Image 1: With Professor Karen Skovgaard-Petersen at the Royal Library, Copenhagen, holding Torfæus' 1669 translation of Flateyjarbók. Image 2: Magnum Opus: Flatøybok in 6 volumes and Tormod Torfæus’ History of Norway in 7 volumes. Below: Image 3: At the church in Vididalstunga, North Iceland, on the site where Flateyjarbók creator Jón Hákonarsson had his farm. Image 4: From the launch of Flatøybok Volume 1, Literature House, Oslo, 2014.
In my childhood days, stories of the Viking Age captivated me, especially the journey to Vinland in North America around the year 1000. One day in the late 1950s, the municipality of Bergen placed an old aluminum lifeboat in Nygårdsparken near Møhlenpris. It became a playground for us children. I was immediately inspired: now we could row to Vinland—a place “everyone” had heard about. I rallied the kids from the street to embark on a voyage to this mythical saga land. Everyone joined enthusiastically, both boys and girls.
I took my place at the bow of the boat and shouted back to the "crew," who only had imaginary oars. I called out repeatedly: Row! Row! But Vinland did not appear on the horizon, and some began to complain that the journey was taking too long. I tried to reassure them, saying there was still a long way to go: Row, row! But the journey dragged on, and our Vinland expedition dissolved—that time.
I never lost my interest in the sagas. It grew stronger when, in 1966, Bergen Cathedral School appointed me Order Chancellor to present Helge Ingstad with the honorary award “The Golden Raven.” This took place in the city’s packed grand hall at Engen Cinema, attended by many of the city's notables. A lasting relationship between us began at that event. Ingstad was at the time Norway's great hero for proving that the Vikings discovered America 500 years before Columbus.
Titlestad (standing) with Helge Ingstad in 1966.
Although many other themes crossed my path, I revived my interest in the sagas in 1992 when Sola Municipality invited me to prepare materials for the 1000th anniversary of the marriage between King Olav Tryggvason’s sister, Astrid, and Erling Skjalgsson of Sola. This event was believed to have taken place around 996. In this connection, the Erling Skjalgsson Society was established (later Saga Bok AS).
From there, things progressed rapidly: we discovered that a surprising amount of Old Norse saga material was not available in modern Norwegian. This material was effectively inaccessible to contemporary Norwegians. It remained a "privilege" for a small group of academic interpreters like myself. Believing that every people should know their nation's history and identity—a democratic imperative—I saw it as my mission to contribute to these translations. Along the way, I had a good feeling: these were stories that interested both young and old, not just a handful of graying academics.
Tormod Torfæus.
In 2003, I had an extraordinary opportunity for an in-depth study of Old Norse literature. I became the editor and project leader for the translation of the 4000-page Latin work Historia Rerum Norvegicarum (History of Norway) from 1711. Written over 30 years by the Icelander Tormod Torfæus, this monumental work required extensive teamwork across Norway and abroad to make it accessible to a modern Norwegian audience.
The work with Torfæus spurred a series of saga translations undertaken by the newly established Saga Bok AS in 2007. The publishing house gradually became a recognized brand in Norway. We were somewhat shocked by the authorities' neglect of our own history, but we reached out to individuals in the private sector—people with whom Saga Bok AS had fortunately made positive connections, often at well-attended public saga events. Saga Bok AS published around ten previously untranslated sagas, with Fagerskinna being one success, selling over 5,000 copies.
From that point on, I was convinced that promoting saga knowledge was a crucial mission in Norway. The 10-year endeavor with Torfæus' "obscured" monumental work was an extraordinary experience. Recognition of the Norwegian edition, highlighted by the participation of HM King Harald V at the fully packed launch event for the seven-volume work at the National Library in Oslo in the fall of 2014, was inspiring. This positive reception inspired the founding of the internationally oriented Saga Heritage Foundation (SHF) at the end of 2014, with the hope of bringing saga literature to an international audience.
His Majesty King Harald V arrives at the Torfæus book launch at the National Library in 2014.
Initially, we agreed that Torfæus' great interest in Flateyjarbók was of such significance that this unique work, after over 600 years of incomprehensible "silence," had to be made available in Norwegian. This led the SHF to approach Saga Bok AS for a collaboration. The result was Saga Bok AS’ largest production: Flateyjarbók from 1387, published in six volumes and distributed as 30,000 individual copies. The work was primarily funded by private sponsors. We priced the work so that it would be affordable for the general public, and it received glowing reviews from the media and readers across the country. The fundamental idea remains: a free democratic nation has an obligation to provide its citizens with access to their own history—a tradition that each generation must renew, especially elected politicians.
Gradually, we delved into the political and philosophical ideas expressed in the sagas. Central to this was the understanding of the unique, non-feudal, decentralized governance through assemblies (thing) that balanced the power of kings. This democratic tradition in Northern Europe was distinct in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, and Norse settlements—around the Irish Sea, in England, Scotland, Greenland, and North America (Vinland). Beyond their modernist form, the sagas contain content that suggests the foundational structures for genuine democratic societies.
This insight gave rise to the vision that Flateyjarbók is not only a work for a narrow Nordic audience but also one of great significance for the development of democracy and individual freedom worldwide. This decision by the Saga Heritage Foundation resulted in the initiative to translate the 2100-page Flateyjarbók into English. This cornerstone of world civilization would thereby become accessible globally. The translation is now complete, with forewords by HM King Harald V, the President of Iceland, and HM Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. We now face the challenge of bringing this work to a global audience that has never before had access to this rich and masterfully told core piece of world literature. When this happens, my vision—that our history here in the North can help promote democracy and freedom on Earth—will be realized. This vision reaffirms the old adage: "Those who do not know their past are doomed to repeat its dreadful mistakes."
The journey to Vinland is not over. We still need more "rowers."
– Torgrim Titlestad, Professor, Dr. Philos., Chairman of The Saga Heritage Foundation