(Redirected from Saemund)'Sæmundr Sigfússon' or 'Sæmundr fróði' (''Sæmundr the Learned'') (
1056–
1133) was an Icelandic priest and scholar. Sæmundr studied in France and in Iceland he founded a long-lived school at
Oddi. He was a member of the
Oddaverjar clan and had the son
Loftur Sæmundsson.
Sæmundr wrote a work, probably in
Latin, on the
history of Norwegian kings. The work is now lost but was used as a source by later authors, including
Snorri Sturluson. The poem ''
Nóregs konungatal'' summarizes Sæmundr's work. The authorship of the
Poetic Edda, or, more plausibly, just the editor's role in the compilation, was traditionally attributed to Sæmundr but is not accepted today.
In
Icelandic folklore, Sæmundr is a larger-than-life character who repeatedly tricks the
Devil into doing his bidding.
Reference
★
Norsk Litteraturhistorie I: Norges og Islands Litteratur, , Fredrik, Paasche, Aschehoug, 1956,