sögumaður

Sögumaður is the Icelandic term for the narrator or storyteller within a narrative. Etymology: sög- meaning story or saga, plus maðr meaning man, literally “story-man.” In classical Icelandic literature, the sögumaður is the voice that recounts the tale’s events. Depending on the work, the sögumaður can be an external narrator outside the events (extradiegetic) or a character within the story who tells what happens (intradiegetic). The narrator may speak in the third person or, less commonly in the sagas, in the first person. Many sagas present a relatively discreet or omniscient-sounding narrator who reports actions, dialogue, and motives, sometimes with editorial comment, but often without claiming explicit authority or identity. In some cases the sögumaður’s reliability may be questioned, and later editors or scholars have interpreted the narrative for bias or purpose.

In modern usage, sögumaður is the general term for a storyteller or narrator in literature and media, including film and oral storytelling. The concept is central to how a story’s perspective shapes what is known, how events are understood, and how readers or listeners engage with characters and moral judgments.

See also: Icelandic saga, narratology, point of view.