Skáldskaparmál - 01.01.1994, Page 133

Víglundar saga
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the slaying of men on both sides (ch. 9); the slaughter of Víglundur’s favorite
horse (ch. 10) and Þorgrímur’s prize oxen (ch. 11); the hiring of a sorceress to
bringaboutthedeathsofVíglundurandhisbrotherTrausti (ch. 12); theprojected
rape of Ketilríður by a Norwegian suitor named Hákon (ch. 13); a ball game with
a subsequent violent encounter during which Víglundur and his brother slay three
of Hólmkell’s men (ch. 14); the betrothal of Ketilríður to Hákon (ch. 15); an
attack by Hákon and Ketilríður’s brothers on Víglundur and Trausti, in which
the latter are seriously wounded while their attackers are slain (ch. 16); the
outlawing of Víglundur and Trausti (ch. 17).
After the first direct confrontation between Víglundur and Trausti and Þor-
björg’s sons, that is, at the horse fight, a comment made by the narrator reveals
that henceforth the conflict between the sons of the two families embraces the
opposition of Ketilríður’s mother and brothers to her relationship to Víglundur.
On this occasion her father learns “að kært var með þeim Víglundi og Ketilríði
og meinaði hann það ekki,” but hard upon this comment follows the reaction of
his wife and sons: “en Þorbjörgu og sonum hennar þótti það mjög illa vera” (p.
1965). While the opposition of Ketilríður’s father and mother to each other is
thus clearly established, an immediately following remark suggests that the
community is on the side of the lovers: “það var allra manna mál að öngvir menn
væru jafnvænir sem þau Víglundur og Ketilríður á íslandi þeim samtíða sakir lista
ogkurteisi” (p. 1965).
The series of offensive maneuvers by Ketilriður’s brothers against Víglundur
and his family, with the full knowledge and approval of their mother, while
concluding with the deaths of Einar, Jökull, and Hákon — the last had in the
meantime married Ketilríður — and the apparent deaths of Víglundur and
Trausti, results at the same dme in the protagonist and his brother being
pronounced full outlaws at the Þórsnessþing by Lón-Einar, Þorbjörg’s father. He
thus plays the same role in the main narrative that King Haraldur played in the
forestory. The acts of aggression serve a double purpose: they humiliate Þorgrímur
and obstruct the relationship between Víglundur and Ketilríður, as is explicitly
stated when Þorbjörg and her sons hire Kjölvör, the sorceress. Their objective is
to have the brothers Víglundur and Trausti killed, but the motive for the collusion
is not only their envy — “því að þeim lék in mesta öfund á þeim” (p. 1967) —
but also their displeasure at the love of Víglundur and Ketilríður: “en höfðu spurt
hver kærleikur var með þeim Víglundi og Ketilríði, en fyrirmundu þeim að
njótast” — and the narrator comments: “sem síðan gaf raun á” (p. 1967). The
mother’s extraordinary aversion to Víglundur and Ketilríður’s relationship is fully
revealed in both her and Ketilríður’s reaction upon learning that Einar, Jökull,
and Hákon as well as the sons of Þorgrímur have been slain. Ketilríður sinks into
unconsciousness, and when she revives, her mother’s sole comment is: “Nú sýnir
þú lausleika þinn og hverja ást þú hefir á Víglundi haft. Er nú vel er þið skuluð
skilja” (p. 1974).
In the series of aggressive episodes, which are meant to destroy both Víglundur’s