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SAGA-BOOK - Viking Society Web Publications

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On Arons saga Hjiirleifssonar 161<br />

the Eyjafjoror bre], and all the evidence suggests that the<br />

author of Arons saga was a cleric.<br />

IV<br />

Arons saga follows the life of a single hero from childhood<br />

to death. It may in this respect be classed with<br />

other, earlier biographies of Icelandic heroes, especially<br />

with Gisla saga and Grettis saga, for like them the<br />

protagonist is an outlaw for part of his life. In style,<br />

theme and scope it does not approach the quality of the<br />

best of these earlier works, yet it is probably the nearest<br />

thing to a saga of the classical school that the fourteenth<br />

century produced, and makes intermittent demands to<br />

be judged alongside these predecessors. Side by side<br />

with this element it reveals a spirit which sets it well<br />

apart from the stringency of the classical school, and<br />

makes the comparison seem too bold.<br />

A natural form of construction is provided by the<br />

biographical framework of the story, and this subdivides,<br />

again naturally, into two parts, the first dealing with<br />

Arons adventures in Iceland, the second with his life in<br />

Norway. In the first half the straightforward chronological<br />

development contains within itself a certain<br />

dramatic progress towards breaking-point. Aron's<br />

position steadily worsens as men become more and more<br />

weary of harbouring him. The boredom and frustration,<br />

as well as the danger, of the outlaw's life increase in<br />

intensity to the point where desperation gives him<br />

recourse to prayer. But his answer lies in the positive<br />

action of killing Sigmundr snagi, and having thus<br />

figuratively doubled the price on his head his escape to<br />

Norway is a suitable end to the tale of his exploits in<br />

Iceland.<br />

The material contained in the second part of the work<br />

is by no means as ample and cohesive. The narrative<br />

becomes fragmentary and anecdotal. There is little<br />

connection between events, beyond the natural effect of

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