Bjarnar saga Hítdœlakappa

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The Bjarnar saga Hítdælakappa ( saga of Björn the Hitdæla fighter ) is an Icelandic saga that was written around 1220.

The text corpus is only incomplete and can be found in two parchment manuscripts from the 14th century (AM 162, fol.) And two paper manuscripts from the 17th century (AM 551 d α, 4to; AM 157 b, fol.). The beginning and the 14th chapter are missing, or it ends in a lacuna . In Chapter 58 of the approximately 100 years younger Grettis saga , written around 1320/30, the Bjarnar saga is quoted, which, among other things, assumes that the Bjarnar saga was written over time.

In the Bjarnar saga , the subject and motif of other Icelandic sagas are based on, such as the Gunnlaugs saga ormstungu . The unhappy love of a young skald .

The eponymous figure and center of the saga is that of the skald Björn . He leaves his bride, who is supposed to wait for him three years, and goes to Norway. There he meets another skald, Þórðr . He takes the opportunity and betrays Björn by sailing to Iceland in front of him and bringing the news of Björn's alleged death to the waiting bride - and marries her himself. Björn, unsuspecting, is meanwhile on a Viking trip and gains a reputation as a fighter, especially as a duel (Hítdælakappi), during battles in Russia and France. After Björn's return to Iceland and now realizing what Þórðr has done to him, he even tries to live with Þórðr and his former bride, who has now been betrothed by his marriage to Þórðr. This leads to tension, quarrels and open hostility, as a result of which Björn is slain by Þórðr.

literature

  • Jónas Kristjánsson: Eddas and Sagas. Medieval literature of Iceland . Transferred from Magnús Pétursson and Astrid van Nahl, H. Buske, Hamburg, 1994, pp. 266-269.
  • Kurt Schier : saga literature . Metzler Collection, Vol. 78 Reality books for Germanists . Metzler, Stuttgart 1970.
  • Rudolf Simek , Hermann Pálsson : Lexicon of Old Norse Literature (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 490). Kröner, Stuttgart 1987, ISBN 3-520-49001-3 .