Gripla - 01.01.2003, Page 103

FORNALDARSÖGUR AND FLATEYJARBÓK
101
Arthur’s court for good.11 Some of the action that Þorsteins þáttr bæjarmagns
structures in this way has its parallel in folktale (Simpson 1966, Ciklamini
1968, Power 1985), and some can be traced back to various myths about Þórr
that were mutated and conflated into the story about Thorkillus, Godmundus,
and Geruthus found in Book VIII of the Gesta Danorum. This reflex of myth-
ological material is what connects Þorsteins þáttr bæjarmagns with the/o/vt-
aldarsögur (Bósa saga ok Herrauðs, for example, also makes use of it), al-
though strictly speaking, the temporal setting of the entire narrative—during
the reign of Olaf Tryggvason—should preclude this generic identification.12
Þorsteins þáttr bæjarmagns is also interesting because it has a number of
features in common with the þættir found in the sagas about the two King
Olafs, although it is not found embedded in any version of Oláfs saga
Tryggvasonar and it plays on the themes of Christianity and Olaf’s luck for
comic effect rather than for serious purposes. The royal retainer who takes ad-
vantage of his king’s luck to outwit pagan opponents and eam fame, fortune,
and a wife is also met with in Hróa þáttr; an evil supematural being demands
tribute from a supematural being who is friendly to humans in Þorsteins þáttr
uxafóts and in Orms þáttr; and a Christian battles the opponents of these
“good” creatures in Þorsteins þáttr uxafóts, Orms þáttr, and Sörla þáttr. Given
the apparent intent of the author to put together an entertaining tale of magical
11 The introductory adventure (ch. 2) is that of Þorsteinn’s theft of the ring and the tablecloth
from the underworld. The central adventures begin with his receiving from a dwarf the magic
implements that will enable his later successes (ch. 3). The first part of this (chs. 4-11) is his
first visit to Risaland, where he helps Guðmundr’s men against Jarl Agði and his retainers,
kills Geirröðr, and takes Agði’s daughter Guðrún back to Norway. The second part of the
central adventures (chs. 12-13) are his visit to King Olaf, during which he marries Guðrún
and receives permission to retum to Risaland, and his second visit to Risaland, where he
takes over his wife’s patrimony, recovers the homs that Agði had stolen, and seals Agði in his
grave-mound with the sign of the cross. Ch. 13 also contains the conclusion, in which
Þorsteinn visits Olaf one last time to give him the homs and in which the narrator reports that
the homs disappeared when Olaf did. Þorsteinn begins his adventures as an unpopular man
(Fornaldar sögur Norðurlanda [1950] 1V:321: “ekki var hann mjök kenndr af hirðmönnum.
Þótti þeim hann stríðlyndi ok óvæginn”) but ends up winning the good-will of the royal
retinue (Fornaldar sögurNorðurlanda [1950] IV:342-343: “báðu allir vel fyrir honum, því at
Þorsteinn var orðinn vinsæll”); that he is a changed man is also signalled by his new
nickname (from bæjarmagn to bæjarbam). Power (1985) argues for a Celtic source for the
Norse stories of visits to the otherworld and mentions Laoghaire Mac Crimthann as a tale that
has a number of parallels with Þorsteinn’s central adventures.
12 Mitchell (1993:206b) includes Þorsteinsþáttr bæjarmagns among the fornaldarsögur without
commenting on this aspect of the narrative.