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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