Sayers, William. Gunnarr, his Irish Wolfhound Sámr, and the Passing of the Old Heroic Order in Njáls saga

• Author: Sayers, William
• Title: Gunnarr, his Irish Wolfhound Sámr, and the Passing of the Old Heroic Order in Njáls saga
• Published in: Arkiv för nordisk filologi 112
• Year: 1997
• Pages: 43-66
• E-text: Arkiv för nordisk filologi
• Reference: Sayers, William. "Gunnarr, his Irish Wolfhound Sámr, and the Passing of the Old Heroic Order in Njáls saga." Arkiv för nordisk filologi 112 (1997): 43-66.

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Annotation

Sayers works to bring up the Celtic elements within Njáls saga, and makes comparisons to Old Irish epic literature. While he uses other examples, the main emphasis of his argument lies largely with Sámr (the large Irish wolfhound gifted to Gunnar Hámundarson) and what the presence of this dog, and the role it plays within the saga, can tell us, both in terms of medieval Icelandic culture as well as its relationship to the medieval Celtic world. While Njáls saga is not the only saga to contain a dog (an Irish dog for that matter), Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar also utilizes this literary tool, the presence of dogs are generally uncommon in old Norse literature. Sámr’s existence therefore indicates the influence of Celtic/Irish literature or myth within Njáls saga.

Lýsing

Texta vantar

References

Chapter 70: Þessi hundur heitir Sámur: "The gift to Gunnarr then has affinities with the preternatural in its ‘Celtic expression’ and is further prestigious in its fundamental value, in its exotic and, one must judge, aristocratic origins, and in having been offered by the grandson of an Irish king and a prominent Icelandic chieftain, Óláfr pái." (pp. 47-48)

Links

• Written by: Fraser Miller
• Icelandic/English translation: