dates from around 1400 and the earliest full text, in AM 556a 4to, from the later fifteenth century. The latter is often referred to as “the shorter version”, and this is the text from which most other manuscripts seem to be descended. The longer version exists in AM 149 fol. and NKS 1181 fol, post-medieval manuscripts that hail back to a lost manuscript known as the Membrana regia deperdita.
The longer and post-medieval version is not attested to in many manuscripts. It differs from the shorter in having a much longer version of the opening sequence of the saga’s narrative, set in Norway and often referred to as
1021 words
Citation: Jakobsson, Ármann. "Gísla saga". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 12 January 2024 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=40779, accessed 21 November 2024.]
