reat deeds of as many of
his ancestors as he would be proud to own--this seems to be what a saga
was--_Laxdaela_, _Grettla_, _Njala_.

This form permits many sterling literary qualities. Movement is the
most marked characteristic. This was essential to a spoken story, and
the sharpest impression left in the mind of an English reader is that of
relentless activity. Thus he finds it necessary to keep the bearings of
the story by consulting the list of _dramatis personae_ and the map, both
indispensable accompaniments of a saga-translation. The chapter headings
make this list, and a glance at them for _Laxdaela_ reveals a procession
of notable personages--Ketill, Unn, Hoskuld, Olaf the Peacock, Kiartan,
Gudrun, Bolli, Thorgills, Thorkell, Thorleik, Bolli Bollison and Snorri.
Each of these is, in turn, the center of action, and only Gudrun keeps
prominent for any length of time.

Character-portraiture, ever a remarkable achievement in literature, is
excellently done in the sagas. There was a necessity for this; so many
personages crowded the stage that, if they were not to be mere puppets,
they would have to be carefully discriminated. That they were so a
perusal of any saga will prove.

In a novel love is almost indispensable; in a saga other forces are the
impelling motives. Love-making gets the novelist's tenderest interest
and solicitude, but it receives little attention from the sagaman.
Wooing under the Arctic Circle was a methodical bargaining, and there
was little room for sentiment. When Thorvald asked for Osvif's daughter
Gudrun, the father "said that against the match it would tell that he
and Gudrun were not of equal standing. Thorvald spoke gently and said he
was wooing a wife, not money. After that Gudrun was betrothed to
Thorvald.... He should also bring her jewels, so that no woman of equal
wealth should have better to show.... Gudrun was not asked about it and
took it much to heart, yet things went on quietly." (Chap. XXXIV of
_Laxdaela_.) In Iceland, as elsewhere, love was a source of discord, and
for that reason love is always present in the saga. It is not the tender
passion there, silvered with moonlight and attended by song. The saga is
a man's tale.

The translation just referred to is in _The Temple Classics_, published
by J.M. Dent & Co., London, 1899, and edited by Israel Gollancz. The
editor promises (p. 273) other sagas in this form, if Mrs. Press's work
prove successful. He speaks of _Njala_