Hjálmþés saga ok Ölvis

Hjálmþés saga ok Ölvis is a late legendary saga without an apparent historic basis. It is about two children of a jarl, and one of them is Hjálmþér whose evil stepmother commands him to work as a thrall until he has performed an impossible task.

In its present form, it is overdone and it stacks different motifs on top of each other.^{[according to whom?]} However, the various Hjálmþésrímur which appear in the saga reveal that it once had a different structure.^{[according to whom?]}

There are many folk tales similar to Hjálmþés saga ok Ölvis, including a number of medieval Irish stories,^[1] the Northumbrian tale The Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh (also known as The Laidly Worm of Bamburgh (or Bamborough).

Sources

Ohlmarks, Åke. (1982). Fornnordiskt lexikon. Tiden. ISBN 91-550-2511-0

References

^ Ralph O’Connor, ‘ “Stepmother Sagas”: An Irish Analogue for Hjálmþérs saga ok Ölvérs', Scandinavian Studies, 72 (2000), 1–48.

External links

[1] Ralph O’Connor, ‘ “Stepmother Sagas”: An Irish Analogue for Hjálmþérs saga ok Ölvérs', Scandinavian Studies, 72 (2000), 1–48.

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