Tímarit Þjóðræknisfélags Íslendinga - 01.01.1967, Page 74

56
TÍMARIT ÞJÓÐRÆKNISFÉLAGS ÍSLENDINGA
ations are quite common in the Old
Icelandic sagas. However, the effects
achieved tend to be even stronger
and much more diverse, ranging
from amusement, to surprise or fear,
to strong expectation, to jealousy or
anger, to stoical or defiant accept-
ance of death.
When the hero of Egils Saga is
three years old, his father refuses to
let him go with other people to a
drinking party, as the old man says,
því ai þú kanni ekki fyrir þér ai
vera í fjölmenni, þar er drykkjur
eru miklar, er þú þykkir ekki góSr
viðskipiis, ai þú sér ódrukkinn —
“because you do not know how to
conduct yourself in crowds where
there is heavy drinking, as you are
not good to deal with even sober.”
When Egill himself has become old
and blind, his sense of humor is
somewhat more malicious than his
father’s. His last idea of a joke —
that he never has a chance to carry
out — is to take his hoard of silver
to the legislative assembly and scat-
ter it across the crowd where it is
thickest: Ok þylcki mér undarligt, ef
allir skipta vel sín í milli — “it
would seem strange to me if they all
divide it evenly amongst them-
selves.” His hope is, as he further
explains, to cause occasional jost-
lings, blows, and e v e n universal
fighting. An example of quieter
amusement, with a touch of indig-
nation, can be seen in Laxdæla Saga,
in a remark that Höskuldr makes to
a beautiful slave woman whom he
has bought from a wealthy man.
After sleeping with her, he notices
in the morning that her clothes are
P°or: Lítt sér stórlæti á klæðabúnaði
þeim, er Gilli inn auðgi hefir þér
fengit — “there is little luxury to be
seen in the clothes that Gilli the
Wealthy has given you.”
When the beautiful but fatal Guð-
rún in Laxdæla Saga seeks to have
certain disquieting dreams interpre-
ted by a wise man, he expresses a
high degree of confidence: Seg þú
drauma þína; vera má, at vér gerim
af nokkuí — “tell your dreams; it
may be that we can make something
of them.” Hearing the dreams, his
mood changes to fear, which he also
suggests through understatement.
After hearing the second dream, he
remarks: Era sjá draumr minni —
“this dream is no lesser.” When the
third dream has been told, he re-
marks: Ekki fara í þurrð draumarnir
— “the dreams are not on the de-
cline.” The speaker is especially
gifted and able to divine impending
misfortune, and his remarks suggest
his anxiety and provide at the same
time foreshadowing for the reader.
Similar foreshadowing, in addition
to an expression of strong deter-
mination on the part of the speaker,
can be seen in Laxdæla Saga. The
illustrious Kjartan Ólafsson remarks
to King Olaf Tryggvason of Norway,
who seeks to convert him to Chris-
tianity: Ok þat ætla ek mór, at taka
því at eins við trú í Nóregi, at ek
meta lítils Þór inn næsta vetr, er ek
kem til íslands — “I intend to accept
the new faith only to the extent that
I will regard Thor little next winter
when I come to Iceland.” As it turns
out, Kjartan is baptized and later
becomes so pious and fasts so long
that people c o m e long distances
merely to look at him.
When Guðrún ósvífursdóttir in
Laxdæla Saga learns that her hus-