“The Saga of the People of Laxardal” exemplifies the family sagas of medieval Iceland—it follows the marriages and suitors and descendants of Gudrun, one of which is Kjartan, who descends from Irish royalty. Kjartan’s father Olaf-Peacock reclaims his heritage as an heir to Ireland on his mother’s behest. Melkorka, slave concubine of Hoskuld, daughter of King Myrkjartan of Ireland, gives her son Olaf three tokens to prove his lineage: a knife and a belt will readily identify him to Melkorka’s nurse, but it is a “heavy gold arm ring” that will confirm him to the king (“The Saga of the People of Laxardal,” Page 304). The arm ring is a token from the king to his daughter, from princess to her son, a physical manifestation of their vertical, filial bond. However, it seems illogical that a trinket, which lords give to followers in other sagas, would so strongly represent the ties between parent and offspring. King Myrkjartan’s reaction to and treatment of Olaf’s display of the ring deepen the mystery, showing that the ring is more than a bit of proof of genealogy, or even purely representative of the strong ties between family members, but rather indicative of more complex social bonds between Myrkjartan and his descendants.
The gold arm ring immediately establishes and reinforces the vertical connection between Myrkjartan, Melkorka, and Olaf. When Melkorka introduces the ring into the plot, it lends credibility to her claim that she is the daughter of “Myrkjartan…a king in Ireland” from where she was “taken captive…at the age of fifteen” (290). Like Hoskuld and wife Jorunn, the reader is skeptical of Melkorka’s claims and still views her as a suspicious woman “of dubious origin” (290). Therefore, the gold arm ring is irrefutable evidence to Olaf, Hoskuld and Jorunn if he returns favorably from Ireland, and the reader of Melkorka’s lineage, and is the sole basis of her credibility up to that point. The other set of tokens, the knife and belt for the nurse, introduced concurrently, are a representation of a fictively vertical relationship between Melkorka and maternal figure. Compared to the “treasure” of a gold ring, these tokens are more humble, supplementing lack of grandeur with sentimental value (305). On the other hand, it seems strange that a father would give his daughter a heavy piece of jewelry when she “cut [her] first tooth” as an infant, especially if the ring is large enough for Olaf, a grown man, to wear on his arm when he arrives in Ireland (305). In other sagas, kings give gold rings to their followers, forging a horizontal link: his gift to his baby daughter appears insincere and unsentimental. While the arm ring is concrete evidence for Myrkjartan’s paternity, it destabilizes their vertical kinship, and gives it an inappropriately horizontal character that appears in Myrkjartan’s interaction with Olaf-Peacock.
The superficial assumption that the ring symbolizes a powerful vertical bond follows Olaf through his meeting with his grandfather, but is quickly dispelled with close analysis similar to that above comparing the ring with the other tokens. While the knife and belt elicit a strong emotional reaction from the nurse, the ring appears to mean less to the king. When the old nurse sees the tokens, “tears of joy [come] to her eyes” and she “[doubles her happiness] by seeing this outstanding young man” as Melkorka’s son—the tokens precede her recognition, and thus are a direct representation of this fictive, but strong, vertical bond (310). On the other hand, Olaf does not reveal his kinship with Myrkjartan until he establishes rapport. Though the king’s reception of Olaf is far from cold, he is initially uncertain about Olaf’s origins, but nonetheless gives him respect and hospitality on the basis of his courtesy and demeanor. This difference between Myrkjartan’s and the nurse’s reactions shows the divide between the love they bear for Melkorka’s son, and, by extension their vertical bonds: the nurse unconditionally loves and accepts Olaf by trust in the tokens, but Myrkjartan places more value in Olaf’s worth as a man, independent of his inheritance. King Myrkjartan’s reception of Olaf initiates a relationship that deviates from the default vertical that the arm ring establishes, taking on horizontal character. Olaf acquires Myrkjartan’s good opinion initially by his impressive bearing and manner, and secures it by proving his worth in battle. He accompanies the king in “warding off both Vikings and other raiders” and proves himself to be “a clever and daring commander” well worth respect and praise (310). While it is the arm ring that confirms his blood ties to Ireland and validates Myrkjartan’s decision to name Olaf his heir over his own sons, it is Olaf’s leadership and prowess in battle that prompt him to make that decision. When Olaf denies this opportunity for wanting to “enjoy a brief spell of honour than a long rule of shame,” he essentially rejects the vertical bond represented by the gold ring, and solidifies his horizontal relationship, a relationship of warrior peers.
King Myrkjartan’s relationship with Olaf moves away from grandfather-grandson to king-follower with this rejection, and they part “as great friends”—the king follows the precedent of other saga lords by bestowing costly gifts, “a spear with gold inlay, a decorated sword and much other wealth,” when Olaf leaves. These gifts are much more suited to a fighter like Olaf than Melkorka’s ring, and much more reminiscent of a horizontal transaction of a liege lord rewarding a follower with wealth. The arm ring that previously embodies the direct progression of generations from Myrkjartan to Melkorka to Olaf can no longer adequately summarize their relationship, as it has left the vertical and expanded its scope horizontally.
The conversion of Olaf’s relationship with the Irish king, hinted at from the initial introduction of the arm ring, developed in their first meeting, is fully realized and established in their parting. Through his time with King Myrkjartan, Olaf takes on an identity as a warrior in his own right, not to be defined as the son of a slave or even the son of a princess of Ireland—the transition of his relationship with the king transforms from purely vertical to almost purely horizontal, rendering the ring as a symbol irrelevant and obsolete. Olaf’s liberation from his identity as a lowborn child of a concubine casts a different light upon Melkorka’s gold arm ring: indeed it is evidence of her high birth and a symbol of her vertical relationship with her father, but is also a shackle of dubious birth and related stigma. Olaf’s adventures in Ireland shed him of this identity and give him the means to prove his worth to his grandfather outside the scope of unconditional filial love—by rejecting his offer to rule Ireland, Olaf breaks these figurative shackles of family obligation, and embarks on his journey to become a great man regardless of his birth.
Works Cited
“The Saga of the People of Laxardal.” The Sagas of Icelanders: a Selection. Pref. Jane Smiley. Trans. Katrina C. Attwood. New York: Viking, Penguin Group, 1997. Print.
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