Studia Islandica - 01.06.1967, Page 118

SUMMARY
1. Kjalnesinga saga is considered one of the youngest of the Family
sagas and is usually dated around 1300. The historical setting of the saga
is partly on Kjalames in SW Iceland and partly abroad. The author
shows a detailed knowledge of the topography of Kjalames and according
to some scholars the saga was probably written in that district or in the
neighbouring monastery on Viðey.
2. This saga is faithful to the general pattern of the Family sagas
and contains a wealth of stock motifs common to the Family and the
Heroic sagas.
3. In order to investigate one aspect of the author’s method two
short chapters are examined in some detail. Since the account of the
settlement of Kjalarnes differs in several ways from the two main ver-
sions of Landnúmabók scholars have generally assumed that it must be
derived from oral tradition. A comparison with all the extant versions
of Landnámabók shows, however, a significant similarity between the
saga and a corresponding chapter from Landnámabók contained in
Öláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta. This suggests a common source,
which in the case of the saga may have been the lost Styrmisbók. The
author has, however, made free use of this source. The description of the
temple on Kjalarnes has long been recognized to be a compilation from
several sources, especially Eyrbyggja saga. The only passage in this
description to which no parallel has previously been found is from
Alexanders saga.
4. It is well known that Haukur Erlendsson the Lawman often
shortened and improved the style of the texts he copied in Hauksbók
and at the same time made a number of changes and additions. As the
author of Kjalnesinga saga and Haukur were contemporaries and ap-
parently came from the same part of the country it seems a reasonable
approach to examine literary affinities of tlie saga and Hauksbók at the
same time. With a varying degree of probability literary affinity can be
established between the saga on the one hand and Landnámabók, eleven