Gripla - 01.01.1995, Blaðsíða 117

KARI ELLEN GADE
„1236: ÓRÆKJA MEIDDR OK HEILL GQRR“
Thetitle of this article is taken from the „Flateyjarannáll14,1 and refers
to the infamous episode in Sturla Þórðarson’s íslendinga saga that de-
scribes the castration and blinding of Órækja Snorrason at the hands
of his cousin, Sturla Sighvatsson, and Órækja’s subsequent miraculous
recovery.2 According to the saga, Sturla Sighvatsson, after a year
abroad, returns to Iceland in 1235, only to discover that Órækja has
taken up residence in the Western fjords and is terrorizing the country-
side with raids and plundering. The next spring (1236), Sturla and his
father, Sighvatr, demand compensation from Snorri for the damages
caused by his son Órækja, but to no avail. The upshot of the dis-
agreement is that Snorri is forced to leave for Bersastaðir, and Sturla
settles at Reykjaholt and appropriates all of Snorri’s property. Sturla
then meets with Órækja in Dýrafjörðr, and they reach a tentative
settlement, stipulating that Sighvatr should arbitrate between them;
that Órækja should stay at Stafaholt; and that Sturla should retain
Snorri’s property and stay at Reykjaholt.3 Shortly thereafter, Órækja
1 Flateyjarbok I—III (ed. Guðbrandur Vigfusson and Carl R. Unger, Christiania (Os-
lo), 1860-1868), III, 529 (henceforth abbreviated Flat I—III). For „gera heill“ in the mean-
ing ‘cure,’ ‘restore to full health,' see Johan Fritzner, Ordbog over det gamle Norske
Sprog I-IV, 4th ed. (Oslo, etc., 1973), I, 759. See also the entries in the „Annales regii“
(„Órækja meiddr"), in Gustav Storm, ed., Islandske annaler indtd 1578, 1888; rpt. Oslo,
1977, p. 130; the „Annales Reseniani" („Órækja meiddr“; ibid., p. 25); the „Skálholtsann-
áll“ („Órækja meiddr ok heill gprr með jarteinum"; ibid., p. 188); the „Lögmannsannáll“
(„Órækja meiddr ok heill“; ibid., p. 256); the „Gottskálksannáll“ („Órækja meiddr“;
ibid., p. 327); and the „Oddverjaannáll" („Órækja Snorrason meiddr ok heill“; ibid., p.
480). When necessary, the orthography of all Old Norse texts has been normalized. A
preliminary version of this article was printed in Samtíðarsögiir I—II (Preprints of the
Ninth International Saga Conference, Akureyri, 31.7.-6.8. 1994), I, 194-207.
íslendinga saga (henceforth abbreviated ísl), in Sturlunga saga I (ed. Jón Jóhannes-
son, Magnús Finnbogason, and Kristján Eldjárn. Reykjavík, 1946), pp. 395-96.
3 ísl, pp. 392-94; cf. Flat III, 110.