Gripla - 2020, Page 247

GRIPLA246
Rolle des Schmerzes ist in diesen Texten alles andere als offensichtlich’40
[In this context (of Old Norse saga literature) it would only be natural to
expect a continuous confrontation with the topic of pain. The role of pain
in these texts, however, is anything but straightforward].41 Buntrock adds
that this approach to injury and pain can be considered a generic feature of
the Íslendingasögur, and thus represents a community’s particular attitude
and expectation towards health and the (unblemished) body.42
At the same time, references to healing and recovery are repeatedly
made, although as with descriptions of injuries such instances offer only
minimal information. In such contexts, sagas often resort to generalised,
formulaic descriptions of healing, as in the following examples: ‘Þormóðr
bindr sár sitt’43 [Þormóðr binds up his wounds]; ‘Álfgerðr batt sár hans
(Gríms)’44 [Álfgerðr bound up his (Grímr’s) wounds]; ‘Þeir létu grœða sjú-
ka menn’45 [They had the sick men healed]; ‘Þat er frá Þorsteini at segja, at
honum batnaði’46 [It is to be reported about Þorsteinn that he recovered].
Although Egils saga portrays Egill very often as a ruthless warrior, he
also repeatedly assumes the role of a healer and a leader concerned about
the well-being of his followers.47 On his third trip to Norway, the topic
40 Stefan Buntrock, ‘Und es schrie aus den Wunden’: Untersuchung zum schmerzphänomen und
der sprache des schmerzes in den Íslendinga-, Konunga-, Byskupasögur sowie der sturlunga saga,
Münchner Nordische Studien 2 (München: Herbert Utz Verlag, 2009), 19.
41 According to Buntrock, the only Íslendingasaga that features a cry of pain is Eiríks saga
rauða (“Schmerzphänomen,” 255–257). In some of the manuscripts, Eiríkr shouts ‘ái, ái’ in
direct speech when he falls off his horse (“Schmerzphänomen,” 256). This reading has been
debated, however, because the passage is difficult to decipher due to the poor condition of
the manuscript.
42 Buntrock, “Schmerzphänomen,” 140.
43 Fóstbrœðra saga, in Vestfirðinga sǫgur, ed. by Björn K. Þórólfsson and Guðni Jónsson, íslenzk
fornrit 6 (Reykjavík: Hið íslenzka fornritafélag, 1943), 251.
44 Droplaugarsona saga, in Austfirðinga sǫgur, ed. by Jón Jóhannesson, íslenzk fornrit 11
(Reykjavík: Hið íslenzka fornritafélag, 1950), 166. By referring to Álfgerðr in this episode
as Álfgerðr læknir ‘Álfgerðr the physician,’ Droplaugarsona saga underlines that she is medi-
cally skilled.
45 Egils saga, 55.
46 Þorsteins saga hvíta, in Austfirðinga sǫgur, ed. by Jón Jóhannesson, íslenzk fornrit 11 (Reykja-
vík: Hið íslenzka fornritafélag, 1950), 11.
47 This observation strongly contrasts with Ármann Jakobsson’s persuasive argument that
Egill lacks empathy and that his behaviour is motivated by egoism (Ármann Jakobsson,
“Egils saga and Empathy: Emotions and Moral Issues in a Dysfunctional Saga Family,”
scandinavian studies 80 (1) (2008): 17). I do not intend to discuss at this point whether
Egill could be called a healer or a physician, not least as the saga does not refer to him as