Mistä saaga nimitys tulee?
The term "saga" originates from the Norse "saga" (pl. "sögur"), and refers to (1) "what is said, statement" or (2) "story, tale, history". It is cognate with the English word "saw" (as in "old saw"), and the German "Sage". Icelandic sagas are based on oral traditions and much research has focused on what is real and what is fiction within each tale. The accuracy of the sagas is often hotly disputed. Most of the manuscripts in which the sagas are preserved were taken to Denmark and Sweden in the 17th century, but later returned to Iceland. Classic sagas were composed in the 13th century. Scholars once believed that these sagas were transmitted orally from generation to generation until scribes wrote them down in the 13th century. However, most scholars now believe the sagas were conscious artistic creations, based on both oral and written tradition.
A study focusing on the description of the items of clothing mentioned in the sagas concludes that the authors attempted to create a historic "feel" to the story, by dressing the characters in what was at the time thought to be "old fashioned clothing". However, this clothing is not contemporary with the events of the saga as it is a closer match to the clothing worn in the 12th century.
Norse "saga"