The Composition of Egils saga ok Ásmundar

The Composition of Egils saga einhenda ok Ásmundar berserkjabana

Alexey Eremenko

State University of Humanities at the Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow)

Up to last third of the 20^th century the type of medieval Scandinavian written texts known as the Fornaldarsögur Norðurlanda (legendary sagas) seemed of little interest to the scholars. In particular, still widespread is the notion that Fornaldasögur are in fact nothing but a pile of catchy episodes devoid of all structure, the sole purpose of which is to entertain the listener. But in truth the composition of most legendary sagas is by no means accidental, with separate elements forming a coherent structure. This can be evidenced by the study of Egils saga einhenda ok Ásmundar berserkjabana [1].

This text consists of a framing novella and three inset stories told by the main characters. The main plot can be summarized in the following way. Foster-brothers Egil and Asmund set out on a quest to find the kidnapped daughters of a certain king. The girls were taken to Jotunmeim, to where the foster-brothers chance to arrive as well. They meet the giantess Arinnefja, and the three tell to each other the stories of their life. After that Arinnefja helps the young men to rescue the girls.

The linear perception of this narrative would present all inset stories as disjointed – in fact, according to the saga, they are told simply to while away the time until food is cooked. But in fact they are all interconnected, which can be ascertained through scrutiny of the story threads.

In his story, the first of the three, Egil mentions that he’s lost his hand defending a certain giantess (with which he was totally unfamiliar) that he chanced to meet when she was attacked by a male of her kind. This giantess turned out to be Arinnefja. Thus, only the Egil’s noble deed secured for them help without which the foster-brothers would be unable to achieve their goal. Arinnefja, therefore, is no random character and plays a crucial role for the saga. That being the case, her life requires another novella – it is the only way to give a concise explanation of her own motivations.

The stories of foster-brothers are connected as well. According to Egil’s tale, he was kidnapped by a giant as a child – i.e. was extracted from human society, and was therefore unable to adopt all of its moral norms. Egil retained the moral core that prevented him from disgracing himself, but after finally escaping the giant he joined the vikings and participated in their raids – that is, until the encounter with Asmund his adherence to the moral norms considered right by the author and the audience was only sporadic and largely spontaneous (cf. his defence of Arinnefja, which cost him an arm). Asmund defeated Egil, but gave him no cruel treatment (as the vikings would’ve done) – on the contrary, he showed magnanimity, sparing Egil’s life and praising his warrior prowess. Asmund’s interference into his fate helped Egil to finally integrate back into normal human society and start following the ‘right’ ethical norms in full.

Egil can be considered the ‘main hero’ of the saga; the main conflict is centered on his estrangement from society and gradual reintegration. Therefore his own novella is the key to the whole text. The other two inset stories are required since their protagonists help Egil resolve his ethical conflict. The role of Arinnefja has already been explained, and as for Asmund, he belongs to a certain type of saga characters known as the ‘noble heathen’ [2] – their function is to set up an ethical role model, serve as a moral exempla majorum. On the same time he must equal the main hero in might and prowess, otherwise he just wouldn’t be fit for a role model. Thus, the purpose of Asmund’s story could be in showing the evolution of such a character, allowing the reader to compare it with Egil’s tale. Asmund serves here as an exemplary hero and noble warrior, and Egil comes to accept the ethically correct model in the course of the story.

The inset stories of Egils saga einhenda ok Ásmundar berserkjabana may seem hardly linked to each other. However, a close examination shows that, while possessing weak connection in terms of actual events, the episodes of the texts are not haphazard and serve as essential parts of the common general storyline.

[1] Egils saga einhenda ok Ásmundar berserkjabana. Fornaldarsögur Norðurlanda / Utg. av Guðni Jónsson, Bjarni Vilhjálmsson. Reykjavík, 1944. B. 2. P. 355 – 389.

[2] Lönnroth L. The Noble Heathen: A Theme in the Sagas. Scandinavian Studies. Lawrence, Kansas, 1969. Vol. 41. P. 1–29.