The Játvarðar Saga (in full Saga Játvarðar konungs hins helga) is an Icelandic saga about the life of Edward the Confessor, King of England (reigned 1042–1066).^[1] It was compiled in the 14th century, in Iceland, using a number of earlier English sources as well as the French Chronicon Universale Anonymi Laudunensis (or a source common with it).^[2] It was translated into English in 1894 by George Webbe Dasent.^[3] Among the various details contained in the saga, there is an account of the origin of an English colony in the Black Sea founded by one "Siward earl of Gloucester" (Sigurðr jarl af Glocestr), a refugee from the Norman Conquest of England.^[4][5]

The most widely available copy of the Jatvardar is George Webbe Dasent's translation. The following synopsis is based wholey on Dasent's work.

The saga begins with Edward the Confessor and William the Bastard’s genealogy. Edward is proclaimed the saint king and the son of Ethelred.^[3] He was a pious figure who enjoyed praying and visiting cloisters in his youth.^[3] Taking the Holy Mary as his lady, Peter the Apostle as his father, and John the Evangelist as his guardian, and used them to guide his piety.^[3] Edward’s piety extended into his three marriages, in which his wives remained virgin.^[3] Next, the saga focuses on William the Bastard before the Norman Invasion. After William became the Duke of Normandy, he married Matilda the daughter of the Count of Flanders.^[3]

The second section highlights a few notable visions Edward had and miracles he performed. For the first vision, when attending a mass at Peter’s Church at Westminster, Edward saw the death of the Danish King who sought to invade England.^[3] The next vision, Edward saw St. John the Evangelist as a pilgrim who sought out Edward asking for a gift.^[3] It was confirmed to have been St. John when the gift was sent back to the king.^[3] After this, Edward has another Vision at Westminster that the Seven Sleepers on the Caelian Hill have turned onto their left sides after 200 years.^[3] The last vision he shared with a bishop of the sacrament and the lords body.^[3] Within Peter’s church was the first miracle listed for Edward, where he healed a crippled person unable to walk.^[3] At Edward’s lodging another miracle was performed where he cured the blindness of multiple men.^[3]

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The Anglo-Saxon migration was prompted by the Norman Conquest and the unwillingness of a group of English noblemen to accept their new ruler after Edward's death.^[6] According to the Icelandic author of Jatvardar saga, some Anglo-Saxons were determined that they did not want to live under William's rule following the Norman Conquest. In response they fled the country, being led by 3 earls, 8 barons, 350 ships and just as many people.^[6] Similar events are foretold in the Chronicon Laudunensis giving reason to believe that this event did truly happen.^[7]

Prior to reaching Byzantium the group was aware that they needed to work to survive in this new land. Furthermore based on the cultural and trade links between England and Scandinavia many Anglo-Saxons were likely aware of the Varangian Guard and opportunities it presented. Prior to 1066 a majority of members of the Varangian Guard were of Scandinavian decent.^[8] After the Norman Conquest of England that trend began to shift, and by the 1070's, the Varangian Guard became predominantly English.^[8] The Varangian Guard can be viewed in two different manners, the first being a distinct group of soldiers set to serve the emperors of Byzantium, the other is to view them as a group of peoples. At one point a majority of the Guard consisted of Anglo-Saxons and many of the others Scandinavians, all outsiders of the kingdom. This position thusly conjoined the two into a single entity or group of people. Furthermore, during this time there was a large amount of Scandinavians in England causing the two to be viewed in likeness to one another.

Edward the Confessor (c. 1003 – 5 January 1066) was an Anglo-Saxon English king and saint. Usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex, he ruled from 1042 until his death in 1066. Although the four sections of the Játvarðar Saga are focused on different subject matter, the saga is primarily focused on Edward himself with the first two sections being devoted mostly to Edward. The first contains a small genealogy of Edward in addition to his saintly characteristics, then moves on to legends of William of Normandy’s parentage and marriage to Mathilda of Flanders. The second contains material on Edward’s government and moves onto a description of Edward’s miracles, such as his vision of the Danish king drowning as he came to invade England, Edward giving of his ring to a pilgrim that turns out to have been St. John the Evangelist, a vision of one of the sleepers of the Evangelist, another vision of the sacrament as the body of Christ, and a description of two miracles of healing Edward conducted. The last two sections deviate from a focus on Edward, instead mostly concerning themselves with English History with Edward's only direct involvement in these last two sections being a description of Edward's death with the rest focusing on the aftermath.

• Ciggaar, Krijnie N. (1974), "L'Émigration Anglaise a Byzance après 1066: Un Nouveau Texte en Latin sur les Varangues à Constantinople", Revue des Études Byzantines, 32, Paris: Institut Français d'Études Byzantines: 301–42, doi:10.3406/rebyz.1974.1489, ISSN 0766-5598
• Dasent, G. W., ed. (1894), Icelandic Sagas and Other Historical Documents Relating to the Settlements and Descents of the Northmen on the British Isles [4 vols; 1887–94], Rerum Britannicarum Medii Aevi scriptores ; [88], vol. 3, London: Eyre and Spottiswoode
• Fell, Christine (1978), "The Icelandic Saga of Edward the Confessor: Its Version of the Anglo-Saxon Emigration to Byzantium", Anglo-Saxon England, 1, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: 179–96, ISSN 0263-6751

• Fell, Christine (1972), "The Icelandic Saga of Edward the Confessor: The Hagiographic Sources", Anglo-Saxon England, 1, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: 247–58, doi:10.1017/s0263675100000181, ISSN 0263-6751, S2CID 162435460

• Pappas, Nicholas C. J., English Refugees in the Byzantine Armed Forces: The Varangian Guard and Anglo-Saxon Ethnic Consciousness, De Re Militari: The Society for Medieval Military History, archived from the original on June 5, 2011, retrieved 2008-03-20