Feud stands at the core of the Old Icelandic sagas. Jesse Byock shows how the dominant concern of medieval Icelandic society-the channeling of violence into accepted patterns of feud and the regulation of conflict-is reflected in the narrative of the family sagas and the Sturlunga saga compilation. This comprehensive study of narrative structure demonstrates that the sagas are complex expressions of medieval social thought.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1983.Feud stands at the core of the Old Icelandic sagas. Jesse Byock shows how the dominant concern of medieval Icelandic society-the channeling of violence into accepted patterns of feud and the regulation of conflict-is reflected in the narrative of the fami

Preface Acknowledgments 1 Introduction 2 Feud in Saga Narrative: Its Roots in Icelandic Society 3 The Syntax of Narrative Elements 4 Units of Travel and Information and the Feudeme of Conflict 5 The Feudeme of Advocacy 6 The Feudeme of Resolution 7 Feud Clusters and Feud Chains 8 The Importance of Land in Saga Feud 9 Two Sets of Feud Chains in Njals saga 10 Saga Narrative with Low Cluster Density 11 Conclusion Appendixes A. A Brief Account of Legal and Social Terms B. Examples of Conflict Material Sources of Conflict Nonmaterial Sources of Conflict C. Examples of Advocacy Brokerage Self-Advocacy Goading Information Passing D. Examples of Resolution Arbitration Direct Resolution Rejected Resolution Index Maps