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''Gunnlaugs saga ormstungu'' () or the ''Saga of Gunnlaugr Serpent-Tongue'' is one of the Icelanders' sagas. Composed at the end of the 13th century, it is preserved complete in a slightly younger manuscript. It contains 25 verses of skaldic poetry attributed to the main characters.〔"The Saga of Gunnlaug Serpent-tongue", Penguin Classics, (Penguin, 2015), inside the front cover〕 It is an important work in both Norwegian and Icelandic literary history. ''Gunnlaugr'' is sometimes Anglicized as ''Gunnlaug''. The cognomen can also be translated as ''Worm-Tongue'' or ''Snake-Tongue''. The saga has similarities to earlier sagas of poets, such as ''Kormáks saga'' and ''Bjarnar saga'', but it is more refined and elegant with strong characterization and emotional impact. Long considered a masterpiece, the saga is often read by beginning students of Old Norse literature.〔Poole, Russell (2001) ''Skaldsagas: Text, Vocation, and Desire in the Icelandic Sagas of Poets''. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 3-11-016970-3〕 Printed with a Latin translation and commentary in 1775, it was the first of the Icelanders' sagas to be published in a scholarly edition.〔Hansen, Anne Mette et al. (2005) ''The Book As Artefact : Text And Border''. Rodopi. ISBN 90-420-1888-7〕 == Story == The saga, said to have taken place around the introduction of Christianity in Iceland, tells the story of two Icelandic poets, Gunnlaugr Ormstunga and Hrafn Önundarson. Their love of Helga the Fair, granddaughter of Egill Skallagrímsson, which results in a competition leading to a deadly duel of honor.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title= With a particular focus on Njáls saga, Bandamanna saga and Gunnlaugs saga ormstungu, consider what is presented as most effective in Icelandic saga literature, the legal system or feuding violence? )〕 The story opens with a prophetic dream of two eagles who fight over a swan before killing each other. A hawk then arrives to comfort the swan, foreshadowing the rest of the saga and the love triangle element of the story. The saga then transitions to Gunnlaug and his upbringing. After Gunnlaugr has an altercation with his father, Illugi the Black, Gunnlaugr rides away to Borg where he meets a farmer, Thorstein, Son of Egil Skallagrimsoon. Thostein graciously invites Gunnlaugr to stay with him where he spends a year studying law. During this year, Gunnlaugr and Helga, Thorstein’s daughter, begin a friendship which cumulates in them taking a liking for one another. Gunnlaugr then decides to travel abroad, but before asks Thorstein for Helga’s hand in marriage—a customary practice in that day. Thorstein quickly rejects Gunnlaugr's proposal because of his decision to travel abroad, but after him and Illugi discuss the matter further, they agree that if Gunnlaugr returns in 3 years, he can have Helga as his wife. Despite his feelings for Helga, Gunnlaugr travels to the courts of Northern kings to recite his poetry. He first visits Norway and earl Eric Haakonsson, where his initial poem is received indifferently. Gunnlaugr eventually is banished from the country after Gunnlaugr replies to the Earl’s followers with disrespect further cementing his nickname as "Serpent-Tongue”.〔 Gunnlaugr quickly leaves Norway and heads to England, where King Æthelred rewards Gunnlaugr handsomely for his poem with cloak of scarlet and requests that he return next autumn. After this, Gunnlaugr travels to Ireland and the court of Cedric-Sitric Silky-Beard. The king has no idea what the proper reward for a poem is and initially offers a lavish prize before he is counseled to give a more reasonable gift of scarlet clothes, an embroidered tunic, a cloak lined with exquisite furs, and a gold bracelet.〔 Next to be visited is the Orkneys, where Gunnlaugr receives an axe from Earl Sigurd Hlodvirsson. After this comes Sweden, where Gunnlaugr recites a poem in praise of the Norwegian earl Erik, who finally appreciates Gunnlaugr's verses. To cement his relationship with Ethelread, Gunnlaugr returns to England. He is delayed for the winter before heading to Sweden to visit King Óláfr Skötkonung. Here, Gunnlaugr meets Hrafn Önundarson—the antagonist of the saga. The two have a falling out after both reciting poems for the king and told to discuss the others poems where they both make back handed comments.〔 Hrafn then returns to Iceland where he discusses with Skafti the Lawspeaker about the possibility of asking Thorstein for Helga’s hand in marriage. Skafti references the agrrement between Gunnlaugr and Throstien previously made, but Hrafn ignores the objection and states Gunnlaug’s so proud these days that he "won’t take any notice of this or care about it at all”.〔 After Hrafn and Skafti discuss the issue with Illugi and Thorstein, they agree that if Gunnlaugr breaks the vow of returning after three years to claim his wife, Hrafn then has permission to marry Helga. The story then transitions back to Gunnlaugr and his adventures abroad, where he fulfills his oath to King Ethelred and returns to England. Upon the king’s insistence, Gunnlaugr stays an extra summer in England, which ultimately causes his original agreement with Thorstein to be void.〔 Gunnlaugr returns to Iceland too late to stop the marriage and, consequently, Gunnlaugr and Hrafn become embroiled in a bitter rivalry. It is apparent throughout the wedding that Helga still possesses feelings for Gunnlaugr. After the ceremony, Gunnlaugr approaches Helga and they talk for a while. Their talk concludes with Gunnlaugr giving the cloak King Ethelred gave to him to his beloved Helga. With Gunnlaugr returning to Iceland, Helga loses all interest in Hrafn causing him increasing disdain for the tragic hero. They first compete with Hrafn in verse and later in battle. After their first altercation ends anticlimactically, Hrafn and Gunnlaugr agree to travel to Norway to end their dispute once and for all. It should be noted that dueling became outlawed after their first physical altercation.〔 Their feud in Norway describes Gunnlaugr cutting off Hrafn's leg. Hrafn, in one final act of spite, tricks Gunnlaugr into lowering his guard and mortally wounds Gunnlaugr before he is ultimately defeated. Gunnlaugr dies a short time later and Helga is married off to another poet named Thorkel, fulfilling the prophecy. Helga dies a short time late in life after peering upon the cloak that Gunnlaugr gave to her. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Gunnlaugs saga ormstungu」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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