Gripla - 01.01.2003, Síða 259

ANDMÆLARÆÐUR
257
trustworthy to reveal the truth about what actually happened there. But there is
no doubt that both Vínland sagas are based on ancient oral traditions.
FINALLY. The value of Gísli’s dissertation does not primarily consist in
his new conclusions, since several of them were in fact anticipated by other
scholars: Ólafur Halldórsson, Óskar Halldórsson, Theodore Andersson, Carol
Clover, Dietrich Hofmann and others. The value of his dissertation rather
consists in the new approaches and comparative methods that he has in-
troduced. On the other hand, I do not agree with Gísli when he, towards the
very end of his dissertation on p. 327, summarily dismisses some other
methods that have been used by his predecessors in their search for the oral
roots of the sagas. Unlike Gísli, I think that a simple, formulaic saga style and
direct references to what people have said — “some say this, others say that”
et cetera — can still be used as pretty strong indications that a saga is based on
oral tradition, even though it is true that such style and such references may
also, sometimes, be used as purely literary devices to give the audience a
faked impression of orality.
What we should do when looking for genuine oral tradition behind the
written saga text is probably to use as many different methods as possible —
intrinsic as well as extrinsic — and let them supplement each other, in some
cases correct each other, to find how important or unimportant the underlying
orality of the text may be. And one should of course not forget what Gísli also
says at the end of his book, namely that sagas are never purely oral texts but
always literary artifacts, in some cases obviously influenced by other literary
texts, including the leamed literature of medieval Europe. Yet the search for
the oral roots of these texts will continue. Gísli Sigurðsson’s dissertation has
provided several helpful tools and instruments to future saga scholars who
want to continue this search, and that in itself is a considerable achievement.
From the bottom of my heart I want to congratulate you to a job well done —
a quilt or rúmábreiða that will hold for wear and tear, óbrotgjörn í bragar túni.
Lars Lönnroth
Litteraturvetenskapliga institutionen
Göteborgs universitet
SE-405 30 Göteborg
Svíþjóð
loennroth@lit.gu.se