The king made sure that people listened carefully, and under his direction the story and Yule ended at the same time.
On Twelfth Night, after the story had ended earlier in the day, the king said, ‘Aren’t you curious, Icelander, to know how I liked the story?’
‘I am afraid to know, my lord,’ he answered.
The king said, ‘I liked it very much, and it was no worse than the matter permitted. But who taught you the story?’
He answered, ‘It was my habit out in my country to travel each summer to the Thing, and I learned part of the story each summer from Halldor Snorrason.’
‘In that case it is no wonder,’ the king said, ‘that you know it well. Your luck will now be with you. Be welcome here with me, and I will grant you whatever you want.’
The king secured him good wares, and he grew into vigorous manhood.
Translated by ANTHONY MAXWELL
REFERENCE SECTION
Saga Sites in Iceland
Assembly Sites
Kings of Norway
Harald Fair-hair –932
Erik Blood-axe 930–34
Hakon Haraldsson, King Athelstan’s foster-son 934–60
Harald Grey-cloak 960–75
Hakon Sigurdarson the Powerful 975–95
Olaf Tryggvason 995–1000
Eirik (d. 1013) and Svein Hakonarson 1000–1015
Olaf Haraldsson the Saint 1014–30
Svein Knutsson (son of Canute the Great) 1030–35
Magnus Olafsson the Good 1035–47
Harald Sigurdarson the Stern 1046–66
Magnus Haraldsson 1066–9
Olaf the Quiet 1067–93
Magnus Bare-leg 1093–1103
Olaf (d. 1116), Eystein (d. 1122) and Sigurd Jerusalem-farer, sons of Magnus 1103–30
Magnus Sigurdarson the Blind 1130–35
Harald Magnusson Gilli 1130–36
Sigurd (d. 1155), Eystein (d. 1157) and Ingi Haraldsson 1136–61
Hakon Broad-shoulder Sigurdarson 1157–62
Magnus Erlingsson 1161–84
Kings of Demark
Gorm the Old –940
Harald Black-tooth Gormsson –c. 986
Sveinn Fork-beard Haraldsson 986–1014
Harald Sveinsson 1014–18
Knut (Canute) Sveinsson the Great 1018–35
Hardicanute 1035–42
Magnus Olafsson the Good 1042–7
Svein Ulfsson 1047–74
Harald Hein Sveinsson 1074–80
Knut the Saint 1080–86
Olaf Hunger 1086–95
Eirik the Good 1095–1103
Nikulas 1103–34
Eirik Eimuni 1134–7
Eirik Lamb 1137–46
Svein Svidandi 1146–57
Knut Magnusson 1166–7
Valdemar Knutsson the Old 1157–82
Kings of England
Ethelred I, King of Wessex 866–71
Alfred the Great, King of Wessex 871–99
Edward the Elder, King of Wessex 899–924
Athelstan the Faithful 925–39
Edmund I 939–46
Eadred 946–55
Eadwig 955–9
Edgar 959–75
Edward the Martyr 975–8
Ethelred II, the Unready 978–1013; 1014–16
Svein Fork-beard 1013–14
Edmund II, Ironside 1016
Knut (Canute) Sveinsson the Great 1016–35
Harold I 1035–40
Hardicanute 1040–42
Edward the Confessor 1042–66
Harold Godwinson (II) 1066
William I, the Conqueror 1066–87
William II 1087–1100
Henry I 1100–1135
Stephen 1135–54
Historical Events linked to the Sagas (Scandinavian history is given in italics)
Settlement of Iceland begins c. 870
Battle of Havsfjord (Harald Fair-hair takes control of Norway) c. 885–900
Establishment of the Althing c. 930
Beginning of the Commonwealth 930
Battle of Brunanburh I Wen Heath in England (.9V
Division of Iceland into Quarters c. 965
Discovery of Greenland 985–6
Christianity accepted in Iceland 1000
Battle of Svold (the death of King Olaf Tryggvason of Norway) c. 1000
First trips to Vinland c. 1000–1011
Agreement between the Icelanders and Olaf Haraldsson the Saint, King of Norway 1020–30
Battle of Stiklestad in Norway (the death of King Olaf Haraldsson the Saint) 1030
Isleif Gizurarson becomes the first bishop of Iceland (at Skalholt) 1056
Battle of Stamford Bridge (the death of King Harald Sigurdarson in England) 1066
Ari Thorgilsson the Learned born c. 1068
Jon Ogmundarson becomes the first bishop of Holar (in the north of Iceland) 1106
Íslendingabok (The Book of Icelanders) written by Ari the Learned c. 1122–33
First Kings’ Sagas compiled c. 1150
Snorri Sturluson born 1179 (d. 1241)
First Sagas of Icelanders compiled c. 1220
First Legendary Sagas (fornaldarsögur) compiled c. 1220
Heimskringla compiled by Snorri Sturluson c. 1220–30
Codex Regius of the Eddic poems compiled c. 1260
End of the Commonwealth 1262
Módruvallabók codex of the sagas compiled mid-fourteenth century
Lawspeakers in Iceland
Ulfljot –930
Hrafn Haengsson (son of Ketil Haeng) 930–49
Thorarin Ragi’s Brother Oleifsson 950–69
Thorkel Moon Thorsteinsson 970–84
Thorgeir Thorkelsson the Godi, from Ljosavatn 985–1001
Grim Svertingsson 1002–3
Skafti Thoroddsson 1004–30
Stein Thorgestsson 1031–3
Thorkel Tjorvason 1034–53
Gellir Bolverksson 1054–62
Gunnar Thorgrimsson the Wise 1063–5
Kolbein Flosason 1066–71
Gellir Bolverksson 1072–4
Gunnar Thorgrimsson the Wise 1075
Sighvat Surtsson 1076–83
Markus Skeggjason 1084–1107
Ulfhedin Gunnarsson 1108–16
Bergthor Hrafnsson 1117–22
Illustrations and Diagrams
SHIPS
No full-sized ships have been found in excavations in Iceland, only small boats which have been placed in graves. Several types of ships are mentioned in the sagas, however, and it is obvious that they had a variety of purposes, ranging from the local ferrying of travellers to foreign warfare, trade and the transportation of cargo across the open sea.
It is worth noting that, unlike today’s ocean-going vessels, the ships of this time were open to the elements and had no decks in the modern sense of the word. Navigation was largely carried out by means of the sun, stars, landmarks, and knowledge of birds and whales. The ships were propelled by the wind (with the use of large sails) and human strength (through the use of oars). They were steered by a single rudder which was attached to the starboard side of the vessel, near the stern.
There seems to have been a distinction, though not a firm one, between a ‘ship’ and a ‘boat’, in that a ship {skip) was seen as being a vessel that usually had more than twelve oars, while a boat {bdtur) had fewer than twelve. There was no sharp difference between warships and trading ships, since trading ships were sometimes used for warfare. Nonetheless, warships tended to be large, long and slender, and designed for both sailing and rowing. They were usually divided laterally into spaces for pairs of rowers, known as rúm (literally ‘rooms’). The warships of kings, such as the famous Long Serpent and Bison belonging to Olaf Tryggvason and Olaf Haraldsson of Norway, often had more than thirty ‘rooms’, that is more than sixty oars. Trading vessels tended to be somewhat different.
All trading ships were broader in proportion to their length than warships. Th
ey had a rounder form, a bigger freeboard and a deeper draught than the longships. As they were designed almost exclusively for sailing, in most cases the mast was fixed. On the permanent deck fore and aft it was possible to stand or sit in a row if necessary, for here (but not amidships) there were oar-holes in the ship’s side. All the middle part of the ships was occupied by the cargo.
(Brogger and Shetelig, p. 179)
Figure 1. Knorr
It is unlikely that warships ever sailed to Iceland, but the saga heroes are often said to have gone raiding on their trips abroad. The most important ship for the Icelanders was the knorr {knörr). Smaller, broad boats of a similar kind were used for centuries in Iceland, especially in the area around Breidafjord. Such boats might well be similar to the smaller cargo vessels {byrdingar) mentioned in the sagas. The most common ships:
The cargo vessel was short and broad, smaller than the knorr, and mainly intended for coastal trade, although on occasion such vessels seem to have been ocean-going. They tended to have crews of between twelve and twenty men. The vessel known as Skuldelev 3, like the other Skuldelev ships now on display in Roskilde, is probably an example of a cargo vessel. It is c. 13.8m long and 3.3m in the beam.
The knorr was a large, wide-bodied, sturdy, ocean-going cargo ship, the biggest of the trading ships. The settlers of Iceland and Greenland, and the Vinland explorers, seem to have most commonly used the knorr, which was capable of carrying not only people but also livestock, cargo and large amounts of supplies. An example of the knorr (referred to as Skuldelev 1) was found in Roskilde fjord in Denmark and is on display in Roskilde. This is c. 16.3m long and c. 4.5m in the beam. (See Figure 1.)
The expression longship (langskip) was a collective, general term used for large warships, more than thirty-two oars. Some of these were of great size, like King Olaf Tryggvason’s Long Serpent, which is said to have had thirty-four ‘rooms’,
Figure 2. Warship
making a total of sixty-eight oarsmen, and probably also had space for additional warriors. As in the case of the warship (karfi) (see below), the size was usually indicated by the number of places for rowers. The ship known as Skuldelev 2, now on display in Roskilde, is thought to be a longship. This vessel, which probably was 28–9m long and c. 4.5m in the beam, might have carried between fifty and sixty men. Nonetheless, it is somewhat smaller than many of the Norwegian longships described in the sagas.
The warship was generally smaller than the longships owned by kings and great chieftains. The size clearly varied: they range from a warship with sixteen oars on each side, mentioned in the Saga of Grettir the Strong, to the warship with six oars on each side which is said to have been owned by a child in Egil’s Saga. The Gokstad and Oseberg ships, on display in Oslo, have been identified as being this type of vessel. The Gokstad ship has sixteen oars on each side, and was 23.3m long and 5.25m in the beam. (See Figure 2.)
The famous dragon (dreki) was also a warship. The term is mainly used in later, more fictive sagas, but makes an early appearance in Egil’s Saga. The dragon, however, was not a specific type of ship, rather a form of description. It originates in the occasional use of apparently removable dragon heads (and sometimes even tails) which were attached to the prows (and sterns) of vessels. According to an old Icelandic law, dragon heads had to be removed from ships which were heading towards land, so as not to frighten the local nature spirits that guarded Iceland. Various other expressions for ships that appear in the sagas: The ferry (ferya) was used for cargo and local transport, but we have no description of its size or what it looked like.
The general term trading vessel (kaupskip) simply refers to any vessel engaged in trade (kaup). The term was probably usually synonymous with the word knorr.
The expressions large warship (skeid), light ship/boat/smack (skiita) and swift warship (snekkja) are, as Brdgger and Shetelig have pointed out (p. 169), hardly classifications by size or equipment, but rather tend to be ‘used merely in a transferred sense as indistinct imagery’.
See further: Bregger, A. W. and Shetelig, H., The Viking Ships. Oslo, 1951.
Foote, Peter and Wilson, D. M., The Viking Achievement. London, 1979.
Campbell, James Graham, The Viking World. London, 1980.
THE FARM
The farm (bacr) was a basic social and economic unit in Iceland. Although farms varied in size, there was presumably only one building on a ‘farm’ at the time of settlement, an all-purpose building known as a hall or farmhouse (skdli) or longhouse (langhtis), constructed on the model of the farmhouses the settlers had inhabited in Norway. Over time, additional rooms and/or wings were often added to the original construction.
The Icelandic farmhouse shown in the illustrations is based on information provided by the excavations at Stong (Stöng) in the Thjorsardal valley in the south of Iceland. Stong is regarded as having been an average-sized farm by Icelandic standards. The settlement was abandoned as a result of the devastating ash-fall from the great eruption of Hekla in 1104.
The illustrations are intended to help readers visualize the farm, and understand the specialized vocabulary used to describe it. Many of these terms can be found in the Glossary.
The plan of the farmstead (Figure 3) shows an overall layout of a typical farm. It is based on measurements carried out by the archaeologist Daniel Bruun, but it should be stressed that the layout of these farms was far from fixed. Nonetheless, the plan indicates the common positioning of the haystack wall/yard (stakkgardur) in the often-mentioned hayfield (tún). The hayfield wall (túngardur) surrounds the farm and its hayfield.
Also placed outside the main farm are the animal sheds. With the exception of a cow shed, no barns or other animal sheds came to light at Stong, but these must have existed as they did on most farms. Sometimes they were attached to the farmhouse, but more often were independent constructions some distance away from the building. Sheep sheds, in particular, tended to be built farther away from the hall, and closer to the meadows used for grazing.
The smithy is also separate (for safety reasons), and the same often appears to have applied to the fire room/fire hall (eldhiis/eldaskdli). The latter was essentially a form of specialized kitchen. It was not only used for cooking, but was also the site of other daily household activities carried out around the fire. Indeed, sometimes the term
Figure 3. Icelandic Farm
Figures 4 and 5. The Farmhouse at Stong
eldhús seems to refer not to a separate building, but to the farmhouse, instead of the word hall, stressing the presence of the fire and warmth in the living quarters.
Figure 4 is a cross-section of the hall at Stong, giving an idea of the way the buildings were constructed. The framework was timber. The main weight of the roof rested on beams, which, in turn, were supported by pillars on either side of the hall. The high-seat pillars (pndvegissúlur) that some settlers brought with them from Norway might have been related to the pillars placed on either side of the high seat (hdsati). The outer walls of most farms in Iceland were constructed of a thick layer of turf and stone, which served to insulate the building. The smoke from the main fire was usually let out through a vent in the roof, but the living quarters would still have been rather smoke-ridden.
Figure 5 depicts the layout of the farmhouse excavated at Stong. The purpose of the area, here marked ‘latrine’, is uncertain, but this role makes sense on the basis of the layout of the room, and the description given in The Tale of Thorstein Shiver, for example. For information about the bed closet, see the Glossary.
See further: Foote and Wilson, The Viking Achievement.
Campbell, The Viking World.
SOCIAL AND POLITICAL STRUCTURE
The notion of kinship is central to the sense of honour and duty in the sagas, and thereby to their action. Kinship essentially involves a sense of belonging, not unlike that underlying the Celtic clan systems. The Icelandic word for kin or clan (att) is cognate with other words meaning ‘to own’ and ‘direction’ – the notion
could be described as a ‘social compass’.
Establishing kinship is one justification for the long genealogies, which tend to strike non-Icelandic readers as idiosyncratic detours, and also for the preludes in Norway before the main saga action begins. Members of the modern nuclear family or close relatives are only part of the picture, since kinsmen are all those who are linked through a common ancestor – preferably one of high birth and high repute – as far back as five or six generations or even more.
Marriage ties, sworn brotherhood and other bonds could create conflicting loyalties with respect to the duty of revenge, of course, as seen in so many sagas, but by the same token they could serve as instruments for resolving such vendettas. A strict pecking order laid down the successive incumbents for the duty of revenge within the fairly immediate family, with a ‘multiplier effect’ if those seeking vengeance were killed in the process. The obligation to take revenge was inherited, just like wealth, property and claims.
Patriarchy was the order of the day, although notable exceptions are found. Likewise, the physical duty of revenge devolved only upon males, but women were often responsible for instigating it, either by urging a husband or brother to action with slurs
about their cowardice, or by bringing up their sons with a vengeful sense of purpose and even supplying them with old weapons that had become family heirlooms.
Iceland was unique among European societies in the tenth to thirteenth centuries in two respects in particular: it had no king and no executive power to follow through the pronouncements of its highly sophisticated legislative and judicial institutions. The lack of executive power meant that there was no means for preventing men from taking the law into their own hands, which gave rise to many memorable conflicts recorded in the sagas, but also led to the gradual disintegration of the Commonwealth in the thirteenth century.
The Sagas of the Icelanders Page 96