andersson and miller, law and literature in medieval iceland

8/18/2019 Andersson and Miller, Law and Literature in Medieval Iceland

1/171

Law

and

Literature

in

Medieval Iceland

*

Ljdsuetninga

saga

and

Valla-Ljdts

saga,

Theodore

M. Andersson

&

William

Ian Miller

Stanford

Uniaersity

Press,

Stanford,

Califontia,

,g8g


2/171

Stanford

University

Press

Stanford,

California

O

r

g8g

by the Board

of Trustees

of

the

Leland

Stanford

Junior

University

Printed in

the United

States of

America

CIP data appear

at the

end

of

the

book

Contents

Preface

Maps

PART I INTRODUCTION

The Social Historical

Setting

The

Literary

Setting

*

vll

xv

()

J

63

PA

RT

Lj6saetninga

saga

Appendix:

A Text

Valla-Ljdts

saga

Appendixes

a: List of

Characters

s:

Genealogies

Select

Bibliography

Index

II

THE

SAGAS

r21

245

256

z89

296

303

3r1)


3/171

Preface

*

Our

volume is

designed to make the Icelandic sagas

culturally

more

accessible

to

English-speaking readers.

Saga

translations

into English

abound, notably those by Hermann Pdlsson in Pen-

guin paperback,

but

we have

chosen two not available in that

se-

ries.

There is no complete English

translation

of Lj1saetninga,

saga;

and when

we

began work there was also no English

transla-

tion

of

Valla-Lj1ts saga.

In the meantime

two

have

appeared

(Bachmann

r985,

Acker

rq88).

We have

decided to retain

our

own

because

the two sagas are useful

companion pieces, dealing

as

they do

with

the same

region

and

with

the

career of'Gudmund

the Powerful.

Despite

numerous

saga

translations, only


4/171


5/171


6/171


7/171

xlv

Preface

Since

Icelandic and English are cognate

languages, many place

name elements are similar.

Where the similarity

is

great,

we have

simply

substituted

the English equivalent.

For Hgrg6rdalr

we

write Horgardale,

for Eyja{grdr Eyja{ord,

and

for Kakalah6ll

Kakalahill

because there is no point

in

obscuring

the fact that a

valley, a fjord, and a hill are

involved.

1'he

experienced saga

reader may peruse the

subsections

in

any

order, but

we recommend that inexperienced

readers start

with the text of Valla-Ljdx saga,

which

is

very brief, then

read the

social-historical

introduction, then proceed

to the longer

and

more complicated

Ljbsaetninga saga,

and

finally to

the detailed

matter

of the

literary introduction. Some of the commentary

will

be

useful

at

first reading; other annotations

can

be

deferred

un-

til

the text

seems

familiar.

We

would like to

acknowledge

the

kindness of our Icelandic

colleagues Bjarni Einarsson and

Finnbogi Gudmundsson,

who

advised

us

on certain difficult

passages.

Not all translation prob-

lems can be

securely

resolved, but

we have

tried

to make clear

in

the notes where they

lie. Thanks

are

due to Nan Druskin, who

accurately and quickly entered

much of the

manuscript

into

the

computer. Finally we wish to thank Kathleen

Koehler for invalu-

able

critique and

comment

and

an

anonymous

reviewer

for

Stanford University

Press whose meticulous reading and

rea-

soned suggestions have

greatly benefited

us.

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8/171

Grim's

Isle Sound

ofdahverfi

8".::l;

Y,\"

2:

Kaupan

(:7Flatiste

ts.

TO

,-

o

Leidz

/

zz'o*.

31

0t

Idil

5

&*

Eyjafjord

#

6

*

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og

'10

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ei

t

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22

2l

l3

,t#

5

IT

Oxarfiord

Ma,p z. Eyjafjorrl t't:giotr,

lrcl;rrrrl.

Chief Farm

Names

(heyed

to

numbers

on adjacent

rnaNt)

Arnarstead

(

l8)

Baegisa

(13)

Brettingsstead

(40)

Draflastead

(35)

Fell

(49)

Fjosatongue

(26)

Fornastead

(33)

Goddales

(16)

Gnupar

(45)

Gnupufell

(19)

Grund

(7)

Grytubakki

(39)

Hagi

(a7)

Halfdanartongue

(14)

Hals

(in

Fnjoskadale)

(31)

Hals

(in

Svarfadardale)

(3)

Hella

(4)

Hlid

(28)

Hofdi

(38)

Hofsa

(8)

Hrafnagil

(24)

Husavik

(42)

Illugastead

(25)

Isolfsstead

(41)

Klaufabrekka

(9)

Kviabekk

(l)

Landamot

(48)

Laufass

(37)

Laugaland

(10)

Ljosavatn

(50)

Lundarbrekka

(52)

Modrufell

(22)

Modruvellir

(20)

Myr

(43)

Naust

(27)

Nes

(32)

Oxara

(51)

Reykir

(46)

Reykjahlid

(53)

Saurby

(21)

Silfrastead

(15)

Skord

(44)

Skutar

(l

l)

Stedi

(12)

Svalbard

(29)

Thvera

(in

Eyja{ord)

(23)

Thvera

(in

Fnjoskadale)

(36)

Tjorn

(5)

Torfufell

(17)

Upsir

(2)

Vaglir

(30)

Veisa

(34)

Vellir

(6)

\1,1,

t

lf

rt tuli

\t

i\',

Reykjaheath

.id I

col

x

d

i

z4

\9

Ac

Vtt

F(

r'D

|.

?,\

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e},

lugnupspass

N

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,(|.

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(3


9/171

I

NTR

Part I

*

ODIJCTION


10/171

The

Social Historical

Settin.g

Lj6suetninga

saga

and Valla-Ljdx

su,ga

belong

ro

a class of medi-

eval

Icelandic texts

commonly

called

family

sagas

or,

using

a

literal

translation

of the Icelandic

ferm,

"sagas

of Icelanders"

(1s-

lendinga

sggur).

There

are some

three

dozen

of these

sagas,

com-

posed for

the most

part in the

thirteenth

century

(see

Clover

rg8z,

rg84;

Schach rg8+).They

tell stories

about leading

lcelan-

dic figures

and

families

from

the

time of the

island'.s

colonization

around goo

to the middle

of the

eleventh

century,

or, in terms

of

English

chronology,

from

the time

of King

Alf

red

ro

a

few

years

before

the Norman

Conquest.

One

of

the fortunate

side benefits

of

the

sagas,

both family

and

contemporary'

sagas, is

the abundance

of

social and

cultural

information

preserved

in

them. Some

of this information

may

be

central

to the narrative.

This

is

often

the

case, for instance,

with

the structures

of feud

and

the

disputing

process, with

the

ways of

achieving

and maintaining

reputation,

and with

the de-

piction

of the

types of

wrongs

thar

give

rise

to hostile

action.

Some information,

on

the other hand,

may

be

only incidental.

The

mere

mention

that two

brothers farmed

together

tells us

something about

the

range

of

household

types.

A

genealogy

not

only

gives us the kinship

connections

crucial to

understanding

the

alliances

and tensions

of the

plot but it

also

tells us

about

'The

so-called

"contemporary"

sagas describe

events

in

the

twelltlr

and thirteenth

centuries

and were

chiefly written

in the

thirteenth

r:en-

tury.

Most

are

collected

in

a

compilation

called

Sturlunga saga ancl irr t lrr.

sagas

of the bishops

of

Iceland.

*


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r18

Introduction

gainhonorfromit."ThereaPPearstobeatacitconspiracyto

plu.ut.

Gudmund'

The

morut

,ui.rr.es

are

equally

explicit

in

the

minor

charac-


68/171

ters.

Halli,,

Uroihe,

Bodvar,

*t

"

is

introduced

as

"well-liked"

and

as

havins

,.;';;;J

disposition,"

and

who

islater

des-c1l:9:t

"moderate

and

.B-po"d,"

i'

the

proto'Ipt-g

innocent

vlctlm'

The

thira

n.,rtr,.r

Hrolf

is

his

a,tith.sit.

Hit

killing

of

Ljot's

nephew

.r.n.rrrurJ

is

characterized

as

a

"treacherous

deed,"

and

hisext


69/171

'Lj6svetninga

saga'

Chapter

r

Solmund

tries

to

abduct

Oluir's

daughter

bu,t is

preuented

lry

Ofeig. IIe

then chea,ts

a

Norwegian

merchant of

his sales. Whcvt,

Sol,rnu,rul

i.s

serued

with a

legal summons,

his brother

Soxolf

hills the

Nuruttp;iltn.

Soxolf is

outlawed

and Solmund

is exiled

for

three year.s.

Thorgeir the Chieftain

lived at

Ljosavat.n and

was it

trol:tlrlt:

leader.'

Forni was the

name of an

upstanding

householtlet'

wlr


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A: List

of

Characters

Characters

not

known

from

other

sources

are marked

with

an

asterisk.

*


152/171

'Lj6svetninga

saga'

*Alfdis

(daughter

of Kodran,

wife

of Bruni)

Arnor

Thorgrimsson

at

Reykjahlid

(also

known

from

Grettis

sagu,

Landndmab6k,

and

Reyhdula

saga)

xArnstein

at Aerloek

*Atli

at Draflastead

*Bard

(friend

of'Thorvard

Hoskuldsson in

Norway)

Bjarni

Brodd-Helgason

(also

known

from Bandamanna

saga, Fljdts-

dala

saga,

Gunnars

pdur

Didrandabana,

Landnd,mab6k,

Njdk

saga,

Vd,pnfirdinga

saga, and

Porsteins

pdttr

stangarhqggs)

*

Brand

Gunnsteinsson

*

Brand

Thorkelsson

(Vodu-Brand)

at

Myr

*

Bruni

at Gnupufell

Cnut

the Great

(king

of

Denmark,

d.

lo35)

*Drg

(married

to

Thorgeir

the

Chieftain's daughter

Sigrid,

who is men-

tioned

in

Landnd,mab6k)

Eid

Skeggjason

or Thorhallsson

(both

known

from Landnd,mab6k,

the

former

also from

Heidarltga

saga and Laxdula

saga,

and the latter

from

P6rdar

saga hredu)

x

Eilif

at

Gnupufell

x

Einar

Arnorsson

at

Hrafnagil

x

Einar

at Krossavik

Einar Eyjolfsson

(brother

of Gudmund

the Powerful;

also knowrr

from Bandamanna

saga, Droph,ugarsona

saga, Njd,k

saga,

Valla-Li1ls


153/171


154/171

294

Appendix A

'Valla-Lj6ts

saga'

xAsmund

at Kviabekk

in

Olafsfiord

*

Bersi Hallason

(son

of

Halli Sigurdarson)

*

Bjorn Thorgrimsson

at Hofsa

*

Bodvar Sigurdarson

(brother

of

Hrolf and Halli)

Einar

Eyjolfsson

(brother

of

Gudmund the Powerful;

see

entry under

Lj1suetninga saga)

*

Eyjolf Thorsteinsson at

Tjorn

Eyjolf Valgerdarson at

Modruvellir

(father

of

Gudmund

the Powerful

and Einar;

also

known from Finnboga saga,

Kristni

saga,

Landnd,mab6k,

Njdk saga, Reykdula saga,Vtga-Glil,ms

saga,

and borualds

pd,ttr

affirla)

Gudmund the

Powerful

(see

entry

under

Lj6suetninga

saga)

List

of

Characters

fellsd,ss,

Egils

saga,

Fl6amanna

saga,

Grettis

saga,

dingab1k,

Landndmab1h,

Njdk

saga,

Steins

pdttr

pdttr

Nefi1lfssonar,

and

elkofra

pdttr)

295

Gunnlaugs

saga,

islen-

S haptas

onar,

It

6rarins

*Thorgerd

(daughter

of

Ljotolf

and

sister

of

Valla-Ljot)

*Thorgrim

ar

upsir

(son

of

Qotolf

and

brother

of

vatta-t-.1ot;

tThorir

Vemundarson

at

Grund

Thorkel

Eyjolfsson

(father

of

Gellir;

also

known

from

Bjarnar

saga

lttdylakappa,

Fljfitsdela

saga, Grettis saga,

Gunnars

saga

Didrand.abaia,

Laxdula

saga,

steins

pdttr

shaptasonar,

p1rarins

paur

Nefialfssonar,

and

b6rdar

saga

hredu)

*Thorstein

at

Tjorn

*Thorvard

Thorgrimsson

(brother

of Bjorn

at

Hofsa)

*Thrand

from

Grim's

Isle

*Torfi

at

Torfufell

Viga-Glum

Eyjolfsson

ar

Thvera


155/171

Halli

Sigurdarson

(also

known from Suarfdala

saga)

*

Havard

(a

Norwegian)

Hermund Illugason

(also

known

from Bandamanna

saga,

Bd,rdar saga

Snafelkd,ss,

Gunnlaugs saga,

Heidarutga

saga,

Hellismanna

saga,

Kristni

saga,

Landndmab6k,

Laxdela

saga,

Skd,ld-Helga saga)

x

Hrolf

(farmer

above Klaufabrekka;

with two sons

Thord and

Thor-

vald)

*

Hrolf

Sigurdarson

(Hrolf

Jaw;

brother

of

Halli and

Bodvar)

Ingjald Hrolfsson at Gnupufell

(father

of

an

unnamed daughter

who

is

married

to Sigurd

Karlsson and

mother to Hrolf, Halli,

and Bod-

var;

also

known

from Landnd,mabdh,

Ljdsuetninga saga,

and Vtga-

Ghims saga)

Karl Thorsteinsson

the

Red

(father

o1'Sigurd; also

known from

Land-

nd,muhih,

Surnldcela saga,, It.j6st6lli saga hamramma.

and

l>orleifs

pdttr

jurl.s.skdkls)

l.jor

l,lotoll.sson

at Vellir

(father

of

Ljot, Thorgerd, and

Thorgrim;

:rlso krrown

fiom

Bolla

p,fuur,

Landnd,mab6h, and Djbst1lfs saga

ham-

xuntrut)

Narli Asbr':rn


156/171

I.

Thorkel

Geitisson's

Kin

Geitir

I

I

Thorkel

:

Jorun

(see

VI)

II.

Valla-Ljot's Kin

Ljotolf

I

V:rllir-l,iot

I

r=_-r

I

Herdis

: Atli Kodran

Bjorn

tlt

Thorlaug

Alfdis

Arnor

(see

VI)

(see

VII)

I

Eld.jarn

Brodd-Helgi:

Halla

I

Bjarni

I

Skegg-Broddi

Sorli:

Thurid

(see

VI)

'fhorgrim

at

Upsir

Thorgerd

:

Thorgrim

Bjorn Thorvard

V.

Ljosvetnings

I

Thorgeir

the Chieftain

Lawspeaker

985-

roor)

Thorgerd

:

Halldor

from

Miklaby

Finni

Thorarin

Thorvard

Hoskuld

Vigdis

=

Oddi

from

Myvatn

ljorvi Sigrid

:

Dag Thorkel

Hake

Gunnstein

Solveig

ll

tl

ll

Brand

Thorkel

horkel

the

Lawspeaker

Thorgerd Hrafn

Gudrun

:

Otrygg


157/171

Hoskuld

I

Hrolf

VI.

Modrvellings

Starri

see

VI)

Hall

Thorgeir

Hallason

I

Thorvard

d.

r

zo7)

Valgerd

I

I

Gudmund

the

Powerful

Oddny:

Konal

=

Thorlaug

see

IV)

Einar

Einar

:

Valgerd

Eyjolf

Select

Bibliography

*

cc ii *i

bo ca 6>

o-.=-'=

q,

:E

ld

Ety

tr

/

H

F.-

.l

ar

tv

i

_

5b':

>

r-u

v

v dl

-c-

a

[-\J-

t'

q.)

ilE

bo

.t

) r

LUA

v

i

(JJ

rA

)L/

(,

tl

o

U)

L

: bocd

:

'it

d

(.)

J

O

tJE


158/171

J_ ?v _

CXqr

^\JbD

-

t

-

s

r:o

=

ilJ

r

o) s

_*

\+r-

n-

(s

-

c z

E

40

&

.I,

H

bo

q)

c-n

A

il

(n

(HE

;

'a

'trEs

E-; P

bb

r"s

Fl.

Fq

H

'J

+<

E]

tr

FA

I

6i

=a

o

qi

o

tr

(

.B

o

,r

si

qJ

+r

-C

:s

t)

ii

(.)

U

U)

o

Fi

Select Bibliography

The

letters

p

and

g

are alphabetized following

z. Abbreviations: IF,

Islenzk Fornrit;

UHV, Untersuchungen zu

Handel

undVerhehr

der

uor-

und

friihgeschichtlichen

Zeit

in Mittel- und

Nordeuropa.


159/171

I.

Primary

Sources

A. Ari

Thorgilsson's islendingab1h,

Landnd,mab6k,

the family

sagas,

and

most

of the kings'

sagas

are cited from the series islenzk Fornrit

published

in

Reykjavik by

Hid

islenzka Fornritaf6lag

as follows. Refer-

ences to

IF

in

the commentary are to chapter

and

page

numbers-for

example, Egik

saga

(36:

go).

Bandamanna

saga. r936. Ed.

Gudni

J6nsson.

if

7:

299-262.(Trans.

H

erman n Pdlsson.

T he C onfe der

ate s

and H en-T

horir. Edinbu rgh

:

Sou th

-

side,

r975.)

Bjarnar

saga

Httdelakappa.

1938.

Ed.

Sigurdur Nordal

and

Gudni

J6nsson.

IF

3:

ro9-zr r.

(Trans.

W.

Bryant

Bachmann,

Jr.

Four

Old

Icelandic

Sagas and Other Tales. Lanham,

Md.:

University Press

of

America,

1985. r5r

-z

rg.)

Bolla

pd,ur.

See

Laxdula

saga.

(No

English translation.)

B6sa

saga.

t

893. Die B6sa-saga

in

zwei Fassungen nebst Proben

atu

den B6sa-

rtmur. Ed.

Otto

L.

Jiriczek.

Strasbourg:

Trtibner.

Brands

pd,ttr

gr-ua.

rg35. Ed. Einar

61. Sveinsson

and Matthias D6rdarson.

IF

4:

r8g-gr.

(Trans.

Henry

Goddard

Leach.

"Brand

the

Open-

handed."

In his A Pageant

of

Old

Scandinaaia. Princeton: Princeton

University

Press, 1946.

zo

r

-

z.)

Brennu-Njd,ls saga.

ryb4

Ed. Einar

61.

Sveinsso.r.

iF

r

z.

(Trans.

Magnus

Magnusson

and Hermann

Pdlsson.

Njal)s Saga. Harmondsworth:

Penguin, r96o.)

Droplaugarsonasaga.

Lgbo.

Ed.J6nJ6hannesso.r.

iF

,

r:

r35-8o.

(Trans.

Margaret

Schlauch. ln

Three

lcelandic

Sagas.

Trans. M.

H.

Scargill


160/171


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Index

*

Names of

minor

characters

are

indexed only where they appear

in

Lj1suetninga

saga

(Ljbs.)

or Valla-Ljdts saga

(V.L.).For

additional

information

on characters in

these

sagas,

see

Appendixes,

pp.

z89-3oo.

For

names of

characters

or

events

in

other sagas, the

reader should consult the title

of

individual sagas.


166/171

Abridgment

thesis, 66,

7o

Adjudication, 2Z-

27

passim

Aerloek, r3r

Affines,

seu Marriage

Akrakarl, see Thorgils

Akrar,

246

Akreyr,

r

54

Alf

(brother

of

Skeggi

the Strong),

qqa

Alfdis

(daughter

of Kodran),

r94,

r97

Allthing,

42,

rb6, r8z

(n. ro6),

r87,

24o, 27o.

See

ako Things

Alpta{ord,

r53

Arbitration, g,

23-go

passim,

45

Ari

Thorgilsson, see Thorgilsson,

Ari

Arnarstead, z

r

z

Arnor Cronenose,

234

Arnor Thorgrimsson, r

2t-Zb

possim

Arnstein at

Aerloek,

r

3l

-35

passirn

Arrogance

(o/si),

ro6

As,

zz3

Asmund at Kviabekk,

272, 272

Assassins,

in

the sagas, r88

(n.

r r7)

Assemblies

(lei6ir),

autumn,

r27

(n.

r6).

See

ako

Things

Astronomical

learning, r7z

(n.89)

Atli

the

Strong, t62,2r2,2r2,2r4

Avoidance,

22,24

Biflth, A. U.,

78,79,94,

gb

Baegisa,

r63,

r64

Bandamanna saga,

65, 66,

9r,

g2

Bard,

238

Bardardale,

r89,

2to, 2b4

Berman,

Melissa,

96

Bersi

Hallason,

26r

,266-72

passim,

276, 277, 283

Bilzarpass,

z

r

6

Bishops'sagas, g2

Bjarnar

saga

Httdekrhoppo, 164

@.73),

165

(n.

76),

r7z

(n.go),

z3r

(n.

rgr),

268

(n.

z4z), 273

(n.

zb

r),

272-74

(n.

z5z)

Bjarni Brodd-Helgason,

r53,.

r66,

rO

r

Bjorn

Magnrisson

Olsen,

see

Olsen,

B. M.

Bjorn Sigfiisson,

see Sigfiisson, Bjdrn

Bjorn Thorgrimsson,

262,

274-8b

passim

Bleiksmyrardale, r54

Blood-brotherhood

(f6stbrddir),

zr. See

a/so Friendship

Blood feud,

see

Feuds

Blood vengeance,

sae

Vengeance

Bodvar Sigurdarson, 256,

257,

z6o,

272-78

passim,283

Bolla

pdttr,85

Borgarfiord,

zz3

Borggreve, Cecilia, 66,

7o

B6sa saga, t

5o

(n.

5

t

)

Brand

Gunnsteinsson, 2o3-

tx,

prt.ssitrt,

2tg,

228,

zgt,

2Zg, 242, 242


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