THE ANTICIPATORY LITERARY SETTING IN THE OLD ICELANDIC FAMILY SAGAS

SINCE the literary excellence of the Islendinga sogur consists in their distinctive manner of presentation, it seems obvious that they deserve to be studied from the standpoint of an aesthetic appreciation of their style and structure.2 It is the purpose of this paper to discuss one specific aspect of saga technique which, I believe, represents the most characteristic structural principle and illustrates the most unique use of natural scenery in this particular literary form. In Njdls saga the relations between the four sons of Njal and the chieftain Thrain Sigfusson become severely strained as a result of indignities suffered by them on his account at the hands of Jarl Hakon in Norway. The smoldering enmity between them flares into open hostility when Thrain bluntly rejects the legitimate demands of Helgi Njalsson for compensation for their injuries. And when in addition to this affront the followers of