The Saga of the People of Laxardal / Bolli Bollason's Tale

by Anonymous, Bergljot S. Kristjansdottir (Editor), Keneva Kunz (Translator)

The Penguin Classics list of medieval sagas grows ever more impressive with these two thrilling Norse sagas

One of the best -loved works of Icelandic literature, this stirring tale of war and romance follows three generations of strong women, wise leaders, and hotheaded warriors. The only saga rumored to have been written by a woman, it tells of the centuries predating 1245, when magic rites and sorcery clashed with the spread of Christianity throughout a rapidly changing Viking world.

Genres: Classics, History, Mythology, Poetry, Medieval, School, Read For School

272 pages, Paperback

First published April 24, 2008

About the author

Books can be attributed to "Anonymous" for several reasons:

* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
* They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author

Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.

See also: Anonymous

Reviews

[Edward Gwynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful saga and tale of Iceland, Irish kings, adventure, Varangian guards and a bloody love triangle.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

"One day I will marry that woman!"

"Hakon, you fool! Her last three husbands have died horribly!"

"Wow, what a woman!"

"You know what, Hakon, knock yourself out! Marry that woman who had a witch who prophesied her ruin burned to death. Marry that woman whose two sons are twice your size and own spears and swords named things like Leg Biter. Get yourself pinned to the back wall of your house by a spear named King's Gift, see if I care!"

"But you'll still invite us to the feast, right?"

"Yeah . . . okay."

Ah, the sagas! So great! So revengey! So full of guys riding around insulting each other and then trying to settle the matter at the Althing. Both civilized and so . . . so much not civilized! And their weapons have great names, and everybody's handing out gold arm rings, and it's awesome.

Except that I will never forgive Gudrun for burning that headdress which the queen herself had woven with real gold! Hrefna looked amazing in it, it was hella expensive, and honestly . . .what a bitch!

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Multi-generational intra-family revenge sagas, strong female characters, and a love triangle worth killing for - these are some of the ingredients fiction writers for the last 1,000 years have used in their tales. The characters in the Saga are well developed and complex - no mere raiding and pillaging warriors, thank you. And rather than chattle given away in marriage to cement a relationship between two strong families, women in this Saga are actually asked their opinion of potential partners.

Most of this Saga concerns the love triangle of Bolli, Kjartan and the woman Gudrun. Watching how the tale unfolds, one can easily understand why Vonnegut opined, "I fully appreciate my own deep debt as a storyteller to Icelandic writers of long ago.”

*****

This Saga was read as one of the tales in the compendium The Sagas of Icelanders

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume contains one of the major Icelandic sagas, known here as The Saga of the People of Laxardal and also The Laxdaela Saga. In this volume, entitled The Saga of the People of Laxardal and Bolli Bollason's Tale, it is paired with a shorter tale.

What is unique about The Saga of the People of Laxardal is that the main character is a woman, Gudrun Osvifursdottir, who marries four times and is as much a Viking as any of the male saga heroes. Even some of the minor female characters show considerably more sand than many of the males:

Ingjald demanded the return of the silver which he had given Thord. Vigdis stood nearby, listening to their words, and said they had both got what they deserved. She told Thord not to keep the money. 'For you, Thord,' she said, 'have come by it dishonestly.' Thord replied that she obviously intended to have her own way. Vigdis then went indoors and opened a chest of Thord's, where she found a heavy purse of money. She took the purse and went out, came up to Ingjald and told him to take his money. Ingjald's face brightened at the sight and he reached his hand out to take the purse. Vigdis swung the purse up into his face, striking him on the nose which bled so that drops of blood fell to the ground. While doing so she heaped abuse on him, adding that he would never again see this money, and told him to be off.

This is only the beginning. Gudrun has no compunction about ordering the deaths of those with whom she has quarreled, even if she happens to be married to them.

I find it difficult to believe that the writer of this saga was a monk sitting in an Icelandic scriptorium. Perhaps it was a nun. Who knows?

In any case, this is one of the five great sagas (Bolli Bollason's Tale is more of a minor sequel.) The others are Njals Saga, Grettirs Saga, Egils Saga, and The Eyrbyggja Saga (also known as The Saga of the People of Eyri.

Just because they were written in 13th century Iceland doesn't mean that they are some of the greatest works of literature ever written during that parlous time, or indeed, at any time.

[Kevin Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though difficult to keep all (or even some) of the names straight, this saga clearly has a depth and richness that I, as a deficient reader, am hardly able to comprehend. Despite that, a first reading of the saga gives great stories, some memorable one liners, not a few laughs, and much to ponder. Seeing many generations of ordinary life in this different time and place enlarged my imagination of the Nordic culture.

[Alys · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good actually. Possibly my new favourite saga. I loved how there was a variation in the stories coz often with sagas it feels like one story on repeat down the generations but here the descendants got up to various different interesting things which I thoroughly enjoyed. The characters were also more memorable and easier to keep up with than they often are (maybe partly because they give us a family tree...)

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't wanna go into a full review here, but I fully recommedn the book for anyone working with, or simply interested, in Medieval Iceland and Old Norse culture. Be it from a religious, literary or anthropological, etc. perspective, this is definitely a title to be taken in consideration.

[Samantha Faith · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I didn't love it but I didn't hate it. It was fine but every single page we had someone new introduced and a new conflict happening.
It's very dense and I would read this in my own leisure reading.
It's fine but not the greatest thing in the world especially if you read a lot of contemporary fiction books as well. It was fine

[Thirza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another thrilling saga! You can find my summary of the book, including a complete family tree here.

[Steven "Steve" · Rating 5 out of 5]

As with other sagas involving a place, there are a lot of people involved. The main people stand out while reading so I don’t worry about memorizing everyone. I have read enough sagas so that I am familiar with some of the people who are featured in other sagas as well. These were both excellent.

[Madeline H · Rating 3 out of 5]

ngl the love triangle was pretty fire

[Zee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Confession: I didn't actually read this exact version of the book. I read The Saga of Laxardal in part of a larger work, but it was so good I wanted to review it separately.

Honestly, I don't know where to begin. I was expecting this to be a dry, kind of boring saga about so-and-so being the son of so-and-so. I was incredibly mistaken. This saga has a wonderful cast of colorful characters. The anecdotes are amazing. I was shocked by the inclusion of direct dialogue and the sheer amount of detail. Specific conversations and individual dreams were recorded word for word.

And, kid you not, the tales inside this saga are some of the best I've heard. From Hrapp, who decided to haunt the entire district for 30 years after his death, to Thorgerd, who swapped her granddaughter for a cursed viking sword and gave it as a gift to her least-liked family member, this saga is wildly entertaining.

I also loved how the women were able to hold their own with men. You can't talk about this saga without talking about Gudrun, who outlasts four husbands, essentially causes a blood feud that divides the whole district into two distinct camps, and then turns around and becomes the first nun of Iceland. I didn't particularly like Gudrun, but I liked that there was this whole story about her.

I have to say, I'm sincerely impressed with this saga. When I get asked "hey, what's your favorite classic?" I'm really debating whether this one outseats my old choices. It's that good. Highly, highly recommend it.

[Adam McPhee · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's a good story about an overbearing man who wishes to be buried in the doorway to his kitchen so that he can keep an eye over his slaves after he's dead. Eventually his ghost starts beating them up and the next owner has to fight him with a spear, the ghost breaks the spear, but eventually they beat him back into the ground and decide to bury him somewhere else the next day. A very physical ghost. It's interesting because this saga treats women and slaves as actual human beings. I found it hard to keep track of the characters though.

I liked Bolli Bollason's Tale more. A farmer kills Thorolf Stuck-up's aggressive bull and then Stuck-up kills his child in revenge. Bolli Bollasson isn't having any of that, and sets out to prosecute Stuck-up. Bolli has Stuck-up outlawed and then murders him while he's boarding a ship. Then on the way home Bolli steals hay and gets involved in a legal dispute with the farmer who owns that hay, the farmer refuses fair compensation and Bolli and ends up killing him and some of his men.

[Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an interesting mix of bragging hyperbole and reading between the lines to see what power women could exert in 13th C Iceland. There are some massive gaps between the lines and even in the accounts. In Bolli Bollason's Tale we get hints at international travel, and oh to hear full details of what they got up to around the world!

Despite having family trees in the back of the book, text specific notes and notes on Icelandic society in general, I could have done with a wall chart with a timeline and details of who was who as there are a lot of characters, often with similar names, making it a bit tricky to keep track of who was doing what to whom. Definitely one for another read on a rainy day.

It does highlight the need for an enforcing power. It doesn't matter how detailed or even enlightened your laws are if there's nobody in charge of ensuring they are followed. Then again, who wants a king forcing a religion on people at sword-point?

A fascinating read for so many reasons.

[Emma Wiles · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was awesome. The main point I want to make in this review is that compared to many other sagas (Icelandic or not) and books written around the year 1,000.... this story is filled with women. Women who speak, make choices, have their own plot lines, contribute to men’s plot lines with opinions that have weight, buy land, free slaves, leave their husbands, and more. Some of them are shy, some are beautiful, some are loud, some are stout, some are angry. This is unheard of diversity in women’s characters from an ancient text.


Like other Icelandic sagas, Laxardal’s includes classic themes of disputes over land, fights between brothers, and paragraphs of text at the beginning of each chapter describing the lineage of some character for generations. But it is so satisfying that in this saga, many of those paragraphs read like “And then there was Thurgil the deep thinker, daughter of Hvbal the smelly, son of Throgdl, daughter of Mrfarta the fastidious, daughter of Unn”

[manu · Rating 3 out of 5]

The relationship between the characters is too difficult to keep up with. The writing style is simple which is not even the reason I'm giving this book 3 stars. There is little to no character development, and it is not very plot-driven so interest is lost easily. I made it through halfway and I'm afraid, I'll have to let it go at this point. Individual scenes when actions do happen are interesting, but scarce.

[Eli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read for school

[Ocean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been meaning to tackle this saga for some time. It has been somewhat cursed in that whenever I start it, some craziness happens in my life and I have to put it aside, and then never come back to it. Frustrating experience because the story is quite good from beginning to end, but circumstances fought me on it.

Genuinely one of the best of the Viking Sagas. This saga stands apart due to its focus on the women in the story, their thoughts, motivations, and active involvement in the story. The characters, both men and women, are motivated by mainly by love but also by ambition in their actions, and so much tragedy follows as a result. Of particular note is the story of Kjartan and Bolli. I had to put the saga down and go do something else for a little while after that arc concluded.

This saga has mentions of witchcraft, future sight, curses, and a bunch of other cool stuff. It also sprawls across generations, as many of the Sagas often do, but this is one of the Sagas that describes the conversion of Iceland and some of its effects. It also contains one of my favorite characters in the Sagas, Snorri the Gothi, who, as usual, is both intelligent and vicious when necessary.

Great saga, highly recommend the read.

[René Toet · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you appreciate writings from the middle ages (13th century), spanning multiple generations and with complex genealogy, then this is the book for you! At times, the book lacks the character development that we are used to nowadays. However, the events of betrayal and family/blood feuds will keep you reading on. The in-depth workings of the viking society and law offers additional learning entertainment. 4 Stars

[Kaitlin Flowers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great family saga with all the ups and downs expected in a Norse saga. While there's a pretty hefty bit that focuses on lineage (which is exceptionally entertaining, mind you), this saga is centered on a woman named Gudrun (Pronounced Gooth-run). After Gudrun's introduction, she describes a dream to one of her relatives, which he interprets as her having three husbands and what will become of each of them.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are other sagas that I've felt more invested in, but I appreciated the insight this gives into Icelandic literature and society—a world of enslaved princesses, forceful wives, murderous undead, and, of course, of ambitious, violent, seafaring men. I also liked the narrative voice, which is stronger than in some other sagas (though still very laconic compared to modern novels).

[Katharine Wibell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this saga greatly for it was focused in and around powerful women and their actions. This differs greatly from the other sagas of the era so much so that some people theorized that the original author might have been a woman.

[Jo-Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

'So-and-So-son was married to Blah-Blah-dottir and they had two sons and a daughter all called Thor-something So-son/Blah-dottir and they lived on a farm named Farm So-and-Blah' is always kinda dull reading, but it IS remarkable how sagas capture early Icelandic society.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting sagas, with wider connections to Icelandic poetry

[Ella]

Read for HST 224: The Early Middle Ages

[Jacob biscuits]

I am sick of reading sagas😍

[Felicia Steele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rereading this for the umpteenth time, but really appreciate the subtlety of this translation.

[Claudia White · Rating 3 out of 5]

a fascinating saga of strong women, though terribly bloody

[Kieran Hayes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to get into the tempo of the prose. Interesting to see how stories used to be told. A tough read but I'm glad I read it.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another sage and the first one I read!!!! This was the longer of the two that I’ve read so far but again this was really fun!!