In what century was the Icelandic Saga of the Volsungs written down?

The Saga of the Volsungs was written down in the 13th century, probably in Iceland.

The saga is a prose retelling of the Volsung family’s legends, including Sigmund, Signy, Sigurd, Brynhild, and the dragon Fafnir. It draws on older heroic poems and traditions that also appear in the Poetic Edda and influenced later German literature about the Nibelungs.

Although the written saga belongs to the medieval period, its stories are set in a much earlier legendary age. This difference between composition date and story setting often causes confusion. The saga’s medieval author adapted inherited material rather than recording events from the era in which its heroes supposedly lived.

The work survives in the medieval manuscript known as the Ny Kgl. Sml. 1824 b 4to, held in Copenhagen. Its narrative helped transmit Norse versions of the Sigurd legend to later writers, including William Morris and J. R. R. Tolkien.