Beast And Man

Beast and Man Realism and the Occult in E^ils saga

Armann Jakobsson University ofIceland

As A TROLL

T

HE SAGAS OF ICELANDERS are frequently referred to as realistic narratives. ' Despite this reference, their narrative realism or indeed any sort of textual realism is not easy to pin down, not least when it concerns a past narrative whose vocabulary remains interpretively obscure and often lacking a correlation with the modern language. Opinions of what is real may vary a great deal; thus realism must boil down to an uneasy contract between a text and its audience where the audience chooses to believe in the reality of a narrative although they may realize it is, in fact, fictional. Such a contract seems to have been in place between the sagas of Icelanders and their original audience with the added provision that they were likely regarded as history rather than fiction. History, in this sense, signifies not a potential world but

I. This evaluation was in vogue in the 1960s when Einar Ólaflir Sveinsson wrote: "I'.s. forhold til virkeligheden kan mâske karakteriseres som heroisk réalisme" ("íslendingasögur" 509) [the sagas' attitude towards realit)' could maybe be characterized as heroic realism]. The evolution of the reception of the sagas from accurate sources to realistic prose narratives is a subject too broad to be discussed here at any length, but it is safe to say that when the sagas stopped being reality itself in the late nineteenth or early twentieth centuries they became instead realism. And yet die champions of this supposed realism were rationalists whose attitude toward the supernatural was highly critical. The apparent contradiction between the realism of a saga and its supernatural elements was rather simply whisked under the carpet and the supernatural in the sagas ignored.

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the world as it existed with historical figures and situations meant to be understood as accurately portrayed by the saga narrative. Even though their composition exhibits aesthetic elements commonly associated with fiction, the sagas demand to be taken seriously as accurate accounts of the past.^ And yet the degree to which the medieval audience necessarily believed in the factuality of the sagas eludes us— their reaction is lost. The possibility of an attitude characterized by a willing suspension of disbelief thus remains in play. In this scenario, we have the medieval audience believe in the reality of the saga not due to a lack of healthy skepticism, but rather through the necessity of establishing some version of the past accepted as truth without a naive failure to rcaUze the uncertainty of all knowledge of the past. In other words, some of the past may be legendary, but it is still necessary and has thus been accepted as true in lieu of a better authenticated version. The legend can become fact, as the cynical MaxwcU Scott expresses in John Ford's The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: "This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."' In a given work of realistic fiction and to some extent in all fiction, one can argue that a certain degree of plausibility is required. It is necessary to keep in mind that this argument applies to fantastic fiction as well. A magic ring may exist, but its guardian must still encounter the same troubles any wanderer might expect when crossing a marsh or climbing a slope. The sagas of Icelanders may be classified as containing the same type of realism that occurs in modern fantastic fiction: what is now referred to as the supernatural is far from excluded from the narrative. Thus a saga may contain realistic elements in its depiction of the human world yet present a hero who sometimes appears more beast than man. Of course, such an occurrence does not make a narrative unrealistic in and of itself—that must depend on what is regarded as real by its creator and by its audience. For those who believe in trolls.

2. As Proben Meulengracht S0rensen has remarked {Fortdlinß 30-2) that the sagas of Icelanders have been cleansed of all authorial traces, moreso than other saga forms, which he regards as essential for the artistic allusion that they create: i.e. that they are accounts from the past. He also stresses that this is indeed an artistic illusion and that their orality is highly constructed (Fortdlin^ 63-78). 3. Two screenwriters are credited in this film, James Warner Bellah and Willis Goldbeck, who worked from an original story by Dorothy M. Johnson; presumably one of the three is responsible for this well-known line.

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the appearance of a troll hardly makes a narrative less realistic and the idea that the demarcation between the natural and the supernatural can be clearly defined does not seem applicable to a medieval text such as a saga (see Ármann Jakobsson, "Histor)^" 54-56). Nowhere is this more evident than in E¿iils saja. Saga heroes are generally considered to be what Northrop Frye would have called "high mimetic" (33-5); that is, they are superhuman, extraordinary rather tlian ordinary people, men and women who in various ways dominate their surroundings. And yet saga characters are rarely perfect, and there is a strong element of ordinariness in the sagas: some of the issues that arise are mundane and most likely easily recognizable from the everyday existence of their intended audience. There are even some remarkably ordinary people in the sagas although mosdy in supporting roles.* And yet there are also saga heroes who may, in fact, not be entirely human. It is this dubious humanity upon which I will focus in connection to E¿¡ils saja. Eßils sa¿a presents a narrative concerning a family of magnates who arefirmlyrooted in the human world: they live at well-known farmsteads and eventually become the ancestors of many well-known thirteenth-century historical figures. However, the saga fails to determine whether its heroes are actually fully human; instead it highlights the possibility of their otherness. This ambiguity is expressed when Egill Skalla-Gn'msson has lost his ship at the mouth of the Humber and is forced to seek an audience with his sworn enemy, the ruler of York, King Eirikr (whose daunting nickname is Blood-axe). Egill encounters an anonymous courtier in the king's courtyard, a somewhat comic figure who is allowed to punctuate the tension of the narrative by registering a lazy disinterest in Egill and his troubles. Egill then dispatches this man to seek his friend Arinbjçrn. The courtier goes and informs the latter that a man has arrived "mikiU sem troll" (178) [big as a troll].^ By invoking this troll imagery in connection with Egill, the courtier not only disrupts die narrative intensity thus allowing the audience to relax in spite of

4.1 am currendy writing a book on the marginal or ordinary people in the sagas—people who are really the ordinary people of every society but who are marginal characters in the sagas since these narratives tend to focus on people on the highest social level. 5. All translations in this article are my own.

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the gravity underlying the situation,* but also foregrounds an ambiguity regarding Egill's nature: he is a man but he is like a troll.'' This description creates confusion: can any man who resembles a man also resemble a troll.'' Is there perhaps no clear distinction between man and troll.> There is an intriguing complexity surrounding the Old Norse concept of the troll. In the Middle Ages, this word was not used solely in connection with the large, ugly, and shaggy creatures of the wilderness who would later usurp the name for themselves (see Ármarm Jakobsson, "Identifying"), but also held a variety of other meanings as well. Most notably we see the term used in reference to the practitioners of magic, along with any creature they might awaken, possess, or imbue with their sorcery. The word troll is thus utilized in medieval sagas in connection with an undead warrior in his mound, a crazed boar believed to have been conjured up by a sorcerer, a heathen deity aiding the pagans in a battle with the Christians, a black warrior (or bldmaèr) who is defined as an ogre rather than a human, and the brunnmigi, an anti-social being of an unspecified lineage who urinates into fountains and wells (Ármann Jakobsson, "I>orgrimr" 40-52). The rich and overlapping nuances found in the word troll present not only variety but also an unexpected congruity. Several of these consistencies are of particular interest with regard to the strange case of Egill Skalla-Grimsson. Let us consider the following five connotations of the term: 1. A troll is a witch, a practitioner of magic, someone who can control the environment through a knowledge of dark arts that do not originate with the power of God. 2. The troll is strange and foreign: it is a different species or a different race whose very strangeness defines it. 3. The troll is in some way bestial. While anthropoid in appearance, it has the habits of beasts. Thus it may be a cannibal (see Ármann Jakobsson, "Identifying" 191-2), for example, and still fully remain a troll.

6. Since the situation is very tense at this point, one might interpret this anonymous supporting character as "comic relieP' (on this effect in the sagas, see Sorensen, "Humour" 401).

7. There may be another point to his lack of familiarity with Egill: it demonstrates to the audience that the saga they are immersed in can be ignored by others. It must be noted, though, that Egill still stands out—even to the uninterested stranger he is not ordinary.

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A human who turns to cannibalism is generally understood as having lost some portion of his humanity. 4. The troll is hostile and disruptive. It exists against the natural order of the world and thus it can never be a positive force. There are no good trolls in the Middle Ages.* 5. A troll is hard to pin down. In addition to the noun "troll," we have the verbal forms "trylla" and "tryllask" (Ármann Jakobsson, "torgn'mr" 49-50). Thus a troll does not seem to be a permanent state of being but rather one of becoming and change. One could thus argue that people are "troUable"—especially in the case of those who have become uncontrollable.

It is uncertain whether these five characteristics apply to every troll individually, but they do encapsulate the essence of die medieval conception of a troll. They are certainly significant for the case of Egill and his family, whom some regard as trolls. GOING BERSERK The bestiality and the mobile state of the troll are both characteristics common to the berserkr, a creature, like many others, referred to as a troll in Old Norse texts. These texts ofben refer to the same creature as both a loathsome troll and as a bewitched berserkr (Ármann Jakobsson, "I>orgrimr" 48-9). Eßils saga initially introduces the concept of the berserkr at the beginning of the text (3); later on in chapter nine, the text mentions the twelve royal berserkir and their ability to withstand all weapons (22-3). There has never been any scholarly consensus as to the meaning of the concept of the berserkr {ste the brief but nuanced summary by Liberman). Some regard them as warriors so confident in their own invulnerability that they fought without armor (thus "bare in their serks"); another possibility is that their exceptional abilities

8. Whereas some have been conjured up by the tourist industry and rebellious authors in the last thirty to forty years. Before that, any notion that a troll could have positive characteristics would have been foreign to Icelanders. In Ibsen's Peer Gynt (1867), the figure of the troll is far more nuanced and complex. The answer to the question: "What is the difference between troll and man.'" seems to suggest that egoism is a fundamental trait of the troll, which shows that, although Ibsen's troll are probably mostly inspired by die trolls of post-medieval folklore, he is also somewhat in tune with the medieval understanding of the troll.

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marked them as exotic, bestial, and perhaps even as shape shifters. At times berserkir are also referred to as úlfloebnar (Guôni Jónsson, Grettis saga 5; Einar Ólafur Sveinsson, Vatnsdœla saga 24), which recalls the possible interpretation of the Old Norse word ber-serkr as "in the skin of a bear" (thus bear, not bare). This bearskin might simply be a piece of clothing (as Vatnsdœla saga indicates) rather than an entirely new hide. Most sources do not indicate an actual metamorphosis from man to beast, but rather metaphorically denote a change of temperament into a half-crazed state. Perhaps scholars ask too much in seeking the original meaning of the term, or even a specific medieval meaning. The occult is, by definition, difficult to pinpoint. It refers to elements that are vague, unknown, eerie, and dangerous. Defining and understanding an occult object in any comprehensive manner lessens its power to evoke both fear and the unknown and thus detracts from its primary signifying function to represent the strange and the terrifying. The lack of scholarly consensus on the nature of the berserkir might also reflect a lack of consensus in the Middle Ages as to what these somewhat frightening creatures actually were. We should not exclude the possibility that there may have been some in Egils saga's original audience who believed the berserkir were ordinary humans enraged in battle to the point of madness. On the other end of the interpretive spectrum, others might have believed them to be shape shifters who metamorphosed into beasts in the midst of battle. Unfortunately, we also must remain uncertain in our understanding of the process of shape shifting. Does a human literally change into a bear? What does it mean for a human literally to be transformed into an animal 1' To what degree does this transformation involve the separation of mind and body.-' And what becomes bestial, tbe body, the mind, or perhaps both?' These questions concern the essence of humanity: it is difficiilt to explain how a man might change into a beast without first knowing what a man is and whether his humanity is defined by his mind or his body. The ambiguity surrounding shape shifting, whether as a berserkr or as something else, is certainly significant for any interpretation of the specific nature of Egill and his family.

9. This has been a preoccupation of those interested in shape shifting and magic for a long time; see Strömbäck 160-90.

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The first berserkr mentioned in the saga is Berôlu-Kari, Skalla-Grímr's maternal grandfather. H e is said t o be "inn mcsti afreksmaôr at afii ok arîEÔi" (3) [excelling in strength and courage] as well as a berserkr but there are n o further references t o his berserkr nature. H i s sons, Eyvindr Iambi and Qlvir hniifa, in fact, seem less bestial than their in-law Úlfr and nephew Skalla-Gri'mr, although one of them does have an animal nick-name ("lamb"). However, in spite of the apparcntiy normal physicality of Kári and his sons, the berserkir are separated from ordinary humans cvcrï m Egils saga (23), where the emphasis o n their otherness is relatively light. T h e berserkr nature enters decisively into the family of Kveld-Ulfr with his marriage t o Salbjçrg Káradóttir. O f course, the possibility remains that this otherness may have already been present in Ulfr himself and his ancestors, w h o may have been even less h u m a n than the family of Kári.

CREATURE OE THE NIGHT

Kveld-Ulfr Bjálfason is thefirstcharacter mentioned in Egils saga. His parents are also introduced: Bjálfi and Hallbera, sister of Hallbjçrn the half-troll (3). Thus the troll element is linked to the family from the outset of the saga. Given the ambiguity surrounding the word troll, it is not easy to determine the extent of HaUbjçrn's troll-like nature. The Ketils saga hangs indicates that Hallbjçrn and his family are of a different race, perhaps closer to the bestial than the human (see Ciklamini; Ármann Jakobsson, "Identifying" 194). The identification of other races and ethnicities with the animal kingdom is a well-known phenomenon. In the Nordic region, both magic and bestiality were easily transferred to the Sámi inhabitants, who—to the Norsemen— represented the exotic.'" Thus Hallbjçrn might have been half-Finnish with its troll-like connotations of the strange, foreign, magical, hostile, disruptive, and bestial. In this social context, he retains a degree of otherness—he is not quite human, not unlike the giants of the Old Norse mythological narratives. However, whether he is subsequentiy regarded as super-human 10. See Hermann Pálsson (14-27) who tends in this study to regard all giants and trolls as representations of the Sámi (cf. Sverrir Jakobsson 246-76). Although his single-mindedness in pursuing this idea sometimes leads him to neglect other possible solutions, many of his conclusions are quite intriguing and useful.

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or sub-human is by no means certain." That he himself regards trolls as sub-human is clearly suggested in Ketils saja hanjs, where he uses the word troll as an insult, something that seems somewhat conflicted given his own half-troll state (Rafn II123). Thus the troll is present in Ejils saja from its inception, although only in the wings—Hallbjçrn never makes an actual appearance—and only partially as he is a half-troll. The troll-like characteristics are not specified at this stage. The first thing we learn about our protagonist Ulfr is that he is "svá mikill ok sterkr, at eigi váru hans jafningjar" (3) [so big and strong that none was his equal]. Big and strong does not necessarily indicate superhuman abilities. However, a short while later we learn that he was "forvitri" (4) [had the gift of prophecy] and thus holds a privileged relationship with the unknown and the occult. The prescience ofUlfr might well identify him as a practitioner of magic and, according to Old Norse texts, a magician is a troll (Ármann Jakobsson, "I>orgrimr" 41-5). Next we are introduced to Kveld-Úlfr's most notable troll-like behavior, which only occurs in the evening: "En dag hvern, er at kveldi leiô, |)á gerôisk harm styggr, svá at fair menn máttu orôum vio harm koma; var harm kveldsvxfr. I>at var mal manna, at harm va:ri mjgk hamrammr; harm var kallaôr Kveld-Úlfr" (4) [But every day, when night approached, he became so hostile tliat few men could speak to him; he retired early to sleep. People said that he was a shape shifter; he was called KveldÚlfr (Night-Wolf)]. Kveld-Úlfr likes to retire early, much like Proust, but in his case this habit is not an indication of a peaceful and thoughtful nature, but rather of his wolfish tendencies.'^ His name is not just a name: 11. In Margaret Clunies Ross's analysis of the social world of the Old Norse myths, the giants are clearly established as inferior to the gods (Clunies Ross 48-56). In much the same way, the giants and trolls of the Old Norse legendary sagas are palpably subhuman rather than superhuman (Ärmann Jakobsson, "Identifying" 184-5). It is on the other hand uncertain how the men of Hrafnista and Egill's ancestors fit into this hierarchy. In Norway they are clearly regarded as nobility, perhaps in spite of their bestiality, and in Iceland Skalla-Grimr establishes himself as a major aristocrat within the framework of the commonwealth, which was in no way an egalitarian society even though it had no ultimate ruler. 12. The wolfish nature of the main family oiEßiksaßa was somewhat neglected by scholars for most of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries perhaps because their interpretations were framed by the notion that the sagas are realistic which lead to their magical elements being largely ignored. In the last few years, the wolf has again entered into the discussion of the saga, mainly in the work of Bergljót S. Kristjánsdóttir (76-81) but also Torfi H. Tulinius (103-6).

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Ulfr means "wolf" and the word hamrammr indicates shape shifting although, as so often is the case with such occult phenomena, the specifics are not explained. In the case of berserkir, the hammremmi take the shape of a bear unless they are ulßjeönar, in which case die term indicates that they adopt the shape of a wolf In Kveld-Úlfr's case, his name seems to be a clear indication in combination with his tendency to retire early of a transformation into a wolf The moon here is not mentioned, but in the folklore surrounding the werewolf the relationship between shape shifting and moonlight is fairly well established (Summers). Thus the reason why Kveld-Ulfr is styggr might be that he changes into a wolf at full moon, something moreover indicated by the word hamrammr. Is this change literal or metaphorical > . The saga does not provide us with the answer, but rather the text opens these various possibilities to the interpretive judgment of its readers. Those who believe in werewolves hardly need more evidence to establish that Kveld-Ulfr is literally transformed into a wolf Those who do not may interpret his wolfish behavior in terms of a human transformation of temper or character. Man, too, can behave in a wolfish way, in this case by proving unsociable and growling at anyone who tries to approach him, behavior that temporarily removes him from the normalized circles of human society. In spite of this introduction, the wolfish nature ofKveld-Ulfr does not figure prominendy in the story until after the death of his son Pórólfr, at which point Kveld-Ulfr and Skalla-Grimr are forced to flee Norway to escape the wrath of King Haraldr. As a final gesture of defiance, they attack the ship of the king's minions Hallvarôr and Sigtryggr, who are escorting the king's young cousins. Kveld-Ulfr is carrying a weapon called "bryntrçll" (68) [an armed troll], and when he attacks the ship, something occurs: "oksváersagt, at{)áhamaoiskhann, okfleiri varujseir fçrunautar hans, er |)á hçmuôusk" (69) [and it is said that he changed shape and more of his followers then changed shape]. "Svá er sagt" is an interesting phrase; the narrator seems to want to distance himself from this paranormal event. Later the text refers to this shape changing as both "hamrammir" and "berserksgangr" (70)—the audience is given two options from which to choose. The consequences of this shifting are so strong that Kveld-Ulfr retires to his bed and eventually dies. But what happened? Did Hallvarôr meet an actual wolf in batde.^ Was tbe troll in Kveld-Úlfr's hands itself carried by a troll > . We are not told. The

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saga simply states that Kveld-Úlfr "hamaôisk" and leaves it to its audience to interpret the significance of "hamremmi." Thus the audience is free to choose their own version of what happened in accordance with their own attitude toward the occult. WOLF MOOD Apart from Kveld-Úlfr, Skalla-Grímr has various farmhands and neighbors who form his entourage when he goes to see the king after his brother's death. This group is described in terms significant to our discussion: "Tólf váru J^eir til fararinnar, ok allir inir sterkustu menn ok margir hamrammir" (62) [they were twelve to go and all of them very strong men and many shape shifters]. These are the very same men who are on the ship with Kveld-Úlfr and Skalla-Grímr in the battle with Hallvarôr and Sigtryggr. This is no common entourage, and the (yet again nameless) person who meets them in the king's yard and tells Qlvir hnúfa of their arrival stresses their ambiguous humanity by calling thcmpursar and doubting their humanity: "Menn eru her komnir úti, tólf saman, ef menn skal kalla; en likari eru fieir Jjursum at vexti ok at syn en mennskum mçnnum" (63) [Men have arrived here outside, twelve of them, if you can call them men; they are more likepursar in build and appearance than humans]. Thus Skalla-Grímr, much like his father, is not quite human in the eyes of the anonymous courtier in the yard. We can refer to him as a man, but his human nature is problematic as he more closely resembles zpurs. The nature oixhcpurs is by no means certain, but 2Lpurs can be safely categorized as a type of troll given the connotative overlap between the two terms. Purs is essentially a negative word: a^wry is a magical being who is anthropoid and yet bestial, hostile, and in some way subhuman (Schulz 43; Armann Jakobsson, "The Good"; Ármann Jakobsson, "Identifying" 187).'' The word is prominent in the Prose Edda where jgtnar andpursar (usually hrtmpursar or "frost giants") are more or less synonymous (Ármann Jakobsson, "The Good" 3-4). 13. As Schulz has shown (39), the word is rare outside Snmra-Edda, the legendary sagas, znà Barbar saga.

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Skalla-Grimr's audience with the king does not end amiably, but the king himself does not refer to Skalla-Gn'mr and his companions as either trolls orpursar. Instead, after Skalla-Grimr leaves, he says to his men: "I>at sé ek á skalla Ipdm inum mikla, at hann er fullr upp liifiioar" (65) [I can see on that great bald head that he is full of wolf mood]. The word ulßö simply means "hostility" in modern Icelandic although it is difficult to escape completely the inflection of the literal meaning of the word, which is clearly understood from its constniction. Ülf-uÖ must mean "wolf mood." The word is clearly used to denote hostility: wolves are identified as hostile and the word wolf (both ulfr and vargr) itself is also used as a word for a criminal or outlaw (see Turville-Petrc 777). But its appearance cannot be explained in terms of a simple metaphor when the hostile person in question is the son of Kveld-Úlfr. While the name is a common male name in Iceland, it also retains underlying traces of the original meaning. This Ulfr is not merely a man called Ulfr, he is also a shape shifter, someone to avoid at night. He is not just compared to a wolf, but rather perhaps is—at least in part—a wolf And the "wolf mood" of his son may not be normal human hostility either: perhaps it also retains traces of the wolfish nature integral to this family. In spite of his wolf mood, Skalla-Grimr is not said to have hamask on the ship when Kveld-Úlfr and some of tlieir entourage go berserk; when he arrives in Iceland, he is neither bellicose nor aggressive toward his neighbors. He merely appropriates a great deal of land like any selfrespecting bully of a magnate would: his setdement becomes one of the largest in Iceland. Up to this point, there is no sign of his bestiality. Iceland is a peacefial country without kings and armies and the strength of Skalla-Grimr is such that he need not fear anyone. After his arrival in Iceland his supernatural powers are mentioned at only one point: when he dives into the sea to find a large stone for use in his smithy. Returning to the water's surface holding a giant stone is not a feat readily accomplished with normal human strength, and this stone is said to be so big that four men cannot lift it (74-5). The completion of this task hints that the normal standards for a man's strength should not be applied to Skalla-Grimr. The nameless person at King Haraldr's court previously suggested that Skalla-Gn'mr is more giant than man. In this respect, he resembles both his ancestors as well as his troll-sized son Egill.

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While the wolf is not mentioned again in connection with Skalla-Grímr, the night is. By this point in the narrative, he is much older—almost sixty—and competing with his son and the lattcr's best friend I>óror in some type of ballgamc. As the game continues, SkallaGrímr starts to get weary as expected given his age. But then, night falls: "En um kvcldit eptir solarfall, |)á tók pám Agli verr at ganga; gcrôisk Grímr J>á svá stcrkr, at hann greip ^órd upp ok keyrôi niôr svá hart, at hann lamôisk allr, ok fekk hann [)egar bana; siôan greip hann til Egils" (ioi) [But at night after sunset, Egill and Porôr started to do worse; Grímr then became so strong that he lifted Póror up and then hurled him to the ground with such force that he was all battered and died immediately. Then he grasped at Egill]. The setting of the sun increases Skalla-Grímr's strength considerably. In addition to this new strength, he also seems to lose control, and possibly even his humanity as he becomes a threat to the life of his own son (indicating a possible change into something other, something unknown). Egill is saved only at the intervention of his somewhat troll-like nanny, I>orgerôr brák, who explains what is happening: "Hamask ]pú nú, Skalla-Grímr, at syni [jínum" (IOI) [YOU now savage your son, Skalla-Grímr]. The tcrmHamask is ambiguous. It has survived into modern Icelandic with the sense of "working tirelessly," but its only other appearance in Egils saga occurs in the aforementioned Kveld-Ulfr scene where it refers to shape shifting (although this connection is never clearly aligned with cither metaphor or reality). The same uncertainty seems to arise here as well. Skalla-Grímr's strength comes from mctamorphozing into something strange and unknown, but there is nothing in the scene that suggests a literal change into a wolf. Again, the specific mechanics regarding such a transformation are left undefined as is the question of whether the wolfish mind or the wolfish body contains the essence of the wolf. His frenzy is akin to that of the berserkir and is likewise never explained in the saga. The supernatural is presented in Egils saga such that the saga remains open to a supernatural or a metaphorical interpretation. This vagueness is likely an intentional compositional inclusion as such openness and resistance to closed definition is required when dealing with the occult. Nevertheless the incident regarding Skalla-Grímr's increased strength and frenzy during the night firmly places Skalla-Grímr in the same category as Kveld-Ulfr. The king appears correct in his assessment that the son is just as fiill of "wolf mood" as the father. In the moonlight.

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he gains added strength and metamorphoses {hamask) into something incomprehensible, other, and threatening. Its exact identity remains uncertain, but the openness inherent to the category of troll aptly encompasses die various possibilities. In tliis new guise, Skalla-Grimr is configured as some type of troll. He is thus easily comprehensible provided one understands the nuances of the troll as category. As mentioned above, one type of troll is found in undead beings. When Skalla-Grfmr dies at an extremely old age, his death seems uncanny. He is foimd sitting rather than laying down and he is so stiff that he cannot be placed into a horizontal position. Egill must be fetched; only he is able to move the deceased Skalla-Grimr (174-5). There is an underlying hint in this scene that specific rituals connected with undead beings are observed. This connective kernel brings up the possibility that the dead Skalla-Grimr changes into an undead being. Egill approaches his father's corpse from behind in an endeavor, perhaps, to avoid die well-known "evil eye" of magicians and troll-like beings in medieval Iceland (see Einar Olaflir Sveinsson, Laxdœla saja 107, fn. 2; cf. Dundes). Additionally, Skalla-Grimr is removed through the wall of the house rather than the door, suggesting again an undead identity. He is not known, however, to walk again or to cause any trouble after his death, and he is present in his mound when Egill later inters his son Bçôvarr aldiough this action could also be interpreted as an effort to appease Skalla-Grimr (243).''' THE TRUTH IS Otrr THERE The gradual decline of the wolfish nature within the family is attested by Egill. Whereas Kveld-Úlfr is "mjçk hamrammr" (4) and Skalla-Grimr hamask once after sunset, there is no mention of Egill ever assuming a new shape in either the night or day. And yet the anonymous courtier in York deftly compares him to a troll. Arinbjçrn's immediate reaction validates the comparison—he knows instantly who the troll-like figure must be. Egill himself knows before going to see him that he

14. Torfi H. Tulinius (95) has drawn attention to the possibility that the ghost of SkallaGri'mr has caused the drowning of Bçôvarr. If the text indicates this possibilit)', it does so ver)' subtly. But, as is so often the case with the occult, ultimately nobody can be certain. Perhaps Egill is as much in die dark as Esik saga's audience and puts his son in SkallaGrimr's mound just in case, without knowing whether there is a ghost there or not.

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will be "auôkenndr" (178) in this region and thus acknowledges his extraordinary nature without referring to himself as a troll. The troll is always the other. It is not impossible that Egill knows that he is perceived by many as a troll, that his ancestry is fairly exotic, and that he himself is not above exhibiting troll-like behavior. One of the foreign behaviors of the troll in the sagas is cannibalism (Ármarm Jakobsson, "Identifying" 192). For example, Soria saga sterka gives us the phrase "ef ek bit J)ik á barkann, sem troll gjöra" (Rafn III 450) [if I came at your throat like a troll]. Biting people in the throat is clearly associated with the troll. When Egill famously kills his opponent Adi the Short in a duel, he displays cannibalistic and troll-like tendencies by biting Adi in the throat and finishing him off (210).'^ Egill might also be considered a troll in that he seems to possess magical powers. He uses runes to cure a daughter of I>orfinnr in Eioaskógr who is "hamstoli" (229) [out of her wits or (literally) out of her skin], and he infamously erects a m'Ô post with runes and a horse's head on top to curse the Norwegian king and his family (171). When the king is later exiled to York, it is possible to interpret the curse as successful and, depending on the audience's attitude toward the occult, believe that Egill works powerful magic. If we view Egill in the context of characteristics associated with trolls listed above, we find that Egill possibly practices magic that does not originate with the Christian God (such arts are sometimes referred to nsfomeskja [ancient lore] in the sagas). He is also configured as other in that he descends from werewolves, berserkir, and half-troUs. He is different enough that he cannot hide at the court of King Eirikr in York: he is "auôkenndr" (178) there and everywhere else. The bestial nature of EgiU is perhaps not as pronounced as it is in his father and grandfather, but he does show his cannibalistic tendencies in finishing off his opponent in a troll-like manner by biting his throat. Finally, Egill is certainly disruptive at the court of the king of Norway, although at

15. As I have drawn attention to elsewhere (Ármann Jakobsson, "Empathy" 7 fn. 4), Egill kills several people abroad during his adulthood, but none in Iceland until he kills two of his defaao son-in-law's slaves in his extreme old age (297). After he grows up, Egill thus does not kill anyone in Iceland whose death might result in a lawsuit or feud.

REALISM AND T H E O C C U L T I N EGILS

SAGA

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home he behaves much like any other Icelandic magnate, presumably highly respected for his wealth and as a descendant of Skalla-Grímr. He does not create much disturbance in the local community, and his presence seems far removed from any eerie or inhuman element. To the Norwegian king, Egill must appear distinct from ordinary adversaries as an unruly troll-like figure from the past whose magic and potential instability should be feared. Their struggle is indeed a political struggle as has been higlilighted by many excellent political interpretations (Andersson 102-18), but the political aspect of this narrative is but one of many contained within the saga. The troll elements underlying the nuances of the struggle between Egill and the king should not be ignored. Egill is both troll and not troll. We do not know that he ever shape shifts. He is never referred to as a troll apart from this one ambiguous instance in York. His ancestors may or may not have been shape shifters. Ultimately, Egill's own troll nature remains obscured by a lack of concrete evidence. Radier, Egill exhibits a troll potentiality that opens the text to die possibility of the occult. Egiksaga is deliberately ambiguous and die ultimate truth regarding its hero's troU-like nature is never completely revealed. The occult must remain both unknown and unknowable. WORKS CITED Andersson, Theodore M. The Growth of the Medieval Icetatidic Sagas (1180-1280). Ithaca: Cornell UP, 2006. Ármann Jakobsson. "Identifying the Ogre: The Legendary Saga Giants." Fomatdarsagaeme, myter og virkelighed: studier i de oldislandske fomaldarsdgur Noröurlanda. Eds. Agneta Ney, Ármann Jakobsson, and Annette Lassen. Kobenhavn: Museum Tusculanum, 2009.181-200. • "Egils saga and Empathy: Emotions and Moral Issues in a Dysfunctional Saga Family." Scandinavian Studies 80 (2008): 1-18. • "The Good, die Bad, and the Ugly: BdrSarsaga and Its Giants"Medieval Scandinavia 15 (2005): 1-15. . "History of the Trolls? Bdröar saga as an Historical Narrative." Saga-Book 25 (1998): 53-71. 'The Trollish Acts of I>orgrimr the Witch: The Meanings of Troll and Ergi in Medieval Icdsnd"Saga-Book 32 (2008): 39-68. Bergljót S. Kristjánsdóttir. "Primum caput: Um höfiiö Egils Skalla-Grímssonar, John frá Salisbury o.ñ"Skdldskaparmdl4 (1997): 74-96. Ciklamini, Marlene. "Grettir and Ketill Haengr, the Giant-Killers."^w (1966): 136-55. Clunies Ross, Margaret. Prolonged Echoes: Old Norse Myths in Medieval Northern Society. Vol. I. The Viking Collection 7. Odense: Odcnse UP, 1994.

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Dundes, Alan. "Wet and Dry, the Evil Eye: An Essay in Indo-European and Semitic Worldview." The Evil Eye: A Eolklore Casebook. Ed. Alan Dundes. New York: Garland, 1981. Z57-312.

Einar Ólafur Sveinsson. "íslendingasogur." Kulturhistorisk leksikonfor nordisk middelalder fra vikingetid til reformationstid 7. Oslo: Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, 1962. 496-513. , ed. Laxdcela saga. I'slenzk fornrit V Reykjavik: Hiô íslenzka fornritafélag, 1934. , ed. Vatnsdœla saga. íslenzk fornrit VIII. Reykjavik: Hiô íslenzka fornritafélag, 1939. Fr)'e, íiofíhmp. Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1971. Guôni Jónsson, ed. Grettis saga Ásmundarsonar. íslenzk fornrit VIL Reykjavik: Hiô íslenzka fornritafélag, 1936. HermannPálsson. Úrlandrwríri:samarogystur£turtslenskrarmenningarSaidi?ilshndica 54. Reykjavik: Bókmenntafraíoistofnun Háskóla islands, 1997. Liberman, Anatoly. "Berserkir: A Double Legend." Scandinavia and Christian Europe in the Middle Ages: Papers ofthe 12th International Saga Conference, Bonn/Germany, 28th July-2ndAugust2003. Eds. Rudolf Simek and Judith Meurer. Bonn: Universität Bonn, 2003.337-40. TheMan Who Shot Liberty Valance, prod, and dir. John Ford, 123 min.. Paramount Home Video, 2009, digital video disc. Rafn, Carl Christian, ed. Eomaldar sogur Nordrlanda eptirgomlum handritum. Vol. 2. Kaupmannahofn: Prcntadar i E. Poppsku prentsmidju, 1829. . Fomaldar sogur Nordrlanda eptirgomlum handritum. Vol. 3. Kaupmannahofn: Prentadar i E. Poppsku prentsmidju,i83O. Schulz, Katja. Riesen: Von Wissenshütem und Wildnisbewohnem in Edda und Saga. Heidelberg: Winter, 2004. Sigurôur Nordal, ed. Egils Saga, i'slenzk fornrit IL Reykjavik: Hiô íslenzka fornritafélag, 1933.

Strömbäck, Dag. Sejd:Textstudierinordiskreligonshistoria. Stockholm: H. Geber; Köpenhamn: Levin & Munksgaard, 1935. Summers, Montague. The Werewolf in Lore and Legend. New York: Dover Publications, 1933.

Sverrir Jakobsson. Vid og veröldin: heimsmyndíslendinga 1100-1400. Reykjavik: Háskólaútgáfan, 2005. Sorensen, Preben Meulengracht. Eortdling og ure: studier i isUndingesagaeme. Aarhus: Aarhus universitetsforlag, 1993. . "On Humour, Heroes, Morality, and Anatomy in Fostbrœôra saga." Twenty-Eight Papers Presented to Hans Bekker-Nielsen on the Occasion ofhis Sixtieth Birthday 28 April 1993- Odense: Odense UP, 1993. 395-418. TorfiH.Tulinius. S¿«W('á ií¿n^¿n»¿; Sworn Síwrteowo^ii^íTíi<^a. Reykjavik: Hiô islenska Bókmenntafélag, 2004. Turville-Petre, Gabriel. "Outlawry." Sjöttu ritgerbir helgaSar Jakobi Benediktssyni 20. júU 1977. Eds. Einar G. Pétursson and Jonas Kristjánsson. Reykjavik: Stofnun Arna Magnússonar, 1977. 769-78.

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