article

Economic representation and narrative structure in Hœnsa-þóris saga

Saga book of the Viking Society for Northern Research22Published In 1988 • Pages: 143-164

By: Durrenberger, E. Paul, Durrenberger, Dorothy, Ástráõur Eysteinsson.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
After a brief summary of the economy and social structure of the Commonwealth Period in Iceland (ca. 930-1220 A.D.), the authors present a descriptive analysis of the Icelandic family saga entitled Hœnsa-þórir's as it reflects various cultural elements present in the society of the thirteenth century and earlier in Iceland. This particular saga '…describes a man who got rich by trading in Iceland, buying goods in one place to sell in another, and lending others wealth for interest, who accumulates merchant and usurer's capital. The presentation of the saga, the way the author tells the story to Hœnsa-þó rir's discredit, as well as the fates of Hœnsa-þórir and his supporters, raise questions about the place of commerce and markets in Iceland' (p. 144).
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Exchange transactions
External trade
Verbal arts
Accumulation of wealth
Social relationships and groups
Districts
Deliberative councils
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Early Icelanders
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2004
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Europe
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Scandinavia
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
article
Evaluation
Creator TypesThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Ethnologist
Humanist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
4: Excellent Secondary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
John Beierle ; 2002
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
no date
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
tenth-thirteenth centuries AD
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
general Iceland
NotesAdditional notes
E. Paul Durrenberger, Dorothy Durrenberger, Ástráõur Eysteinsson
Includes bibliographical references (p. 163-164)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
20013236
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Icelanders