Gripla - 01.01.1975, Page 51

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MANIFESTATIONS OF RAGNARS SAGA LOÐBRÓKAR
article on the dragon-fight in Ragnars saga,1C is the fact that we have
no account in the þáttr, as we do in 1824 b, of Ragnarr being identi-
fied as the slayer of the serpent through the discovery of his spear-
point in the serpent’s body. Mention is made of a spear in the þáttr,
to be sure, but there is no story there, as there is in 1824 b, of the
spear-point becoming disconnected from the spear-shaft in the course
of Ragnarr’s fight with the serpent, and being later identified as be-
longing to him. It may also be pointed out, for what it is worth, that
the serpent rises up and breathes poison onto Ragnarr in the þáttr,
but does not do either of these things in 1824 b.
The more important of the remaining differences between the two
works have been listed by Bjarni, and are very briefly as follows: in
the þáttr Eysteinn, king of the Swedes, is called Eysteinn beli and is
a tributary king of Ragnarr’s, whereas in 1824 b he has no nick-
name,17 is a friend of Ragnarr’s, and rules independently. In the þáttr
the two sons of Ragnarr by Þóra borgarhjörtr, Eirekr and Agnarr, the
former of whom desires Eysteinn’s daughter Borghildr, are defeated
in battle by Eysteinn after unsuccessfully trying to make him tributary
to themselves, rather than to Ragnarr. In 1824 b, on the other hand,
they invade Sweden after the friendship between Eysteinn and Ragn-
arr has broken up as a result of Ragnarr’s abandoning his idea of
marrying Eysteinn’s daughter, who is here called Ingibjörg. In the
þáttr, ívarr beinlausi, one of Ragnarr’s sons by Áslaug, founds the
city of York, and wins the loyalty of the Enghsh chieftains without
apparently making them any material offer, whereas in 1824 b he
founds London, and wins the support of the strongest men in England
by giving them large amounts of gold and silver. From differences of
this kind, and from the fact that, in his view, the 1824 b and 147
texts of Ragnars saga both seem to differ from Ragnarssona þáttr in
showing the influence, in style and subject-matter, of Völsunga saga
16 Marina Mundt, ‘Omkring dragekampen i Ragnars saga loðbrókar’, in Arv,
27 (1971), 121—40. Mundt sees this feature as indicative of the influence of Trist-
rams saga on Ragnars saga.
17 In the 147 text of Ragnars saga, on the other hand, Eysteinn is given the
nickname ‘beli’ in the verse which corresponds to verse 19 of the 1824 b text. See
Olsen, 183, 9r, 1. 26; p. 144 and p. 208.