Sköfnung

My dissertation is focused on Þórðar saga hreðu, a saga that is usually considered a late derivative of the classics Family sagas. My feeling is that the main reason people have viewed the saga with suspicion is a question of style. Things happen in this saga too quickly, and they seem rather under-motivated. For no apparent reason, Skeggi hates Þórður, and similarly, Orm just has to marry Þórður's sister, even though she is engaged to Orm's own brother. The whole thing lacks any kind of narrative sense.

I would like to think this sudden jump in narrative is not a sign of a false, late, or malformed saga, but rather a sign of a saga that sees life the way it really happens. Some things happen quickly just out of instinct, and other things develop painfully slowly. Real life lacks narrative pacing.

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