The Gisla Saga: an Icelandic Tale of Love, Family, and Revenge

Considered an outlaw saga, the Gisla Saga survives in thirty-three manuscripts, first written in the 13th century.  It is notable for its psychological treatment of characters and its blatant contradiction of Icelandic family values.  Gisli Sursson is considered a man struggling with a number of emotions – love for his siblings, anger over their untimely deaths, and betrayal due to tragic fratricide among the blood brothers. One of the most renowned sagas, it is certainly testament to the Icelandic values in the 9th to 11th centuries, both in the male and female spheres

Gisla-Saga

– See more at: http://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends-europe/gisla-saga-icelandic-tale-love-family-and-revenge-002767#sthash.M8dsWlao.dpuf

Ixel Balamke

Ixel Balamke was one of the two founding members of Sekhet-Bast-Ra in Oklahoma City. Currently living in the Twin Cities, she is currently the LBM of Leaping Laughter Lodge. She also is a Meanad and lover of fine wines. Her life long partner Hunahpu and she are well known for their Wine Tastings at NOTOCON. Together they have a small wine cellar that currently holds over 300 bottles.

2 Comments

  1. My name is Tom Paprocki. My brother and I are writing a book titled the Untold Story of Western Civilization. Volume I, entitled “The Age of Mothers: The Matriarchy,” has been published with Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Volume III includes a section on the role of women in Germanic culture, including their role as warriors. We saw the drawing you had of Auður fighting along side her husband Gisla on your website “Zero=Two” for the article “THE GISLA SAGA: AN ICELANDIC TALE OF LOVE, FAMILY, AND REVENGE”
    at http://zeroequalstwo.net/the-gisla-saga-an-icelandic-tale-of-love-family-and-revenge/ and would love to include that drawing in our book. We would be glad to credit your organization and the website in our book for the use of the drawing. Please let us know if that is a possibility. I can be reached at tompaprocki11@gmail.com. Thank you for your consideration.

    Tom Paprocki

    • Dear Tom
      The poster found that image via an online image search. We do not administer the rights to that image. You’d need to track down the rights holder.
      Good luck!

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