Write a short note explaining the genre of the Icelandic Saga, its typical features and its
social context. Illustrate your points with examples from the excerpt in your syllabus. How is
this genre different from the creation myths that you have studied in this course? Answer
with one contrasting example.
Hrafnkel’s Saga is an Icelandic legend of feudal dysfunction distinguished primarily because the feud at the center of the narrative remains at the center rather than verging off into tangential digressions. The story is set in the Icelandic history of the 10th century and its starring characters are the titular priest of Frey, Hrafnkel, his sacred horse Freyfaxi upon which he has sworn an oath to kill any man who dares attempt to ride, and a shepherd named Einar who forces Hrafnkel to stand by that bond.
Because there seems to be no evidence whatever of the existence of a Hrafnkel or a story similar to the one that is told, the general consensus is that Hrafnkel’s Saga is merely an entertaining bit of fiction unconnected to historical events. It is also a story that appears eager to teach a moral, though the moral is ambiguous. The aim of the story could be political satire that seeks to point out how the rich and politically connected always win in the end. Then again, it could be taking up the most traditional theme of epics: excessive pride always lead to a fall. Even if that fall is, for the politically connected Hrafnkel, painful but temporary.
