Chaos and Love

The Icelandic Family Sagas – major medieval prose epics such as Egil's Saga, Laxdaela Saga, Njal's Saga, Hrafnkel's Saga – present detailed sophisticated images of a society in which man acts and suffers the consequences of his actions – or have them visited upon others. Feuds rage and disaster triumphs. Chaos and Love presents the reader with a number of such narratives, studies the notions of guilt and the causes embedded in them, and, as a result of the study, suggests that reckless erotic desire is often at the root of the evil. When love is practised within the boundaries set by family and tradition, peace prevails. When love is pursued as a means of individual satisfaction, regardless of the views of others, disaster prevails. The rules of society, notably the rules of feud, designed to balance competing forces, tend rather to aggravate the disasters, sometimes, as in Laxdaela and Njala, to the extent that only Christian divine grace can restore the peace. Dr. Thomas Bredsdorff is a professor of Scandinavian Literature at the University of Copenhagen. He is the author of numerous books and articles on Danish and Nordic literature. Forlagets emneord: Litteraturvidenskab - Middelalderstudier - Sagaer - Genealogi - Kærlighed - Samfundsorden - Island - Middelalder - Engelsk