Gripla - 2020, Blaðsíða 248

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of healing appears first when Egill and his men visit the farmer Þorfinnr
in Eiðaskógr. During dinner, Egill notices a ‘kona sjúk’48 [sick woman].
It turns out that she is Þorfinnr’s daughter Helga, who has been afflicted
by vanmáttr (‘failing strength, illness’)49 for quite some time. Egill cures
her by carving a rune stick, and Helga, though still frail, soon seems to be
revived: ‘Henni þótti sem hon vaknaði ór svefni’50 [It seemed to her that
she had woken up from sleep]. Egill and his men continue their journey,
but are soon worn and wounded after several fights. In spite of his own
wounds, Egill primarily takes care of his men: ‘Hann batt sár fǫrunauta
sinna’51 [He bound up the wounds of his companions]. On their way back,
they stay twice with farmers, and in each location their wounds are again
taken care of. When the men eventually return to Þorfinnr’s, Helga is up
and well again: ‘Helga, dóttir bónda, var þá á fótum ok heil meina sinna’52
[Helga, the farmer’s daughter, was up again and her health was restored].
Regardless of the gendered aspects of this episode, it is unusual for saga
narratives to turn back to a previous incident of sickness and healing. In
light of the fact that Helga and her family do not appear again in the saga,
the emphasis on Egill’s healing of Helga stands out, thereby illustrating an
unexpected aspect of his character.
In contrast to how little attention is paid to wounds and impairments
when they are inflicted, references to healing and recovery are surprisingly
numerous.53 As discussed below in more detail, this disparity suggests that
healing and recovering were key issues for saga society as regards the main-
tenance of social equilibrium. Assuming a historical perspective, Cordula
a læknir (‘physician’). In some Íslendingasögur, references to læknar are made, as occurs in
Droplaugarsona saga (see the above footnote regarding Álfgerðr læknir) and in Fóstbrœðra
saga, especially in the Hauksbók version, which is notably interested in physiology and
medical concepts.
48 Egils saga, 229.
49 Zoëga, “Dictionary,” 470.
50 Egils saga, 230.
51 Egils saga, 237.
52 Egils saga, 238.
53 This observation is made on the basis of a database previously compiled in the context of
the project Disability before Disability; however, there are currently no plans to publish this
database. To summarise the basis of this assertion: The software Atlas.ti was used to tag
dis/ability-related aspects in the Íslendingasögur, and in the sixteen sagas that were tagged,
56 instances of impairment were found in contrast to 53 instances of healing and recovery.
In both cases, instances were tagged only if they related to named saga characters.
THE SILENCED TRAUMA IN THE Í sLEnDInGAsÖGUR