ABSTRACT
A useful starting point for a more detailed examination of origins is Landnamabok, which, owing to the text’s great size and volume of ‘data’, has the potential for connections with multiple sagas. Fostbrœora saga presents particular conundra which are typical of many sagas when it comes to its date and origins. Undoubtedly, a large contributor to this change in the balance of scholarship has been the growing influence of scholars who have worked comparatively or drawn inspiration from work on oral traditions elsewhere. The relative dates of Eyrbyggja saga and Laxdœla saga have continued to attract comment, but most scholars accept that Eyrbyggja saga is later because it mentions Laxdœla saga – or, perhaps, a version of Laxdœla saga. While the diversification of ‘saga studies’ has led to an expansion of research into other genres, arguably scholars have unfinished business with the texts often demeaned as ‘post-classical’.
