Customer Reviews

Laxdaela Saga (Penguin Classics)

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Whenever I confront the Icelandic sagas, as I have the urge to do from time to time, I feel anew the onrush of a different reality.

Did someone do you dirt? Then bushwhack him and and his family and put them all to the sword. There will be settlements to be paid based on your wealth and influence and that of your victim's friends and remaining family, and the desire of your neighbors to put a cap on a burgeoning intergenerational blood feud. Divorce? Tell your old man you've had it with him, march away, and lay claim to half of his estate. (This while women in mainland Europe barely had the right to breathe.)

The LAXDAELA SAGA is one of the best of the sagas, ranking with THE BURNT NJAL SAGA as one of the greatest works to come from the Viking world -- and the greatest literary works of the 12th-14th centuries from anywhere. Its numerous cast of characters (I count 189 names in the book's helpful Glossary of Proper Names, about 40 of which begin with "Thor") boggles the mind. Just remember, these were real people, and their names are enshrined in the history of Iceland by their descendents.

It takes several generations of ambushes, conniving marriages and bloody divorces, and even the introduction of Christianity around A.D. 1000 before the main story gets under way, namely the story of Gudrun Osvifs-daughter and her four marriages. This is no blushing romance: Look at Gudrun the wrong way, and start drafting your will! Her boyfriend Kjartan Olafsson dallies too long in Norway, and she marries his cousin Bolli out of spite. Then, when he returns, she does everything she can to urge Bolli to kill him and his men. A series of internecine feuds breaks out, and it takes more than twenty years for the bad blood to be drained off.

Even minor characters suddenly come to life. Here is how Vigdis Ingjalds-daughter treats a man she regards as dishonorable: "Vigdis went indoors to a chest that belonged to Thord [her husband] and there, at the bottom, she found a heavy purse. She took the purse and went out with it to Ingjald [no relation], and told him to take his money. Ingjald cheered up at this and held out his hand for it. Vigdis raised the purse and struck him on the nose with it, drawing blood; she accompanied this with a stream of derisive words, adding that he would never get the money back, and told him to clear off."

Life was cheap in medieval Iceland. The anonymous author of this saga was, however, a great writer who identified closely with the people and events that went into the making of this sometimes barbaric, always awe-inspiring masterpiece.

As a lover of the Icelandic sagas, I can say I've had the opportunity to read quite a few. But this one, the tale of Gudrun Osvif's Daughter who marries four times, while bringing about the death of one of the most remarkable men Iceland had ever seen up to that time, out of a kind of lover's pique, is surely one of the best. Gudrun belongs to an illustrious family and soon comes into the orbit of an even more illustrious one, that of Olaf the Peacock. While this tale, like all true sagas, spans several generations, the core of the book revolves around the fair Gudrun and the men she encounters and enters into relationships with. But it's a tragic tale in the end, as well, because Gudrun, proud and unforgiving as any Norseman in the saga world, cannot give way and is thus doomed to lose the one man she may have desired most of all. It falls, finally, to her son, born after the killing of her third husband, to bring a kind of rough Icelandic justice to those who brought down the father he never knew, while Gudrun, in her old age, remains typically taciturn, unable to tell him who it was she cared for most, the man who sired him or the one whose death she sought.

SWM
author of The King of Vinland's Saga

This Icelandic saga deals with event in Laxriverdale, first tracing the story of the families involved before leading into the real story of the desirable Gudrun and her sequential marriage to four gentlemen. The basis for the story is certainly true, although it is never known how true an Icelandic saga is. This is one of the best sagas both for its moving story and easier readability than other sagas. Is interesting too in that it deals in part with the introduction of Christianity into Iceland. Contains family trees for the characters involved and four maps of Iceland and Laxriverdale.

Icelandic Sagas are truly the best of Medeival literature. They are much easier for modern readers (and therefore more entertaining) than the epic-heroic poetry which was standard throughout the rest of Europe. Other reviewers have already said plenty about this saga. I just wanted to note that Laxdaela Saga is included in the collection "The Sagas of Icelanders" also published by Penguin Classics. That's the version I own. It seems that many of the sagas from that collection are also published in single volumes. If you're interested in sagas, the bigger book is a much better value than buying them all seperately.

I believe I own and have read almost all of the Penguin Classic Icelandic Sagas they sell on this site (Amazon.com). Njal's Saga, Eyrbyggja Saga, Egil's Saga, and this, the Laxdaela Saga. With that said, of those that I have read, I rank this the second of the best and find it entirely entertaining. Unlike Njal's or Egil's saga, it lacks a central character. This may put some off, but I find it for the better, putting the reader in an omnipotent position that allows them to distantly spectate everything happening within the tireless world presented within. Not to suggest the action of the saga is disconnected, only that the reader isn't forced to follow a single character around on their exploits. Instead, like an eye we observe the Lax River and it's people, who all encounter new and dangerous situations in their lives. As to of whether the text is romanticized or not is entirely up to the reader's interpretation and what they care to focus on. For one who simply wants to read about events and the activities of people that 'just simply are' or if you want to read about romantic tragedy and battles, you can find either one in the ambiguous texts of the Laxdaela Saga. ...

The feeling in this amazing saga is that Iceland is governed moreso by basic decency than by an organized religion. However, a segment in the middle describes the historical conversion of Iceland to Christianity, which may fascinate some readers.

Laxdaela Saga lacks any sense of organized religion until Kjartan and Bolli go to Norway and meet King Olaf. Prior to their trip, sporadic appearances of loosely connected superstitions seem to represent the belief system, such as the ghost of Killer-Hrapp haunting the living (77), the belief that quarreling brings bad luck in fishing villages (69), and the consultation of the "prescient" Gest for the interpretation of Gudrun's dreams (119). The author focuses on human relationships throughout the saga, but in the diction of chapters 40 and 41, a subtle dislike for the church shows through. While the narrative remains very matter-of-fact and with a tone of objectivity, the imposition of a new religion seems to annoy the characters, but they do not become volatile at all.

The author doesn't indict Christianity as a negative institution, but describes King Olaf Tryggvason as a ruthless leader in his campaign to convert Iceland. Olaf is politically shrewd, and knows when to placate Kjartan and when to turn the screws. The first mention of Olaf shows him ordering "a change of faith in Norway, but the people were by no means agreed on it" (143). Shortly after that, Olaf stifles the economy of Iceland by placing an embargo on them "because they refused to accept the new faith he was proclaiming" (144). After a swimming contest with Kjartan, king Olaf offers a gift to Kjartan, and the narrator comments on Kjartan's acceptance: "he put himself too much in the king's power" (145). The city of Trondheim is converted without bloodshed, and the tide turns in favor of conversion. Kjartan declares his opposition, threatening to "burn the king in his house" (146). One of Olaf's spies reports the threat, and Olaf shrewdly becomes magnanimous in a case where he could have executed Kjartan. Olaf understands the value of having Kjartan on his side, and says, "I shall not force you to become Christians on this occasion, for God has said that he does not wish anyone to come to him under duress" (147).

This speech serves Olaf politically, as the crowd cheers for him. Kjartan responds with thanks, and by this act of clemency, Olaf gains Kjartan as an ally, though unconverted. To Olaf's credit, his example of living impresses Kjartan, but while Olaf presents himself as trusting and holy, we learn that "he had spies in all the lodgings of the pagans" (149). During Christmas, Kjartan and Bolli are baptised into the Christian church.

After conversion, Olaf tightens his control over Kjartan by telling him, "I will only grant you leave on the condition that you...compel the people there to accept Christianity, either by force or persuasion" (150). The claim that no one should come to Christianity "under duress" is now abandoned. During the final steps of conversion, pagans are murdered, threats are made, and another embargo goes into effect (151). By the end of chapter 41, Kjartan and three others become political hostages in Norway. In the following chapter, "the whole of the people of Iceland accepted the faith" (153). In comparison to other conversion stories, such as Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the conversion occurs smoothly. The culture is not devastated. Once Kjartan returns to Iceland, we hear little of church affairs. Near the end, Gudrun becomes "a deeply religious woman, and was the first woman in Iceland to learn the Psalter" (153). As a whole, the saga does not seem too concerned with organized religion, but with simple decency.

Amazing stories of human interaction. In general, the characters cannot be categorized as black or white, good or evil, because the author concedes the nuances and imperfections that sometimes get left out of family histories.

I read the Laxdaela Saga more than a year ago for a class I took on Viking History. I have enjoyed few books in my life as much as I enjoyed this one. I've read it three times total now. For me, it was a life-changing book (due in no small part to the professor who was teaching the class, but I digress). Because of this book, I'm now majoring in Medieval History and plan to get a Master's degree in Sweden. While you probably won't find it quite as fascinating as I did, it is a very worthwhile read for anyone interested in the Viking Age, Medieval Europe or just a good read. The story unfolds throughout the settlement period in Iceland and chronicles the lives of the adventurous and bold people who lived in the Lax River Dale over the course of several generations. The center-piece is the tragic love-triangle of Gudrun Osvifsdottir, Kjartan Olafsson and Bolli, his cousin. It is speculated that because of the abundance of female characters and a strong sense of their motivation that this saga may have been written by a woman. The Magnussen translation balances native terminology with modern English and the footnotes, maps and family trees are invaluable. I highly recommend this saga. If you've read the Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien, you probably will find the Laxdaela Saga similar in style. A tip to keep in mind while reading: Don't try to remember every character; there are way too many. Just keep track of the major ones and refer to the glossary of characters at the back of the book as needed for family connections and the like.

Notes on Laxdaela Saga

1.Humor

There's little discernible humor in the sagas, but there are occasional moments of grim amusement. Curiously, it seems the German film director Werner Herzog picked up a couple of such moments for use in Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972). In the movie, as I recall -

at one point, the doomed Spaniards on Aguirre's fleet of rafts are beset by unseen people in the forest; an arrow hits one of the soldiers, who says "Long arrows are becoming fashionable" and pitches into the water;

and elsewhere in the movie, two unhappy soldiers hunch over a dice game onshore, and, as one of them rolls, someone cuts his head off for some reason; his head rolls along the ground, comes to a stop, and says "six" or whatever it was he rolled.

In Grettir's Saga (p. 95 of the University of Toronto edition) we read that Thorbjorn dirves his spear through Atli, and Atli says, "Broad spears are becoming fashionable nowadays."

In Laxdaela Saga (p. 213 of the Penguin edition) we read:

"Audgisl was walking past at that moment, and just when Thorgils had counted 'Ten', Audgisl struck at him; and all those present thought they heard the head says 'Eleven' as it flew off his shoulders."

2.Relationships

Much of the interest of fiction depends on human configurations: lover and lover, husband and wife, mother and child, father and child, lord and vassal (or boss and employee), etc. In Laxdaela Saga there are several relationships we don't typically encounter:

--the fosterage system
--bonds of obligation between kings and people recognized as important
--slaves (including concubines) and owners

as well as a couple of arrangements that may seem unexpectedly modern, given the medieval setting:

--wives as chief authorities on an estate in the absence of their husbands
--ease of divorce and remarriage

These all have lots of potential for drama.

3.Disputes about property plus obligations to secure compensation for injuries are recurrent in the sagas.

4.Supernatural beings and events certainly are used to enhance the drama of the stories, but the authors do not "write up"

There's a clear distinction made between people who are gifted (or burdened) with prescience, such as Gest Oddleifson, and practitioners of witchcraft such as Kotkel (Chapter 35).

The sagas, it seems to me from my limited experience of them, do not go into details about the sorcerers' activities, but I get the impression that there's a clear distinction made between people who are gifted (or burdened) with prescience, such as Gest Oddleifson, and practitioners of witchcraft such as Kotkel (Chapter 35).

The sagas do not go into details about the sorcerers' activities, but I get the impression that they were recognized as repellant - that the procedures were disgusting, as well as having consequences deleterious to the community. (So far as I know - here I am unsure - the Icelandic lords declined to make use of sorcery, even before Christianity; it was beyond the pale even for them. However, the worship offered to the gods may have been disgusting as well as wicked - interesting to think that the gods wanted things done on their behalf that were unacceptable as between people. (Human sacrifice was not unknown in the ancient Scandinavian world.)

The Laxdaela Saga ranks up with Njal's Saga and Egil's Saga in terms of literary quality and thus should be a part of any saga lover's library.

The saga tells the story of the residents of the Lax river's dale from the founding of Iceland until shortly after the conversion to Chistianity. It is full of humor (the episode of the killing of Helgi, when Helgi strkes Thorkel through the door, wounding him through his helmet, and Thorkel's response is to tell folks that someone is, most certainly, at home). However, what makes this saga truly unique is its handling of tragedy.

In many ways the feud in this saga is similar to that in Njal's saga. Both feuds are between friends, but the fires are stoked by women, for example. But while Halgerd in Njal's Saga is often a less-than-sympathetic figure, Gudrun here is entirely sympathetic.

All in all, this is an impressive saga and well worth reading. It has romance, comedy, tragedy, and much more. I would highly recommend it.

I have spent reading Icelandic Sagas for a year now, almost exclusively. I skipped over this one, because I read that it focused too much on Christian Europe. So when I passed by this treasure, I inadvertantly saved it for a later time. So I bought it this past August and it is one of the best. I thoroughly enjoyed this story, it was very rich, great characters, vibrant storytelling, and wonderful imagery. This was just a superb story, one for the ages!