Sparked off by a seemingly trivial affront " a versified insult, a brawl over the rights to a beached whale, unsanctioned wooing of a woman, or one party allowing livestock to graze a neighbour's land, " conflict generates highly complex structures where at every point there are many options for resolution. ... Njáls saga is in two great linked acts each showing the inexorable progress of a feud involving people of good will as well as trouble-makers, while the shorter Gunnlaugs saga focuses on the mortal rivalry between Gunnlaugr and his fellow poet Hrafn, who cheats h...

• Word Count: 3249
• Approx Pages: 13
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate