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ity of the literary tradition in medieval and post-Reformation Iceland. A
tale such as Seth’s is appealing for several reasons. In comparison with the
Cross, the Quest is straightforward: one main character (Seth), one main
goal (to fetch the Oil of Life), and one destination (Paradise). In contrast,
the content of the Cross varies widely, frequently an amalgamation that
juggles different, often varying stories of biblical characters over a vast
period of time – between the death of Adam and the Crucifixion. The
themes of the Quest resonate with enthusiasts of various genres, including
romance, itineraries, travel narratives such as the víðfǫrla sagas, and biblical
or theological material.
In English and continental traditions, the Quest has been linked with
Arthurian romances. Esther Quinn connects Seth’s quest for the oil
with the quest for the grail. She posits that Malory’s fifteenth-century
Middle English reworking of Le Morte d’Arthur includes an episode that
is influenced by the Quest.64 Similarly, Barbara Baert connects Seth’s
vision of the infant Christ in the tree with a scene in the twelfth-century
Old French continuation of the Perceval romance, noting that the ima-
gery in Perceval precedes the extant witnesses of the Quest as found in
the Legenda.65 Seth’s journey is not unlike that of a knight’s; both go on a
quest to complete a task or goal, during which they must venture out into
unknown lands. The main facets of chivalric romance such as court culture
are naturally lacking, due to the setting and intended time period, but the
theme of love is deeply embedded in the narrative. Seth goes on his quest
first and foremost because of love for his father and the desire to have him
longer on earth. The narrative takes a turn when he is unable to retrieve
the oil to lengthen his father’s life; his quest then shifts to his duty as pro-
genitor of the wood of the Holy Cross, which, as is already known by the
reader, culminates in the ultimate act of love and sacrifice, the Crucifixion.
Probably the most perennial aspect of the story, however, is the journey
to Paradise. Travelling to Paradise was a popular theme in medieval lite-
rature, not least in Old Icelandic.66 In AM 727 II 4to, the scribe Jón
64 Esther Casier Quinn, “The Quest of Seth, Solomon’s Ship and the Grail,” Traditio 21
(1965): 185–222. Quinn claims that a part of the Tale of the Sankgreal, which tells of a
ship built by Solomon that includes three spindles whose origins stem from a branch Eve
brought from Paradise, was directly influenced by the Quest in the Legenda.
65 Baert, Heritage of the Holy Wood, 329–33.
66 For discussion on the manifestation of this theme in Old Icelandic literature, see David
THE “QUEST OF SETH”