Eyrbyggja

Eyrbyggja saga, also known as Eyrebyggja saga, is a medieval Icelandic saga belonging to the corpus of the Sagas of Icelanders (Íslendingasögur). It is set in the Westfjords, centered on the Eyri estate in Arnarfjörður, and follows the fortunes of the early settlers and later ruling families who shaped the region’s political and social landscape.

The narrative covers several generations, tracing landholding, leadership, and the rivalries that arose among neighboring farms and chieftains. It emphasizes the role of customary law, local assemblies, and the authority of chieftains (goðar) in maintaining order, resolving disputes, and negotiating alliances. The saga thus offers a detailed portrayal of rural Icelandic life, social obligations, hospitality, kinship ties, and the gradual Christianization of Icelandic society.

Eyrbyggja saga is also notable for its blend of historical memory and legendary elements. While grounded in recognizable concerns of the Icelandic aristocracy and farm society—land rights, succession, feuds, and governance—it incorporates folklore and episodes that reflect medieval beliefs about the supernatural and the moral order of the world.

Scholarly consensus places its composition in the medieval period, with surviving manuscript material dating from the later Middle Ages. The work is valued for its insights into rural governance, legal practices, and social norms of early Iceland, as well as for its narrative techniques and portrayal of regional identity in western Iceland.