Gisli Sursson's Saga and The Saga of the People of Eyri

by Martin Regal (Translator), Judy Quinn (Translator), Vésteinn Ólason (Introduction)

These sagas recount fierce feuds in which honour is fought for, sacrifice is demanded, and blood is shed. The fate of the characters at the centre of each saga, however, is very different. Gisli is a traditional Viking-age hero who is determined to exact revenge at any cost and whose death is tragic when it comes. In contrast his nephew, Snorri, represents a new generation and acts to strengthen the new social order. Taken together these sagas reveal the richness and variety of the saga tradition.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Genres: Classics, Medieval, History, Mythology, School, Literature, Folklore

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[William Gwynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

BookTube channel with my awesome brother, Ed - The Brothers Gwynne
My personal BookTube channel - William Gwynne

I loved Egil's Saga, and here is another that I have on my university reading list.....

Gisli Surrson's Saga is yet another saga that I thought was fantastic. One aspect I love is how concise the style is. Already, the setting has been set, with the ancestry of our titular character also being established, as well as duels, death, revenge and marriage. Only the sagas could do that in two pages....

We have brilliant character moments, and vivid, evolving character relationships that are just great to follow. Gisli is a character who is magnanimous, brave, loyal and skilled, but as the saga says many times, fortune does not favour him....

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

These two sagas tell of a period of the better part of a century in the Northwest of Iceland, concentrating on an uncle (Gisli Sursson) and his nephew (Snorri the Godi). Iceland was first settled by the Norse around 780 A.D., and for about sixty years, anarchy prevailed. It was in 930 that the Althing was established, and with it, the beginnings of the rule of law.

We see this in Gisli Sursson's Saga, as the eponymous hero is more or less forced into a series of honor killings, knowing that he would pay for them. Eventually, Gisli's case is taken up by one of the local assemblies; and he is outlawed, which means that anyone can kill him if he remains in the country. Although Gisli evades his pursuers for several years, eventually they catch up with him and put an end to him.

In The Saga of the People of Eyri (also known as The Eyrbyggja Saga), we see Gisli's nephew Snorri become a powerful chieftain based around the Snaefellsness Peninsula. There is a crude attempt at enforcing the law, and we see two godis, or chieftains, feuding with each other: Snorri and Arnkel. There are still raids and killings, but there is finally an attempt to put the lid on it's getting out of hand, as shown in the following excerpt:

The details of the settlement were that all the killings and assaults on each side were weighed up. Thord Blig's wound from Altafjord was equated with the wounding of Snorri the Godi's son, Thorodd. Mar Halvardsson's wound and the blow Steinthor delivered to Snorri the Godi were set against the killing of the three men who died at Altafjord. The killings by Styr of one man from each side were said to be equal. The death of Bergthor at Vigrafjord was considered the same as the wounding of the three Thorbrandssons, and the killing of Freystein Bofi was set against the man from Steinthor's side, who was previously not in the tally, but who died at Altafjord. Thorleif Kimbi was compensated for the severing of his leg. And the man from Snorri the Godi's side who was killed at Altafjord made up for Thorstein Kimbi's assault when he started the fight. Then everyone else's wounds were weighed up and compensation awarded for any disparity that seemed to exist, and so everyone left the assembly reconciled, and this settlement lasted as long as both Steinthor and Snorri the Godi were alive.

In Njals Saga, the law is even more subtly applied and punishments meted out.

Gisli Sursson's Saga and The Saga of the People of Eyri is perhaps better read by people who have taken the trouble to learn more about the Icelandic society of the time. While Gisli Sursson's Saga is perhaps more enjoyable to a neophyte, the longer Saga of the People of Eyri is more revealing about the society. Plus it contains some fascinating episodes regarding berserkers and two extended cases of ghost hauntings, which make for fascinating reading -- even though it is difficult at times to plow through the hundreds of characters and their lengthy genealogies.

A good prerequisite is reading a book such as Jesse L Byock's Viking Age Iceland or Iceland Saga by Magnus Magnusson.

[Nate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting to read Gisli for the first time and Eyri in a new translation. I think I prefer the older Palsson translation (Eyrbyggja Saga) but this one had some interesting wrinkles and idiom choices that enriched the telling. Gisli's saga is really an essential complement to the longer Eryi saga as well.

[Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating look into the Icelandic world of blood oaths, feuds, and betrayal. Everything revolves around Gisli's attempt to forge a four way oath of brotherhood to keep peace in his region; when one man swears with two of the others but not the third, he sets in motion the sequence of events leading to the doom of all four men. This was my first exposure to the Sagas, and I now see just how much Tolkien owed to them in terms of mood and background. Though Middle Earth is its own thing, the works have a very similar feel and style to them. The tension is kept taut throughout and the action is frequent. Dialogue is not a huge feature but some of it is very clever and even funny. Very good read.

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The women are so forefront in this— also the part with the two poorly dressed boys borrowing Thorkel’s sword and drawing it without permission made me gasp out loud

[Jonathan Rolfe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Gisli Sursson's Saga in The Sagas of Icelanders. That volume has Martin Regal's translation. I think Gisli's is my favorite saga at this point. There are several excellent motifs, including the riveted coin, the reforged blade, and the blood-oath under the turf. His relationship with his wife is good; I love the part where he trusts her despite hearing that she's counting out the money to betray him. The dream-visions and accompanying poems are very cool and important for the saga's treatment of Christianity. As usual, the one-liners are great. They make for good screenplay, and I recommend the Icelandic movie version "Utlaginn." I want to read this in the original some day, perhaps starting with the poems.

The movie: https://archive.org/details/utlaginn-...
(option 2 has English subtitles)
The text:
https://heimskringla.no/wiki/G%C3%ADs...

[Cam Hudson · Rating 2 out of 5]

literally kinda just didn’t care

[Alex Lei]

idk about the rest of you but i got lost trying to keep track of all the names and the revenge killings

[Lily Karase · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really tried to like this book… I really did.

[Revna North-Raven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book.

[Delanie Paris · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5 fine

only read Gisli's Saga not The People of Eyri

[Marissa]

read gisli’s saga for class, very dramatic and loved the murder mystery plot. aud is a real one 🫡

[Grant Beilke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Viking Outlaw Rambo - what a saga

[Kailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the Icelandic Sagas. It is full of complicated loyalties and full of violence. I was lucky to have read this for school. So I had access to a professor who explained some of the more obscure reverences in the tale. Gisili is admirable in that he fights for his beliefs, but is also a convicted outlaw for murder. I had a great time reading this.

[C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gisli is my favorite Saga hero, just after Njal and Gunnar. He's very human, and a classic icelandic tragic-hero - outlawed due to no real fault of his own, loved yet harried to his death, which comes after a dramatic, outnumbered showdown.

[Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gisli Sursson's Saga is an outlaw saga, and a very interesting one. I would like to read the Saga of Grettir the Strong to compare the two but I don't have access to it currently.

6/10. I still think Egil's, Njal, and Laxardal (in that order) are my favorite sagas I've read.

[Margery · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Icelandic winner. I especially like the Penguin Edition because it contains so many notes, maps, and a long interesting introduction.

[Linda Gould · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read! I love the spare writing of these sagas- Lots of action, little explanation of inward process though sometimes there are clues. You can see why Hemingway read these writings!

[Lorraine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just found it boring......... couldn't get into it. And the family relations were confused

[Tinquerbelle]

Smiley, Jane
The Sagas of Icelanders

In compilation only.

[Stine Pedersen]

Im not into sagas.