Gísla saga

Gísla saga Súrssonar (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈcisl̥a ˈsaːɣa ˈsur̥sɔnar̥], the saga of Gísli Súrsson) is one of the sagas of Icelanders. It tells the story of Gísli, a tragic hero who must kill one of his brothers-in-law to avenge another brother-in-law. Gisli is outlawed and forced to stay on the run for thirteen years before he is finally hunted down and killed. The events depicted in the saga take place between 860 and 980. The saga existed in oral tradition until it was recorded, most likely in the 13th century. In 1981, it was made into a film titled Outlaw: The Saga of Gisli.

Gísla saga survives in thirty-three manuscripts and fragments from the Middle Ages down to the twentieth century. It is generally thought to have been composed in written form in the first half of the thirteenth century, but the earliest manuscript, the fragment Reykjavík, Stofnun Árna Magnússonar, AM 445 c I 4to, is from around 1400 and the earliest extensive text in AM 556a 4to, from the later fifteenth. The saga is generally thought to exist in three main versions originating in the Middle Ages:

The longer version differs from the shorter mainly in having a profoundly different (and longer) version of the opening sequence of the saga's narrative, set in Norway. The parts set in Iceland are substantially similar.

There is a consensus that the written archetype of Gísla saga was composed in the thirteenth century, with voices tending towards the middle of the century, and most commentators preferring 1225×50. However, there is little hard evidence to support this.

Gísla saga is a classic outlaw saga that is centered on the internal struggles of Gísli. As Gisli's fate unfolds, he experiences conflicting passions of love, hate, and complex emotional bonds. Differing from the typical family saga, it uses the common theme of vengeance to divide loyalties within family instead of strengthening familial bonds. More than most sagas, Gísla saga makes use of motifs from the Eddaic poems, in particular by referring to Guðrún Gjúkadóttir to represent old ways of vengeance and family honor.

Around 950 Gísli Súrsson and his family decide to leave Norway and move to Iceland. The two brothers, Gisli and Thorkel, and their brothers-in-law Vestein and Thorgrim, are joining together in a ceremony involving a spear, which will make the four blood brothers and signify their loyalty to one another. The ceremony is not completed because Thorgrim retracts his obligation to Vestein, which in turn causes Gisli to negate his bond with Thorgrim. From this moment on the characters’ actions seem to be controlled completely by fate as they head down a tragic path.

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