Friðþjófs saga hins frœkna

The Frithjofssage ( Sw: Frithiofs saga, norway. Fridthiofs Saga, also Fridtjovsoga ) is a Norse heroic saga of the type of Fornaldarsaga. Center design and name is the title character Frithjof, son of the big farmers Torstein Vikingson, and his romantic love for Ingibjorg, the beautiful daughter of Beles, the King of Sogn the Sognefjord in Norway.

The text corpus is delivered in two versions, the older was probably the end of the 13th century or early 14th century. The younger and longer version is probably a Versbearbeitung of the substance, the so-called " Fridtjofs Rímur ", from around 1400 to reason that the 15th century will be for this version of the word material therefore accepted. The age of the plot is locates in the 3rd or the 7th to 8th centuries.

In Central Europe the Frithjofssage especially in the version of the Swede Esaias Tegnér (1782-1845) was known.

Musical interpretations of the legend

The Frithjofssage inspired throughout history several composers, such as Max Bruch, the 1864 cantata Frithjof, Op.23 wrote. Heinrich Hofmann published in 1874 his Frithjof Symphony Op 22 for orchestra, which was counted for a time in Germany to pieces most listed. A Fritiofs saga titled opera composer Elfrida Andrée was born in 1899 to a libretto by Selma Lagerlof. A more recent musical interpretation of Frithjofssage is the music drama Fridtjovspelet, the Norwegian Vangsnes had its premiere in 2008. The music was composed by Magne Rutle and includes pieces for orchestra, chorus and vocal soloists. The music was recorded on CD.

Others

Kaiser Wilhelm II had built in 1913 in the Sognefjord Vangsnes a colossal statue of Fritjof, which he presented to the Norwegians. It is 22.5 meters high together with the base and was created by the German sculptor Max Unger. The statue stands in a small park with a view of the fjord. At the unveiling of the statue on July 31, 1913, Kaiser Wilhelm II and the Norwegian King Haakon VII were present. It was held a festival, which was attended by probably about 5000 people. In the same year a popular way of Vilhelm Dybwad was performed in the revue theater Chat Noir in Oslo, the comments on the dimensions of the statue critical.