WRITER

Snorri Sturluson

1179 - 1241

Photo of Snorri Sturluson

Icon of person Snorri Sturluson

Snorri Sturluson (Old Norse: [ˈsnorːe ˈsturloˌson]; Icelandic: [ˈsnɔrːɪ ˈstʏ(r)tlʏˌsɔːn]; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of the Prose Edda, which is a major source for what is today known about Norse mythology and alliterative verse, and Heimskringla, a history of the Norse kings that begins with legendary material in Ynglinga saga and moves through to early medieval Scandinavian history. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Snorri Sturluson has received more than 1,368,014 page views. His biography is available in 65 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 63 in 2019). Snorri Sturluson is the 229th most popular writer (down from 191st in 2019), the 2nd most popular biography from Iceland and the most popular Icelander Writer.

Snorri Sturluson is most famous for being the author of the Prose Edda and the Heimskringla.

Memorability Metrics

  • 1.4M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 71.86

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 65

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 8.61

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.75

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

King Harald's saga
Biography & Autobiography
This compelling Icelandic history describes the life of King Harald Hardradi, from his battles across Europe and Russia to his final assault on England in 1066, less than three weeks before the invasion of William the Conqueror. It was a battle that led to his death and marked the end of an era in which Europe had been dominated by the threat of Scandinavian forces. Despite England’s triumph, it also played a crucial part in fatally weakening the English army immediately prior to the Norman Conquest, changing the course of history. Taken from the Heimskringla – Snorri Sturluson’s complete account of Norway from prehistoric times to 1177 – this is a brilliantly human depiction of the turbulent life and savage death of the last great Norse warrior-king.
19664 / 5
Heimskringla Or, the Chronicle of the Kings of Norway
2002
Heimskringla; Lives/Saga of the Norse Kings
Social Science
Beginning with the dim prehistory of the mythical gods and their descendants, Snorri Sturluson tells us how scions of those descendants, the Swedish kings, colonised and subdued Norway, shire by shire, until King Harald Fairhair united the whole realm. The long line of his successors ruled Norway with varying fortunes, achieving, at one time, a far-flung dominion encompassing a major part of the British Isles and Denmark, besides the homeland. Great missionary kings, especially Olaf Haraldsson (who was later canonised and became the patron saint of Norway), introduced Christianity, and with it southern and western influences. Other rulers weakened the kingdom by their fratricidal struggles or wars with pretenders. Through the whole history, one senses the gradual rise of a national awareness. Snorri Sturluson is, without compare, the greatest historian of the Middle Ages. His work reflects the attitudes of his own troubled times and country, the Iceland of the thirteenth century, torn by bloody feuds.
16334 / 5
Snorre Sturlasøn
1899
Edda
Social Science
The Prose Edda, ranking with the world's great mythologies, contains the most extensive account of the Norse universe, from its creation to its destruction. This unabridged edition includes introduction, notes and an extensive list of alternative names.
16654 / 5
Egils saga
1809

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Snorri Sturluson ranks 229 out of 7,302. Before him are Bram Stoker, Torquato Tasso, Henryk Sienkiewicz, Prosper Mérimée, Dario Fo, and Herman Melville. After him are Mikhail Bulgakov, Shams Tabrizi, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Chinghiz Aitmatov, Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, and Jaroslav Hašek.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1179, Snorri Sturluson ranks 1. After him are Yaqut al-Hamawi, Constance of Aragon, and Theobald III, Count of Champagne. Among people deceased in 1241, Snorri Sturluson ranks 3. Before him are Pope Gregory IX, and Ögedei Khan. After him are Pope Celestine IV, Valdemar II of Denmark, Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria, Henry II the Pious, Isabella of England, Coloman of Galicia, Köten, Fujiwara no Teika, and Amaury de Montfort.

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Others Deceased in 1241

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In Iceland

Among people born in Iceland, Snorri Sturluson ranks 2 out of 190. Before him are Leif Erikson (970). After him are Halldór Laxness (1902), Thorfinn Karlsefni (1000), Vigdís Finnbogadóttir (1930), Björk (1965), Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson (1943), Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir (1942), Bjarni Herjólfsson (966), Egill Skallagrímsson (904), Katrín Jakobsdóttir (1976), and Ásgeir Ásgeirsson (1894).

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Among WRITERS In Iceland

Among writers born in Iceland, Snorri Sturluson ranks 1. After him are Halldór Laxness (1902), Egill Skallagrímsson (904), Arnaldur Indriðason (1961), Gunnar Gunnarsson (1889), Magnús Scheving (1964), Jón Arason (1484), Sæmundr fróði (1056), Hallgrímur Pétursson (1614), Guðbergur Bergsson (1932), Jónas Hallgrímsson (1807), and Matthías Jochumsson (1835).

Icelander born Writers

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