historical sagas
Tales of antiquity
Historical sagas are extended narrative works—novels, film series, or television dramas—that follow characters or families across significant periods of history.
The term borrows from the medieval Icelandic sagas, long prose narratives of Norse heroes and families.
Modern historical sagas typically blend fictional characters with real events: a multigenerational saga spanning the Civil War era, a family saga set against the Russian Revolution.
The genre emphasizes sweeping scope, dramatic conflict, and the passage of time.
- Old NorseMedieval Scandinavian language
- kenningsCompound poetic substitutions
- epicImpressively grand in scope
- oral traditionCulture passed by speech
- oral storytellingTransmitting tales aloud
Snorri Sturluson · folklore · mythology · medieval chronicles · ancient lineage · noble birth · heroism · Greek myths · legend · chronicle · conquest · heroic age · myth · ballad · tragic fate · medieval · warrior · dynasty
historical sagascontemporary fiction
Recently written realistic novels
science fiction · speculative fiction · cyberpunk · dystopian fiction · dystopian futures
historical sagasshort stories
Brief prose narratives
flash fiction · vignettes · anecdotes · novellas · sketches
historical sagashigh fantasy
Fiction in invented worlds
supernatural fiction · fairy tales · fables · magical realism