20:
218:
237:. Guðrún had been courted by Bolli Þorleiksson and his foster-brother Kjartan Ólafsson, but although she preferred Kjartan, she gave herself to Bolli Þorleiksson on the basis of a false rumour that Kjartan was engaged. The consequent hostilities between the two foster-brothers ended with Bolli Þorleiksson killing Kjartan, and then he in turn being killed by Kjartan's kinsmen. Bolli Bollason grew up with his brother Thorleik, who was four years his senior, and his mother Guðrún in Helgafell, after she exchanged homes with the renowned
276:
130:
204:(dated 1330-1370), the only intact vellum manuscript. Historiographically, the distinction between narrative and history did not exist at the time when the sagas were written. However, the sagas develop a "dense and plausible" historical context, with the authenticating details and precision necessary for the narrative. The world within which the local and detailed stories of the individual sagas exist can be confirmed by archaeology and comparison with histories in other languages.
296:. Bolli soon became highly thought of in Norway, and his arrivals at the guild meeting-places were noted for being better arrayed as to raiment and weapons than other townsfolk. Early in the spring the brothers prepared their ship and went east to meet the king. The king thought Bolli "a man of high mettle," "even peerless among men", and "the man of greatest mark that has ever come from Iceland."
389:
with a spear and struck it dead. In revenge, Thorolf killed Thord's seven- or eight-year-old son Olaf, to the disgust of
Thorolf's wife and kinsmen. Thorolf fled and eventually secured the protection of Thorvald Hjaltasson, a prominent leader who lived at Hjaltadal. After Christmas, Thorvald secured for him the safekeeping and support of Starri of Guddalir, who often sheltered outlaws.
321:
Footbiter girt on him, the hilt of which was dight with gold, and the grip woven with gold, he had a gilded helmet on his head, and a red shield on his flank, with a knight painted on it in gold. He had a dagger in his hand, as is the custom in foreign lands; and whenever they took quarters the women paid heed to nothing but gazing at Bolli and his grandeur, and that of his followers.
186:…in their actions the male characters tend not to live up to the grandeur and hyperbole with which they are presented. At foreign courts their stature is aristocratic, but at home in Iceland they are farmers with few outlets other than words and smart clothes for their aspirations to nobility. This is a saga in which even slaves are high-born, descended from the kings of Ireland.
350:
334:, and is taken as an indicator that Bolli held this rank. In Iceland, his finery and recognition earned him the name "Bolli the Elegant". His return to Thordis was joyful, and he took over the manor of Tunga when Snorri died at 67 years of age. Bolli had two children with Thordis: Herdis Bolladottir and Ospak Bollason.
256:. He set out with his stepfather and a good many followers to Tunga. Snorri welcomed them, and the wedding feast took place that summer. Bolli abode at Tunga, and love grew between him and Thordis. The next summer, Thorleik returned in a goods-laden ship to White-river, "and the brothers greeted each other joyfully".
396:
Assembly. Thorvald and Starri intended to block the prosecution "by force of arms and numbers", but when they realised they were outnumbered, they withdrew and Bolli successfully had
Thorolf outlawed. Passage out of Iceland was obtained for Thorolf aboard a merchant vessel at Hrutafjord. However,
244:
Guðrún remarried, this time to
Thorkell Eyjolffsson, who became a great chieftain in his own countryside and took over the running of the household at Helgafell. This left Bolli able to spend his time both at Helgafell and with Snorri in Tunga, and Snorri became very fond of him. Thorkell was fond
388:
According to the tale, a man called
Thorolf Stuck-up had a bull which wounded his neighbours' farm animals, damaged haystacks and caused "a great deal of trouble". When an upstanding local farmer named Thord saw the bull damaging the stacks of peat on his farm at Marbaeli, he lunged at the animal
320:
Bolli rode from the ship with twelve men, and all his followers were dressed in scarlet, and rode on gilt saddles, and all were they a trusty band, though Bolli was peerless among them. He had on the clothes of fur which the Garth-king had given him, he had over all a scarlet cape; and he had
287:
Bolli's later travels abroad with his brother
Thorleik are well documented and notable for his role in the Varangian Guard. They departed Iceland, taking "a great deal of money abroad with him", and reached Norway in the autumn. They stayed in Thrandheim for the winter, while King
190:
The saga is also a feud saga, in which "feuds escalate from trivial local squabbles into unstoppable vendettas. The male protagonists are splendid figures who die heroic deaths, while the women are strong characters who engineer much of the action".
182:, the Laxdæla saga makes the strongest claim of any Icelandic saga for literary greatness. Shaped by continental literary traditions and several types of saga, the characterisation "highlights nobility, splendour and physical appearance", although:
308:, he spent many years in the Varangian Guard; "and was thought to be the most valiant in all deeds that try a man, and always went next to those in the forefront." The saga also records the finery his followers received from the
303:
bound for
Denmark, departing King Olaf in great friendship and with fine parting gifts. Thorleik remained behind, but Bolli wintered in Denmark and became as well regarded as he had been in Norway. Travelling next to
467:: "…from what we have heard, no Northman had ever gone to take warpay from the Garth king before Bolli, Bolli's son". "Northman" in the saga can be taken to mean a "West Norseman" — an Icelander or Norwegian — as
397:
Bolli believed it would have been improper if the outlawed
Thorolf were to escape, and having ridden north to Hrutafjord, he drew his sword Leg-biter and "struck a blow right through" Thorolf, killing him.
401:
He earned himself a great deal of honour by this, as men thought it quite an accomplishment to have the man outlawed in another district and then venture alone into the hands of his enemies and kill him
170:
written sometime between 1250 and 1270, possibly by a woman author. "Vast in conception", the grand sweep of the saga's action spans well over a century from AD 890 to 1030. Alongside
392:
Thord's wife Gudrun, a first cousin of Bolli, asked him to take over the prosecution of the case. Accompanied by Arnor Crone's-nose and a large company of men, Bolli attended the
267:
as part of the agreement, but Bolli received a good sword, and after the assembly "both sides were thought to have gained in esteem from these affairs".
1007:
518:
48:
245:
of both his stepsons, but Bolli was regarded as "being the foremost in all things". Thorleik journeyed abroad to Norway, and stayed with King
252:
When Bolli was eighteen years old he asked for his father's portion, as he intended to woo
Thordis Snorradottir, the daughter of
1128:
1076:
1048:
19:
455:
In
English versions of the saga, Helgafell and Tunga are sometimes translated as "Holyfell" and "Tongue" respectively.
230:
89:
1021:
996:
536:
522:
1133:
1118:
1093:
369:
referred to a short narrative often included as an episode in a larger whole, such as part of a saga. The
1027:
481:" (Constantinople) in the 830s, and many of them were in the service of the Empire prior Bolli's arrival.
419:
94:
423:. The tale makes reference to Bolli's military prowess, in ironic contrast to the tale's protagonist:
316:), and the influence he held after his return to Iceland, some time after the death of King Olaf II:
427:
Harald learned of the deaths of two of his men from
Iceland, Bolli the Elegant and Sarcastic Halli.
77:, and on his return to Iceland, his finery and recognition earned him the name "Bolli the Elegant".
1108:
1103:
1071:
377:, is such a narrative about an episode in the life of Bolli Bollason, taken from the 14th century
1113:
200:
141:
1123:
1098:
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81:
64:
234:
85:
8:
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217:
473:
238:
1066:
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330:
The right to bear a gold-hilted sword was one of the privileges of the court rank of
309:
289:
246:
275:
172:
135:
129:
110:, which was later appended to the end of the manuscripts in the early 14th century.
260:
982:
852:
824:
790:
760:
735:
703:
678:
495:
464:
147:
124:
43:
490:
Although the 1899 Muriel Press translation uses the ambiguous "trade-ship" for
305:
178:
74:
24:
253:
56:
52:
1087:
259:
The two brothers made peace with the sons of Ólaf, Kjartan's kinsmen, at the
358:
92:, the two central characters of the work. He is mentioned at the end of the
1062:
1058:
1053:
1049:
Translation in English by Muriel Press (The Temple Classics, London, 1899)
55:
in Iceland. He divided his time between Helgafell and Tunga, the home of
331:
313:
226:
167:
69:
60:
300:
280:
103:
433:
But of Halli he said, "The poor devil must have burst eating porridge"
198:
have survived, although all printed versions have been based upon the
468:
293:
39:
393:
264:
430:
He said of Boli, "The warrior must have fallen victim to spears."
354:
519:"The Icelandic database genealogy information of Bolli Bollason"
361:, which Bolli attended the same year he killed Thorolf Stuck-up
349:
229:, in the Western Quarter of Iceland. He was born in 1006 to
59:. He was held in the highest regard among the contemporary
498:), the newer 2001 Penguin edition translates it as "cog".
471:had split along East/West lines. According to the
283:
of the type that Bolli might have taken to Denmark.
47:, born around 1000. He grew up in Orlygsstadir, at
263:; it is not known how much money was exchanged in
67:. It is believed that he had reached the rank of
1085:
23:Varangian Guardsmen, from the near contemporary
891:
859:. The Medieval and Classical Literature Library
831:. The Medieval and Classical Literature Library
797:. The Medieval and Classical Literature Library
767:. The Medieval and Classical Literature Library
742:. The Medieval and Classical Literature Library
710:. The Medieval and Classical Literature Library
685:. The Medieval and Classical Literature Library
653:
955:
953:
951:
941:
939:
884:
882:
644:
581:
233:, the winter after the killing of his father,
80:His importance in the literary context of the
817:
662:
635:
574:
572:
570:
560:
558:
626:
608:
145:, the same vellum manuscript containing the
948:
936:
900:
879:
617:
599:
567:
555:
348:
274:
216:
212:
128:
38:) was a key historical character in the
18:
1005:
808:
548:
546:
1086:
847:
845:
785:
783:
781:
730:
728:
726:
724:
102:), and is also the subject of his own
980:
406:
543:
1077:Byzantine & Varangian Equipment
1054:Text with modern Icelandic spelling
842:
778:
721:
13:
221:Snæfellsnes, where Bolli was born.
14:
1145:
1042:
270:
1012:. edited by Thorsson, Örnólfur.
84:is his prominence as the son of
962:
927:
918:
909:
870:
753:
696:
671:
484:
417:, as is recorded at the end of
413:Bolli died during the reign of
365:In Norse literature, a tale or
113:
590:
511:
458:
449:
342:
225:Bolli Bollason was one of the
164:Saga of the People of Laxardal
1:
1129:11th-century Icelandic people
1061:in an English translation by
974:
292:was wintering in the east in
118:
505:
7:
420:The Tale of Sarcastic Halli
100:The Tale of Sarcastic Halli
10:
1150:
984:Byzantine Armies, 886-1118
477:, the Swedes had reached "
207:
122:
442:
337:
194:Many manuscripts of the
63:rulers, and also in the
16:Icelandic Viking warrior
1009:The Sagas of Icelanders
371:Bolla þáttur Bollasonar
440:
404:
362:
328:
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222:
188:
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28:
537:registration required
425:
399:
375:Bolli Bollason's Tale
352:
318:
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231:Guðrún Ósvífursdóttir
220:
213:Family and early life
184:
132:
90:Guðrún Ósvífursdóttir
53:Snæfellsnes Peninsula
22:
1134:11th-century Vikings
415:Harald III of Norway
249:for several months.
227:People of Laxárdalur
65:Eastern Roman Empire
1119:11th-century deaths
1094:Sagas of Icelanders
981:Heath, Ian (1979).
924:Thorsson, p 424-425
915:Thorsson, p 422-424
897:Thorsson, p 422-423
587:Thorsson, p 274-275
381:which contains the
25:Skylitzis Chronicle
1063:Muriel A. C. Press
659:Thorsson, p xxxvii
474:Annales Bertiniani
408:Sneglu-Halla þáttr
363:
285:
223:
156:
95:Sneglu-Hall þáttur
75:Eastern Roman army
40:Medieval Icelandic
29:
1067:Project Gutenberg
989:Osprey Publishing
853:"Chapter LXXVIII"
650:Thorsson, p xxvii
235:Bolli Þorleiksson
86:Bolli Þorleiksson
1141:
1038:
1036:
1035:
1026:. Archived from
1006:Various (2001).
1002:
969:
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521:. Archived from
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326:
299:Bolli boarded a
166:is an Icelandic
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1109:Varangian Guard
1104:Viking warriors
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968:Thorsson, p 712
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632:Thorsson, p xxx
631:
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623:Thorsson, p 275
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614:Thorsson, p lxi
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605:Thorsson, p 274
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596:Thorsson, p xii
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1043:External links
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736:"Chapter LXX"
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1114:1000s births
1081:
1059:Laxdæla saga
1032:. Retrieved
1028:the original
1008:
983:
964:
929:
920:
911:
902:
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872:
861:. Retrieved
856:
833:. Retrieved
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523:the original
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61:Scandinavian
44:Laxdæla saga
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31:
30:
1099:Mercenaries
552:Heath, p 38
344:Bollaþáttur
332:manglabites
314:Romanos III
254:Snorri Goði
179:Egil's saga
173:Njál's saga
168:family saga
153:Bollaþáttur
136:Njál's saga
108:Bollaþáttur
70:manglabites
1088:Categories
1034:2007-01-24
987:. London:
975:References
863:2018-04-12
835:2018-05-05
801:2018-04-12
771:2018-04-12
746:2018-04-12
714:2018-04-12
689:2018-04-12
529:2012-05-24
479:Miklagarðr
465:Chapter 73
359:Þingvellir
301:trade-ship
133:A page of
119:Background
1072:Genealogy
506:Footnotes
469:Old Norse
294:Sarpsborg
139:from the
49:Helgafell
814:Thorsson
436:—
394:Hegranes
324:—
279:A trade-
151:and the
1014:Penguin
355:Althing
290:Olaf II
247:Olaf II
208:Account
73:in the
51:on the
1124:Þættir
1020:
995:
402:there.
367:þáttur
106:, the
34:(also
443:Notes
373:, or
338:Tales
1018:ISBN
993:ISBN
353:The
176:and
158:The
104:tale
88:and
82:saga
357:at
281:cog
162:or
1090::
1016:.
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950:^
938:^
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855:.
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1037:.
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