Ölkofra saga

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The Ölkofra saga (other title: The story of Thórhall Biermütze ) is one of the shortest Icelandic sagas , which is why it is also known as þættir . Presumably it was written in the 13th century.

Lore

The saga is handed down in the Möðruvallabók around 1340.

content

The story takes place on the Allthing in the southwest of Iceland. Because of the inattentiveness of the beer seller Thórhall Ölkofri, a fire breaks out and a forest that belongs to six mighty gods falls victim. They then bring charges against Ölkofri at the Allthing, who desperately seeks help from the other visitors to the Allthing. When he is turned away by Thorstein Sidu-Hallsson, he meets his brother-in-law Broddi Bjarnason, who, out of sympathy, takes care of his case and, with Thorstein's help, brings it to a good end for Ölkofri. The last chapter then deals with the restoration of the originally friendly relations between the families of Broddi Bjarnason and Thorkell Geitisson.

Characters

Ölkofri is an antihero. Although the victim of unfortunate circumstances, he is a comical figure , not an isolated case among people from the lower classes in the Icelandic sagas. Although the saga is named after him, he is not the main character, but only the trigger for the plot, whose real hero is Broddi Bjarnason , one of the upper class, who moves into the center of the action.

Relation to other Icelandic sagas

The Ölkofra saga is considered to be the source for the Bandamanna saga , to which it has some parallels (a dubious case that is fought on the Allthing, an alliance between Goden who jointly lead the indictment, the verdict with which the defendant was saved and the Plaintiffs are ridiculed etc.). All important characters, with the exception of the eponymous hero Ölkofri, are either from the Möðrvellingar or the Krossvíkingar family and appear in other sagas, for example. B. Gode Gudmundr ríkí Eyjolfsson from the Möðrvellingar family in the Ljósvetninga saga , the Valla-Ljóts saga or Brennu Njáls saga . A serious conflict between the ancestors of Broddi Bjarnason and Thorkell Geitisson is also the subject of the Vápnfirðinga saga .

Translations

  • The story of Thórhall Biermütze , in: Klaus Böldl, Andreas Vollmer, Julia Zernack (eds.): The Icelandic sagas in 4 volumes with an accompanying volume . Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2011, ISBN 978-3-10-007629-8 . Vol. 3, pp. 371-381.

Secondary literature

  • Jónas Kristjánsson, Eddas and Sagas. Medieval literature of Iceland . Transferred from Magnús Pétursson and Astrid van Nahl, H. Buske, Hamburg, 1994, p. 240.
  • Claudia Müller, Narrated Knowledge. The Isländersagas in Möðruvallabók (AM 132 fol.) (= Texts and studies on German and Scandinavian studies, vol. 47; also Bonn, Univ.Diss., 1999), P. Lang, Frankfurt am Main, 2001.

Individual evidence

  1. Claudia Müller, Narrated Knowledge. The Isländersagas in Möðruvallabók (AM 132 fol.) (= Texts and studies on German and Scandinavian studies, vol. 47; also Bonn, Univ.Diss., 1999), P. Lang, Frankfurt am Main, 2001, p. 171
  2. According to Claudia Müller, Narrated Knowledge. The Isländersagas in Möðruvallabók (AM 132 fol.) (= Texts and studies on German and Scandinavian studies, vol. 47; also Bonn, Univ.Diss., 1999), P. Lang, Frankfurt am Main, 2001, p. 171 and p. 174
  3. According to Claudia Müller, Narrated Knowledge. The Isländersagas in Möðruvallabók (AM 132 fol.) (= Texts and studies on German and Scandinavian studies, vol. 47; also Bonn, Univ.Diss., 1999), P. Lang, Frankfurt am Main, 2001, p. 173f.
  4. Claudia Müller, Narrated Knowledge. The Isländersagas in Möðruvallabók (AM 132 fol.) (= Texts and studies on German and Scandinavian studies, vol. 47; also Bonn, Univ.Diss., 1999), P. Lang, Frankfurt am Main, 2001, p. 171