Gripla - 2020, Blaðsíða 259

GRIPLA258
8. Conclusion
This discussion has shown that the silence of the Íslendingasögur towards
the topic of injury and dis/ability is by no means impenetrable, even
though the sagas neither elaborate on this topic nor tend to focus on im-
paired characters. When discussing fighting, the sagas refrain from dwell-
ing at length on descriptions of the injuries and non-congenital impair-
ments caused by violent encounters; it is only in the course of negotiating
peace agreements and compensation payments that any medical issues
are listed, but without any verbalised emotional or empathic responses
regarding either the impairments themselves or the impaired individuals.
The sagas therefore appear markedly indifferent towards such crucial life-
changes, but this apparent indifference need not equate to apathy.
Considering the precision and strictness with which peace agreements
are conducted in the Íslendingsögur, it is evident that the body is of utmost
importance to saga society, especially as regards being able-bodied. Both
the individual and the community at large depend on the bodily prowess
of individuals, particularly men, to provide for the household materially
and to uphold family honour and reputation. Becoming injured, or worse,
becoming óvígr (‘unable to fight, disabled’),85 is therefore a serious issue
reflected in the severity of punishment for those who cause such injuries
and the amount they have to pay as compensation. The importance of the
body, or more precisely of being able-bodied, is thus highlighted in the
sagas. The body is, in Bourdieu’s terms, a valuable form of capital that can
be translated into considerable sums of money. Furthermore, the body is
an asset for trading both for the individual and for society: during com-
pensation negotiations, society as a whole makes use of the individual’s
body and its impairments as a means to resolve disputes and re-establish
societal equilibrium. Yet as soon as the sentence is passed and the payment
is made, the individual is left alone with the impairment and the potential
trauma associated with it. Society’s interest in the injury or impairment
stops when the incident is considered avenged and the social equilibrium
is restored. The sagas are not especially interested in how impaired saga
characters feel about this quid pro quo as they hardly every render individual
perspectives. In light of Mitchell and Snyder’s theory, it seems reasonable
85 Zoëga, “Dictionary,” 466 úvígr.