Heimskringla and Egil's Saga both assert that Gunnhild was Ozur's daughter.[2] Accounts of her early life vary between sources. Egil's Saga relates that "Eirik fought a great battle on the
Northern Dvina in
Bjarmaland, and was victorious as the poems about him record. On the same expedition he obtained Gunnhild, the daughter of Ozur Toti, and brought her home with him."[3]
^According to the 12th century
Historia Norvegiae, Gunnhild was the daughter of
Gorm the Old, king of
Denmark, and Erik and Gunnhild met at a feast given by Gorm. Modern scholars have largely accepted this version as accurate. E.g., Bradbury 38; Orfield 129; Ashley 444; Alen 88; Driscoll 88, note 15. In their view, her marriage with Erik was a dynastic union between two houses, that of the Norwegian
Ynglings and that of the early
Danish monarchy (who may have claimed descent from
Ragnar Lodbrok), in the process of unifying and consolidating their respective countries. Jones 94–95. The purported descent of Gorm from King Ragnar through his son
Sigurd Snake-eye comes from, inter alia, Ragnarssona þáttr §§ 3-4; but many modern scholars regard the tales of Ragnar and his family as confused and unreliable. See, e.g., Jones 204-211; Forte 69.
Gwyn Jones in particular supported the identification of Gunnhild as the daughter of Gorm, and regarded the stories of her origins in Halogaland and her tutelage by Finnish wizards as part of a general Icelandic hostility towards Gunnhild and Erik. Jones 121–22. Gwyn Jones regarded many of the traditions that grew up around Gunnhild in the Icelandic sources as fictional. Ibid. However, both
Theodoricus monachus and the
Ágrip af Nóregskonungasögum report that when Gunnhild was at the court of
Harald Bluetooth after Erik's death, the Danish king offered marriage to her; these accounts call into question the identification of Gunnhild as Harald's sister. Theodoricus ___; Driscoll ___.
Fox, Denton. "Njals Saga and the Western Literary Tradition." Comparative Literature, Vol. 15, No. 4 (Autumn, 1963), p. 289–310.
Jones, Gwyn. A History of the Vikings. 2nd ed. London: Oxford Univ. Press, 1984.
Magnusson, Magnus, and Hermann Palsson, trans. Njal's Saga. Penguin Classics, 1960.
Ordower, Henry. "Exploring the Literary Function of Law and Litigation in 'Njal's Saga.'" Cardozo Studies in Law and Literature, Vol. 3, No. 1 (Spring – Summer 1991), pp. 41–61.
Orfield, Lester B. The Growth of Scandinavian Law. The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd., 2002.
Heimskringla and Egil's Saga both assert that Gunnhild was Ozur's daughter.[2] Accounts of her early life vary between sources. Egil's Saga relates that "Eirik fought a great battle on the
Northern Dvina in
Bjarmaland, and was victorious as the poems about him record. On the same expedition he obtained Gunnhild, the daughter of Ozur Toti, and brought her home with him."[3]
^According to the 12th century
Historia Norvegiae, Gunnhild was the daughter of
Gorm the Old, king of
Denmark, and Erik and Gunnhild met at a feast given by Gorm. Modern scholars have largely accepted this version as accurate. E.g., Bradbury 38; Orfield 129; Ashley 444; Alen 88; Driscoll 88, note 15. In their view, her marriage with Erik was a dynastic union between two houses, that of the Norwegian
Ynglings and that of the early
Danish monarchy (who may have claimed descent from
Ragnar Lodbrok), in the process of unifying and consolidating their respective countries. Jones 94–95. The purported descent of Gorm from King Ragnar through his son
Sigurd Snake-eye comes from, inter alia, Ragnarssona þáttr §§ 3-4; but many modern scholars regard the tales of Ragnar and his family as confused and unreliable. See, e.g., Jones 204-211; Forte 69.
Gwyn Jones in particular supported the identification of Gunnhild as the daughter of Gorm, and regarded the stories of her origins in Halogaland and her tutelage by Finnish wizards as part of a general Icelandic hostility towards Gunnhild and Erik. Jones 121–22. Gwyn Jones regarded many of the traditions that grew up around Gunnhild in the Icelandic sources as fictional. Ibid. However, both
Theodoricus monachus and the
Ágrip af Nóregskonungasögum report that when Gunnhild was at the court of
Harald Bluetooth after Erik's death, the Danish king offered marriage to her; these accounts call into question the identification of Gunnhild as Harald's sister. Theodoricus ___; Driscoll ___.
Fox, Denton. "Njals Saga and the Western Literary Tradition." Comparative Literature, Vol. 15, No. 4 (Autumn, 1963), p. 289–310.
Jones, Gwyn. A History of the Vikings. 2nd ed. London: Oxford Univ. Press, 1984.
Magnusson, Magnus, and Hermann Palsson, trans. Njal's Saga. Penguin Classics, 1960.
Ordower, Henry. "Exploring the Literary Function of Law and Litigation in 'Njal's Saga.'" Cardozo Studies in Law and Literature, Vol. 3, No. 1 (Spring – Summer 1991), pp. 41–61.
Orfield, Lester B. The Growth of Scandinavian Law. The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd., 2002.