Víga-Glúms saga

by Unknown, Hjálmar Hjálmarsson (narrator)

Víga-Glúms saga er með elstu Íslendingasögum en hún er talin rituð á fyrri hluta 13. aldar. Verkið er ævisaga og á sér stað á 10. öld. Söguhetja þess er Glúmur Eyjólfsson en hann var mikill vígamaður og hlaut þannig nafnið Víga-Glúmur. Hann hefur jafnvel verið talinn svipa til sjálfs Egils Skalla-Grímssonar, grimmustu hetju Íslendingasagnanna.

Glúmur bjó á Þverá í Eyjafirði, hann var skáldmæltur en þótti einnig klókur bragðarefur. Upphaflega hélt hann til Noregs að sanna sig hjá frændum sínum en síðar hélt hann heim þar sem hann átti í deilum við nágranna sína eins og flestar hetjur Íslendingasagnanna.
Sagan er sögð á skoplegan hátt og er hún háði blandin og skemmtileg lestrar.

Genres: Medieval, Classics, Fiction

50 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1250

About the author

Books can be attributed to "Unknown" when the author or editor (as applicable) is not known and cannot be discovered. If at all possible, list at least one actual author or editor for a book instead of using "Unknown".

Books whose authorship is purposefully withheld should be attributed instead to Anonymous.

Reviews

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Icelandic saga, the main plot of which is set around the mid-late tenth century, tells of Glum, a major landowner in the north of the island. After some rather fantastical adventures of his father and grandfather in Norway, which establishes the protagonist’s pedigree, the narrative settles down into the repeated conflicts between Glum and the Esphœlingar, i.e. comparable landowners from the Espihóll area. It’s mainly a lot of killing and then the lawsuits made to seek restitution for the deaths, and the legal dealings are rather dull at times. Only occasionally does this saga take on the dramatic, cinematic qualities that the Icelandic historical-saga genre is famous for, such as a tale of adultery that ultimately sparks a battle.

This was the second saga, after Egill’s Saga, that I read in the original Old Norse. I used the second edition (Oxford University Press, 1960) of G. Turville-Petre’s edition. Unlike the first printing, this second edition contains a full glossary for the benefit of students; I never needed to consult a standalone Old Norse dictionary. There are also endnotes that mainly explain ancient customs and identify the place-names with the Iceland of today. However, the language of Viga-Glúms Saga was considerably more idiomatic and challenging than Egill’s Saga or some other sagas that I have flipped through, and the going was sometimes so slow that I started to lose sight of the drama and who was who, forcing me to go back and read passages over again. These forty pages took me over a month! It is not, therefore, a very good beginner text, but I suppose the upside for me is that the next saga I read will likely seem more easier reading in comparison.

[Øystein Brekke · Rating 3 out of 5]

"'Det er sant, det gløymte eg å seia: Eg drap Sigmund Torkelsson i dag', sa Glum."

Nokon av islendingesogene har ord på seg for å vera djupsindig litteratur med skarpe psykologiske personskildringar og so vidare. Viga-Glums saga er ikkje ein av desse. Her er det blod og gørr det går i. Viga-Glum og hans folk slåst med ei rivaliserande gruppe om maktposisjonar på Nord-Island på 900-talet. Litt interessante innblikk i æreskodeksen som samfunnet fungerer etter, får ein òg.

Det er artig nok, men det er ikkje yndlingsislendingesoga mi. (Sjølv om dei er innom Voss!)