Book Review : Hrafnkel’s Saga

There are seven stories in this book as follows: Hrafnkel’s Saga, Thorstein the Staff-Struck, Ale Hood, Hreidar the Fool, Halldor Sorrason, Audun´s Story, and Ivar´s Story.

No one knows who wrote these stories.

If truth be told, the first three are far more interesting in that they are about Iceland and how the country operated in the early 10th Century. The details about the settling of disputes at the annual Althing, or meeting of chieftains from across the country, is fascinating. As a result of these settlements, people could be sentenced to the ‘lesser outlawery’, a three years’ banishment from Iceland, or a ‘full outlawery’ of banishment for life.

The harshness of life can be judged by the comment of a character in Thorstein the Staff-Struck where he says “I’d much rather lose you than have a coward for a son”. He expected his son to fight to the death to right a wrong.

The final four stories concentrate on the adventures of Icelanders abroad, including Audun´s Story, where a farmhand makes a pilgrimmage to Rome.