Strengleikar (English: Stringed Instruments) is a collection of twenty-one Old Norse prose tales based on the Old French "Lais" of Marie de France. It is one of the literary works commissioned by King Haakon IV of Norway (r. 1217-1263) for the Norwegian court, and is counted among the Old Norse Chivalric sagas. The collection is anonymous. It has been attributed to Brother Robert, a cleric who adapted several French works into Norse under Haakon, the best known of which is "Tristrams saga ok Ísöndar" (a Norse version of the Tristan and Iseult legend), but there is also reason to think that the collection may be a gathering of the work of several different translators. Unlike many medieval translations, the "Strengleikar" are generally extremely close in sense to the Old French originals; the text which differs most is "Milun", which is abridged to half its original length.
Lais and their sources.
The "Strengleikar" comprise:
Marie's "lai" "Eliduc" is not found in Scandinavian manuscripts but the motif of a character learning about healing plants by observing weasels appears not only there but in the Icelandic "Völsunga saga", which seems to indicate that "Eliduc" was known in Iceland in some form.
"Bisclaretz ljóð", circulating in Iceland, was much adapted, becoming "Tiódels saga". This has not traditionally been counted among the "Strengleikar", however.
Manuscripts.
The principal manuscripts are:
Other manuscripts include:
Notes.
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