Studia Islandica - 01.06.1993, Blaðsíða 280

278
The ideology of Heiðarvígasaga. The story tells of
unrelenting feuds and yet it advocates peace. In all probabi-
lity the author was a 13th-century cleric who was outraged by
the immoral practices and violence of the Age of the
Sturlungs, when the country was ablaze with warfare and
fierce warriors went raiding into other regions of the country,
disregarding the law of both God and man.
The narrative of Heiðarvígasaga unfolds in the traditional,
epic form of an Icelandic family saga while at the same time
the story text includes several key points which serve the read-
er as indicators regarding the authors intention. The most
significant are these: The accusations of St. Ólafr, King of
Norway, against Barði and his expulsion of Barði from his
court; the deaths of Víga- Styrr and Barði; Þuríðr Ólafsdótt-
ir’s humiliation by her sons; the refusal of Guðlaugr Snorra-
son, who later enters a monastery in England, to take revenge
for the killing of his uncle, Víga-Styrr; the killing of Gísli at
Gullteigr and, finally, the inclusion of a lengthy piece of an
old truce formulary, called griðamál, which forms a weighty
argument in support of the interpretation of the saga . In view
of these and various other indications there can be little doubt
that the reader is supposed to understand the story primarily
on a spiritual level. The writer conveys his message through
repetition, analogy and contrast, although the most obvious
clue to his intention lies in the names of the major characters,
who each have a specific function as representatives for op-
posite values within the world of the saga. Thus Víga-Styrr,
Barði and Þuríðr are embodiments of forneskja (heathen-
dom) and its accompanying attitudes, whereas Gestr, Guð-
laugr and Eiðr represent the new religion, Christianity, and
its ideology. Their names form a symbolic system of ideas.
The author does not, as scholars have maintained, rely on
traditional native tales to any significant extent. It may even
be assumed, as Sigurður Nordal suggested, that many of the
verses in the saga were composed by the author. The key
characters probably existed in real life and the main events
may even have taken place but the author’s purpose was not