An Introduction to Grettis Saga Ásmundarsonar
Saga Tells the Life of a Poet, Warrior, and Icelandic Folk Hero
Jul 2, 2009
Grettis saga Ásmundarsonar is one of the most famous sagas, medieval prose stories written in Old Norse or Old Icelandic. Grettis saga was compiled by an unknown author around the year 1300, from sources now lost.
The saga describes the semi-historical life of Grettir Ásmundarson (sometimes called Grettir the Strong), a famous outlaw who lived in eleventh-century Iceland, a few generations after the island was colonized by Scandinavians.
The Prologue of Grettis saga
Grettis saga, like many of the sagas, begins with the genealogy of its hero. It tells the story of Grettir’s great-grandfather, Onundr tréfótr ("Tree-foot"), one of the first Viking settlers of Iceland. Onundr's nickname comes from the fact that he has a wooden leg, but the saga assures its readers that Onundr was so brave that he could still stand up to any two-legged man.
Grettis saga also sketches the lives of Grettir’s grandfather and father, which are no less eventful. Next, Grettir’s difficult childhood is described. Grettir has a terrible relationship with his father, Ásmundr, made worse by Grettir's violent disobedience. But this is common in the sagas: many heroes, such as Egill Skallagrímsson, start out bad, but go on to win renown.
Grettir's Life in Grettis saga
The adult Grettir has a series of adventures, earning as much fame for his unmatched strength as for his bad luck. He wins battles, and has a knack for clever poetry too – both traits admired among the Vikings. But after being cursed by a ghoul, Grettir is unfairly prosecuted for accidental killings, and sentenced to “greater outlawry.” Any Icelander is then allowed to hunt Grettir down, and none may give him aid.
Grettir stays an outlaw for almost twenty years, surviving longer than any man with that sentence ever had. He continues to perform noble acts, such as helping widows and ridding Iceland of monsters. But right before his term of outlawry is up, Grettir is treacherously slain while living on the formidable Drang Isle, off the coast of Iceland.
Grettir is Redeemed in the Epilogue to Grettis saga
It is only after Grettir's death that the Icelanders realize that they had treated Grettir too harshly, and his killer, Thorbjorn, is soon ostracized, along with his cowardly accomplices.
Grettis saga concludes with the adventures of Thorsteinn drómundr, Grettir’s half-brother. Thorsteinn travels all the way to Constantinople to kill Grettir’s murderer. He is almost executed for his act of vengeance. But Thorsteinn converts to Christianity and goes on to marry a woman called Spes, and they continue the family line.
Grettir the Folk Hero
Though the historical Grettir may have simply been a brutish outlaw, in Grettis saga, written generations after the fact, he is presented as a kind of cultural hero. For medieval Icelanders, Grettir embodied an ideal of freedom they felt they had lost after coming under the political domination of Norway in 1262.
Grettir Ásmundarson was later celebrated in Icelandic folktales and mythology, and became a hero in Romantic-era nationalist poetry. Even into the twentieth century, as Kristen Hastrup notes in Island of Anthropology (Odense University Press, 1990), Grettir was lauded as an unlikely hero in primary school textbooks.
The Continuing Appeal of Grettis saga Ásmudarsonar
Grettis saga remains an excellent work of literature, regardless of its place in Scandinavian history. The story of Grettir the Strong is filled with violence and adventure, magic and monsters, and humor and tragedy. Modern readers, as much as its original medieval Icelandic audience, will find Grettis saga an entertaining and enthralling read.
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