Gripla - 20.12.2008, Page 79

ELENA GUREVICH
THE FANTASTIC IN ÍSLENDINGA ÞÆTTIR,
WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS
ON ÞORSTEINS ÞÁTTR FORVITNA
AMONG THE Íslendinga þættir that employ fantastic elements extensively
we find on the one hand such widely known and much discussed tales as
Þorleifs þáttr jarlsskálds and on the other such an “insignificant” story
(Finnur Jónsson 1923, 758) as Þorsteins þáttr forvitna which has hitherto
attracted hardly any attention at all. It seems, however, that in spite of its
modest artistic value this latter tale deserves a closer look.
Þorsteins þáttr forvitna is supposed to have been composed in the late
thirteenth or early fourteenth century presumably by a cleric, which may
account for its resemblance to Christian legends (ÍF XIII, CCII f.). The
þáttr is known in one version only and is preserved in the later part of
Flateyjarbók, which was added to the main body of this compilation dur-
ing the last half of the fifteenth century, when the owner of the book was
Þorleifur Björnsson of Reykhólar. The tale of a curious Icelander is placed
there among some other stories which immediately follow Haralds saga
harðráða, thus constituting a sort of a supplement to this major work.
Þorsteins þáttr forvitna is one of the so called utanferðar þættir, tales of
an Icelander abroad, whose core structural elements are most often based
on the Alienation / Reconciliation of the Icelander and the king (Harris
1972). Despite the variety of themes and plots, most þættir of this type
are structured according to a limited number of traditional patterns. The
choice of a particular pattern is largely motivated by the way the conflict
between a king and an Icelander is initiated, and in most cases it is the
Icelander who provokes such a conflict. Þorsteins þáttr forvitna belongs to
a small subgroup of stories in which a conflict between the heroes arises
from a fault of an Icelander who has violated a king’s interdiction (to this
Gripla XIX (2008): 77–92.