Review: Egil, the Viking Poet. New Approaches to Egil’s Saga

Abstract

Laurence N. De Looze, Jón Karl Helgason Russell Poole, Torfi H. Tulinius (eds.) _Egil, the Viking Poet: New Approaches to 'Egil's Saga'_ _Egils saga_ defies categorisation. One of the most well-known of the _Íslendingasögur_ (sagas of Icelanders), it is both the story of a multi-generational Icelandic family and a biography of their most irascible son. It is a political narrative, peopled by the kings, queens and noblemen one might expect to encounter in the _konungasögur_ (sagas of the kings), with an Odinic, giant-like protagonist who would not be out of place in the _fornaldarsögur_ (sagas of olden times). This protagonist is a poet, but unlike the heroes of the _skáldasögur_ (sagas of poets), he is only briefly involved in a love-triangle. Although his verses pepper the saga narrative, few dwell on the miseries of love or the charms of his lady; the corpus of Egill’s poetry is as varied as the saga itself, incorporating youthful boasts, exultant descriptions of war, eulogies, elegies and wryly comic descriptions of the poet’s ageing body. _Egils saga_ is one of the most complex and engaging works of Old Norse-Icelandic literature, and a book-length study that aims to further research into that text is certainly to be welcomed.