Haaland’s royal saga gift gets Bryne schoolchildren reading
A rare volume of Norwegian royal sagas donated by Erling Haaland and his father went on display in Bryne on 9 November. The gift has also prompted a reading challenge for local schoolchildren, with a trip to Oslo to watch Norway’s national team among the prizes.
- Erling Haaland and his father donated a rare 1594 edition of the Norwegian royal sagas to their hometown library.
- The Copenhagen edition was based on Mattis Størssøn’s Danish rendering of Old Norse texts.
- A reading challenge gives local pupils the chance to watch Norway play at Oslo’s national stadium.
The Manchester City striker and his father, Alfie Haaland, paid 1.3 million Norwegian kroner for the 1594 book, a price reported as a Norwegian record. They gave it to Time municipality so it could be displayed at the public library in Bryne, where Erling grew up. The library has placed the volume in a secure display case, while a digitised version with explanatory notes lets readers explore the text without handling the original.
The edition, titled Norske Kongers Krønicke oc bedrifft, was printed in Copenhagen in 1594, before Norway had a printing press. It drew on Mattis Størssøn’s Danish translation and retelling of Old Norse texts. Much of the volume comes from the royal sagas traditionally attributed to the Icelandic writer Snorri Sturluson, but it also includes later material on King Sverre and Håkon Håkonsson. The donated volume was the only complete copy known to remain in private hands before the gift.
The sagas recount the lives and reigns of Norwegian kings, from legendary rulers to figures of the Viking Age and the medieval period. In compiling the work known as Heimskringla in the thirteenth century, Snorri drew on material transmitted orally and in writing. Størssøn’s rendering made those stories accessible to later readers who no longer understood Old Norse, and the printed edition helped them reach a wider audience.
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The reading challenge was already under way when the book was unveiled. Pupils log the time they spend reading during two rounds, in November and January. In February, classes and individual pupils will be drawn from among the top readers for a trip to see Norway play at Ullevaal Stadium in spring 2027. Library director Anne Tjørhom Frick said children had been coming straight from school to read and staying until closing time.