striking disparity between the two genres’ ‘social reality’ interesting. Can this disparity
be the key to a society going under and a new one evolving?^2
During the thirteenth century the Church grew strong as an independent institution
and accordingly followed the demands of the Church in Rome, among them the
demands of celibacy and monogamous sacred marriage. In the contemporary sagas
concubinage is common while the Icelandic sagas show a society where monogamous
marriage is the rule. In fact the scholar Einar Ólafur Sveinsson ( 1940 : 142 ) has described
the Icelandic sagas as the most monogamous literature in the world. What’s more,
women in the Icelandic sagas are far more visible than their sisters in the contemporary
sagas, and hold a stronger position. This contrast, on the one hand between the depic-
tion of intimate relationships in the two genres, and on the other hand their different
images of women, provides one possibility in approaching the use and importance of
sexual politics in the Viking Age. Inevitably this means that the point of departure is
the thirteenth century, that is, the period of saga-writing, and thus the focus of this
chapter will be on the contemporary sagas.
MEN’S POWER – WOMEN’S SEXUALITY?It is well known that alliances through marriage were meant to create a bond between
two families. The obvious goal was to establish a strong horizontal connection between
the two groups (Auður Magnúsdóttir 2003 : 66 ). This type of relationship is typical
for marriage alliances, in which the families as a rule were of the same or similar social
and economic standing. But there were other means of creating effective alliances.
Friendship was one, fostering another. However, concubinage can be seen as the most
effective way of establishing strong, lasting and loyal alliances. In contrast to the
alliances made through marriage, these relationships were concentrated on one person
(in most cases of high social standing) and were vertical and hierarchical. In order to
show the difference between the two types of alliances it is fruitful to compare Snorri
Sturluson’s alliances through marriage with Sturla Sighvatsson’s relations through
concubinage and marriage. Snorri Sturluson and Sturla Sighvatsson were close
relatives. Sighvatur, Sturla’s father, and Snorri were brothers. Both Snorri, and in due
time Sturla, were active in the power struggle in thirteenth-century Iceland and
became competitors as Sturla gained age and strong alliances. From 1235 Sturla may be
seen as the most powerful chieftain in Iceland, but he was killed in the battle at
Örlygsstaðir in 1238.
Before we go any further it is important to emphasise that in Iceland – as in the rest
of Scandinavia – the kinship structure was egocentric and bilateral. Each individual had
his/her own kindred; in practice this meant that only siblings had the same kindred.
This, however, was true only until they married. Marriage created new kinship ties. An
individual became a member of a new family and thus acquired new relatives. As a result
loyalties changed. The need for effective alliances was great and marriage could
strengthen the bonds between families. Within the same family, however, there were
several constellations created by marriage or concubinage, and conflicts of loyalty could
arise.
–– Auður G. Magnúsdóttir––