Er þat illt at þú vilt elska tröll þat

Hið sögulega samhengi jöðrunar í Hrafnistumannasögum

Abstract

This essay examines trolls (tröll) in those legendary sagas concerned with the progeny of Hallbjörn half-troll from the Norwegian island Hrafnista. It is argued that their characterization in the sagas and their peripheral status is rooted in Christian concepts of civilization, ideology and world view, concepts which themselves are in part derived from classical sources. Indeed, this is the world view the saga writers would be most familiar with. The analysis is achieved through a reading of the sagas as part of greater universal history writing, rather than as pertaining to a specific literary genre. In order to propose an answer to the question what a troll is in the context of the Hrafnistumannasögur, both Christian and mythological sources are consulted in conjunction with theories of ethnicity and otherness. This inquiry concludes that there is overwhelming evidence in support of the Christian connotation of the trolls in the Hrafnistumannasögur. This would seem to indicate that the method proposed in this essay for analysis of medieval Icelandic sources is indeed a fruitful one.