Gripla - 2019, Blaðsíða 94

GRIPLA94
tear a woman named Ingibjörg in two out of sexual jealousy; and another
jötunn binds Egill to his service on pain of death. Though the physical ap-
pearance of the jötnar is their most immediate defining feature, it would
seem that their opposition to humanity is what characterises their role in
the fornaldarsögur. To be a jötunn, in other words, is to oppose civilised
human society by nature.
The relationships between humans and risar in the sagas are of an em-
phatically different nature. This distinction is perhaps best indicated by the
fact that risar are freely able to marry human women. This is remarkable
considering that jötnar in the sagas are only able to do so by abducting their
brides. Human-risi marriage occurs on a number of occasions in Bárðar
saga, and in no instance is it regarded as unconventional. While the jötunn
Gautr from Egils saga ok Ásmundar greip “grabbed” his human bride and the
elder Starkaðr of Gautreks saga tók “took” his, the risi Bárðr bað “asked” for
the hand of his intended marriage partner – in this case a certain Herþrúðr,
the daughter of a Norwegian hersir. Dumbr also marries a beautiful hu-
man bride Mjöll, and Bárðr marries his daughter to his human friend and
protégé Oddr. Similar ties are seen in Örvar-Odds saga where Oddr and
Hildigunnr, the daughter of the risi Hildir, appear to have an affectionate
relationship and even produce a child. Along with the many examples of
friendship observable in the fornaldarsögur between humans and risar, it
appears that numerous humans apparently had few reservations when it
came to marrying into a risi family.
The fact that dynasties of men and risar could be joined through mar-
riage speaks to the fundamentally positive perception of the latter. In this
regard, they could be hardly further from jötnar, who, as in mythological
sources, are never presented as acceptable marriage partners. The suitabil-
ity of risar from a dynastic standpoint stems not only from their physical
beauty, but from the fact that they can assimilate into the human world.
The child of Oddr and Hildigunnr, Vignir, integrates seamlessly into hu-
man society upon maturity. In Örvar-Odds saga, Þorsteins þáttr, Þorsteins
saga Víkingssonar and Bárðar saga, risar are called menn, and in the last of
these, Dumbr is said to be “allt sambland við mennska menn” [entirely
integrated with human beings] on account of his risi heritage.48
In certain cases, risar are even exalted above humans – a remarkable fact
48 Bárðar saga, 101.