The JómsvÃÂkinga saga ("Saga of the Jomsvikings") is a medieval Icelandic saga composed by an anonymous author. The saga was composed in Iceland during the 13th century. It exists in several manuscripts which vary from each other. There are many different versions and translations of the saga.
At the time of writing, Wolin, also known as Willon, off the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, was not more than a typical market town of the 13th century. However, the JómsvÃÂkinga saga tells the story of its founding, centuries earlier, as the famed Jómsborg by the legendary Danish chieftain Pálna-Tóki. Jómsborg's name is composed of two elements: the Old Norse term borg, meaning a citadel, and the unidentified term, Jóm. The JómsvÃÂkinga saga is centered around the tensions between Haraldr Gormsson of Denmark, Hákon Sigurðarson of Norway, and the JómsvÃÂkings. The JómsvÃÂkings challenged royal authority in the midst of a power struggle between Denmark and Norway. In order to better understand the JómsvÃÂkinga saga, it is important to understand the relationship between Denmark and Norway around this time. In addition to founding Jómsborg, Pálna-Tóki founded the brotherhood of the JómsvÃÂkings. The saga describes the brotherhood and the laws of the JómsvÃÂkings. It also mentions their defeat during the semi-legendary naval Battle of Hjërungavágr in 986. This battle occurred between the Jarls of Lade and the Danish invasion fleet of King Harald Bluetooth of Denmark. JómsvÃÂking chieftain Sigvaldi Strut-Haraldsson, led the JómsvÃÂkings in an effort to depose Jarl Hákon Sigurðarson, vassal ruler of Norway. The JómsvÃÂkings lived monastically and primarily in the Baltic region. The only things that are proven to have existed that were mentioned in the JómsvÃÂkinga saga are many of the main characters (excluding Pálna-Tóki), the Battle of Hjërungavágr, and the existence of Jómsborg. Aside from those things, the rest is an unsolved mystery.
There are five versions of the JómsvÃÂkinga saga that have been recovered over the years. The first, MS AM.291, is an incomplete manuscript written by an Icelander in the late thirteenth century. The second, MS AM. 510 4to, was written in the fifteenth century and contains much more information than the other versions. The third, Codex Holmanius 7, written in the fourteenth century, is shorter than the other versions and gives a brief summary of the saga. The fourth, Flateyjarbók, is a combination of the JómsvÃÂking saga and the Greater saga of ÃÂláfr Tryggvason. Lastly, the fifth version, was a Latin translation of ArngrÃÂmr Jónsson written in the year 1592.
Historians have found it difficult to classify the JómsvÃÂkinga saga among the Old Norse sagas. It is sometimes counted among the Kings' sagas based principally upon the association with Danish kings. Both the Kings' sagas and the JómsvÃÂkinga saga can be looked at through a political lens.
JómsvÃÂkinga saga served as inspiration for Henry Treece's novel Horned Helmet (1963).