Eyrbyggja Saga - Overview

Overview

• Government
  • Eyrbyggja Saga shows the Norse system of legalities on Snæfellsnes which used a trial by jury system. There was normally a local chieftain who oversaw property boundaries, settled disputes between landlords and blood feuds, and prosecuted criminals. Snorri Goði, in particular, was the head chieftain on Snæfellsnes and dealt with local disputes over firewood, blood feuds, and property distribution. Snorri is also seen putting ghosts on trial for their hauntings. Chapter 55 of the Saga shows Snorri and his nephew Kiartan summoning Thorir Wooden-leg and other ghosts with coming and going about Frodis-water without permission and despoiling men of their lives and good fortune. These trials brought an end to the hauntings that occurred at Frodis-water.
• Women
  • Women represented in the Saga are prominent and strong willed characters. They could own property, become merchants, court their own marriages, and command legions of sailors. For example, Geirrid, the sister of Geirrod of Ere, had workers build her a large vestibule hallway in which she could examine all the men that passed by in attempts to find a future husband.
• Death Ritual
  • The Saga shows that upon death, a hole was cut in the wall closest to where the corpse was and the body was removed from the house through the hole. It was believed that if a dead person was carried through the front door, their ghost would remember how to enter and exit the house and come back to haunt the house. Norse legend has it that by removing a body through a hole in the wall, a ghost would not remember how to enter the house.
• Religion
  • The Saga shows a strong shift from Paganism to Christianity. The author explains that Snorri Goði permitted the construction of Christian churches around Snæfellsnes, which was the same summer that Snorri declared Christianity was the official religion of Iceland. Although, it is unclear how many Norsemen actually converted from Norse paganism to Christianity. Archaeological evidence suggests that Pagan and Christian burials took place on Iceland, specifically on Snæfellsnes. Many Icelandic Norsemen were baptized and called themselves Christians, but little of their old Pagan rituals and beliefs had been abandon, for example cremating a corpse and drinking heavily after a funeral were pagan rituals.