Gripla - 2023, Page 370

368 GRIPLA
cannot be communicated: “Thereby narrative appears as the fundamental
theme of The Quest of the Holy Grail (as it is of all narrative, but always in
a different way).”44
Can we apply this view to Saga Ólafs Þórhallasonar? Much of what
has been presented in this article would seem to suggest so. According to
Ólafssaga, we are destined to tell and listen to stories, and this can be both
a blessing and a curse, as can be seen when Þórhildur and Ólafur run into
each other near the very end of the story. The elf woman accuses her ex-
husband of having scorned her, and she intends to take revenge by casting
a final spell on him.
[…] sjálfur skaltu verða fátækur, félaus og fyrirlitinn af öllum. Við
það skaltu búa allan þinn aldur nema þú fáir óspillta mær sem ekki
er yngri en seytján vetra, vel efnaða, fríða og góðsama, hverri þú
skalt fram lesa allt hvað þú hefir séð og heyrt. Vilji hún þá og geti
sagt þér aðra eins sögu af yfirjarðarfólki og þú hefir sagt henni af
álfafólki og gangi þar til að eiga þig skal þér hólpið verða, annars
ekki. (365)
([…] you yourself shall be poor, destitute, and scorned by all. Thus
shall you live out the rest of your days, unless you find an unspoiled
maiden no younger than seventeen winters, well-to-do, attractive,
and good, to whom you shall recount all that you have seen and
heard. Should she tell a story of mortals like the one you have told
of the elves, and should she agree to be your bride, only then shall
you be safe.)
“Should she tell a story … only then shall you be safe.” It seems particularly
fitting that Eiríkur Laxdal’s inspired work of fiction concludes with a
prophecy of yet another cycle of stories and storytelling.45
Translated from Icelandic by Julie Summers
44 Ibid., 141.
45 I would like to thank Julie Summers for translating the article from Icelandic into English.
I also would also like to thank Lena Rohrbach, Romina Werth, anonymous peer reviewers
and the editors of Gripla for their valuable suggestions.