Final Thoughts

All in all, I found this class to be very interesting. I learned a lot and I have definitely learned to appreciate the Viking culture more than I did before. There were a lot of Sagas we read this semester. Some were more enjoyable than others, but for the most part, they were very interesting. Of the sagas we read, my favorite was the Saga of Ref the Sly, a fitting one to end the year on. And in this saga, can be found my favorite character, the protagonist, Ref. I found his cunning and outlandish nature to be very fascinating. Many of the scenes were very cinematic, making great entertainment.

The Saga of Ref the Sly

This is truly a great saga to end the year on, definitely my favorite so far.

The Saga of Ref the Sly, to me, stands far above the other sagas we have read. Constant action, an interesting plot, and in stark contrast with many of the other sagas we have read. This saga is universal. I may be wrong, but I felt like every proper noun in the story could have been replaced with another to make the saga pertain to some other culture, and no one would know the difference. Clearly, there are some stylistic quirks that only the viking orators and writers instate, such as poetry and heavy foreshadowing, but that aside, this story is an action adventure that can be told in so many ways. The scene I like the best is the scene in which Gunnar and Bard cut off Ref's water supply and attempt to burn his fortress down. Out of nowhere, the wall falls down and out comes a huge boat, in which they sail away and escape. The visual images I get when reading this are really cool. Great stuff!

The Vinland Sagas

I fund these two sagas very interesting. I found the first saga more interesting though. It definitely seemed more to the point. In the first saga, there is very little delay before people start heading to this new land, which I assume is America. In Eirik the Red's saga, it takes almost three quarters of the saga before they leave. One thing I found funny Eirik's saga, is when he takes back his bedstead boards from Thorgest and they become at odds with one another. In a following scene, Eirik and Thorgest duel, Eirik loses, and then they make peace. This seemed atypical of duels at the time, having a survivor, that is, and then becoming friends of sorts after.

Egil's Saga: Part 2

I found the entirety of Egil's Saga to be very entertaining. In retrospect, my reasoning for this would have to be that we finally get to see almost every aspect of a human. Let me explain. In most of the sagas we have read so far, we are introduced to a character, he does something, and the saga is over. It seems that many of the sagas we have read are concerned with events, more than the people in them. In Egil's Saga, we have Egil, who is definitely a multi-faceted individual. The enjoyable part of this saga was that we got so see almost all of his facets. And although it may not seem like it at a glance, but upon examination, it is clear that he is like any other person with real, raw emotion. He has a clear sense of right and wrong, he is passionate, yet reasonable, and has considerable motivation for anything he does that could be considered a wrongdoing. As Arinbjorn states, "...But as much as Egil has wronged you, you should consider the losses he has suffered at the hands of your kinsmen. Your father king Harald had his uncle Thorolf, a fine man, put to death solely on the grounds of slander by evil men. You broke the law against Egil yourself, King, in favour of Berg-Onund, and moreover you wanted him put to death, and you killed all his men and stole all his wealth. And then you declared him an outlaw and drove him out of the country. Egil is not the sort of man to stand being provoked. Every case should be judged in light of the circumstances."

Egil's depth of emotion and realism as a character are portrayed in many places throughout the saga. However, I feel that one of the best examples of this can be found on page 89, stanza 17, where Egil speaks a verse lamenting the death of Thorolf. It is very fitting.