Þorsteins saga Síðu-Hallssonar () is one of the

sagas of Icelanders The sagas of Icelanders (, ), also known as family sagas, are a subgenre, or text group, of Icelandic Saga, sagas. They are prose narratives primarily based on historical events that mostly took place in Iceland in the ninth, tenth, and earl ...

from the 13th century. The saga is only partially preserved and features a number of dreams and interpretations. Torstein Side-Hallsson (''Þorstein Síðu-Hallssonar'') has a series adventures in the Orkney Islands, Ireland, Norway and Iceland during the early 1000s. The story also tells of Torstein participating in the

Battle of Clontarf The Battle of Clontarf () took place on 23 April 1014 at Clontarf, near Dublin, on the east coast of Ireland. It pitted an army led by Brian Boru, High King of Ireland, against a Norse- Irish alliance comprising the forces of Sigtrygg Silkbea ...

in 1014.

Plot

As the saga is only partially preserved in surviving manuscripts, the first part has been lost. The text resumes with the protagonist Þorsteinn Síðu-Hallsson going abroad, entrusting his goðorð (chieftaincy) to his friend Þórhaddr. Þorsteinn enters the service of Jarl Sigurðr of Orkney and fights at the

. Meanwhile in Iceland, Þórhaddr mistreats his son-in-law Haukr. When Þorsteinn returns to Iceland, Haukr appeals to him for help, and Þorsteinn demands his goðorð back. Þórhaddr refuses, so Þorsteinn forcibly ejects him from the district. Þórhaddr retaliates by slandering Þorsteinn, but then has a series of disturbing dreams in which it is implied that he and his sons will be killed by Þorsteinn, but that Þorsteinn will later be killed by a mere

thrall A thrall was a slave or Serfdom, serf in Scandinavia, Scandinavian lands during the Viking Age. The status of slave (, ) contrasts with that of the Franklin (class), freeman (, ) and the nobleman (, ). Etymology Thrall is from the Old Norse ...

. Soon afterwards, Þorsteinn personally kills Þórhaddr’s three sons, and although the ending of the saga has also been lost, we can assume that he subsequently kills Þórhaddr himself in a second encounter. Þorsteinn's fate is related in a separate ''

þáttr The ''þættir'' (Old Norse singular ''þáttr'', literally meaning a "strand" of rope or yarn)O'Donoghue (2004:226). are short stories written mostly in Iceland during the 13th and 14th centuries. The majority of ''þættir'' occur in two compen ...

'' (a short-story version of a saga) called ''

Draumr Þorsteins Síðu-Hallssonar ''Draumr Þorsteins Síðu-Hallssonar'' (''The Dream of Þorsteinn Son of Síðu-Hallr'') is a very short ''þáttr'' which tells how Torstein Side-Hallsson (''Þorsteins Síðu-Hallssonar'') was visited in dreams by three women who warned him that ...

'' ('The Dream of Þorsteinn Síðu-Hallsson').

References

External links

Proverbs in ''Þorsteins saga Síðu-Hallssonar''Full text at the Icelandic Saga Database
Sagas of Icelanders {{Iceland-saga-stub

Plot

See also

References

External links