[225] _The First Nine Books of the Danish History of Saxo Grammaticus._ Translated by Oliver Elton (ed. by F. York Powell, p. 5). It is not clear whether Saxo had Icelandic manuscripts before him, but his words leave no doubt that he was aware of the fact that stories had been carried on by oral tradition.
[226] This was probably something in the nature of a fairy-tale like the _Huldre-eventyr_ of modern Norway. We may refer to the story of the witch Huldr given in _Ynglinga Saga_ (ch. 16), and to the supernatural being Holda or Holle in German folk-lore.
[227] “_hafa meth sér trollkonu-söguna._” From these words Finnur Jónsson (_op. cit._, II., p. 792) concludes that Sturla possessed a written copy of the saga.
[228] _Sturlunga Saga_, II., pp. 270-271.
[229] _Thorgil’s Saga ok Haflitha_ (_Sturlunga Saga_, Vol. I., p. 19).
[230] _Fornaldar Sögur_, Vol. II., p. 323.
[231] _Harald’s Hardrada Saga_, ch. 99 (_Fornmanna Sögur_, VI., pp. 354-356).
[233] _Njáls Saga_ (by G. W. Dasent), chs. 153, 154.
[234] _Droplaugarsona Saga_ (Ljosvetninga Saga), p. 175 (_Austfirthinga Sögur_, ed. Jakobsen).
[236] Cf. the references to _Hrómundar Saga_, pp. 69, 70, ante.
[237] The poem is preserved in the _Book of the Dun Cow_ (twelfth century), but the form of the language in which it is written is considerably earlier than this date; indeed, the meaning of the verses would be quite obscure if we did not possess explanatory glosses.
Cf. D’Arbois de Jubainville: _The Irish Mythological Cycle_, p. 96 (Best’s translation): also D. Hyde: _A Literary History of Ireland_, p. 285.
There is a possible reference to an Irish story-teller in an inscription on a stone cross at Bridgend (Glamorganshire). The inscription, which is thought to date from the seventh century, runs:--_(Co)nbellini possuit hanc crucem pro anima eius Scitliuissi_ … Rhys takes _scitlivissi_ to be an Irish word, a compound of _viss_ (Ir. _fis_, ‘knowledge’) and _scitl_ (_scetlon_, _scél_, a ‘story,’ ‘news’) and surmises that _scitliviss_ might mean a ‘messenger,’ a ‘bringer of news,’ a ‘scout.’ (Cf. _Celtic Britain_, pp. 313-315.) But _scitliviss_ can also be explained as ‘one who knows stories.’ In that case we might infer that story-telling was a profession in Ireland as early as the seventh century; but the reading appears to be too uncertain to justify us in attaching any great importance to the inscription.