Kristni saga

Icelandic saga

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June 30, 2026

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The Kristni saga is an Icelandic saga that details Iceland's conversion to Christianity around the end of the 10th century and the subsequent establishment of a national church. This historical shift occurred when King Olaf I Tryggvason of Norway mandated Christianity, sending missionaries to Iceland. In 999 or 1000 CE, the Icelandic assembly, the Althing, peacefully decided that all Icelanders should adopt Christianity.1

The term "saga" itself, in medieval Icelandic literature, broadly refers to any prose story or history. However, in a stricter sense, it denotes legendary and historical fictions that imaginatively reconstruct the past. The sagas of Icelanders, a significant genre, emerged in the late 12th century, fictionalizing early Icelandic history and focusing on characters who were typically farmers or of similar social standing, emphasizing verisimilitude in their depiction of life.2

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saga
Native historical accounts
…history of Iceland followed later: Kristni saga describes Iceland’s conversion to Christianity about the end of the 10th century and the emergence of a national church. Hungrvaka (“The Appetizer”) contains accounts of the lives of the first five bishops of Skálholt, from the mid-11th century to the third quarter of…
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…history of Iceland followed later: Kristni saga describes Iceland’s conversion to Christianity about the end of the 10th century and the emergence of a national church. Hungrvaka (“The Appetizer”) contains accounts of the lives of the first five bishops of Skálholt, from the mid-11th century to the third quarter of…
Read More