Laxdæla saga
Laxdœlasaga is the saga of the clan of Laxdal. It is one of the most important Icelandic sagas and it was probably written in western Iceland in the early 13th century.
The protagonist is Gudrun Osvifsdotter, who is famous for her beauty, and who was courted by the two foster-brothers Kjartan Olafsson and Bolle Thorleiksson. Gudrun preferred Kjartan, but she gave herself to Bolle, because of a fake rumour that Kjartan was engaged to the daughter of Olaf Trygvasson. The two foster-brothers engaged in hostilities which ended with Bolle killing Kjartan, and Bolle being killed by Kjartan's kinsmen.
The saga has a high reputation for its literary qualities, consistent storyline and character description. However, its historic accuracy is criticised. There were probably real events behind the saga, but their order has been rearranged and there are anachronisms concerning clothes and armour.
A later addition from the early 14th century is Bollaþáttr, which ends the saga in the MSs.
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Source
This article contains content from the Owl Edition of Nordisk familjebok, a Swedish encyclopedia published between 1904 and 1926, now in the public domain.