Grettis saga
Encyclopedia
Grettis saga (also known as Grettla, Grettir's Saga or The Saga of Grettir the Strong) is one of the Icelanders' sagas
. It details the life of Grettir Ásmundarson, a bellicose Iceland
ic outlaw
.
The author is unknown but it is believed he may have based his story on a previous account of Grettir's life written by Sturla Þórðarson
.
Grettir's intentions are not necessarily bad, but he is ill-tempered and often does things that he later regrets: he is also very unlucky so that some of his actions have severe unintended consequences. Grettir spends most of his adult life in Iceland as an outlaw although he sails twice to Norway. He was related to King Olaf who Christianized Norway. But in Norway too he gets into trouble and is sent away. He is not involved in the viking
raids that many other saga-heroes take part in.
Glámr, an undead being that is in a sense a corporeal ghost, strong and formidable. But the draugr curses him, and this is seen by the author as the cause of his later misfortunes.
Grettir is sometimes able to be a proper hero, defeating various enemies. But he is blamed for setting fire to a hall, killing many men, and is condemned to outlawry
. This means that anyone can kill him without legal penalty and that people are forbidden to help him in any way; many attempts are made on his life but he wasn't famous for nothing.
Grettir eventually becomes the longest-surviving outlaw in Icelandic history. When he has nearly completed 20 years as an outlaw, his friends and family ask for his outlawry to be lifted, arguing that a man may not spend more than 20 years as an outlaw according to the law (in actual history there was no such law in medieval Iceland). After a debate at the assembly, it is decided that the outlawry will be lifted when he has truly completed the 20 years but not before. His enemies make one last effort, using sorcery to cause him to wound himself and finally defeat him, atop cliff-sided, lonely, fortress-like Drangey
off the northern tip of Iceland
where he was staying with his brother Illugi, and his slave Glaumur.
His half brother, Thorsteinn of Dromund, later avenges him in a semi-comic scene in Byzantium
, where the Norse served as Varangians
.
. At Bjarg, Grettir Ásmundarson always had refuge with his mother Ásdís. Many place names in the neighbourhood of Bjarg and indeed throughout the county bear the name of the outlaw e.g. Grettishaf, Grettistak and Grettishöfði at Arnarvatn. A memorial was erected to his mother Ásdís at Bjarg in 1974. The memorial displays a relief from Grettis Saga made by Icelandic artist Halldór Pétursson.
Grettir is celebrated in the long poem Eclogue
from Iceland in the 1938 collection The Earth Compels by Irish poet Louis MacNeice
, who had developed a love of Norse mythology while at school at Marlborough College
. In it, the ghost of Grettir speaks with two men, Craven and Ryan, who have been 'hounded' from a decadent and war-threatened Europe 'whose voice calls in the sirens of destroyers'. He urges them to recover their underlying humane values, and to assert, as he has, 'the sanctity of the individual will'. He tells them to return home as an act of duty, which he calls - remembering his own defiant choice to be an outlaw - 'Your hazard, your act of defiance and hymn of hate, hatred of hatred, assertion of human values' and (in the poem's final words') 'your only chance'.
Icelanders' sagas
The Sagas of Icelanders —many of which are also known as family sagas—are prose histories mostly describing events that took place in Iceland in the 10th and early 11th centuries, during the so-called Saga Age. They are the best-known specimens of Icelandic literature.The Icelanders'...
. It details the life of Grettir Ásmundarson, a bellicose Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
ic outlaw
Outlaw
In historical legal systems, an outlaw is declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, this takes the burden of active prosecution of a criminal from the authorities. Instead, the criminal is withdrawn all legal protection, so that anyone is legally empowered to persecute...
.
Overview
The saga is categorized as one of the Sagas of Icelanders (Íslendingasögur) which were written in the thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries and are fairly realistic accounts of events taking place between the ninth and the eleventh century in Iceland. The matter of such texts is usually conflicts for wealth, prestige, and power.The author is unknown but it is believed he may have based his story on a previous account of Grettir's life written by Sturla Þórðarson
Sturla Þórðarson
Sturla Þórðarson was an Icelandic politician/chieftain and writer of sagas and contemporary history during the 13th century.Sturla was the son of Þórður Sturluson and his mistress Þóra. He was a nephew and pupil of the famous saga-writer Snorri Sturluson...
.
Grettir's intentions are not necessarily bad, but he is ill-tempered and often does things that he later regrets: he is also very unlucky so that some of his actions have severe unintended consequences. Grettir spends most of his adult life in Iceland as an outlaw although he sails twice to Norway. He was related to King Olaf who Christianized Norway. But in Norway too he gets into trouble and is sent away. He is not involved in the viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
raids that many other saga-heroes take part in.
Story
Grettir is only introduced to the story in chapter 14. Up until then it tells of his father and grandfather who lived not uneventful lives. His grandfather Önundur from whom he may have inherited his physical strength had been a viking and at one point fought a battle against Kjarval who was king around Dublin. He settles at the northern coast of Iceland and has many sons. Grettir's life is told from beginning to end. As a child, he is rebellious and bad-tempered. He is described as red haired, somewhat freckled, and broad around the eyes. He is also courageous; he takes on and defeats the draugrDraugr
A draugr, draug or draugur , or draugen , also known as aptrgangr is an undead creature from Norse mythology...
Glámr, an undead being that is in a sense a corporeal ghost, strong and formidable. But the draugr curses him, and this is seen by the author as the cause of his later misfortunes.
Grettir is sometimes able to be a proper hero, defeating various enemies. But he is blamed for setting fire to a hall, killing many men, and is condemned to outlawry
Proscription
Proscription is a term used for the public identification and official condemnation of enemies of the state. It is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a "decree of condemnation to death or banishment" and is a heavily politically charged word, frequently used to refer to state-approved...
. This means that anyone can kill him without legal penalty and that people are forbidden to help him in any way; many attempts are made on his life but he wasn't famous for nothing.
Grettir eventually becomes the longest-surviving outlaw in Icelandic history. When he has nearly completed 20 years as an outlaw, his friends and family ask for his outlawry to be lifted, arguing that a man may not spend more than 20 years as an outlaw according to the law (in actual history there was no such law in medieval Iceland). After a debate at the assembly, it is decided that the outlawry will be lifted when he has truly completed the 20 years but not before. His enemies make one last effort, using sorcery to cause him to wound himself and finally defeat him, atop cliff-sided, lonely, fortress-like Drangey
Drangey
Drangey or Drang Isle, with its steep sea cliffs, towers majestically in the midst of Skagafjörður fjord in Iceland. The island is the remnant of a 700,000 year old volcano, mostly made of volcanic tuff, forming a massive rock fortress....
off the northern tip of Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
where he was staying with his brother Illugi, and his slave Glaumur.
His half brother, Thorsteinn of Dromund, later avenges him in a semi-comic scene in Byzantium
Byzantium
Byzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...
, where the Norse served as Varangians
Varangians
The Varangians or Varyags , sometimes referred to as Variagians, were people from the Baltic region, most often associated with Vikings, who from the 9th to 11th centuries ventured eastwards and southwards along the rivers of Eastern Europe, through what is now Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.According...
.
Legacy
Grettir Ásmundarson was reported to have been from Bjarg in MiðfjörðurMiðfjörður
Miðfjörður is a small fjord in the northwest of Iceland. Miðfjörður is fed by the river Austurá, is roughly wide and long, and empties onto Húnaflói bay. The town of Hvammstangi is on the eastern slope of the fjord. The main highway through rural Iceland, Route 1, passes by the southern tip of...
. At Bjarg, Grettir Ásmundarson always had refuge with his mother Ásdís. Many place names in the neighbourhood of Bjarg and indeed throughout the county bear the name of the outlaw e.g. Grettishaf, Grettistak and Grettishöfði at Arnarvatn. A memorial was erected to his mother Ásdís at Bjarg in 1974. The memorial displays a relief from Grettis Saga made by Icelandic artist Halldór Pétursson.
Grettir is celebrated in the long poem Eclogue
Eclogue
An eclogue is a poem in a classical style on a pastoral subject. Poems in the genre are sometimes also called bucolics.The form of the word in contemporary English is taken from French eclogue, from Old French, from Latin ecloga...
from Iceland in the 1938 collection The Earth Compels by Irish poet Louis MacNeice
Louis MacNeice
Frederick Louis MacNeice CBE was an Irish poet and playwright. He was part of the generation of "thirties poets" which included W. H. Auden, Stephen Spender and Cecil Day-Lewis; nicknamed "MacSpaunday" as a group — a name invented by Roy Campbell, in his Talking Bronco...
, who had developed a love of Norse mythology while at school at Marlborough College
Marlborough College
Marlborough College is a British co-educational independent school for day and boarding pupils, located in Marlborough, Wiltshire.Founded in 1843 for the education of the sons of Church of England clergy, the school now accepts both boys and girls of all beliefs. Currently there are just over 800...
. In it, the ghost of Grettir speaks with two men, Craven and Ryan, who have been 'hounded' from a decadent and war-threatened Europe 'whose voice calls in the sirens of destroyers'. He urges them to recover their underlying humane values, and to assert, as he has, 'the sanctity of the individual will'. He tells them to return home as an act of duty, which he calls - remembering his own defiant choice to be an outlaw - 'Your hazard, your act of defiance and hymn of hate, hatred of hatred, assertion of human values' and (in the poem's final words') 'your only chance'.