Laxdæla saga

Lore & Background

Guðrún Ósvífursdóttir is introduced as the most beautiful woman in Iceland. She has four husbands: she divorces the first, and the other three die. Kjartan and Bolli grow up as close friends, but both love Guðrún. Kjartan and Bolli travel to Norway, where they convert to Christianity under King Olaf Tryggvason. Kjartan is held as a hostage in Norway, while Bolli returns to Iceland and marries Guðrún. When Kjartan returns, he finds Guðrún married to Bolli, leading to enmity between the former friends.

Reader's Guide

Laxdæla saga is significant as a major work of medieval Icelandic literature, preserved in numerous manuscripts, with the oldest complete version in Möðruvallabók (mid-14th century) and fragments dating to ca. 1250. The author is unknown, though speculation suggests a woman due to the saga's unusually feminine perspective. The author's knowledge of the Breiðafjörður area indicates they lived in western Iceland. The saga cites written sources including Ari Þorgilsson, a lost Þorgils saga Höllusonar, and Njarðvíkinga saga, but its main sources were likely oral traditions. Scholars divide manuscripts into two groups: the Y group (including Möðruvallabók) contains ten additional chapters regarded as a separate work, Bolla þáttr Bollasonar, and differs in the narration of the theft of Kjartan's sword. The saga's legacy lies in its poetic beauty and pathos, and its enduring popularity among the Icelanders' sagas.

Did You Know?

• The oldest manuscript containing the saga in its entirety is Möðruvallabók, dating to the mid-14th century.
• The saga has been speculated to have been composed by a woman due to its unusually feminine perspective.
• The saga twice cites the writings of Ari Þorgilsson as a source.
• The Y group of manuscripts contains ten additional chapters not written by the original author, known as Bolla þáttr Bollasonar.