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despite his attempts to anchor himself in this sphere, he cannot avoid an
association with the marginal realm outside it”.75 But this in itself, accord-
ing to Barraclough, does not necessarily mean that he becomes monstrous
in the eyes of society. How, then, does Gísli fit the picture of potential
monstrosity painted by other outlaws?
I noted above that monstrosity is a social concept, and thus Grettis saga
focuses, among other things, on its protagonist’s attempts at interacting
with and becoming integrated into society, whereas Harðar saga is, in
part, concerned with Hörðr’s interactions with others and his establish-
ment of a parallel society on the island of Geirshólmr. Gísla saga, however,
passes over such matters in one sentence: shortly after Gísli is outlawed,
the saga states that þrjá vetr ferr hann um allt Ísland ok hittir hǫfðingja ok
biðr sér liðs [for three years, Gísli travelled around the country and met up
with chieftains and asked for support].76 If one compares this with Grettis
saga, whose main focus lies on its protagonist’s travels around Iceland and
his attempt at enlisting support, one must conclude that Gísla saga is not
interested in these travels. The concern of Gísla saga does not appear to lie
with wider society, and therefore, the concept of monstrosity also needs to
be adjusted to account for such a shift in interest if one wants to determine
whether Gísli can be considered monstrous or not. this shift in focus
and thus in approach is justified for example by the fact that most of the
characters of Gísla saga are related to Gísli, either by blood like Ingjaldr,
or by marriage, like Eyjólfr inn grái who is a cousin of Þórdís’s husbands.
the saga’s focus thus lies on the family of its protagonist rather than on
wider society,77 and it is in this context that one must read Gísli’s potential
to monstrosity.
In this light, Gísli’s actions can be understood as disruptive. Where
Grettir’s and Hörðr’s actions result in society turning against them, Gísli’s
killing of Þorgrímr is more than a crime against society, although he kills
not only his goði but also his brother-in-law. this action completely frag-
ments the family – which until Vésteinn’s death had been slowly drift-
75 Barraclough, “Inside outlawry,” 386.
76 Gísla saga, 69.
77 Preben Meulengracht Sørensen, “Murder in Marital Bed: an attempt at understanding
a Crucial Scene in Gísla saga,” Structure and Meaning in Old Norse Literature, eds. John
Lindow, Lars Lönnroth and Gerd Wolfgang Weber, the Viking Collection 3 (odense:
Odense University Press, 1986), 243.
“HE HaS LonG forfEItED aLL KInSHIP tIES”