The Old Norse-Icelandic saga of St Ambrose of Milan (374–97),
Ambrósíuss saga biskups(lit. “Saga of Bishop Ambrose”), belongs to the genre of Saints’ Sagas (
heilagra manna sögur, lit. “sagas of holy men”), which comprises prose legends of male and female saints translated and adapted from foreign sources into Old Norse in medieval Iceland and Norway (see Wolf 2021). The saga is ultimately based on the most popular hagiographical account of the saint’s life,
Vita Ambrosii(BHL 377), which was written by the bishop’s last secretary, the deacon Paulinus, in 422. Aurelius Ambrosius had had a successful career as a prefect and governor, when on 7 December 374 he was elected to the archbishopric of Milan, then capital of the Western Roman Empire. His firm defence of…
2117 words
Citation: Salmoiraghi, Davide. "Ambrósíuss saga biskups". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 25 January 2023 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=41084, accessed 21 November 2024.]