Gripla - 20.12.2009, Blaðsíða 105
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ceptual richness (Gaskins 1998). that elusive saga voice may resound
strongly for a post-Enlightenment age like our own, where we struggle
with paradoxes of political authority, but without the consolation of theo
logical certainties. (for more on the secular perspective of diverse saga
types and periods, see vésteinn ólason 1998, 49).
In this less canonical form of transcendence, the dynamic tensions of a
transitional society are nonetheless on display. the heroic moral virtues of
earlier days appear as socially problematic; the conciliatory spirit (seen as
weak in an earlier context) may be superior in meeting new political
demands for social peace. A cultural system based on kinship loyalties
reveals its dysfunctions as the young society advances multiple generations
past the time of first settlement. Alliances created outside the bonds of kin
ship open up new but yet unknown political possibilities—revealed in
future disorder, as disparate layers of loyalty come into open conflict.
Lawfulness can build up a new nation, as trust and friendship flower in a
system of decentralized authority; but that same nation may soon be laid
waste with lawlessness, amid the diffusion of authority and lack of a unify
ing center. The charismatic individuals who build large domains of power
cannot ultimately sustain competion against comparably sized units, espe
cially when power must learn to survive transitions across generations.
Societies with kings may be understood to have strengths and weaknesses,
and the very idea of a single highest form of authority (whether secular or
sacred), must be carefully weighed in secular terms.
Precisely how does saga narrative address these puzzles and paradoxes?
this is a question that cannot be adequately addressed in a conclusion; and
there are obviously diverse types of sagas and poetry that may capture dif
ferent sides of this emerging capacity for self-reflection. Along with multi
ple styles, one finds a comparable variety of rhetorical effects directed
toward transcending notions. Vésteinn Ólason has provided a broad over
view of these effects, showing how narrative displays of balance and judi
ciousness project their own sense of authority and reason (Vésteinn Ólason
1998, 59, 101). Elsewhere I have offered brief examples of how some stand
ard conventions of saga writing may capture cultural undercurrents
(Gaskins 2005). In the present essay my goal has been to connect this self
reflective activity to the special concerns of civilizational theory. for some
Iceland scholars the civilizational approach may seem tangential, grandiose,
CReAtInG At tHe MARGInS