''Nitida saga'' (medieval manuscript spelling) or ''Nítíða saga'' (normalised Old Norse and modern Icelandic spelling), also known as ''Nítíða saga frægu'' ('the saga of Nítíða the renowned') is a fictional late medieval Icelandic

romance saga The ''riddarasögur'' (literally 'sagas of knights', also known in English as 'chivalric sagas', 'romance-sagas', 'knights' sagas', 'sagas of chivalry') are Norse prose sagas of the romance genre. Starting in the thirteenth century with Norse tr ...

thought to have been composed in

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

in the fourteenth century. This saga is about a maiden-king named Nitida, who rules over

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and who is pursued by kings and princes from such faraway places as

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, and a place the saga calls the Land of the Saracens. It is thought to be a direct response to ''

Klári saga ''Klári saga'' is one of the chivalric sagas of medieval Norway. Ostensibly derived from a Latin poem which Jón Halldórsson, Bishop of Skálholt, found in France, it became a prototype of the maiden king medieval Icelandic bridal-quest romances ...

'': in ''Klári saga'', the main female protagonist, Serena, is brutally punished for her initial refusal to marry the hero Klárus, whereas the heroine of ''Nitida saga'' is portrayed much more favourably. Ethnicity, travel, and geography play important roles in the saga, and questions of gender and power, while magic, trickery, and deception are also prominent.

Summary

In the words of Sheryl McDonald Werronen,

The romance begins by describing the maiden-king Nítíða, ruler of France. She travels from Paris to Apulia to visit her foster mother Egidia, and then to the strange island of Visio, from which she obtains magical stones. On her return to France, Nítíða brings her foster-brother Hléskjöldur with her, to help defend the kingdom. Nítíða now refuses a string of suitors. First is Ingi of Constantinople, who returns twice after being refused: to abduct first Nítíða (she escapes through magic) and then, mistakenly, a disguised maidservant. The next suitors are sons of Soldán of Serkland. Foreseeing their arrival, Nítíða fortifies her castle and has her foster-brother Hléskjöldur defeat them and their armies before they ever see her. Livorius of India tries next. Aware of Nítíða’s reputation for outwitting previous suitors, he wastes no time in bringing her straight to India. She escapes by magic and takes Livorius’s sister Sýjalín with her back to France in retaliation. Now Soldán of Serkland is set on avenging his sons’ deaths. Foreseeing his plan, Nítíða sends Hléskjöldur to fight them at sea. Livorius arrives at the battle unexpectedly. He defeats Soldán, then heals the wounded Hléskjöldur in India before sending him back to France. Livorius then meets his aunt Alduria, who suggests he return to France in disguise and stay the winter in Nítíða’s household, to become better acquainted. Taking this advice, he gains Nítíða’s confidence, disguised as a prince named Eskilvarður. One day, Nítíða asks him to look into her magical stones, where they see throughout the world, which is depicted in three parts. Nítíða then reveals that she had seen through Livorius’s disguise as soon as he arrived. He proposes to Nítíða, she accepts, and their wedding is set for autumn. Ingi hears the news, and, still angry and humiliated, gathers an army against France. Livorius and Ingi fight, Livorius spares Ingi’s life, and has his sister Sýjalín heal Ingi. Sýjalín and Ingi fall in love, and Nítíða’s foster brother Hléskjöldur is matched with Ingi’s sister Listalín. The saga ends with a triple wedding, and Nítíða and Livorius’s son succeeds them as ruler of France.

Manuscripts and editions

* ‘Nitida saga’, ed. by

Agnete Loth Agnete Loth (18 November 1921 – 2 June 1990) was an editor and translator of Old Norse-Icelandic texts. She is notable for editing late medieval romance sagas, which she published in five volumes intended "to provide a long-needed provisional ba ...

, in Late Medieval Icelandic Romances, 5 vols (Copenhagen: Munksgaard, 1962–65), V (1965), pp. 1–37 (diplomatic edition and basic English summary). * Sheryl McDonald Werronen, ''Popular Romance in Iceland: The Women, Worldviews, and Manuscript Witnesses of Nítíða saga'' (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2016), pp. 221-34 (Icelandic text, normalised to modern Icelandic spelling), pp. 235-48 (English translation) (revised from Sheryl McDonald,
''Nítíða saga'': A Normalised Icelandic Text and Translation

''Leeds Studies in English'', 40
(2009), 119-45) (normalized Icelandic edition and full English translation). The saga survives in 65 known

manuscripts A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has c ...

, though it is possible that others remain to be identified, particularly in North America.Sheryl McDonald Werronen, ''Popular Romance in Iceland: The Women, Worldviews, and Manuscript Witnesses of Nítíða saga'' (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2016), pp. 25, 28; cf. Marianne E. Kalinke, and P. M. Mitchell, Bibliography of Old Norse-Icelandic Romances, Islandica, 44 (London: Cornell University Press, 1985), pp. 85–86.

Summary

Manuscripts and editions

References

Further reading