Skáldskaparmál - 01.01.1994, Síða 107

Skömm er óhófi œvi
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when men took matters into their own hands in a manner that sometimes would
be unacceptable in the present day.30 No one has ever denied that Hrafnkell is
anything but a tough customer, but in getting rid of his only threat to a peaceful
old age he picked someone also schooled in life’s hard knocks. Those vikings who
earned honor abroad did not keep their swords in their scabbards, and if Eyvindr
comes to a regrettable and untimely end, the saga does not waste much time
lamenting the fact. Victory belongs to Hrafnkell. And in keeping with the comic
posture Sámr occupies throughout the saga, he manages in quick succession to
taste the ashes of defeat and to bite the hand that fed him: þeir brœðr vildu gefia
Sámi góðar gjafiar, en hann vildi engar þiggja ok sagði þá vera litla í skapi (133). I
find it hard to believe that anyone can interpret the saga as anti-Hrafnkell. If he
does not represent a model of the goði by the saga’s conclusion, it is nevertheless
difFicult to point to any saga character who enjoys a more satisfying triumph over
his enemies.
Heimildaskxá
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Bolton, W. H. 1971. “The Heart of Hrafnkatla," Scandinavian Studies 43, 135-52.
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logiske modellar nytta pá ei norron soge.” Edda I, 193-203.
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Gestalt, Geschichte: Festschrift Klaus von See, ed. Gerd Wolfgang Weber (Odense Univ.
Press), pp.
Fulk, R. D. 1986. “The Moral System of HrafhkelssagaFreysgoða," Saga-Bookofthe Viking
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30 Indeed, in a public lecture at the meeting of Viking Society mentioned above, Peter Orton
remarked that if the hero were alive today he might be a candidate for Broadmore [an institution
for the criminally insane]. I wish to acknowledge my indebtedness to his lecture and to the
stimulating discussion that took place afterwards. I wish also to thank my hosts, Rory McTurk
and Andrew Wawn, for the innumerable courtesies and civilities they extended to me during
my stay in Leeds, where the final version of this essay was completed.