A rare volume donated by Erling Haaland and his father has been unveiled at Time library in Bryne, Norway. Printed in 1594, it contains Snorri Sturlason’s accounts of Norway’s kings. The family bought the complete copy at auction, and local schoolchildren attended its presentation alongside a reading competition supported by the family.
Time library in Bryne, southern Norway, has put a rare book donated by footballer Erling Haaland and his father Alf Inge Haaland on public display.[1], [2]
Local schoolchildren attended the Monday unveiling. The family bought the 1594 edition of Snorre Sturlasons Kongesagaer at auction for 1.3 million Norwegian kroner. Alf Inge attended in person, while Erling appeared in a video interview.[1]
The volume contains royal sagas written down by Icelandic author Snorri Sturlason in the mid-thirteenth century after circulating as oral stories. They recount Norway’s Viking and medieval kings. This first Danish-Norwegian printed edition uses a translation from Old Norse by Mattis Størssøn. It was printed in Copenhagen because Norway had no printing presses. National librarian Åse Wetås says her institution’s three copies are incomplete, whereas the donated copy is complete and well preserved.[1]
The donation plan was communicated to the library last December. The book now stands in a display case, and an annotated digital version makes its full text available. Library director Anne Tjørhom Frick says local children have shown strong interest in the Haaland family’s reading competition. It measures reading time during November and January, with a prize involving a football match at Oslo’s national stadium. Haaland said he often reads to his young son.[1]
