The Mysterious Death of Þorsteinn Kuggason

Authorial Imagination and Saga Narrative

Abstract

Þorsteinn Kuggason is a recurring character across several major Íslendingasögur. He exists on the fringes of significant political manoeuvrings in the sagas, and is referenced in several well-known sources. Although Þorsteinn might be called a minor character in these sources, the tangible details of his life hint at more dramatic instances in his story and the Icelandic annals record the fact that he was killed in 1027. The circumstances of Þorsteinn’s death are not preserved in any of the sagas in which he participates, although Grettis saga mentions it in passing, and references to it may be discerned in Laxdœla saga and Eyrbyggja saga.

In this article, the portrayal of Þorsteinn in three scenes found in Laxdœla saga and Grettis saga is re-evaluated. His characterisation is consistent across the sagas, and his narrative role is largely connected to the portrayal of his more significant relatives. It has previously been suggested that Þorsteinn was the subject of a lost saga; Judith Jesch, however, has argued that Þorsteinn’s appearances were more likely due to authorial “imagination” than to the existence of an earlier, written saga. Here, the portrayal of Þorsteinn is returned to in light of an understanding of the role of oral tradition and immanence in saga narrative. Thus, details of Þorsteinn’s position in the narratives of Laxdœla saga and Grettis saga are examined, and apparently irrelevant information in each saga is examined side by side in order to demonstrate the evidence for a coherent reading of Þorsteinn Kuggason’s life, and his death.