Gripla - 20.12.2010, Page 223

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story was once part of the narrative material surrounding Hallr’s family.
A brief mention should also be made of Vǫðu-Brands þáttr, a short text
preserved as part of one redaction of Ljósvetninga saga (see ÍF X, 123–139).
Brandr is the sort of irritant we find in a number of sagas. His actions and
legal disputes, either through accident or intention, become part of a larger
power struggle between chieftains. Despite having relatively little power
and influence himself, Brandr’s dispute threatens to disturb the uneasy
peace between Þorkell Geitisson and Guðmundr inn ríki. According to the
þáttr, Þorsteinn Síðu-Hallsson sides with Þorkell who defends Brandr
against Guðmundr for the wounding of a man at some games. Þorsteinn,
however, seeks a peaceful resolution (albeit to the benefit of his comrade
Þorkell) and proposes the marriage of Þorkell to Jórunn, the daughter of
Einarr, Guðmundr’s brother. Guðmundr finds himself in the awkward
position of potentially prosecuting a member of his own kin-group and
backs down letting Þorkell have his way. As with Þorsteinn’s supposed
visit to King Magnús in Þorsteins saga Síðu-Hallssonar, this episode poses
chronological inconsistencies when compared with other sources (see ÍF
X, l–lv; also Gísli Sigurðsson 2004, 149). Þorkell probably became a goði
before 987, and (as shown above) Þorsteinn not until 1012, making it his-
torically unlikely that the real Þorsteinn and Þorkell were ever allies. It is
possible that the story has somehow shifted from Síðu-Hallr himself and
been reapplied to his son. If, however, we are to assume that Þorsteinn and
his family are part of popular oral tradition, more important than the his-
torical details are the thematic and personal characteristics associated with
his character. Ignoring the chronological inconsistency, the þáttr fits the
tradition of Hallr’s family well. Þorsteinn is eager to find a solution that
avoids bloodshed and he goes about it in a creative and cunning way, which
ultimately achieves the best result for his companion; not unlike Hallr’s
behaviour at the Alþingi. Despite the disagreement over dates, the story
fits thematically and in general terms with the picture being built up in our
immanent saga.
Þorsteinn’s untimely death and (or so we assume) that of his son
Magnús almost brings to an end the stories associated with their family in
the saga age. Only a short þáttr about Þorsteinn’s younger brother Egill’s
travels expands the material further (Egils þáttur Síðu-Hallssonar; ÍS III,
SÍÐU-HALLS SAGA OK SONA HANS