The Saga of Grettir the Strong

THE SAGA OF GRETTIR THE STRONG GRETTIR'S SAGA By Unknown Author Written in Icelandic, sometime in the early 14th Century. Grettis saga Ásmundarsonar (also known as Grettla, Grettir's Saga or The Saga of Grettir the Strong) is one of the Icelanders' sagas. It details the life of Grettir Ásmundarson, a bellicose Icelandic outlaw. Overview The saga is categorised as one of the Sagas of Icelanders (Íslendingasögur) all of which were written in the thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries and are fairly realistic accounts of events taking place between the ninth and the eleventh century in Iceland. The subject of such texts is usually conflicts over wealth, prestige, and power. The author is unknown but it is believed that his story may have been based on a previous account of Grettir's life written by Sturla Þórðarson. Grettir's intentions are not necessarily bad, but he is ill-tempered and often does things that he later regrets: he is also very unlucky, so some of his actions have severe, unintended consequences. Grettir spends most of his adult life in Iceland as an outlaw although he sails twice to Norway. He was related to King Olaf who Christianized Norway. But in Norway too he gets into trouble and is sent away. He is not involved in the viking raids that many other saga-heroes take part in.