Studia Islandica - 01.07.1966, Page 89

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gives the impression of being the author’s own, and not just
an expression of the traditional propagandist outlook con-
nected with the cult of the saint. His own tastes and sympa-
thies are revealed by his obvious idealisation of the life of
Rauðúlfr and his sons, and his pessimism by his conclusion
of the story, where even Rauðúlfr’s sons were not left in
peace: they had to leave their intellectual haven, being
pressed into the king’s service “because he felt he could not
do without them”.
Birkbeck College
University of London