Gripla - 01.01.1975, Page 93

ÍSLENDINGADRÁPA AND ORAL TRADITION 89
Þorsteinn Síðu-Hallsson killed five men in one morning, including
Þórhaddr (v. 23); see Þorsteins Saga, chapters five and six. A gap in
the saga makes an exact comparison impossible, but we read, at least,
that Þorsteinn went out to kill early in the morning (‘snimma of
morgin’).19
Gunnarr of Hlíðarendi wounded sixteen men, and killed two, when
Gizurr the White attacked him (v. 20); see Njáls Saga, chapter 77.
Hólmgöngu-Bersi was victorious against thirty-five men with his
sword (v. 24); see Kormaks Saga, chapter 16.
In the last two examples it so happens that the sagas contain verses
which also include this exact reference. In Njáls Saga, there is a verse
which is attributed to Þorkell Elfaraskáld, an otherwise unknown poet,
which also states that Gunnar wounded sixteen men and killed two.
The similarity is, therefore, with the verse, rather than with the saga
as such, so it may be suggested there is a direct connection between it
and the drápa. In Kormaks Saga there is a verse attributed to Hólm-
göngu-Bersi, in which he claims to have killed thirty-five men with his
sword. It is more than likely that Haukr knew these verses, and took
his references straight from them.
In Droplaugarsona Saga there are verses about the death of Helgi
Asbjarnarson, composed by Grímr Droplaugarson. In one he says that
he has made a reddened sword stand in Helgi’s body (látið ‘roðinn
sárvönd’ standa á Helga), and I believe that another verse may be
interpreted as saying that the killing took place inside. It is equally
not unlikely that Haukr knew these verses also.
In Þorsteins Saga there is a lacuna at the point which would best
bear comparison with the drápa, as mentioned earlier. There are no
verses in those parts of the saga which have survived down to the
present day, but there are a number in the þáttr which is called
Draumr Þorsteins Síðu-Hallssonar, and which is believed to have been
10 In the introduction to the Austfirðinga sögur (íslenzk fornrit XI), lón ló-
hannesson suggests that the close connection between Droplaugarsona Saga and
the Islendingadrápa may be explained by the fact that Haukx knew an earlier
summary of the story from the twelfth century. On the other hand he considers
that the author of Þorsteins Saga may well have known íslendingadrápa. This
shows how important it is to regard the poem in its entirety. Such explanations
cannot be used indiscriminantly to explain similarities between the drápa and the
sagas.