# Icelandic sagas thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 21, 2013, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-sagas-thread/676888 "2013-12-21T09:01:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Brynhildr\_Budladottir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Brynhildr\_Budladottir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynhildr_Budladottir)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-sagas-thread/676888/21 "2013-12-28T11:32:21Z")
> [@Disposable Hero](#): > > I have a question! _puts hand up_ > > I recently read Njal’s Saga and there was one part I wondered about. I can’t remember names so bare with me but it happens at the very end of the book. One character has been declared an outlaw and he goes to a friend for help, this friend is very boastful and full of himself _(his interactions with his wife are pretty amusing)_. > > The author obviously doesn’t like him and downplays his actions etc however the boastful man does exactly what he said he was going to do, he protects the other character, travels with him, fights bravely and well, doesn’t betray him etc > > Basically why was the boastful man portrayed in such a negative way? Probably because of his boastfulness. IIRC it wasn’t considered a good thing to boast about your achievements or be too proud of your achievements in Viking Age Norse society. BTW, I’ve always thought the sagas would make good TV soap operas-- especially _Njál’s saga_. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-sagas-thread/676888/22 "2013-12-28T17:13:07Z")
> [@Morwen Edhelwen](#): > > @Ulf: Where does your username come from? From Njal’s Saga (but you knew that already), which I read and enjoyed as a college student many years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Brynhildr\_Budladottir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Brynhildr\_Budladottir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynhildr_Budladottir)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-sagas-thread/676888/23 "2013-12-28T23:00:37Z")
> [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > From Njal’s Saga (but you knew that already), which I read and enjoyed as a college student many years ago. As I said above I think Njal’s saga could be easily made into a modern-day soap opera. The English form of Njal/Niul/Niall is Neil. Njal was a medieval Icelandic lawyer married to a wealthy woman who got entagled in a marriage dispute between a friend and a FOAF’s wife. In particular Hallgerd and Gunnhild would be great villainous characters. “YOU HIT ME! I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!” Good subject for a poll: “Would you watch a soap opera based on a medieval story?”(assuming you watch soap operas as a guilty pleasure. Or hey forget soap operas, what about plain TV drama?) ---
**Author:** ![Brynhildr\_Budladottir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Brynhildr\_Budladottir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynhildr_Budladottir)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2013, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-sagas-thread/676888/24 "2013-12-29T02:23:46Z")
EDIT to the last post: I’m not of course implying that hitting your partner or being hit by your partner is a good thing or should be forgivable. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2013, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-sagas-thread/676888/25 "2013-12-29T03:12:32Z")
> [@Morwen Edhelwen](#): > > EDIT to the last post: I’m not of course implying that hitting your partner or being hit by your partner is a good thing or should be forgivable. Of course not. 🙂 The few sagas I’ve read have some nasty personal relations going on. ---
**Author:** ![Brynhildr\_Budladottir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Brynhildr\_Budladottir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynhildr_Budladottir)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2013, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-sagas-thread/676888/26 "2013-12-29T07:27:48Z")
That’s why I say they’d make great period dramas… who else agrees with me? ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2013, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-sagas-thread/676888/27 "2013-12-29T14:12:19Z")
> [@Morwen Edhelwen](#): > > Probably because of his boastfulness. IIRC it wasn’t considered a good thing to boast about your achievements or be too proud of your achievements in Viking Age Norse society. > > BTW, I’ve always thought the sagas would make good TV soap operas-- especially _Njál’s saga_. Thanks, that makes sense but I thought it was kind of harsh, its one thing to be boastful and to be full of it but another to be actually capable of doing what you’re boasting about. Its not a nice character trait but you have to give him props for actually pulling it off. Personally I found the saga rather uninteresting though it did have its moments, everytime they came to an agreement you just knew some jerk would break it and a new round of blood-letting would begin and the last third was more like a legal drama than anything else. ---
**Author:** ![Brynhildr\_Budladottir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Brynhildr\_Budladottir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynhildr_Budladottir)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-sagas-thread/676888/28 "2013-12-31T10:50:49Z")
> [@Disposable Hero](#): > > Thanks, that makes sense but I thought it was kind of harsh, its one thing to be boastful and to be full of it but another to be actually capable of doing what you’re boasting about. Its not a nice character trait but you have to give him props for actually pulling it off. > > Personally I found the saga rather uninteresting though it did have its moments, everytime they came to an agreement you just knew some jerk would break it and a new round of blood-letting would begin and the last third was more like a legal drama than anything else. But… HALLGERD! She’s such a vamp that if I were an actress and someone was adapting _Njáls saga_ into a drama I would go audition for the role of Hallgerd (and if they were doing Laxdaela saga it would be Gudrun). Seriously, most female characters in the sagas would make meaty dramatic roles in plays and TV series. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-sagas-thread/676888/29 "2013-12-31T11:04:10Z")
> [@Morwen Edhelwen](#): > > As I said above I think Njal’s saga could be easily made into a modern-day soap opera. The English form of Njal/Niul/Niall is Neil. Njal was a medieval Icelandic lawyer married to a wealthy woman who got entagled in a marriage dispute between a friend and a FOAF’s wife. In particular Hallgerd and Gunnhild would be great villainous characters. “YOU HIT ME! I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!” > > Good subject for a poll: “Would you watch a soap opera based on a medieval story?”(assuming you watch soap operas as a guilty pleasure. Or hey forget soap operas, what about plain TV drama?) Part of _Game of Thrones_ is shot in Iceland. That popular series is a bloody soap opera–with a hint of the supernatural. I’d be interested in sagas adapted for the screen… ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-sagas-thread/676888/30 "2013-12-31T11:34:55Z")
> [@Morwen Edhelwen](#): > > But… HALLGERD! She’s such a vamp that if I were an actress and someone was adapting _Njáls saga_ into a drama I would go audition for the role of Hallgerd (and if they were doing Laxdaela saga it would be Gudrun). Seriously, most female characters in the sagas would make meaty dramatic roles in plays and TV series. It certainly could be interesting if done well, as much as I dislike the whole fascination with ‘gritty and realistic’ in storytelling these days when its not appropriate _(Man of Steel, I’m looking at you)_ it could work well for an adaptation of Njal’s Saga. I did like Gunnar and Njal, both men trying to do the right thing while everyone else around them were determined to screw it up. ---
**Author:** ![Brynhildr\_Budladottir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Brynhildr\_Budladottir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynhildr_Budladottir)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-sagas-thread/676888/31 "2013-12-31T12:36:27Z")
> [@Disposable Hero](#): > > It certainly could be interesting if done well, as much as I dislike the whole fascination with ‘gritty and realistic’ in storytelling these days when its not appropriate _(Man of Steel, I’m looking at you)_ it could work well for an adaptation of Njal’s Saga. > > I did like Gunnar and Njal, both men trying to do the right thing while everyone else around them were determined to screw it up. Ian McKellen should play Snorri Goði. I don’t think he does many TV dramas… Romola Garai should play Hallgerðour. ---
**Author:** ![Brynhildr\_Budladottir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Brynhildr\_Budladottir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynhildr_Budladottir)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-sagas-thread/676888/32 "2013-12-31T12:42:42Z")
_Hallgerður_ ---
**Author:** ![Brynhildr\_Budladottir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Brynhildr\_Budladottir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynhildr_Budladottir)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2014, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-sagas-thread/676888/33 "2014-01-01T02:50:55Z")
I’ll start: Njál: ? Gunnar: Richard Armitage Hallgerður: Romola Garai Hoskuld: ? Snorri Goði: Ian MacKellen ---
**Author:** ![Brynhildr\_Budladottir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Brynhildr\_Budladottir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynhildr_Budladottir)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-sagas-thread/676888/34 "2014-01-02T22:23:02Z")
bump ---
**Author:** ![Brynhildr\_Budladottir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Brynhildr\_Budladottir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynhildr_Budladottir)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-sagas-thread/676888/35 "2014-01-08T13:01:04Z")
What fascinates me about the sagas is the morality. This was a time when a blood feud with your rival was accepted when I could goad my (hypothetical) husband/boyfriend to kill someone else… when one of the reasons you could divorce your husband or wife was for crossdressing. Imagine a world in which that sort of thing still existed in Iceland and Scandinavia… ---
**Author:** ![Brynhildr\_Budladottir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Brynhildr\_Budladottir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynhildr_Budladottir)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2014, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-sagas-thread/676888/36 "2014-01-21T00:47:56Z")
[Raudulfs thattur-Wikipedia article. The story is a Christian allegory including the use of a sunstone.](http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rau%C3%B0%C3%BAlfs_%C3%BE%C3%A1ttr) [Translation]([http://www.vsnr-webpublications.co.uk/The%20Story%20Of%20Raud](http://www.vsnr-webpublications.co.uk/The%20Story%20Of%20Raud) %20And%20His %2Sons) of the story. ---
**Author:** ![Brynhildr\_Budladottir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Brynhildr\_Budladottir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynhildr_Budladottir)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-sagas-thread/676888/37 "2014-03-13T08:15:39Z")
bump A random thought occurred to me: Quite a few of the family sagas would make good Western plots. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/icelandic-sagas-thread/676888.md?page=1)