The hirðir of Norwegian kings were sophisticated organisations, simultaneously functioning on martial, political, and social levels in support of the monarchs to whom they were bound. A hirðmaðr was, therefore, expected to fulfil a role more complex than that which the simple translations ‘retainer’ or ‘courtier’ may imply: in relation to their kings these men were often bodyguards, advisors, and friends concurrently. In both Íslendingasögur and konungasögur, the Norwegian hirð is portrayed regularly as the leading Scandinavian social network, in particular with regard to its ability to attract pre-eminent men through the lure of prestige and material reward, most notably, perhaps, in the case of Icelandic skalds. In placing so many formidable men in close proximity, the hirð can be understood as a zone of concentrated elite masculinity. Individuals who may elsewhere act as masculine exemplars, particular within their own households, must, within the hirð, amend their behaviour to coexist productively with similarly distinguished peers. It might be expected, therefore, that the figure of the presiding king would embody an apex form of masculinity to which his retainers could aspire. As this paper shall demonstrate, however, the depiction of gender within the konungasögur is more complex than a straightforward desire to emulate royalty, with a range of masculinities being present and, occasionally, at odds with the ideals embodied by the presiding king.

Elsewhere in the sagas, the interactions of powerful men often end in violence, with one understanding of feud being as the mutual destruction of hyper-masculine figures from rival kin groups due to the irrevocably degenerative nature of their social interactions, with the cyclical nature of the resulting bloodshed often driving the progression of saga narratives. It would be reasonable to expect, therefore, in the pressure-cooker environment of the hirð which is depicted as being almost solely populated by men, the sagas to present a culture of toxic masculinity surrounding the kings of Norway, in which constant violent clashes between proud men were inevitable and tactics of shaming were used to subordinate rivals. In Morkinskinna, the redactor of which had the greatest interest in depictions of social interaction between kings and hirðmenn amongst konungasögur compilers, however, this implosion into infighting never fully occurs.