Page:History of the Literature of the Scandinavian North.djvu/71

he Fair, the granddaughter of Egil, and both fall in the holmgang or judicial combat. Helga's true love for Gunlaug, his recklessness, which makes him forget the appointed time at which he was to fetch his bride, and Hrafn's treason are set forth in bold and vivid colors. Similar in theme to the Gunlaug's Saga is that of Björn Hitdælakappi (the hero of Hitdale) belonging to the southwest of Iceland (1000-1025). This, too, tells of rivalry in love, hatred, and song, but it is not so full of dramatic life and interest as the former. It is the third and last in the series of sagas of the Moor-men, that is to say, of Egil Skallagrimsson and his family. The west of Iceland was upon the whole the soil upon which saga writing developed most luxuriously, but our limits do not permit us to do more than mention some of the most important ones. A graphic description of the events between 880 and 1030 is found in the Eyrbyggja Saga, a work which is also interesting on account of the numerous notices it preserves of the institutions and manners of the heathen times and on account of the ghost stories it tells from heathen superstition. The Viga-Styr's Saga ok Heiðarviga (the Saga of Viga-Styr and of the Battle of the Heath) is only a fragment, the original beginning having been lost and afterward written down from memory. Its events begin in 990 and end in 1015, and it tells the exploits of Viga-Styr, of Snorre's foray in Borgorfjord and of the slaying in Norway of Hall Gudmundson which led to the battle on the Heath (the Heath connecting the north and west of Iceland). This saga has a fine plot, and its antique style marks it as one of the oldest saga specimens to be found. The Laxdæla Saga likewise describes events from 886 to 1030. It is one of the longest sagas, and is remarkable for its skilful delineation of character (Kjartan and Gudrun), and in general for its vivid and attractive style. The Gisla Saga Surssonar (Saga of Gisle Sursson) is a splendid story of an outlawed skald (950-980). Hávardar Saga Isfirdings, the Saga of Havard of Icefirth (997-1002) tells how the old skald Havard avenged the death of his son. The Fostbrædra