Jarlmanns saga ok Hermanns (also known as Hermanns saga ok Jarlmanns) is a medieval Icelandic romance saga. The saga contains the first written evidence for the Icelandic circle dance form known as hringbrot,Aðalheiður Guðmundsdóttir, 'Om hringbrot og våbendanse i islandsk tradition', Kulturstudier, 1 (2010), 132–53. which is also the first Icelandic attestation of elves dancing.Aðalheiður Guðmundsdóttir, 'How Icelandic Legends Reflect the Prohibition on Dancing', ARV, 61 (2006), 25–52.

Synopsis

Kalinke and Mitchell summarise the saga thus:

The foster-brothers Hermann (son of the king of Frakkland) and Jarlmann (son of an earl) are of an age and have been educated together. Hermann sends Jarlmann to Miklagarðr to sue for the hand of Ríkilát. She has previously rejected many suitors, but Jarlmann wins her for Hermann by means of a magic ring. She cannot return with Jarlmann, however, until the armed forces of another suitor have been repelled. When the wedding finally takes place, Ríkilát is mysteriously abducted and imprisoned by the old king Rudent of Serkland who plans to marry her. Jarlmann feigns love for Þorbjörg, a giantess who guards Ríkilát, and a double wedding ceremony (Rudent-Ríkilát, Jarlmann-Þorbjörg) ensues. Hermann kills the old king and regains his abducted bride, while Jarlmann kills the giantess in the bridal bed. The foster-brothers and Ríkilát return to Frakkland for a second double wedding ceremony. Jarlmann marries the king's sister Herborg and receives half of the kingdom.Marianne E. Kalinke and P. M. Mitchell, Bibliography of Old Norse–Icelandic Romances, Islandica, 44 (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1985), pp. 52-53.

The saga survives in two main versions from the Middle Ages, one more learned in tone (traditionally referred to as the older version) and one more orientated to telling a lively narrative (traditionally referred to as the younger version). Recent scholarship, however, reads the two versions as both deriving from and making changes to an earlier original version.

Influences

Jarlmanns saga ok Hermanns is viewed as a specific and intentional response to Konráðs saga, to which its shorter version contains an explicit reference: it deals, of course, with the hero's relationship with a faithful, though unjustly suspected, companion'.Bibire, Paul, 'From Riddarasaga to Lygisaga: The Norse Response to Romance', in Les Sagas de Chevaliers (Riddarasögur): Actes de la Ve Conférence Internationale sur les Sagas Présentés par Régis Boyer (Toulon. Juillet 1982), ed. by Régis Boyer, Serie Civilisations, 10 (Toulon: Presses de l’Université Paris-Sorbonne, 1985), pp. 55-74 (p. 68). 'The author of Jarlmanns saga ok Hermanns was acquainted not only with indigenous Icelandic romances, such as Konráðs saga, but also with the Old Norse translation Tristrams saga ok Isondar, from which the proxy wooing, the bride as leech, and the problem of the proxy wooer as lover presumably derive. The hall-of-statues episode in Tristrams saga seems to have been the inspiration for the scene in which Jarlmann draws a picture of Hermann for Ríkilát to obtain her consent to the marriage'.Marianne E. Kalinke, 'Jarlmanns saga ok Hermanns', in Medieval Scandinavia: An Encyclopedia, ed. by Phillip Pulsiano (New York: Garland, 1993), p. 339.

Manuscripts

The saga is attested in more manuscripts than almost any other Icelandic saga: 76, according to a count made in 2020; the only competitor is Mágus saga jarls.Matthew Driscoll, `Late Prose Fiction (Lygisögur)', in A Companion to Old Norse-Icelandic Literature and Culture, ed. by Rory McTurk (Oxford: Blackwell, 2005), pp. 190--204 (p. 194). There are two main early versions: a generally longer, more highbrow and probably earlier version, first attested in Eggertsbók (AM 556a-b 4to, from the later fifteenth century), and a generally shorter, more dynamic, probably younger version.Cf. Marianne E. Kalinke and P. M. Mitchell, Bibliography of Old Norse–Icelandic Romances, Islandica, 44 (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1985), p. 53. Recent research suggests, however, that these two versions are probably independent adaptations of a lost common original, rather than the shorter version being adapted from the longer.Marianne E. Kalinke, 2017: Stories Set Forth with Fair Words: The Evolution of Medieval Romance in Iceland. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. pp. 120-21, Most manuscripts are held in Iceland and elsewhere in Europe, though a few, such as Fiske Icelandic Collection, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York: Ic F75 A125, 8° are in North America.

The following list of manuscripts is based on the survey by Kalinke and Mitchell as corrected and expanded by Philip Lavender, and on Handrit.is and the Stories for All Time survey of fornaldarsaga manuscripts. Links to online catalogue entries are provided where available.

+LocationClassmarkDateCatalogue Entry URLNotesCopenhagen, Arnamagnæan InstituteAM 167, fol.ca. 1660https://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/is/AM02-0167Copenhagen, Arnamagnæan InstituteAM 510, 4tolate 15th centuryhttps://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/is/AM04-0510Copenhagen, Arnamagnæan InstituteAM 529, 4to16th centuryhttps://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/is/AM04-0529defectiveCopenhagen, Arnamagnæan InstituteAM 556b, 4to15th centuryhttps://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/is/AM04-0556bCopenhagen, Arnamagnæan InstituteAM 576b, 4toca. 1700https://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/is/AM04-0576brésuméCopenhagen, Arnamagnæan InstituteRask 3518th centuryhttps://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/da/Rask035Copenhagen, Arnamagnæan InstituteRask 7718th centuryhttps://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/Rask077Copenhagen, Arnamagnæan InstituteRask 95early 19th centuryhttps://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/da/Rask095Copenhagen, Royal LibraryNKS 1144, fol.18th centuryrésuméCopenhagen, Royal LibraryNKS 1156, follate 18th centuryCopenhagen, Royal LibraryNKS 1685b, I, 4to19th centuryrésuméCopenhagen, Royal LibraryNKS 3051, 4toca. 1800Copenhagen, Royal LibraryNKS 445, 8vo1869Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandLbs 325, fol.ca. 1660-80https://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/is/Lbs02-0325Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandLbs 151, 4toca. 1780https://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/is/Lbs04-0151Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandLbs 354, 4to18th centuryhttps://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/is/Lbs04-0354Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandLbs 360, 4to18th-19th centuryhttps://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/is/Lbs04-0360Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandLbs 840, 4to1737https://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/is/Lbs04-0840Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandLbs 988, 4to1851-75https://handrit.is/manuscript/view/is/Lbs04-0988Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandLbs 1341, 4toca. 1820Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandLbs 1509, 4to1880-1905https://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/is/Lbs04-1509Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandLbs 1629, 4to18th centuryhttps://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/is/Lbs04-1629Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandLbs 1635, 4toca. 1860https://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/is/Lbs04-1635Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandLbs 1637, 4toca. 1780Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandLbs 1785, 4to1833Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandLbs 1942, 4to1872Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandLbs 2114, 4to18th-19th centuryReykjavík, National Library of IcelandLbs 2115, 4to18th-19th centuryReykjavík, National Library of IcelandLbs 3022, 4to1876-77Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandLbs 3122, 4to19th centuryReykjavík, National Library of IcelandLbs 3128, 4to1885https://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/is/Lbs04-3128resuméReykjavík, National Library of IcelandLbs 4484, 4toReykjavík, National Library of IcelandLbs 4492, 4to1892Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandLbs 4493, 4to1902-3https://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/is/Lbs04-4493Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandLbs 1446, 8vo1864-71https://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/is/Lbs08-1446Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandLbs 1687, 8voca. 1850https://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/is/Lbs08-1687Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandLbs 1993, 8voca. 1826-35https://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/is/Lbs08-1993Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandLbs 2233, 8vo18th-19th centurydefectiveReykjavík, National Library of IcelandLbs 2497, 8voca. 1902Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandLbs 2975, 8vo19th centuryReykjavík, National Library of IcelandLbs 3933, 8vo1851Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandLbs 3940, 8vo1887Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandLbs 4009, 8vo1896Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandLbs 4069, 8vo1879Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandLbs 4729 8vo1903https://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/is/Lbs08-4729Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandLbs 5175 4toListed by Lavender as Lbs 5157 4to.1899-1903https://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/is/Lbs04-5175Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandLbs 5186 4to1899-1903https://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/is/Lbs04-5186Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandLbs 5769 4to1912https://handrit.is/manuscript/view/is/Lbs04-5769formerly Böðvar Kvaran, Tjaldanes MS III 4.bReykjavík, National Library of IcelandJS 623, 4to17th-19th centuryhttps://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/is/JS04-0623Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandJS 634, 4to17th-19th centuryhttps://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/is/JS04-0634Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandJS 635, 4to17th-19th centuryhttps://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/is/JS04-0635Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandÍB 206, 4toca. 1830https://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/is/IB04-0206resumé of Guðmundur Bergþórsson's rímur versionReykjavík, National Library of IcelandÍB 271, 4toca. 1800https://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/is/IB04-0271Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandÍB 423, 4toca. 1750https://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/is/IB04-0423Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandÍB 426, 4to1877https://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/is/IB04-0426Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandÍB 185, 8voca. 1770Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandÍB 224, 8voca. 1750https://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/is/IB08-0224Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandÍB 260, 8voca. 1824-27https://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/is/IB08-0260Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandÍBR 59, 4to1798Reykjavík, National Library of IcelandÍBR 43, 8to1851Reykjavík, National Museum of IcelandÁsbúðarsafn: "Fornar riddera og æfintýra sögur skrifaðar af Þorsteini M. Jónssyni"1902Jón Ófeigsson, Hafarnes, HornafjörðurMS II1901Bragi Húnfjörður, StykkishólmurMS 1, 8voBergen, University of BergenUBB MS. 1491ca. 1700https://fasnl.net/manuscripts/7; https://marcus.uib.no/instance/manuscript/ubb-ms-1491.htmlOslo, University of Oslo LibraryUB 1158, 8volate 19th - early 20th centuryhttps://sprogsamlinger.ku.dk/q.php?p=ds/hjem/billed/82731Lund, University LibraryLUB 14, 4tomid-18th centuryStockholm, National ArchivesI Papp. 1118th centuryhttps://fasnl.net/manuscripts/672Stockholm, Royal LibraryPapp. fol nr 56ca. 1685Stockholm, Royal LibraryPapp. 8vo nr 41668Stockholm, Royal LibraryEngeström B: III. 1, 21ca. 1820Ithaca, New York, Cornell University, Fiske Icelandic CollectionIc F75 A125, 8vo18th centuryhttps://newcatalog.library.cornell.edu/catalog/3039305Baltimore, Md, Johns Hopkins University, Nikulas Ottenson CollectionMS. Nr. 91847-48Winnipeg, Elizabeth Dafoe LibraryISDA JB6 11825-1851https://fasnl.net/manuscripts/214Reykjavík, Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic StudiesSÁM 151825https://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/is/SAM-0015Reykjavík, Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic StudiesSÁM 61800-1900https://handrit.is/en/manuscript/view/is/SAM-0006Reykjavík, Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic StudiesSÁM 741888-89https://handrit.is/manuscript/view/is/SAM-0074Reykjavík, Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic StudiesAM 591 e 4to1675-1700https://handrit.is/manuscript/view/is/AM04-0591edefectiveReykjavík, Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic StudiesHÍ 15 1825

Editions and translations