Grettir's Saga
Also known as: Grettis saga Ásmundarsonar, Saga of Grettir the Strong, The Saga of Grettir
The life of Grettir Ásmundarson—from unruly youth to famed outlaw—unfolds across Iceland and Norway, shadowed by a revenant’s curse, relentless feuds, and a last stand on Drangey.
Description
A cornerstone of the Íslendingasögur, Grettir’s Saga follows the formidable yet ill-starred Grettir Ásmundarson. Early exploits and mound-breaking heroics win him renown, but a fateful struggle with the revenant Glamr leaves him cursed with fear of the dark and ill fortune. Accidents, vendettas, and strict legal customs drive him into outlawry, where he survives through strength, wit, and sporadic aid from kin and strangers. His redoubt on Drangey Island becomes the stage for endurance against winters, witchcraft, and siege. Interlaced episodes—ancestral prologues and his half-brother Þorsteinn drómundr’s romance with Spes—broaden its world from Icelandic farms to Norwegian courts and Byzantine intrigues. The saga blends heroic adventure with Christian moral framing and stark meditations on luck, reputation, and fate.
Historiography
Composed in the early 14th century, the saga survives in multiple medieval manuscripts and later copies, reflecting a relatively stable core with occasional stylistic variance. Scholars note Christian moralizing and learned narrative craft layered onto oral heroic materials. The Glamr episode is among the most discussed revenant tales in Old Norse prose. Reception has emphasized the work’s synthesis of outlaw narrative, wonder tale motifs, and legal-social realism.
Date Notes
Saga of Icelanders likely compiled in the early 1300s, narrating events set in the Viking Age.
Major Characters
- Grettir Asmundarson
- Asdis
- Illugi Grettirsson
- Glam
- Thorir of Garth
- Thorbjorn Angle
- King Olaf Haraldsson
Myths
- Grettir and the Draugr Glam
- The Fire at Bjarg and Outlawry
- The Last Stand on Drangey
Facts
- Classed among the Íslendingasögur (Sagas of Icelanders).
- Core narrative likely composed in Iceland in the early 1300s.
- The Glamr episode is a key Old Norse revenant narrative.
- Grettir becomes an outlaw under Icelandic legal custom after compounded offenses.
- Drangey Island in Skagafjörður serves as Grettir’s last refuge.
- A curse from Glamr leaves Grettir afraid of the dark and ill-starred.
- Half-brother Þorsteinn drómundr’s Byzantine romance forms the saga’s coda.
- Christian moral interpretation overlays older heroic materials.
- Features mound-breaking motifs and barrow-dweller combat.
- Known for blending realistic feud-law detail with wonder-tale elements.