The Longer Sagas 129 



So far for the lesser Sagas — those which most nearly 

 represent the original form of this work of art. But, as 

 has been said, a time arrived when the narrators came 

 to work out of the materials of the shorter tales lono- 

 narratives which are almost epics. These often follow 

 the history of many different families through several 

 generations. As a matter of fact, they hover between 

 the character of a chronicle and the character of an 

 epic. These greater Sagas are the following — 



Njala Saga, the story of Burnt ISTjal, the finest of 

 them all. 



Eyrlyggia Saga, the Saga of the inhabitants of Ere, 

 between Broadfirth and Huna-floi, and their neighbours 

 in the north-west of Iceland. 



Laxdcela Saga, the Saga of the men of Laxdal, 

 Salmon-dale, in the west of the country. 



Egils Saga, a Saga whose story goes as far back as to 

 the days of Harald Tairhair, king of Norway, but con- 

 tinues its history for about a hundred years. It is the 

 history of the feud between the family of Egil and the 

 descendants of Harald, 



Grettis Saga, the story of Grettir the Strong. This is 

 another outlaw's history. 



Of these, the Eyrhyggia Saga approaches, perhaps, most 

 nearly the chronicle form, while Laxdcda Saga is more 

 like the old heroic epic, and is, in fact, practically a prose 

 poem. It seems to have been affected by the legendary 

 Volsung history. It professes to relate the story of some 

 among the successors of that And the Wise of whom we 

 have spoken. The Njala, or Njdls Saga, may be said to 

 hold the mean between these two, and tu present us with 

 the Icelandic Saga in its very finest development. 



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