Table Of ContentEYJAFJQRÐR
V Í G A - G L Ú M S
S A G A
EDITED BY
G. TURVILLE-PETRE
SECOND EDITION
OXFORD
AT THE CLARENDON PRESS
1960
Oxford University Press, Amen House, London E.C.4
GLASGOW NEW YORK TORONTO MELBOURNE WELLINGTON-
BOMBAY CALCUTTA MADRAS KARACHI KUALA LUMPUR
CAPE TOWN IBADAN NAIROBI ACCRA
© Oxford University Press iq6o
FIRST PUBLISHED I94O
SECOND EDITION i960
REPRINTED LITHOGRAPHICALLY IN GREAT BRITAIN
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, OXFORD
BY VIVIAN RIDLER
PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
Since Víga-Glúms Saga was first published by the Press in
1940 it has been widely used by students of Icelandic in English-
speaking countries. I am now more firmly convinced than ever
that this saga, as it is preserved in the text of Mgðruvallabók,
provides one of the finest examples of Icelandic narrative prose,
the more striking because of its economy and highly polished
style. At the same time Víga-Glúms Saga is not among the easier
sagas, and many students have suffered grave difficulty in
understanding its idioms. I trust that this difficulty will be
largely overcome by the glossary which I have now added,
realizing, as I do, that all too few editions of Icelandic texts with
apparatus suitable for English-speaking students have yet been
made available. I hope that in its present form the edition will
be serviceable especially for students who have passed through
the initial stages and have mastered E. V. Gordon’s Introduction
to Old Norse in the revised edition of A. R. Taylor (Oxford,
Clarendon Press, 1957).
Except for a few very small alterations, the introduction, text,
and notes in the present edition have been allowed to stand. It
may, however, be helpful to give a short account of the main
works dealing with this saga which have been published since
1940.1
The history of the text,,as given in § II of the Introduction,
has won general approval, and most scholars now agree that the
text of Mgðruvallabók has been greatly, although most skilfully,
shortened, while the original form of the saga is represented
better by the fragments C. and V. here given in Appendixes I and
II. This view has, however, been challenged by A. C. Bouman,1 2
who maintains that the text of Mgdruvallabók stands closer to
1 For further bibliographical details see Jóhann S. Hannesson, ‘The
Sagas of Icelanders’ (Islandica, xxxviii), Ithaca, New York, 1957.
2 ‘Observations on Syntax and Style of some Icelandic Sagas’ (Studia
Islandica, 15), Reykjavik, 1956.
iv PREFACE
the original than do those of the fragments C. and V.y which
must in this case be regarded as expansions. Professor Bou-
man’s conclusions are based almost exclusively on statistics, and
I must confess that I have had great difficulty in following his
arguments. At the same time, I am able to agree closely with
Jónas Kristjánsson,1 who has reviewed Bouman’s work, and
finds that arguments based on numbers alone are not strong
enough to carry conviction in face of all other evidence.
An edition of this saga with an excellent introduction and
notes in Icelandic was published by Jónas Kristjánsson in the
series Islenzk Fornrityz and the editor gave me a great deal of
helpful advice while I was working on the glossary. The frag
ment C. has also been published in diplomatic form by Jón
Helgason,3 to whose work the reader may be referred.
The work of the late Jón Jóhanesson on the Landnámabók4
has also some bearing on Víga-Glúms Saga, and his arguments
suggest the existence of a lost Esphœlinga Saga, in which many
of the characters who appear in Víga-Glúms Saga were de
scribed. The form and age of the Esphadinga Sagay as well
as its relations with Víga-Glúms Saga, were discussed in greater
detail by Jónas Kristjánsson in § 2 of his introduction to the
edition quoted above. It seems probable that this lost saga was
the ultimate source of the divergent account of Ghimr’s last
battle found in the version of Landnámabók which is preserved
in the Younger Melabók (Þórðarbók), and briefly discussed in
§ III B of the introduction to the present volume.
Some suggestions which may lead to a more precise dating
of Viga-Glums Saga than that attempted in § I of the intro
duction to this edition may be found in the work of Einar 01.
Sveinsson, Dating the Icelandic Sagas.5
I would like to express my thanks to those who have helped
me in my work on the glossary, and particularly to A. R. Taylor
1 See Skirnir, cxxxi, Reykjavik, 1957, pp. 246-9.
2 Islenzk Fomrit, ix, Eyfirdinga Spgur, Reykjavik, 1956.
3 Håndskriftet AM 445c, /, 4to., Copenhagen, 1956.
4 Gerdir Landnámabókar, Reykjavik, 1941, esp. pp. 65 ff.
5 Dating the Icelandic Sagas, London, Viking Society, 1958, esp. pp. 85 ff.
PREFACE V
and R. W. Burchfield, who have read through it with the utmost
diligence, and to Joan Turville-Petre, who has given much
advice. But lest these, or any others who have assisted me,
should be held responsible for faults found in the glossary, I
may end with the words of the Hungrvaka: ‘verð ek ok af því
skyldugr til, at þat mun af minum vQldum ok vanrœkð, ef þat
er nqkkut í þessu máli sem rangt reynisk, þat er ritat er, en eigi
þeira manna er ek þykkjumk þenna fróðleik eptir hafa.’
G. T. P.
February 1959.
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION
Vtga-Glúms Saga is an example of the Icelandic Family Saga in
a highly developed form. In addition to its literary merits it has
great antiquarian interest. Its references to pre-Christian cults
are illuminating, though they must be studied with caution; and
its references to legal practice have special value. It is perhaps
one of the most important documents for the study of early
Icelandic culture. The present edition is designed for the
student of literature and cultural history as well as of linguistics.
For this reason the notes are fuller than those in most editions
of the sagas. The evidence for family cults and superstitions
has been treated in some detail, and an attempt has been made
to trace those echoes in phraseology which help to show the
place of Vtga-Glúms Saga in Icelandic narrative literature. The
fragments of texts printed in the Appendixes are intended to
give the reader an idea of the changes which the saga suffered
in course of scribal transmission.
My thanks are due to Professor Jón Helgason, curator of the
Arnamagnæan Collection in Copenhagen, for continued assis
tance while I was working through numerous manuscripts of
this saga in his keeping. Without his help it would not have
been possible to establish some of the readings adopted. I have
also to thank Dr. Guðmundur Finnbogason, curator of the
vi PREFACE
National Library of Iceland, where I worked on the codex
Mgðruvallabók in 1932, and Dr. Benedikt Sveinsson, sub-
Librarian of the National Library, who provided me with biblio
graphical details.
I owe a special debt of gratitude to Professor Sigurður Nordal,
with whom I enjoyed many interesting discussions while the
work was in progress. Dr. Einar 01. Sveinsson offered many
valuable suggestions. Stefán Jónsson, the present owner of
Munkaþverá, has often been my host and has given me much
information about the topography and traditions of Eyja-
fjörður.
It would be difficult to overestimate all that I owe to Pro
fessor Tolkien; his sympathy and encouragement have been
constant and, throughout the work, I have had the benefit
of his wide scholarship. The late Professor E. V. Gordon
approved this work in its first draft.
My thanks for assistance are also due to Professor Bruce
Dickins, Professor Halldor Hermannsson, Mr. Eirikur Bene-
dikz, Rev. Gervase Mathew, Professor W. H. Vogt, of Kiel,
Dr. Sigfús Blöndal, of Copenhagen, Mr. A. Campbell, Mr.
W. Davis, and Miss E. S. Olszewska. I had the special advan
tage of access to the unique Scandinavian libraries of Guð-
brandur Vigfiisson and F. York Powell, now housed in Christ
Church, while I was working in Oxford. The conception of
this work is in no small part due to the inspiring influence of
these great scholars.
G. T. P.
Oxford,
April 1940.
