Gísla saga Súrssonar

The role of Christian elements in Gísla saga Súrssonar is elusive and so it resonates with the general ambiguity of this work. Our binary themes of salvation and damnation are rarely far from the surface of a drama that centres on preserving honour in a society of conflicting kinship and friendship. In Gísla saga our topic features in a unique way.

Gísla saga, which is usually dated to the first half of the thirteenth century, is set in the pagan period before the official adoption of Christianity in Iceland and Norway. The text's time frame therefore does not straddle the moment of conversion in either country, as, for instance, it does in Njáls saga, Laxdoela saga and Eyrbyggja saga. Unlike the other ‘classical sagas’, Gísla saga concludes before Iceland's conversion. Even Egils saga, which is set mainly in the early tenth century, extends beyond this seminal point, ending as it does with the reburial of Egill Skallagrímsson's remains in a Christian cemetery.

In Gísla saga Súrssonar Iceland and Norway are excluded from direct association with Christianity. In this world only Denmark offers a route to that religion. Christian matters are first mentioned after Gísli's emigration with his family from Norway to Iceland. The setting is Viborg (Vébjõrg) where Gísli Súrsson and his brother-in-law stay over the winter:

In Viborg Gísli and Vésteinn cement their alliance by splitting a coin in two parts. Gísli hands one half to Vésteinn with the instruction to return it should he ever find his life endangered.