Hugmyndaheimur Vopnfirðinga sögu

Abstract

This article examines the structure and meaning of Vopnfirðinga saga, one of the lesser known Islendingasögur and a work which deserves more attention than it has hitherto received. Previous discussion has tended to treat the saga as a traditional narrative of conflict, not least by concentrating on the relationship between Brodd-Helgi and Geitir in the first part of the saga, rather than on that between Bjarni Brodd-Helgason and Þorkell Geitisson in the second part. As a result the saga has not been viewed as a unified and coherent whole. Þorsteins saga hvíta can be read as a prelude to Vopnfirðinga saga, and Þorsteins þáttur stangarhöggs as a continuation of Vopnfirðinga saga. All three works deal with Þorsteinn hvíti and his ancestors, and each dramatises the tension between the elder generation's desire to seek blood revenge in the pursuit of disputes, and the younger generation's inclination to pursue less violent and more morally defensible methods of conflict resolution. In its contrastive structure, characterisation of the principal protagonists, use of genealogies and handling of time, the saga seems designed to question the value and validity of unconditional vengeance in dispute resolution. The narrator seems more concemed to moralize than to celebrate conflict. The saga indicates that long-term human prosperity is best achieved by seeking peaceful accommodation rather than by resorting to arms. It suggests that the Christian spirit of 'loving thy neighbour as thyself' seems more likely than violence to secure stable friendships in society, thereby helping individuals to achieve their goals in an otherwise unstable world.