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Ljósvetninga saga (Íf 10:12–13). the point of direct discourse seems to be
to mark an official moment and signal its importance.
among such moments are personal or business commitments. thus
in Hœnsa-Þóris saga the fostering of a child, a hay sale, or the closing of
an aid agreement are arranged with explicit exchanges of words (Íf 3:7,
14–16, 20–21). Such transactions need not be benign, as the plan for an as-
sassination in Eyrbyggja saga illustrates (Íf 4:65–66), but more commonly
it is the simple matter of a purchase or an exchange, as in Laxdœla saga
(Íf 5:23–24, 101, 102–103, 146–147, 216–217). the transaction need not
be restricted to material goods but can include services. Thus Fóstbrœðra
saga (Íf 6: 168, 195–196, and 221), Grettis saga (Íf 7:52), and Ljósvetninga
saga (Íf 10:64–65) report the terms of a ship passage, Svarfdœla saga spells
out an agreement between brothers (Íf 9:131) and gives the wording of a
financial deal (Íf 9:203), while Víga-Glúms saga details the arrangement of
a winter’s lodging (Íf 9:17–18).
Since gift-giving was more of a business transaction in medieval Iceland
than it is today, it is occasionally signaled by explicit words, whether it be
an extravagant gift like a ship in Egils saga (Íf 2:91) or a less princely gift
like a sword in Svarfdœla saga (Íf 9:145–146) or a gift of wall hangings and
clothing in Víga-Glúms saga (Íf 9:48). falling slightly below the legal bar
are the matters of hiring and firing as in Grettis saga (Íf 7:110) or a truce
formula as in Heiðarvíga saga (Íf 3:312–313) or another case of setting the
terms of combat in Svarfdœla saga (Íf 9:146–147).
What all these occurrences of direct discourse have in common is that
they underline the importance or seriousness in the dealing of saga char-
acters. They might be termed transactional; they signal the commitment
of the parties involved to an interaction of legal or business importance.
there is, however, one category of interaction that does not subscribe to
the transactional pattern. this category involves an exchange of words with
royalty or the high aristocracy, kings, queens, or sometimes jarls. Examples
may be found in Egils saga (Íf 2:191, 107, 123, 139–140, 183–185), Gunnlaugs
saga (Íf 3:69–70, 76, 79–81), Bjarnar saga (Íf 3:116–117, 132–133), Laxdœla
saga (Íf 5:117–118), Fóstbrœðra saga (Íf 6:159, 183, 213, 220), Grettis saga
(Íf 7:132, 134), Vatnsdœla saga (If 8:24, 33–34, 44, 114), Hallfreðar saga (Íf
8:153–154, 161, 167–168), and Njáls saga (Íf 12:14, 20, 206, 215, 218–223). It
will be readily apparent that such conversations are largely confined to sagas
A NOTE ON CONVERSATION IN THE SAGAS