Saga Form, Oral Prehistory, and the Icelandic Social Context (original) (raw)

Saga as a myth: the family sagas and social reality in 13th-century Iceland Teaching about Faereyinga saga View project

The paper is an attempt to describe the literary system of medieval Iceland on the basis of five principles: genealogy, geography, religion, relation to the supernatural and social status of the protagonists. A subsequent study of several family sagas (Íslendingasögur) will reveal a specific trait distinguishing them from others: their predilection for "ontological uncertainty", i.e. the uncertain religious, supernatural and social status of their protagonists. This is to be understood in relation to what was going on in Icelandic society in the first half of the 13th century, which is when family sagas seem to have appeared. This is a period when the dominant group in society seems to be recomposing itself. On the one hand, a hitherto more or less homogeneous chieftain class is dividing itself into a class of overlords dominating the others: on the other hand, church officials, until then a part of this homogeneous dominant class, define themselves increasingly as a separate group with its own identity, inducing the remaining chieftain class to define itself as laymen. This social redefinition is the main drive behind the appearance of the family sagas. They express the uncertainty that necessarily accompanies such a redefinition.

Scandinavian folk legends and Icelandic sagas

New Focus on Retrospective Methods (Folklore Fellows Communications 307)., 2014

The article argues that Scandinavian folk legends recorded in the 19th and 20th centuries often explain supernatural episodes in Íslendingasǫgur better than comparison with other medieval sagas. Saga scholars have in many cases come to the wrong conclusions from too narrow a focus on written texts contemporary with the Íslendingasǫgur. The interest in supernatural motifs is a characteristic feature of the “post-classical” Íslendingasǫgur. This is an important reason why they are usually seen as fundamentally different from the “classical” Íslendingasǫgur, whose realism is linked to an origin in oral tradition that was perceived as essentially historical. The “post-classical” sagas with their many fantastic motifs are in contrast seen as unhistorical, pure fiction, influenced primarily by written literature like fornaldarsǫgur and riddarasǫgur. Sometimes this is certainly correct. But in most “post-classical” Íslendingasǫgur such parallels are few and superficial. In the article some concrete examples from the sagas are given where late recorded legends seem to provide much better parallels than any contemporary saga text. My conclusion is that the time gap of c. 600 years should not prevent us from using these sources if they seem to be more conclusive than the contemporary ones. My conclusion also has consequences for the perception of Íslendingasǫgur in general. The view of the “post-classical” saga as bookish fiction which emerged under the influence of the written fornaldarsaga is hardly sustainable. Nor is the contrast between the supernatural orientation and the realism of the classical saga evident. The stories in the later legends about encounters with the supernatural were also seen as basically true, and these stories were part of the image people had of a real past. There is reason to believe that this also applied to many of the motifs of the “post-classical” sagas as well.

NARRATIVE MODES, NARRATIVE SPACE, AND NARRATIVE PLAY IN THE POST-CLASSICAL SAGAS AND ÞAETTIR OF ICELANDERS

AUC PHILOLOGICA, Vol 2019 No 3, 2019

Scholars have traditionally viewed the post-classical sagas and þaettir of Icelanders, written between the second half of the 13th century and the early 15th century, as inferior to the classical sagas and þaettir in terms of narrative form and social relevance. In the present study we argue that the post-classical texts show an innovative approach to the concept of narrative space, and that they are reflective of the various narrative modes in a way that allows the narratives to become more varied and multi-layered than the classical sagas. We also argue that the increased use of supernatural motifs is not a sign of disinterest in the social concerns, because such motifs contribute to the conceptualization of the social issues that had changed after the end of the Sturlung Age, but they had not become less significant.

Narrative Modes, Narrative Space, and Narrative Play in the Post-Classical Sagas and Þættir of Icelanders

AUC PHILOLOGICA, 2019

Scholars have traditionally viewed the post-classical sagas and þaettir of Icelanders, written between the second half of the 13th century and the early 15th century, as inferior to the classical sagas and þaettir in terms of narrative form and social relevance. In the present study we argue that the post-classical texts show an innovative approach to the concept of narrative space, and that they are reflective of the various narrative modes in a way that allows the narratives to become more varied and multi-layered than the classical sagas. We also argue that the increased use of supernatural motifs is not a sign of disinterest in the social concerns, because such motifs contribute to the conceptualization of the social issues that had changed after the end of the Sturlung Age, but they had not become less significant.

A source within a source? Using personal names as source material in the sagas of Icelanders

Kulturella perspektiv: Svensk etnologisk tidskrift, 2022

The sagas of Icelanders contain a great wealth of personal names both of historical and fictional nature. Personal names function both as identifiers for individuals but also evoke associations that supersede the name's lexical or identifying meaning, for example, cultural or social associations such as age, ethnicity, and ideology. This article examines personal names as a source within a source and appraises the use of literary and socio-onomastics in the context of the Íslendingasögur using the example of the elusive difference between "Icelanders" and "Norwegians" in the sagas. The onomastic analysis is based on seven shorter tales and explores the differences in personal names in Icelandic and Norwegian individuals. Based on the onomastic data gathered, this article concludes that there are certain regional differences in name-giving visible in the sagas and that saga authors either had authentic onomastic material at hand or tried to emulate realistic personal names.

The “Us” in the Other: The Finnar and Skrælingar in the Icelandic Saga Literature

2019

The thesis investigates how the Finnar and Skraelingar are depicted as Others in the Icelandic saga literature, and what this reflects about the Norse group identity at the time they were written. It traces through the various traits and stereotypes ascribed to these Other cultural groups, the most prominent being sorcery, nomadism, and being non-agricultural, and shows how the Norse were situated from each. Throughout the sagas and through a lens of Christianity, the Norse position themselves as superior to the Finnar and Skraelingar, and use the negative imagery of these groups to further raise their profile in the narrative. By pulling this relationship apart, I show how the Finnar and Skraelingar are essentially similar in the eyes of the Norse, and further, that the depiction of the Skraelingar is based on a finite model of the Finnar.