Mattis Størssøn's version of Snorri's sagas, which will now be given to Time Municipality.

Everyone has their stories. Things they tell again and again to remind themselves who they are. In Norway, Snorri’s royal sagas, Heimskringla, are the foremost of all such stories. From the time the Icelander Snorri Sturluson wrote them down in the mid-13th century and right up to today, these stories of kings, queens, farmers and warriors in medieval Norway have belonged to everyone. First as oral tradition, then as carefully written manuscript pages, and finally as printed book pages.

The very first printed edition of Snorri’s royal sagas in Norwegian, or rather Norwegian-Danish as they used at the time, came in 1594. This was before there were printing presses in Norway, so the book was printed in Denmark and was based on the translation by lawman, scholar and adventurer Mattis Størssøn. This book was the beginning of Snorri as we know him today, the greatest of all stories about the Vikings in Norway. And now footballer, top scorer and Jæren local, Erling Braut Haaland — the one who is seen as a Viking all over the world — has given the only surviving copy of this edition back to his hometown. To the library in Bryne, to the people of Time Municipality and Norway, and with it he has given the young people of Time a challenge. He wants them to read.

Stock photo of Erling Braut Haaland and mayor Andreas Vollsund in the mayor's office. Time Municipality

Erling Braut Haaland bought, together with his father Alfie, the only surviving copy of Mattis Størssøn’s edition of Snorri’s royal sagas. It was sold by shipowner and collector Johan Odfjell.

The book was not bought to be hidden away; it was bought so that people in Norway could enjoy it. That is why Erling Braut Haaland has chosen to give the book to Time Municipality, on the condition that it is displayed and made accessible to the public at the library in the place he comes from. The charitable EH9 Foundation, in cooperation with Time Municipality and its library, will help ensure that the book can be exhibited in secure surroundings for the benefit of both the people of Time and visitors.

“I want the book always to lie open so that people can read about those who came from where I come from, from Bryne and Jæren,” Erling Braut Haaland says in a comment. “It’s easier to feel drawn to reading when you can recognise yourself in the people and places being written about.”

And it is this desire to read that Erling hopes the book will help create. Erling and Alfie, who have both made their living from football all their lives, have given the book to Time Municipality and Bryne Library in order to share the joy of stories, storytelling and reading with far more people than just those who make a living from playing football.

“I’ve been lucky enough to live out my dream through football, and I know not everyone gets that chance,” says Erling. “Books give so many more people the chance to dream big, see new possibilities and find their own path.” Together with his father and the EH9 Foundation, he has now asked Time Municipality to launch a reading competition in connection with receiving the book.

The competition, which will be organised by Time Municipality, will begin in the 2026/2027 school year. Pupils in middle school and lower secondary school in Time will then be invited to read as much as they can, and the classes that eventually win will be invited to Ullevaal Stadium for a match together with Erling Braut Haaland and the rest of the national team.

Time Library, where the book will be on display. Asle Haukland

“We are extremely grateful,” says Andreas Vollsund, mayor of Time Municipality. “Grateful for this incredibly generous gift, grateful that Erling, who is the most famous Norwegian in the world, never forgets where he comes from, but above all we are grateful that he, Alfie and the EH9 Foundation are giving us the opportunity to do one of the most important things we can do for our young people: give them the joy of reading.”

It is the schools in Time that will organise the reading competition, and it is no coincidence that this effort is starting here. Alfie’s parents and several others in the family have been teachers in the schools here, and both Erling and Alfie attended school in Time. “Roots are important,” Alfie Haaland says in a comment. “Our roots are here in the municipality, and we also all have deep roots that can be found in the stories in Snorri’s royal sagas. We hope that both the book and the competition can bring joy and help form the roots of new generations in Time.”

A little about the book

Mattis Størssøn lived from around 1500 to 1569. When he died, he was the lawman of Bergen and a leading figure in the emerging Norwegian scholarly community. Størssøn’s personal history is only partly known; for example, no one knows for certain where he was born. But he was connected to south-western Norway, both through family and property; among other things, he was commander at Utstein. As lawman, Mattis Størssøn played a central role during and after the Reformation. In 1564 he is even said to have taken part in recapturing Steinvikholm Castle north of Trondheim from the Swedes. Later he sailed with warships to northern Norway to secure that region for the Danish king.

Størssøn was one of the first to translate old saga texts from Old Norse into modern Danish or Danish-Norwegian, and was therefore absolutely crucial in making these sources and stories accessible again to people in Norway. He gathered his translations into a manuscript he called The Norwegian Chronicle of the Former Kings, Lords and Princes Who Have Rightfully Ruled and Governed the Kingdom of Norway, Drawn from Old Norwegian into Danish.

The main part of the manuscript is a translation and retelling of Snorri’s royal sagas, together with a translation of Sverri’s saga and Hákon Hákonarson’s saga. Størssøn worked with several Old Norse manuscripts when compiling his version. We also know that he made use of the Latin manuscript of the Danish historian Saxo.

Størssøn’s manuscript was first published as a book in 1594, more than twenty years after the author himself had died. It was read by many in its own time and in the centuries that followed and is regarded as the very first printed history of Norway’s earliest past. The edition that Erling Braut Haaland and Alfie Haaland have given to Time municipality is the only surviving copy of the original edition in private ownership. It is in two volumes and was printed in Copenhagen in 1594. The book was sold for more than one million NOK, which is the highest price ever paid for a Norwegian book. It is a book of central importance in Norwegian history, Norwegian book history and, not least, in the story of Norway as we know it. Together with Time Municipality, the EH9 Foundation has committed to displaying the book in Time so that it once again becomes the property of the people.

Mattis Størssøn's version of Snorri's sagas, which will now be given to Time Municipality.