| Popis: |
In this chapter the Icelandic sagas are discussed as legitimizing narratives. Special attention is given to the sagas about early Icelanders (Islendingasogur), composed in the thirteenth century but portraying people and events from the period of the country’s settlement until its conversion to Christianity in 1000 CE. These foundational narratives can be interpreted as attempts to legitimize the social dominance of the Icelandic chieftain class. However, they are often quite ambiguous in their portrayal of the social status of their characters. Eyrbyggja saga is the focus of this study. The saga describes the rise to power of an ancestor of many prominent families of the thirteenth century but also the ambiguity of his claim to legitimacy. At the same time, the saga may be defining a new role for the secular chieftains of late thirteenth-century Iceland who had recently become part of the Norwegian kingdom at the time the saga is believed to have been composed. |
