Studia Islandica - 01.06.1983, Page 134

SUMMARY
1. Introduction. This book, a revised version of a B.A. dissertation
that was submitted at the University of Iceland in 1979, deals with
Eyrbyggja Saga’s account of the Fródá Wonders, the strangest and
most complex ghost story in the Sagas of Icelanders. Efforts are made
to explain it in terms of the prevailing mentality of the writer’s time,
and to throw light generally on the origin of this element in the
saga. While the point of departure is the view that the Sagas of
Icelanders derive substantially from orally transmitted accounts of
historical events, it is argued here that features involving the super-
natural are a distinct genre. The narrative technique used by the
saga writer in telling a ghost story is discussed briefly. As follows
from the nature of the subject, many of the findings are highly tenta-
tive, or even guesswork. Because no scholarly edition of Eyrbyggja
Saga exists, vellum manuscripts of it were studied.
2. Ghost Stories. Among other things, this part outlines folklorists’
theories on what may actually be involved in reported encounters
with ghosts: dreams, people’s perceptions while half-asleep, illusions,
hallucinations, and perfectly natural occurrences that the associated
with the supematural. Obviously, the mentality of the perceiver,
including superstitious beliefs, figures in the interpretation of the
experience, particularly if the person is under emotional stress. As is
pointed out, belief in ghosts has been widespread in Iceland ever
since the settlement, a circumstance providing a basis for the genre.
Some other factors relevant to the origin of ghost stories and their
development in oral transmission are discussed — for instance, how
first-hand accounts tend to change in oral transmission in conformity
with prevailing traditions. Ancient ghost stories, especially ones foimd
in the Sagas of Icelanders, are discussed, and it is shown how an older
form in this literature, closely linked to ordinary reality, can be
distinguished from a later stage at which heroes test their mettle by
wrestling with ghosts.