Skálholtsbók in the context of Eiríks saga víðförla

The Saga of Erik the Red, in Old Norse: Eiríks saga rauða (listen), is an Icelandic saga on the Norse exploration of North America. The original saga is thought to have been written in the 13th century. It is preserved in somewhat different versions in two manuscripts: Hauksbók (14th century) and Skálholtsbók (15th century).

Despite its title, the saga mainly chronicles the life and expedition of Thorfinn Karlsefni and his wife Gudrid, also recounted in the Saga of the Greenlanders. For this reason it was formerly also called Þorfinns saga karlsefnis; Árni Magnússon wrote that title in the blank space at the top of the saga in Hauksbók. It also details the events that led to the banishment of Erik the Red to Greenland and the preaching of Christianity by his son Leif Erikson as well as his discovery of Vinland after his longship was blown off course.

Hróa þáttr heimska or the Tale of Roi the Fool is a short story (þáttr) from Iceland about a Dane called Hrói the Fool who is helped in a legal dispute by the wise old Swede Þorgnýr the Lawspeaker, and which takes place in the late 10th century. It is preserved in two versions of which one (HróFlat) is found in Flatey Book (GKS 1005 fol 344-348, ca 1387-1395) and the second one (Hró AM 557 4°) in the Skálholtsbók (AM 557 4° 41r-42v, ca 1420-1450) in Copenhagen.

In the version of Óláfs saga helga which is found in the Flatey Book, it is inserted together with Styrbjarnar þáttr Svíakappa in the description of Olaf Haraldsson's wooing of the Swedish princess Ingegerd Olofsdotter. Their purpose appears to be to present the Swedish court, its traditions and Þorgnýr the Lawspeaker.