The Skull and Bones in Egils Saga: A Viking, A Grave, and Paget's Disease

Abstract

Skull and Bones in Egils Saga: A Viking, a Grave, and Paget's Disease. For over a hundred years the related questions of saga veracity and the oral or written origins of Icelandic narrative texts have been continually debated. The nature of this discussion would change drastically if a new source of information were found. This article explores the possibility of a new informational source and offers an accompanying methodological approach. Conflicting aspects of Egill Skalla-Grimsson's personality, which have been chiefly understood in literary or mythic terms, are attributed here to the progression of Paget's disease. Medical and archeological evidence radically changes previous perceptions about Egill, altering our understanding of this warrior's character, the interpretation of his poetry, and the historical accuracy of Egils saga.