Sæmundr fróði

Who was Sæmundr fróði?

Sæmundur Sigfússon was an Icelandic priest and scholar. Sæmundur is known to have studied abroad. Previously it has generally been held that he studied in France, but modern scholars rather believe his studies were carried out in Franconia. In Iceland he founded a long-lived school at Oddi. He was a member of the Oddaverjar clan and had the son Loftur Sæmundsson.

Sæmundur 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 Sæmundur's work. The authorship of the Poetic Edda, or, more plausibly, just the editor's role in the compilation, was traditionally attributed to Sæmundur but is not accepted today.

In Icelandic folklore, Sæmundur is a larger-than-life character who repeatedly tricks the Devil into doing his bidding.