Book
The Saga of the People of Laxardal and Bolli Bollason’s Tale
First published 2008
The Saga of the People of Laxardal traces several generations of prominent Icelandic families, with the relationship between Gudrun Osvifsdottir, Kjartan Olafsson and Bolli Thorleiksson at its centre. Love, pride and divided loyalties turn kinship and friendship into feud, and a series of revenge killings reshapes the fortunes of the families around Laxardal. Gudrun emerges as one of the most complex women in Icelandic saga literature, closely involved in the choices that lead to both marriage and bloodshed.
The narrative spans the late Viking Age and incorporates the conversion of Iceland from Norse religion to Christianity. Bolli Bollason’s Tale extends the family history into the next generation, following Gudrun’s son on travels that take him beyond Iceland and into the wider medieval world. Together the works combine domestic relationships, feud, religion and travel within the social structures of the Icelandic Commonwealth.
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