Dispute resolution in the Sagas

Abstract

Conclusion

Resolutions, either temporary or final, are described frequently in the sagas. The process of observing and categorizing this plausible form of action provides a key to understanding how feud and conflict management not only operated in the literature but were perceived by medieval Icelanders. The three categories of resolution cited above give us a sense of how saga dispute was brought to a close even if a closure was a temporary stopgab in a longer feud. The functioning of the power network that inhibited random violence plays an important role in the design of resolutions recounted in the sagas. By separating resolution into the above three categories I hope to further the understanding of the systematic means by which saga characters handle violence.