Heroism in The Saga of Grettir the Strong

Even though the ideals of heroism are very prevalent throughout human history, how humanity has defined them have not always been the same. A great example of how our definition of heroism has changed through time can be seen in The Saga of Grettir the Strong. Grettir, the main character of the episodic story, is violent, strong, brave, war-like, and has a rage to match Achilles. 
Image result for grettir the strong



Pretty creepy picture right? I didn't know Grettir looked so much like a murderous Peter Pan. Anyways, I mention Achilles here because the heroes of the Pre-Christian Vikings, like Beowulf, are very similar in their ideologies to the ancient Greek and Roman heroes of myth, like Achilles. Even though the medieval Viking culture and the ancient Greek culture are very different, their definitions of heroism are very similar. Killing, plundering, and honor in battle are all what matters to these iconic figures, and they were hailed as the great heroes of the time. Grettir the Strong fits right in with this crowd, as he is very passionate about fighting and quick to jump into a battle and kill as he pleases. But what is so unique about The Saga of Grettir the Strong is how it frames Grettir in the context of the story. 
This saga is set during the Christianization of Iceland, and as the culture of the Icelanders begins to change, so do their ideals of heroism. The Christianization of the west brought about a new definition of heroism, the same one that is commonly accepted today. Violence, fury, and honor are no longer venerated as they used to be, instead being replaced by ideals of heroism that champion graciousness, kindness, and sacrifice. Grettir, not exactly keen on graciousness, soon finds himself outdated and an outcast from the rest of his society. He is even outlawed for his violence (although, ironically, that incident of violence was an accident) and forced to live in the wild. And, in the end, Grettir is killed by his enemies before his twenty years of outlawry can be served. He lives by the sword and he dies by the sword. In a way, Grettir’s story also tells us the story of the ideals of classical heroism and how it eventually was pushed out of society and died. And it's all thanks to Glaum. 
Image result for the death of grettir

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Polygenesis in The Silmarillion

Image
How authors portray the world in their own stories can give us great insight on how they perceived the real world that was around them. It can also help give current readers an explanation or reasoning as to why the authors made certain choices in their writing. An instance of this occurs in J.R. Tolkien’s novels, where current day scholars and fans are trying to understand the use of certain racial stereotypes of characters in his novels. An example of this is the polygenesis theory. Polygenesis theory describes the origin of different races as independent/non-related species. The polygenesis theory has shaped folklore and modern day racial dynamics, which of course echoes into some of our favorite author’s works. It creates a hierarchical society where one ‘species’ dominates over the others. This can clearly be seen in The Silmarillion where each of the species have different origins and creators. Their hierarchal status and racial characteristics are dependent on who
Read more

The Khajiit and their tale we've all seen before (Elder Scrolls)

Image
Without getting too much into the thick of it (yet), the Khajiit are the cat-like inhabitants of Tamriel (continent of which the game takes place) of in the Elder Scrolls game series.  They are 1 of 10 characters types you can choose from, and in-game are given the advantage of having a stronger sneak stat in the beginning of the game than other characters.  In  Skyrim , they are also given bonuses to ranged and one-handed weapons.  Purrfect for a thief! However, these traits, while useful to the player, do little other than paint the Khajiit in a light as anything other than scoundrels and liars, making them subject to much (MUCH) of the racial prejudice in Tamriel. In order to show just how far racial oppression and the Habits of Whiteness extends extend in Tamriel, we can begin by viewing how the Khajiit arrived in their homeland of Elsweyr. Helen Young points out that "[while] twenty-first century fantasy has begun to critique colonialism, imperialism, and their legacies..
Read more

Independent Desires and Loyalty

When it comes to characters that have made influencing decisions, its due to their willingness to follow their own desires and have their loyalty to their superiors tested that they are able to make these decisions at all. This can include consequence that could result in demolishing or enhancing their internal desire for a different outcome. Fiction includes this aspect presumably to give more perspectives to a situation especially when issues arises. For example, we can take a look at the backstory of Aulë, the Smith of Arda and creator of the dwarves, than compare this to other powerful myths and stories such as those in Greek mythology and Christian scripture. The story of Aulë begins with his reluctance to wait for the creation of the perfect children of Iluvatar, ones directly envisioned by the first deity of Arda, Iluvatar. So of his own devices he created the dwarves. Like children, they obeyed his command and only acted upon his wishes. However, when he meet with Iluvatar ,
Read more