The Sagas of the Icelanders (10 page)

The Saga of the People of Laxardal

from one saga to the next, seen from different perspectives but nonetheless with striking resemblances, somehow inviting us to believe that the saga world is a large, unified tapestry of which we only see parts at a time. The settlement by Unn (Aud) the Deep-minded features in both
The Saga of the People of Laxardal and Eirik the Red’s Saga
; Gest Oddleifsson is the wise counsellor in both the Laxardal saga and
The Saga of Ref the Sly; in The Saga of Gunnlaug Serpent-tongue
, poets clash for the love of Helga the Fair, who is the granddaughter of the hero of
Egil s Saga
, and so forth.

The recurrence of dramatis personae and action means that the sagas overlap thematically as well, so that no classification can be absolute. Classification by theme is nothing more than a way of highlighting certain salient features and guiding the reader towards a deeper appreciation of each saga’s artistry and the rich dynamism of the saga world.

The editorial aims of
The Complete Sagas of Icelanders
were: (i) to produce accurate and readable modern English versions of the original texts, and (2) to reflect the homogeneity of the saga world, by means of a co-ordinated translation of key vocabulary, concepts and phrases, but at the same time to capture the individuality of the separate sagas. As Robert Kellogg states in the Introduction, the world of the sagas is a unified whole in several senses: the geographical setting, time frame, social background and to some extent the characters of the sagas are identical, and in addition the narrative technique defines these works as belonging to a conscious genre. The thirty translators, all native speakers of English, were supplied by the Editorial Team with directions and suggestions which would ensure the desired consistency. Each translation was read over by an Icelandic scholar, and later by a native English-speaker.

The Reference section explains a number of recurrent key terms and concepts: legal terms (such as outlawry and compensation), legislative structures (e.g. Spring Assembly, Autumn Meeting and Lawspeaker), social ranks (godi, earl and slave), games (ball game, horse-fight, board-game), customs and rituals (arch of raised turf and foster-), supernatural elements (berserk, shape-shifter, scorn-pole, troll and giant), the ancient calendar and important days of the year (Moving Days and Winter Nights), weights and measures (hand, ounce and hundred), and certain physical details, such as those relating to the layout of houses (main room, high seat and bed closet) and farms (hayfield wall and shieling). Where practicable, some distinctions between types of ships (e.g. longship, knorr) and weapons (halberd) have also been established by co-ordinating the vocabulary. Some additional entries of a general nature have been included in the Glossary.

English equivalents have been used for Icelandic letters in personal and place names: Þ/TH, Ð/D, Á/A, É/E, Í/I, Ó/O, Ú/U, Ý/Y, Æ/AE, Ö/O. For example,
paraldtursffordur
becomes Tharalatursfjord, after the nominative ending has been dropped as well. Icelandic is an inflected language, in which the endings of words change according to grammatical context. A main rule in the treatment of personal and place-names for this edition has been to drop the nominative singular endings and use the stems instead. Thus, the name
Egil
becomes Egil; and the modern Icelandic Audur (old Icelandic
Auð-r
) becomes Aud. For the sake of consistency in the appearance of the English, the
ur/r
ending has also been dropped even when strictly speaking it belongs to the stem: thus
Ósvifuur/r
, for example, becomes Osvif. Plural endings are common in place-names and this distinction has been retained: for example
Breidabolstadur
(singular) becomes Breidabolstad, but
Hrafnkelsstadir
(plural) is written Hrafnkelsstadir.

Nicknames are a common feature of Old Icelandic texts, and these are translated when the meaning is clear and makes sense. In some cases, however, depending on the context, they are left untranslated in the text but suggested translations are given in parentheses the first time they occur. All nicknames which occur in more than one saga have been standardized. Some nicknames assume the full status of proper names, as for instance when Thorfinn Karlsefni is referred to as Karlsefni.

For easier recognition, the modern form of mainland Scandinavian place-names has been used when it is known, with a few exceptions. In place-names outside Scandinavia, the common English equivalent is used when known; otherwise the Icelandic form has been transliterated. The meaning of place-names in Icelandic is often self-evident and the last part of a place-name usually refers to a topographical feature. The modern Icelandic form of place-names is preferred, but readers should bear in mind that a few are now lost and do not appear on modern maps. In some cases place-names are translated in parentheses, for example when there is a direct association with a character or when the story hinges on an understanding of the name. In place-names that include topographical features (e.g. Hvita = lit. White river), the feature is translated in the first appearance of the name in each saga (e.g. ‘the Hvita river’ first, and then usually ‘Hvita’). The last element of the longest types of place-names is often translated, as in words ending in
beidi
(e.g. Arnarvatnsheiði = Arnarvatn heath). Variant forms of the same place-name have been standardized, generally on the basis of modern Icelandic spelling or usage.