Hænsa-Þóris saga (Old Norse: Hœnsa-Þóris saga [ˈhøːnsa-ˌθoːres ˈsaɣa]; Icelandic: Hænsna-Þóris saga [ˈhainstna-ˌθouːrɪs ˈsaːɣa]; "The Saga of Hen-Thorir") is one of the sagas of Icelanders.
Plot
editIt tells the story of Hænsa-Þórir (Old Norse: Hœnsa-Þórir [-ˌθoːrez̠]; Icelandic: Hænsna-Þórir [-ˈθouːrɪr̥]; hænsn means "a hen"), a poor and unpopular man who acquires wealth as a merchant and manages to buy land. In the saga the upstart is compared negatively to his neighbours, who come from a more solid background; he causes strife between them. Eventually Hænsa-Þórir refuses to sell the neighbours hay for the winter. When they take the hay anyway, he burns them alive in their farmstead. A vendetta ensues in which Hænsa-Þórir is killed and beheaded; the neighbours then seal their differences with a marriage between their families.
Themes
editThe saga highlights aspects of Icelandic culture, such as hospitality to guests and travellers, (expected) generosity to one's neighbours, and the need to gather support of a chieftain in order to obtain justice. Ari Þorgilsson mentions the events in his Íslendingabók in connection with a change in Icelandic law, whereby a legal complaint was no longer to be brought to the closest Thing (assembly) but to the Quarter Thing.[1] It has also been suggested that Hænsa-Þóris saga was written in response to a change in the law originating from King Magnus VI of Norway. According to the new law, a farmer was obliged to sell his neighbours hay if they were in great need. If he refused to sell the hay, he had to pay a fine, and if he resisted with force, his neighbours could attack him in turn without committing a crime. This was a novelty in Icelandic jurisprudence, and a formal objection was raised against it at the Althing in 1281.[1] According to this theory, the saga was written as propaganda in favour of the new law.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b Jan de Vries (1964), Altnordische Literaturgeschichte Vol. 2, 2nd ed. Berlin: De Gruyter, pp. 359–62 (in German).
- ^ Björn Sigfússon (1962), "Staða Hænsa-Þóris sögu í réttarþróun 13. aldar Archived 2017-01-31 at the Wayback Machine", Saga III(3), pp. 345-370
External links
edit- Proverbs in Hœnsa-Þóris saga Archived 2016-05-08 at the Wayback Machine
- Original text and translation at the Icelandic Saga Database
- National and University Library of Iceland (2009). "AM 162 G fol". handrit.is. Retrieved 2017-01-19.
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