Exploring the Literary Function of Law and Litigation in Njal's Saga
This paper argues that whether Njal's Saga (a medieval Icelandic family saga) accurately describes litigation or correctly identifies legal rules in medieval Iceland, those descriptions primarily serve a literary function. The author uses law and litigation to accelerate or retard the plot in o...
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Format: | Text |
Language: | unknown |
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Scholarship Commons
1991
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Online Access: | https://scholarship.law.slu.edu/faculty/474 https://scholarship.law.slu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1464&context=faculty |
Summary: | This paper argues that whether Njal's Saga (a medieval Icelandic family saga) accurately describes litigation or correctly identifies legal rules in medieval Iceland, those descriptions primarily serve a literary function. The author uses law and litigation to accelerate or retard the plot in order to enhance dramatic tension. |
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