Dissent versus conformism in Þórðar Saga Kakala (13th-century Iceland)

Abstract

The aim of this article is to highlight some developments in the writing of contemporary sagas in respect to their role in strengthening and perpetuating a discourse of power aimed at establishing the 13th-century incipient Icelandic aristocracy. The source we shall focus on, Þórður Kakali Sighvatsson’s saga (Þórðar saga kakala, translated as Saga of Þórðar the Stammerer/Cackler/Chatterer), was written during the second half of the 13th century by an unknown author and includes details on the life of the protagonist from the period 1242 to 1250. It is one of the fourteen sagas in the Sturlunga collection, probably assembled around the year 1300 by Þórðr Narfason.