Document Type

Thesis - University Access Only

Award Date

2010

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department / School

English

First Advisor

Michael Nagy

Abstract

During the thirteenth- and fourteenth-centuries, Icelandic citizens faced one of the most difficult decisions in the history of the Free State. Approximately four hundred years after settling Iceland, the inhabitants of the society watched as their homeland endured a barrage of social and political upheavals. At once the Icelanders faced a shift in their power structure, a massive struggle over church ownership, a breakdown of the land's legal system, and a struggle to deal with the Island's ever present harsh climate and lack of natural resources. As almost all semblance of order disappeared, and citizens competed for power and property rights, a period of unsurpassed feuding broke out all over Iceland. While the wealthy chieftains of the land waged war to increase their holdings and influence, their unrelenting drive for power created an internal warfare that affected citizens in every stratum of the society. Because Iceland's political authority had been compromised due to the breakdown in the power structure and legal system, it became quite evident that this was a situation that the Icelanders could not resolve on their own in any type of expedient or peaceful fashion. Thus, they were left with two equally undesirable options. They could either allow the feuding to continue in an attempt to sort out the breakdown in power on their own terms, or they could turn to the Norwegian monarchy for help. Because Norway had already begun a play for increased involvement in Iceland, any de facto decision that resulted in turning to Norway for assistance would ultimately be a decision to cede power and independence. It is in this climate that Iceland produced some of its most renowned works of literature. Throughout the period leading to and following Iceland's decision to cede independence to Norway, many of the most prominent Icelandic Family Sagas came into existence. Conceived in the midst of this struggle, several of these works, particularly the outlaw sagas, provide invaluable insights into the mindset of the thirteenth- and fourteenth-century Icelanders who faced these harsh realties. Narrowing the genre specifically to the outlaw sagas, this study will seek to show that these works do far more than inadvertently provide insights into past Icelandic struggles for future readers. Rather, this thesis will aim to prove that these works were in fact part of a unified saga tradition aimed to highlight the preferred decision for the thirteenth- and fourteenth-century Icelanders to cede independence to Norway. Though it is the criticism of the Norwegian monarchy within these sagas that seems to unify these works and tie them together into a saga tradition, these criticisms come from characters whose own struggles for honor and independence lead to very undesirable results. Therefore, one should not assume that these works are attempting to warn the thirteenth- and fourteenth-century Icelanders against further involvement with Norway. Instead, what Egils saga, Gisla saga and Grettis saga seem to be warning against is an unhealthy obsession with honor. By showing the ways in which these saga heroes all meet unfortunate and at times terrifying ends as a result of their inability to compromise, these works seem to be suggesting that more moderate decisions, such as ceding independence to restore peace, can still be considered honorable.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Sagas -- History and criticism
Snorri Sturluson, 1179?-1241. Egils saga.
Grettis saga
Gisla saga
Iceland -- Relations -- Norway
Norway -- Relations -- Iceland
Honor in literature
Moderation in literature 

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