Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Kings, Wars, And Duck Eggs: Interpretations Of Poetry In Egil’S Saga, James C. Daughton

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

This paper examines the function and cultural implications of poetry in Egil’s Saga, an Icelandic saga written around the thirteenth century A.D. The title character, Egil Skallagrimson, is a renowned warrior and obstinate maverick, but perhaps his most singular trait is his gift for crafting poetry—a talent reflected in the nearly sixty sets of his verse that appear throughout the prose text. Obviously, these poems allow the reader to tap into Egil’s psyche, but they also fulfill the more profound purpose of illuminating the values and experiences of medieval Icelanders. Egil eternalizes the heritage he shares with his countrymen, explores …