Egil's Saga

Synopsis

The saga begins in Norway around 850, with the life of Egil's grandfather Ulf (Úlfr) aka Kveldulf or "Evening Wolf", and his two sons Thorolf (Þórólfr) and Skallagrim (Skalla-Grímr). Strife with the royal house drive the family out of the country, and they settle in Iceland. The brothers Egil and Throlf Skallagrimsson are born. They have a tenuous tenure in Norway, but Egil is outlawed and they roam Scandinavia and serve the king of England. Egil tries to reclaim property back in Norway (as his wife's inheritance), but this is blocked, and Egil develops a personal vendetta against King Eirik Bloodaxe.

There are also vivid descriptions of his other fights and friendships, his relationship with his family (highlighted by his jealousy, as well as fondness for his older brother Thorolf), his old age, and the fate of his own son Thorstein (Þorsteinn, who was baptized once Roman Catholicism came to Iceland) and his children, who had many children of their own. The saga ends around the year 1000 and spans many generations.

Kveldulf's lineage

Ulf (Kveldulf) had Hallbjorn Halftroll as his maternal uncle, and was known for his surpassing size and strength. He had accrued land and property from viking raids, and was a man of wisdom. He earned the nickname Kveldulf (Kveldúlfr, "Evening Wolf") because of his erratic temper at nightfall, and reputation for manifesting the so-called "shape-shifter" (hamrammr) abilities, explained in later chapters to be comparable (or equatable) with berserk fury. Extreme personal traits like these are manifested by his son Skallagrim and his grandson Egil as well.

Strife with Harald Fairhair of Norway

King Harald Fairhair (Haraldr Hárfagri) was warring to unite all of Norway. Kveldulf refused to assist the local king of Fjordane, but rebuffed Harald's overtures as well, incurring his wrath. A compromise was mediated by Olvir Hnufa (Ölvir hnúfa or "Olvir Hump"), Kveldulf's brother-in-law and Harald's court poet: Skallagrim was to send his elder son Thorolf, as soon as he returned from viking expedition. Thorolf served the king well, but suspicion fell on him due to his becoming overly successful, exacerbated by words of slanderers. Thorolf was killed by the king who led a band of warriors, and the rift would force Skallagrim and his father Kveldulf to flee Norway to settle in Iceland.

Skallagrim journeyed to Harald's court seeking compensation for the death of his brother Thorolf, but offended the king and had to make a hasty exit empty-handed. Skallagrim and Kveldulf then recaptured a boat that had been seized from Thorolf, and after killing everyone on board, sent a taunting poem to the King. In the battle, Kveldulf displayed his "frenzy" (hamrammr or hamremi), which left him severely weakened. When the family emigrated to Iceland, Kveldulf did not survive the trip, and his coffin was set adrift. Near the spot where the coffin washed ashore in Iceland, Skallagrim established his settlement, which he named Borg. He took up a peaceful livelihood as a farmer and blacksmith, and raised his sons, Thorolf (named Þórólfr after his slain uncle), and Egil (the titular hero).

Skallagrim's sons

The saga then proceeds to describe the lives of Thorolf and Egil Skallagrimsson, born in Iceland, and eventually making their way to Norway in adulthood. Thorolf visited Skallagrim's old friend in Norway, Thorir the Hersir (Þórir Hróaldsson). Here Thorolf befriended Prince Eirik Bloodaxe, Harald's favourite son and Thorir's fosterling. He approached the prince with a gift of a painted warship that Eirik was admiring, on advice of Bjorn (Björn Brynjölfsson), Thorir's brother-in-law.

Afterwards Eirik Bloodaxe was crowned co-king, and as Thorolf headed home to Iceland, the king gave him a gold-inlaid axe as a gift to Skallagrim. Skallagrim abused the axe (named "King's Gift" or konungsnautr) and shattered it, reciting an insulting poem about it to Thorolf and handing back what was left of the axe, a sooty handle with a rusted blade. Thorolf flung the axe overboard, but reported to King Eirik that his father was grateful for the axe, presenting a bolt of longship sail cloth pretended to be from Skallagrim. In this way Thorolf managed to somewhat keep the peace between Skallagrim and King Eirik Bloodaxe.

Egil (Egill)'s boyhood foreshadowed his future rebelliousness and poetic prowess. His unbridled behavior and strength beyond his age earned him a stay at home when a feast was held by Yngvar (Egil's maternal grandfather). Egil defiantly rode a horse to attend, and composed his first skaldic verse at age three. At the age of seven while playing in the ball games, he committed his first murder (axe-killing an older boy who outclassed him in the sport). By the time Egil was twelve very few grown men could compete with him in games, but when he and his friend challenged his father one day, Skallagrim manifested such strength at nightfall that he slammed the friend dead against the ground. Egil was so upset he killed one of his father's favorite workers, and the two were not on speaking terms.

Conflict with Eirik Bloodaxe

The summer after Egil's father killed his friend, Thorolf came home to visit Iceland. Egil forcibly insisted on accompanying Thorolf back to Norway, although Thorolf was reluctant. On this trip, Thorolf was taking alongside his prospective wife, Asgerd (Ásgerðr Bjarnardóttir), and reuniting her with her kinsmen (her father Bjorn and uncle Thorir) for permission to marry. While staying with Thorir, Egil became attached to Thorir's son Arinbjorn (Arinbjörn Þórisson), an important figure in the saga and Egil's lifelong friend.

Egil missed the wedding on account of illness, and joined Thorir's men on an errand in Atloy, where he was slighted by the king's steward Bard (Bárðr), and wound up killing him. When Bard received Egil's party, he would only serve curd (skyr) to drink, pretending ale had run out. But later that night when king and queen arrived for the feast to the dísir, ale was served plentifully. Egil relentlessly jibed Bard about the deceit with sarcastic poetry, and his unquenchable thirst embarrassed the host. Bard and the queen sent Egil a poisoned drink, but the attempt was foiled by Egil, who inscribed runes on the horn and besmeared it with his own blood, causing the horn to shatter. Egil then went up to Bard and stabbed him to death with his sword. Discovering Egil had fled, Eirik ordered an unsuccessful manhunt to have Egil killed, and lost several men. Despite the affront, Eirik was persuaded by Thorir (his foster-father) to settle this by compensation.

Serving England, Thorolf falls in battle

Egil joined the army of King Æthelstan, and he composed a drápa in praise of the king. Egil and Thorolf fought with King Æthelstan in a battle against "Olaf the Red of Scotland". Thorolf was killed, and King Æthelstan compensated Egil for Thorolf's loss. Egil marries his brother Thorolf's widow, Asgerd.

After Hakon, King Eirik's brother, returned to Norway after his fosterage under King Æthelstan in England, Eirik decides to leave Norway with his family. They arrived in England, where Eirik was appointed by Æthelstan to rule Northumbria. During this time, Egil's father Skallagrim died. Two years later, Egil sailed to England intending to see King Æthelstan, but winds up crossing paths with Eirik Bloodaxe. Eirik was furious, but Arinbjorn Thorisson convinced Eirik spare Egil's life if he could compose a poem in his honor. Egil succeeded (by reciting Höfuðlausn or "Head Ransom"), and Eirik allowed him to leave on condition that he never appeared again before Eirik's sight. Egil made his way to see King Æthelstan, who was fostering Thorstein (Þorsteinn), a kinsman of Arinbjorn. While visiting, word arrived from Norway that Thorstein's father died leaving him a large inheritance. Þorsteinn, Arinbjorn and Egil made plans to sail to Norway to stake Thorsteinn's claim. Before they leave, King Æthelstan convinced Egil to move to England and command his armies after their task is completed.

After helping Thorstein claim his inheritance, Egil returned to Iceland and spends a few years with his family. During this time, both Kings Æthelstan and Eirik Bloodaxe died, leaving Eirik's brother Hakon ruler of Norway. Egil returned to Norway to claim lands won in a duel with Atli the Short on behalf of his wife Asgerd. Along the way Egil stays with Arinbjorn, whom he convinces to go to King Hákon on his behalf. Hákon denies Egill's claim, so Arinbjörn compensates Egil with forty marks of silver.

Egill and Arinbjörn go raiding in Saxony and Frisia, after which they stay with Þorsteinn Þóruson(Thorstein Thoruson). King Hákon requests Thorstein to collect tribute in Varmland or be sentenced to outlawry. Egil goes in Þorsteinn's place. Egil travels with some of King Hákon's men to Varmland and fight many battles, Egill killing many times more foes than his companions.

Egil lives to an old age. Arinbjörn becomes a close advisor to Harald Eiríksson, to whom Egill composes a poem. Egill's son Böðvar(Bodvar) dies in a shipwreck. Egill composes a poem in his honor. Egil's son Þorsteinn has many feuds with Steinar, son of Önundr sjóni Anason (Onund Sjoni), over land and cattle grazing. Egill becomes frail and blind. His one last wish was to travel to the Althing and toss silver he received from King Æthelstan for the people to fight over. Since no one was able to accompany him, he wanders alone and allegedly concealed his silver treasure near Mosfellsbær, giving birth to the legend of silfur Egils ("Egill's Silver").

Interpretation

The character of Egil is complex and full of seeming contradictions. His multifaceted nature reflects the extreme qualities of his family, a family of men who are either ugly or astoundingly handsome; a family which includes 'shape-shifters', who become suddenly mad, violent and cruel, though they may at other times be deliberate and wise; a family which neither submits to the will of kings, nor stands in open rebellion. His character is also reflected in the storytelling conventions of the text, a difficult text populated by characters with similar or identical names, living out various permutations of very similar stories. The two handsome Thorolfs (Þórólfrs) die heroic deaths, while their brothers Skallagrim and Egil both die in old age after spitefully burying their wealth in the wilderness. The descendants of Kveldúlfr find themselves involved in two complicated inheritance feuds, at one time rejecting the claims of illegitimate children of a second marriage, and at another time claiming land on behalf of another illegitimate child born to similar circumstances.

At times in Egil's saga Egil comes across as a brute who often acts quickly and irrationally for no reason. He appears to be a shallow creature and in many instances the only time he appears to put much thought into anything is when he composes and recites poetry. Egil is in reality a man of many virtues which are central to his character. He values honor, loyalty, respect, and friendship above all other things. He takes it as a great personal insult when someone breaks any of these values and as a result he typically destroys that person either through physical force or through poetry. His reactions are usually on a grand scale to the point where they are often outrageous and entertaining. The value code by which Egil lived was the same as that of many Scandinavians at the time of the story's composition. The story is set in a time when many people were migrating, most notably from Norway to Iceland. Life was harsh, particularly during the long, cold winters, when it was crucial for people to get along and work together. The character of Egil, despite his many flaws, is ultimately representative of the true Scandinavian spirit.

Poetry is used throughout most of the saga and Egil is a master of the art. Egil's Saga takes place during a time of oral tradition. Poetry was used to establish a person's reputation for good or evil, and a great poem could make its characters immortal. Rulers valued poets for their ability to make or break a man, increasing his fame or besmirching his good name. As a poet, Egil was a powerful and valued man.

One of the first negative poems in Egil's saga is a threatening poem in chapter 27 that displays Skallagrim's power after he had just plundered a ship and killed many men. Later, in chapter 38, Skallagrim composes an insulting poem about King Eirik after the king had given Skallagrim a gift not commensurate with his worth. In chapters 55 and 81, Egil composes two powerful poems that show how grief-stricken he is when his brother Þórólfr and his son Böðvar (Bodvar) die. These poems are also meant to honor the two. These are only a few examples of the many poems in the saga which portray people in a positive or negative light.

There are also poems which show a much softer side to the Icelandic male characters. One of these is in chapter 55 when King Æthelstan acknowledges the death of Egil's brother, Thorolf's, caused by the King's error in judgement. Egil thanks the king with a number of praise poems showing how considerate and generous the king is. We see a very different side of Egil in chapter 56 when he declares his secret love for his future wife, in a love poem. In chapters 60-62, Egil is confronted with a situation where he must greet King Eirik, with whom he is on bad terms. King Eirik wants Egil dead and at the urging of his friend Arinbjörn, Egil composes a drápa (one of the most complicated forms of poetry) of 20 stanzas praising the king. Thanks to the poem, Egil is allowed to leave Eiríkr's court alive, since killing him would make Eiríkr look like a fool. In chapter 80, Egil composes another praise poem of 25 stanzas expressing his gratitude towards his lifelong friend Arinbjörn for saving his life in his meeting with King Eiríkr. These more positive poems show us a kinder side to the typically rough and violent people of Egils saga.

As a work of literature, Egil's Saga is generally considered to be amongst the best of the Icelandic sagas, along with Njáls saga, Gísla saga Súrssonar, and Laxdæla saga.

To this day many Icelanders claim descent from Egil through their membership in the Myrar family, one of the few legally recognized family names in Iceland (the majority of Icelanders do not possess family names but use the patronymic).

Characters

A detailed family tree connecting major and minor characters through blood and marriage can be found here

Editions