History Literature / TheIcelandicSagas

* WarriorPrince: Many sagas have episodes where Icelandic heroes on a continental trip rub shoulders with royalty, mostly kings of Norway. Because AsskickingEqualsAuthority was the rule among Norse aristocracy, every Norse king or earl was necessarily a Warrior Prince (though some more so than others).

* MoneySlap: In the''Saga of Gisli Sursson'' Eyjolf, after failing once again to track Gisli in the wild, goes to Gisli's wife Aud and offers the three hundred marks of silver he has been paid in advance for bringing in Gisli's head, if she will reveal Gisli's whereabouts to him. He also promises her that she will not have to be present when her husband is killed, and that he will arrange a new marriage to a wealthy man for her. Aud acts like she is inclined to accept the deal and asks Eyjolf to count out the silver for her; this done, she asks Eyjolf whether she "[[ExactWords might do as she wished]]" with this money, and Eyjolf gladly affirms this. Aud then fills the silver into a large purse, stands up and smashes the purse into Eyjolf's face so that "blood spurted all over him".

* DeterminedWidow

* LostInTranslation: The most obvious example is the key Icelandic social position of ''godi,'' which is so impossible to translate into a single English (or most other languages) word that most modern translations simply describe it in detail in the introduction or a footnote and then use it untranslated. Also ''atgeir,'' the WeaponOfChoice of many saga characters, is often translated as "halberd" despite the fact that nobody is certain whether that's what it actually was and no actual halberds dating from the saga era have ever been found. Finally, Old Norse poetry is notoriously difficult to translate into other languages thanks to its reliance on wordplay and complex metaphor. In particular, wordplay in poems based on people's names is often just explained in a footnote.

* DeterminedHomesteader: When not abroad adventuring, farming was the way of life of almost all Icelanders.
* DeterminedHomesteadersWife: Norse women worked hard -- frequently harder than the men. Side note: While women in Norse society had certain rights that they typically did not have in medieval Christian societies (such as the right to divorce her husband or the right to inherit), by and large Norse society was sexist -- women could, for example, not vote in the assembly or hold chieftaincies. In legal affairs, they were usually represented by male relatives.

* TheTrickster: Several sagas, such as Gisli Sursson's, have a character named Ref -- Icelandic for [[CunningLikeAFox "Fox"]] -- who always lives up to his name. There is also a Saga of Ref the Sly, where the eponymous hero tricks [[WarriorPrince Harald Hardradi]]. (Parts of the Saga of Ref, and some of the scenes dealing with bit-part Ref characters in other sagas, show [[WholePlotReference clear similarities]] to the French "[[FantasticFoxes Reynard]]" folktales.)

The Icelandic / Old Norse word ''saga'' means, basically, story. [[note]] In modern Icelandic it can also mean, depending on the context, "statement," "account," or "message." The Icelandic plural is ''sögur.'' [[/note]] And ''the'' sagas are anonymous narratives in the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Norse#Old_West_Norse Old West Norse]] language that were penned in the [[TheHighMiddleAges 13th and 14th century]] by UsefulNotes/{{Iceland}}ers, in Iceland, and preserved in Iceland; which is where the term "Icelandic Sagas" comes in.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: Especially in the longest Sagas (''Njáls'', ''Egils'', ''Laxdæla'', and ''Grettis Saga''), but even the shorter ones almost always have a high character density. It doesn't help that a lot of the males tend to begin with ''thór-'', and sometimes there are even multiple characters with the same first name. Woe to the careless, casual reader!

The Sagas of Icelanders encompass about 40 extant texts. ''[[Literature/NjalsSaga Njál's Saga]]'', ''Literature/LaxdaelaSaga'', ''Literature/GrettirsSaga'', ''Literature/EgilsSaga'' and ''Literature/EyrbyggjaSaga'' are sometimes defined as the 'Big Five' of the group. Other popular sagas of Icelanders include ''Gisli's Saga'', ''Hrafnkel's Saga'', the ''Saga of Erik the Red'' and the ''Saga of Gunnlaug Serpent-Tongue''. For a more exhaustive list, check out [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagas_of_Icelanders the other wiki]] or our own [[Recap/TheIcelandicSagas Synopsis page]]. Note that the title of one and the same saga may be encountered in a variety of versions, due to choices made by translators and editors. For example, ''[[Literature/TheSagaOfGrettirTheStrong Grettis saga]]'' -- which is also called ''Gréttla'' by Icelanders -- has been published in English as ''Gréttir's Saga'' or ''The Saga of Gréttir the Strong.''

* ''[[Literature/NjalsSaga Njál's Saga]]''

* ''Literature/LaxdaelaSaga''

* BeastlyBloodsports: Horse fights are a popular entertainment in the world of the Icelandic Sagas, and will always become the catalyzer of a quarrel or feud. A prominent example occurs in ''[[Literature/NjalsSaga Njál's Saga]].''

* DemonOfHumanOrigin: In the "Tale of Thorstein Shiver", a short tale from the ''Book of Flatey'' (c. 1390), the Christian Thorstein encounters an imp from Hell who introduces himself as a certain Thorkel the Thin, a warrior of the pagan times who died in the famous Battle of Bravellir. All the same, the demon also relates in conversation that Sigurd and Starkad, two famous heroes of the pagan days, [[FireAndBrimstoneHell are tortured in Hell.]]

* DemonOfHumanOrigin: In the "Tale of Thorstein Shiver", a short tale from the ''Book of Flatey'' (c. 1390), the Christian Thorstein encounters an [[TheImp imp from Hell]] who introduces himself as a certain Thorkel the Thin, a warrior of the pagan times who died in the famous Battle of Bravellir. All the same, the demon also relates in conversation that Sigurd and Starkad, two famous heroes of the pagan days, [[FireAndBrimstoneHell are tortured in Hell.]]

* LegendaryWeapon: Several of the sagas (specifically ''Kormak's Saga'' and ''Laxdoela Saga'') have a cameo of Skofnung, the legendary sword of the ancient Danish king Hrolf Kraki told about in ''Literature/TheSagaOfHrolfKraki'', which supposedly was [[GraveRobbing robbed from Hrolf's gravemound]] and brought to Iceland by the Icelander Skeggi of Midfirth.

This fuzziness is not surprising as, in its basic meaning, the term ''saga'' can encompass almost all narrative prose of medieval Norse-speaking Europe.[[note]]Which, besides UsefulNotes/{{Norway}}, UsefulNotes/{{Sweden}}, UsefulNotes/{{Denmark}}, and UsefulNotes/{{Iceland}}, also included Orkney, the UsefulNotes/FaroeIslands, UsefulNotes/{{Greenland}}, and some bilingual places -- like UsefulNotes/{{Dublin}}, the Isle of Man, the Hebrides, and Caithness in UsefulNotes/{{Scotland}}.[[/note]] Medieval Iceland, however, was exceptionally productive in literary output, the place where writers most consequently used their native Norse (as opposed to Latin), and where most manuscripts of Old Norse literature were preserved.

* BadassBeard: The male beauty ideal of the Saga Age. Inability to grow a beard was considered a sad disfigurement of the the male appearance, as lack of beard was associated with effeminateness. Becomes a plot point in ''Njáls saga.''

The Sagas of Icelanders encompass about 40 extant texts. ''[[Literature/NjalsSaga Njál's Saga]]'', ''Literature/LaxdaelaSaga'', ''Literature/GrettirsSaga'', ''Literature/EgilsSaga'' and ''Literature/EyrbyggjaSaga'' are sometimes defined as the 'Big Five' of the group. Other popular sagas of Icelanders include ''Gisli's Saga'', ''Hrafnkel's Saga'', the ''Saga of Erik the Red'' and the ''Saga of Gunnlaug Serpent-Tongue''. For a more exhaustive list, check out [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagas_of_Icelanders the other wiki]] or our own [[Recap/TheIcelandicSagas Synopsis page]]. Note that the title of one and the same saga may be encountered in a variety of versions, due to choices made by translators and editors. For example, ''[[Literature/TheSagaOfGrettirTheStrong Grettis saga]]'' -- which is also called ''Grettla'' by Icelanders -- has been published in English as ''Grettir's Saga'' or ''The Saga of Grettir the Strong.''

* BornUnlucky: The natural counterpart to BornLucky. Grettir Asmundarson is an example.

* {{Outlaw}}: Outlawry was the most severe punishment an Icelandic jury could dispense. Outlawry came in two degrees: Full outlawry was forever, lesser outlawry for three years. (There was also the still milder form of district banishment, where you were only forbidden to enter a certain district.) As killing an outlaw was impunishable by law, and it was technically forbidden to shelter an outlaw[[note]]Though as the sagas testify, this ban was often violated in secret.[[/note]], your best bet as an outlaw was to leave the country; if you could not or would not, you had to settle for a life of hiding and running. Outlaws appear in sagas both as heroes and as villains, with Grettir Amundarson and Gisli Sursson (each from his own saga) as the most famous examples of heroic outlaws who escape their pursuers by cunning and perseverance for many years. Less noble-minded outlaws often are villains, as outlaws frequently would turn to robbery and violence to survive.

* ''Literature/NjalsSaga''

The Sagas of Icelanders encompass about 40 extant texts. ''Njál's Saga'', ''Literature/LaxdaelaSaga'', ''Literature/GrettirsSaga'', ''Literature/EgilsSaga'' and ''Literature/EyrbyggjaSaga'' are sometimes defined as the 'Big Five' of the group. Other popular sagas of Icelanders include ''Gisli's Saga'', ''Hrafnkel's Saga'', the ''Saga of Erik the Red'' and the ''Saga of Gunnlaug Serpent-Tongue''. For a more exhaustive list, check out [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagas_of_Icelanders the other wiki]] or our own [[Recap/TheIcelandicSagas Synopsis page]]. Note that the title of one and the same saga may be encountered in a variety of versions, due to choices made by translators and editors. For example, ''[[Literature/TheSagaOfGrettirTheStrong Grettis saga]]'' -- which is also called ''Grettla'' by Icelanders -- has been published in English as ''Grettir's Saga'' or ''The Saga of Grettir the Strong.''

* BeastlyBloodsports: Horse fights are a popular entertainment in the world of the Icelandic Sagas, and will always become the catalyzer of a quarrel or feud. A prominent example occurs in ''Njal's Saga.''

* MagicalWeapon: Gunnar in ''Njal's Saga'' has a magic Halberd that makes its wielder invincible. He took it from a pirate who was invincible until the halberd got [[LeftStuckAfterAttack stuck in the boom of the ship.]]
* TheMagnificent: Nick- or bynames are almost ubiquitous in the saga universe. "Wolf the Unwashed", a minor supporting character in ''Njal's Saga'', is one of the odder examples.

** Though ''Njal's Saga'' is arguably a really effective {{Deconstruction}}. Many of the male characters react pathetically to perceived slights to their manly honour and it is quite clear that much of the bloodshed in the story could have been easily avoided if thicker skins and cooler heads prevailed. At one point in the story, a hard-won legal settlement breaks down because a man is sent a silk garment as a gift - it isn't clear if the sender even intended to insult him.

* FacingTheBulletsOneLiner: A rare example where the injury comes before the quip: In one saga, a band of vigilantes aim to lynch a man who killed one of their kinsmen. While scouting out his homestead, one of the men encounters him and is mortally wounded. When the posse assembles again, his companions ask if the afflicted man has seen their prey. He answers words to the effect of: "I'm not sure whether he's home, but his spear certainly is" and then dies.