“King Gautrek”

1. “King Gautrek” • This is a legendary saga – stories known as fornaldar sagas, or “sagas of ancient times.” • It contains information on the Norse gods, but the main characters are mortal rather than divine. • Insertions of poetry suggest that the story was known from legendary ballads, later recorded in prose during saga times (13th and 14th centuries). • Gautrek is possibly a historical figure from Southern Sweden in the 5th or 6th centuries. Mythical elements suggest the story is very old.

2. “King Gautrek” Three tales combined into one short saga. The style of narration and the structure are similar to the Icelandic Family Sagas. 1. King Gauti in the backwoods with the curiously cheap family. 2. Legend of Starkad the Warrior, who ismentioned by Saxo Grammaticus inHistory of the Danes. 3. Ref the Fool– the tale of Gift-Refactually more like a fairy tale than a legend.

3. “King Gautrek” 1. • The saga begins with King Gauti – the description of a saga character is always very short, usually understated and “objective.” • Gauti has positive qualities: shrewd, quiet, generous and plain-spoken. • He rules over West Gotaland, between Norway and Sweden, a land of great forests. • The forests are full of lonely settlers, men who left society because of shame, outlawry, or some similar reason.

4. “King Gautrek” 1. • King Gauti enters the woods on a hunting trip, becomes separated and lost; he loses his spear and discards most of his clothing. “Otherworld” • Gauti hears a dog barking and finds a homestead; a man takes his axe and kills the dog for giving away their location – now others might come to find them in the woods. (139) • No one invites Gauti inside the house, but he enters anyway and takes food without being asked – he acts normally, they are inhospitable.

5. “King Gautrek” 1. • A daughter explains the odd situation to Gauti: her father is Skinflint, mother is Trotta (Tatters); they have never had guests in the house before. • Snotra, the “brightest” daughter, explains the use of “Family Cliff” where family members leap to their deaths when threatened by poverty (140f.). • Gauti says “I take it you’re still a virgin, so you’d better sleep with me.” Snotra is very agreeable. • Next morning he tells her to visit him in his hall, and that if she has a boy to name him Gautrek.

6. “King Gautrek” 2. • Skinflint takes his wife and good slave and leaves to see Odin on the far side of the cliff. He implores them “not to add to their family” or they will dilute their wealth. • His children take their inheritance; they pin their clothes tightly together to “prevent” pregnancy. • Snotra tricks her brother into thinking he has made her pregnant; she gives birth to a boy (Gauti’s son) and names him Gautrek (143). • Other brother thinks gold is ruined, wants to die.

7. “King Gautrek” 2. • Second brother and wife pass over the cliff (144). • Third brother sees a sparrow eating his grain; thought of loss is overpowering, and he too takes his wife over the Family Cliff (144). • Finally, Seven-year-old Gautrek slays the ox, which unmans the first brother, and he too crosses the Family Cliff, leaving only Snotra and her son Gautrek (144). • Snotra takes Gautrek to King Gauti, who in due time dies, leaving his kingdom to Gautrek.

8. “King Gautrek” 3. • “There was a king called… / There was a man called…” – this is the standard way of introducing a character in the sagas (145). • Divine intervention: Starkad the Ala-Warrior (a giant) abducts a woman called Alfhild – Alf means “elf” (she is apparently willing). • Thor kills Starkad and returns Alfhild to her father, but she is pregnant with Storvirk, who is large and strong (half giant and half elf). • Storvirk abducts Unn, who bears him Starkad.

9. “King Gautrek” 3. • Cycle of Abduction and Vengeance – also typical of sagas. Unn’s brothers are outraged by her abduction, so they burn the hall of Storvirk and kill both him and Unn (146). • Their young son Starkad survives; the attackers perish in their boats (justice?). Poem describes young Starkad in King Harald’s court (146). • Worst kind of a feud is internecine warfare – a worse form of reducing lives than the Family Cliff!

10. “King Gautrek” 4. • King Herthjof of Hordaland (a Norwegian province) kills King Harald treacherously, collects hostages and tribute. • Hostages a common practice, treated well, but meant to ensure that relatives abroad “behaved.” • Grani Horsehair takes three-year-old Starkad Storvirksson captive, rears him on Ask island. • Vikar Haraldsson (now a hostage) gives lazy Starkad weapons and clothes. Starkad a large man at twelve years old.

11. “King Gautrek” 4. • Vikar takes Starkad and 12 warriors and attacks King Herthjof to avenge his father, King Harald – battle scene (148f.). First duty of son. • Vikar and Starkad kill Herthjof; they sail south and collect King Harald’s old men, and Vikar becomes king of Hordaland. • Vikar becomes a great Viking, raiding all about the Baltic sea; Starkad is his best warrior and defeats King Sisar at a bloody battle near Kiev.

12. “King Gautrek” 5. • Herthjof had two brothers who now attack King Vikar to seek vengeance for his murder. • King Vikar first defeats #1 Geirthjof and wins Telemark and the Norwegian Uplands. • King Vikar takes a wife and has two sons, Harald and Yarl (Earl) Neri, who is wise but cheap. • Brother #2 Frithjof takes control of the northlands, challenges King Vikar, who finds allies then engages in battle (scene on 153). • Frithjof is defeated, surrenders and goes into exile.

13. “King Gautrek” 6. • Abrupt change of scenery and characters – also typical of sagas. Beginning of the Ref-Tale. • A wealthy farmer called Rennir has a lazy son Ref (Askeladden) and one prized possession, a big ox with horns inlaid with gold and silver. • Rennir was a warrior-viking of King Vikar’s and took part in many of his battles. • A wealthy farmer was a well-to-do freeman. The vast majority of men were farmers first, Vikings second (mostly during the off-season).

14. “King Gautrek” 7. • King Vikar rewards Starkad very well for his service in battle, but their fates are about to part. • King Vikar has bad sailing winds; divination tells that Odin expects a human sacrifice – Vikar! • That evening at Midnight, Grani Horsehair takes his foster-son Starkad to an island, where 12 chairs and eleven men wait to pass judgment on Starkad (p. 155f.). • Grani reveals himself to be Odin in disguise.

15. “King Gautrek” 7. • Thor still upset with Starkad’s family. Curses him. • Odin tries to mitigate the curses placed on his foster son by Thor (p. 156). • They curse and bless him in a sort of ritual. The other gods decree that all shall happen as declared by Thor and Odin. • Grani (Odin) tells Starkad that he should repay him well for the aid he has given him – Odin wants Starkad to kill his friend and King Vikar! (p. 156) • Starkad put into impossible situation, double-bind.

16. “King Gautrek” 7. • Grani gives Starkad a magic spear which appears to be just a bean-stalk. • King Vikar’s men think they can fulfill the omen by performing a “mock sacrifice” of King Vikar; this will satisfy Odin without killing their king. • Starkad instructs the men how to arrange the “mock” sacrifice – he ties calf guts on a slender bent branch making a very flimsy gallows. (157) • He stabs Vikar with the “bean stalk” and says: “Now I give you to Odin.”

17. “King Gautrek” 7. • The flimsy gallows transforms into an efficient killing machine, and King Vikar dies on the tree. • Odin’s treacherous treatment of Vikar (and Starkad) is typical of his “support.” He will aid a warrior in battle until he wants him dead! • Starkad’s treacherous sacrifice of King Vikar makes him a hated man – he is forced into exile in Sweden. • Poem on p. 157f. describes the terrible fate that compelled Starkad to kill his king.

18. “King Gautrek” 7. • Lonely and unhappy, Starkad serves Kings Eirik and Alrek in Sweden, but is mocked by the mercenary berserkers there. • “And now Starkad is out of our story.” This is the customary way to remove a character from a saga – they either die or are formally dismissed. • Other sagas discuss the Starkad’s adventures – three lifetimes, admired by the greatest men, detested by most, guilty of heinous deeds in each period. Mentioned often by Saxo.

19. “King Gautrek” 8. • Plot line returns to Gautrek, who is now king of Gotaland after his father Gauti died. • Gautrek seeks a wife; he marries Alfhild (battle- elf) and has a daughter, Helga (the holy one). • King Gautrek rules in peace and prosperity a number of years until his wife dies; Gautrek spends his time mourning and hunting with his hawk. Depressed.

20. “King Gautrek” 9. • Plot returns to the sons of slain King Vikar: King Harald and Earl Neri divide the territory. • Another jump to Rennir and his lazy son Ref; Rennir is fed up with his son and kicks him out. Ref takes the prize ox of his father as his inheritance. • “Ref the Fool” brings his ox to Earl Neri, who hates gifts because he is too cheap to reciprocate. • (1) Neri gives Ref a whetstone for King Gautrek.

21. “King Gautrek” 9. • Ref cannot fathom why he should deliver a whetstone to King Gautrek, but Earl Neri tells him about Gautrek’s mourning and his need for things to throw at his hawk. • Ref travels to see King Gautrek, who throws the whetstone (as foreseen by Earl Neri), hits his hawk, and happily gives a golden ring to Ref, who returns with it to Earl Neri. • (2) Earl Neri then sends Ref to King Ælla of England, tells him to give him the ring and return.

22. “King Gautrek” 9. • Ref travels to King Ælla, who is impressed with the gold ring – and with Ref for having acquired gold in exchange for stone! • King Ælla won’t be seen as less generous than Gautrek, so he gives Ref a ship, crew and cargo, as well as two small dogs (p. 164). • Ref returns to Earl Neri, who insists that he and his men stay at court and enjoy his hospitality. • (3) Neri tells Ref to take the dogs to King Hrolf Kraki in Denmark – subject of our next saga.

23. “King Gautrek” 10. • “Ref the Fool” (now called “Gift-Ref”) presents Hrolf Kraki with the two pretty dogs. • Hrolf Kraki asks where Ref got the dogs, golden ring, whetstone, etc. (p. 165f.). • Hrolf Kraki insists he accept his hospitality, then sends him off with another ship, crew, cargo, as well as a golden helmet and a coat of mail. • Ref returns to Earl Neri with his two ships and wealth, stays with Neri and develops a reputation as a man of note.

24. “King Gautrek” 11. • (4) Neri sends Ref on one more errand to present the golden helmet and coat of mail to King Olaf of Norway, who is a notorious Viking (p. 167). • When Olaf accepts the gifts, Ref should ask to command Olaf’s forces for two weeks, then bring the forces to Earl Neri. • Ref meets King Olaf, has the usual conversation. • Evil advisor to King Olaf, Ref-Nose, takes golden objects and leaps overboard (to prevent something bad from happening?).

25. “King Gautrek” 11. • Ref fights with evil Ref-Nose and salvages the coat of mail, but Ref-Nose holds on to the helmet at the bottom of the sea, where he goes raving mad (167). Olaf accepts the remaining treasure. • Ref takes the expected gift from King Olaf (his ships and forces for a fortnight) and returns to Neri as planned. • (5) Earl Neri tells Ref to marry King Gautrek’s daughter – and no matter what Neri later says, Ref should not act surprised…

26. “King Gautrek” 11. • Earl Neri leaves to visit King Gautrek, telling him that his foster-son Ref has invaded Gautrek’s realm with an invincible army (p. 169). • Neri arranges a meeting between King Gautrek and Ref. Earl Neri manipulates the meeting to ensure that King Gautrek promises his daughter to Ref (169-170). • Afterward everyone sees how Neri and Ref had arranged the whole situation, but they keep their promises.

27. “King Gautrek” 11. • Fairy tale ending: Ref marries Helga, Gautrek’s daughter, and becomes an earl – he rules well but dies young. • Earl Neri also dies suddenly, and is given a funeral feast by King Gautrek. • King Gautrek lives to be old and infirm, well loved, but not a profound thinker. • “And so we end Gift-Ref’s Saga.” – The saga author seems to have forgotten that Gautrek was the title character of the saga!