Þiðreks saga

What it is

Þiðreks saga af Bern is an Old Norse saga, likely composed around the mid-13th century at the Norwegian royal court, that gathers almost all known Germanic heroic legends into one long narrative centered on the hero Þiðrekr (Dietrich von Bern). It survives in several medieval manuscripts, including one richly decorated parchment copy.

Why it matters

In this saga, Attila appears as King of the Huns at whose court the exiled hero Þiðrekr takes refuge, and whose sons and kingdom become entangled in the saga's events; after Attila's death, Þiðrekr even becomes king of the Huns himself. This shows how, across medieval Germanic and Norse storytelling, Attila was remembered less as a feared conqueror and more as a powerful court patron bound up in the tragic fates of other heroes.

Look closer

• How does this portrayal of Attila as a patron king differ from his reputation in Roman sources?
• Why might storytellers across Germany and Scandinavia have kept retelling stories connected to Attila for centuries?
• What does the saga's combination of many separate legends suggest about how oral traditions get written down?