Noregs

Noregs is the historical and literary name for Norway used in Old Norse and early Norwegian texts. The form appears in medieval sources such as sagas and chronicles, where the land and its rulers are described in relation to Noregr or Noregs. In modern Norwegian, the country is called Norge or Noreg, and Noregs functions as a genitive or possessive form meaning “of Norway” or “Norway’s.” The term is thus primarily encountered in scholarly editions and translations of ancient texts, rather than in contemporary prose.

Historically, Noregr denotes the Norwegian realm as it existed during the Viking Age and the Middle Ages. In sagas and poetry, references to Noregr often accompany genealogies, royal lineages, and descriptions of kings who ruled over the Norwegian landmass along the western coast and its inland territories. The use reflects how Norse writers framed political geography and identity in a period before the modern nation-state system.

Today, Noregs is seldom used in everyday language and is largely confined to historical, literary, or linguistic contexts. It remains an important marker in the study of Norse literature and medieval Norway, illustrating how the country was conceived and named in older sources. In Icelandic and other Norse-language contexts, related forms such as Noregr continue to surface in translations and scholarly discussions about Norway’s early history.