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The Saga of Hjalmther and Olvir differs from the majority of legendary sagas in that it has no connection with Norse history, real or legendary. Its settings include the mysterious Mannheim, which may represent Sweden, but seems in fact to be nowhere on any maps, while mention is made of exotic locations such as Syria and Arabia, Greece and ‘Serkland’, but when they appear in the story there is nothing to characterise them as real world countries. In many ways the saga is closer to the so-called sagas of the knights, in which continental chivalric romances were either translated or used for inspiration for fantastic adventures of heroes in the Arthurian or Carolingian mould.
Something else that is unusual is the way in which the two eponymous characters, conventional ‘buddy’ heroes reminiscent of the protagonists of The Saga of Egil Onehand and Asmund Berserkerbane, or The Saga of Bosi and Herraud, are side-lined by the thrall Hord—although the story contains a twist that explains this apparent anomaly.
At the heart of the narrative is a Potiphar’s wife motif, with Luda, a young stepmother, offering herself to her stepson, Hjalmther, and gaining her revenge when he rebuffs her by casting a spell that initiates a complex series of adventures in the weirder parts of the world as Hjalmther seeks the princess Hervor. With the aid of Olvir and the ‘cunning slave’ Hord, he survives many weird encounters with trolls and giants, wizard kings, monstrous oxen and blue men, until eventually a mystery is solved that has the thrall Hord and certain of the apparent monsters at its heart. Due to the nature of these transformations, the saga has been compared with the Northumbrian ballad The Laidley Worm.
A different version of the story is available in the Hjalmthers rima, a ballad relating the adventures of the same character.
ASIN : B0BC9W3WVY
Publisher : Thor’s Stone Press (August 28, 2022)
Publication date : August 28, 2022
Language : English
File size : 259 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 99 pages
