Table Of ContentTHE DISTRIBUTED AUTHOR AND THE POETICS OF COMPLEXITY:
A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE SAGAS OF ICELANDERS
AND SERBIAN EPIC POETRY
Slavica Rankovic
Thesis submitted to the University of Nottingham
for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
May 2006
To my dear grandfather, Stojan Svilar,
who wanted me to be a 'proper doctor'
but kept half-telling, half-reciting
The Wedding of Tsar Dusan at bedtime.
Svome dragom dedi, Stojanu Svilaru,
koji je zeleo da budem 'pravi doktor',
ali mi je pola pricao, pola recitovao
ienidbu cara Dusana pred spavanje.
Abstract
The thesis brings together fslendingasogur and srpske junacke pesm e , two
historically and culturally unrelated heroic literatures, literatures that had, nevertheless,
converged upon a similar kind of realism. This feature in which they diverge from the earlier
European epics - Beowulf, Nibelungenlied, La Chanson de Roland, is the focal point of this
study. Rather than examining it solely in tenns of verisimilitude and historicism with which
it is commonly associated, I am approaching it as an emergent feature (emergent realism) of
the non-linear, evolutionary dynamics of their production (i.e. their networked, negotiated
authorship), the dynamics I call the distributed author.
Although all traditional narratives develop in accordance with this dynamics, their
non-linearity is often compromised by Bakhtinian 'centripetal forces' (e.g. centralised state,
Church) with an effect of directedness akin to the authorial agency of an individual. The
peculiar weakness of such forces in the milieus in which the sagas/Serbian epics grew,
encouraged their distributed nature. As a result, they come across as indexes of their own
coming into being, preserving, meshing and contrasting the old and the new, the general and
the more idiosyncratic perspectives on past events and characters. In so doing they fail to
arouse in the recipient the feeling of being addressed and possibly manipulated by an all
encompassing organising authority. As a consequence, they also impress as believable.
While chapters one and two of this study deal with theoretical and aesthetic
implications of the two literatures' distributed authorship and their emergent realism,
chapters three and four illustrate the ways in which these are manifested in the rich texture of
the past and the complex make-up of the characters. The final chapter summarises major
points of the thesis and suggests the poetics of complexity as a tenn particularly suitable to
encapsulate the two literatures' common creative principles.
Acknowledgements
As much as each discovery owes a bit to serendipity and requires a concentrated effort of an
individual, for it to move beyond the fleeting 'aha' effect and private wallowing into
something worth sharing, a network of people has to be involved. My supervisors, Professor
Judith Jesch and Dr. David Norris, have offered guidance and support beyond the call of
duty. With the benefit of Judith's eye for detail and David's attention to the larger scheme of
things, any faults that remain with the thesis are my own. My thanks are also due to
Professor Andrew Wawn of the University of Leeds for indulging my initial enthusiasm for a
comparative study of the two literatures, and to Torfi H. Tulinius for an inspiration for the
title of the thesis. To my husband, Milos Rankovic, I am much grateful for introducing me to
the complexity theory and making me aware of the difference between the computational
and communicational investments in an artwork. Milos has often engaged me in the most
challenging discussions and offered plenty of emotional support at times when he might
have needed it himself. Finally, I thank my children, Katarina and Marko, for ceaselessly
motivating and inspiring me, as well as being a reassuring reminder of the fact that whatever
(whomever) one assumes to have authored is, after all, bound to acquire a life of its own.
Table of Contents:
Preface ........................................................................................................
iv
A note on choice (and translation) of the material examined.............................. viii
A note on spelling and other conventions ........................................................... ix
I Serbian Epic Poems and the Sagas of Icelanders: on Common
Patterns Emerging .................................................................................. .
1.1 Preliminary Questions, Initial Conditions ............................................. 3
1.1.1 Generic comparability ..................................................................... 3
a) Of labels, essences and family resemblances .............................. '" ..................... 3
b) But can the epic sustain laughter? ................................................................... 5
c) Networks of generic similarity .......................................................................9
d) The way they walk that walk ........................................................................ 10
1.1.2 Contextual compatibility .................................................................. 12
a) Parallels in political systems ......................................................................... 13
b) Parallels in systems of belief ......................................................................... 15
c) Parallels in economic structures ..................................................................... 19
d) Late and prolonged 'heroic ages': historical/ideological parallels ............................. 21
e) Indeterminate equations and convergent designs ................................................. 23
1.1.3 Comparability of the media .............................................................. 30
a) On oral/written dichotomy ........................................................................... 30
b) Orality of the written sagas of Icelanders .................................... '" ................... 34
c) Textuality of Serbian oral epic poetry .............................................................. 44
1.2 The Emergent Realism of the Sagas of Icelanders and Serbian Epic
Poetry ....................................................................................................... 64
1.2.1 An overview of the problem ............................................................. 64
a) In the mighty shadow of the nineteenth century ................................................... 64
b) 'The everyday' versus 'the fantastic'? ..................................... , ........................ 67
c) Fantastic everyday and the verisimilitude of the supernatural ................................... 68
1.2.2 Realism of complexity and emergence .............................................. 71
a) Representational limitations ..........................................................................7 1
b) Reading agency and intention in natural world: complexity vs. purpose ...................... 72
c) Reading agency and intention in fictional worlds: mediation as the potential for
oppression ................................................................................................... 74
d) Overridden intentions and scrambled mediation: emergent realism ............................ 77
II The Distributed Author of the Sagas of Icelanders' and
Serbian Epics' Emergent Realism ..........................................................
82
2.1 Who Is Speaking in Traditional Texts? .......................................... 82
a) Of story-lovers and their narrative allegiances ................................................... 82
b) Of stories that 'tell themselves' ..................................................................... 85
c) On how stories precede their tellers ................................................................ 90
d) Enter the distributed author ......................................................................... 97
e) How stories tell themselves (or the blind storyteller) ............................................ 100
2.2 The Art of Mechanism and the Mechanism ofA rt ............................ 108
a) Creative mechanisms: 'traditional referentiality' ................................................ 108
b) 'Tr ad "I tlonaI reJl:e rentl• aI l' ty '-- 'm tertextuaI I' ty ?. ..................................................... . 116
c) The' monologic' I 'centripetal' tendencies of author-generated texts .......................... 121
d) The' dialogic' I 'centrifugal' tendencies of distributed traditional texts ....................... 127
2.3 The Distributed Author's Emergent Realism .................................... 131
a) The evolutionary aesthetic of traditional narratives ............................................. 131
=
b) Traditional narratives masterpieces of emergent realism? .................................... 133
III The Emergent Past in the Sagas of Icelanders and Serbian
Epic Poetry ................................................................................................
140
3.1 Just How Golden Are the 'Golden Ages' of the islendingasogur
and srpske junacke pesme? ..................................................................... 140
a) Trouble in paradise ................................................................................... 140
b) Pathways to the past .................................................................................. 144
3.2 Realism ofA uthentication, Questioning and Uncertainty ................
149
3.2.1 Serbian Epic Poetry ....................................................................... 151
a) The parameters ......................................................................................... 151
b) Grave doubts and merry dismissals ................................................................. 152
c) Endorsement of the now .............................................................................. 155
d) Censure of the now .................................................................................... 157
3.2.2 Sagas of Icelanders ........................................................................ 160
a) Affinities with historiography ........................................................................ 160
b) Genealogies and ultimate truths ..................................................................... 164
a) Pat mceltu sumir ... Sva segir Ari/Sturia ............................................................ 166
..
II
d) Facts, figures, and 'evidence' ........................................................................ 171
3.3 Emergent Realism of 'Loose Ends and Contradictions' ................... 176
3.3.1 Golden ages and fishing camps: texture of the past in
!slendingasogur ........................................................................................ 176
a) Generous tyrants: join, fight, or flee? .............................................................. 176
b) Desolate outcrops or fields of dri pping butter? ................................................... 181
3.3.2 Royal robes and shepherds' cloaks: texture of the past
. k' Vk
In srps e Junac e pesme ............................................................................. 184
a) Virtuous sinners and wavering saints .............................................................. 184
b) Great national tragedies and great human comedies ............................................. 192
IV Domestication of Heroes and Heroisation of Domestics
in the Sagas of Icelanders and Serbian Epic Poetry ...........................
198
4.1 The Complex Dynamics of Characterisation ...................................... 198
a) Emerging from the epic horizon of expectations: the relationship with inherited
literary models ............................................................................................. 198
b) Different audi ence, different characters ........................................................... 201
4.2 Heroes or Protagonists? The Case of Marko Kraljevic and
Grettir the Strong ..................................................................................... 206
4.3 Supporting Roles: Growing in Stature ............................................... 232
a) Villains or adversaries? .............................................................................. 233
b) Damsels in distress, or ladies with attitude? ...................................................... 243
c) 'Common people': fifteen minutes of fame ....................................................... 258
V Towards the Poetics of Complexity of the Sagas of Icelanders and
Serbian Epic Poetry .................................................................................
266
Bibliography ...............................................................................................
278
111
Preface
Fresh after revelling in Beowulf's fierce combat with Grendel, his descent into the
mire and the bloodcurdling encounter with the fiend's mother, after pondering with
fellow students at Leeds his tragic last stand against the dragon, I was much
surprised when our very next medieval literature class turned out to be dedicated to
an Icelandic story in which two heroes appear more inclined to flee than fight one
another.
Unable to tolerate his old Viking father's sardonic jabs any longer, the
otherwise even-tempered I>orsteinn kills 1>6ror, the man who had earned him the
shameful nickname of Staff-struck. Bjarni of Hof, with whom the responsibility to
avenge his housecarl (1)6ror) rests is, however, not too easily moved into action. He
successfully resists the provocations of his two scoundrel servants, but it is his wife's
nagging that he cannot ignore and he finally sets off to meet I>orsteinn. What
complicates this situation further is the fact that the two men respect and fear each
other. Bjarni is too old to fight duels and I>orsteinn is unwilling to draw the wrath of
Bj ami' s many powerful relatives, all for the sake of an overbearing troublemaker
whom nobody liked anyway. The heroes find themselves caught between the rigidity
of the inherited heroic code that commands vengeance regardless of the absurdity of
the situation, and their loyalty and reverence for this same code. The result is the
most unlikely duel:
And when they had fought for a very long time, Bjarni said to
Thorstein, 'I'm thirsty now, for I am less used to hard work than
,
you are.
'Then go to the brook,' said Thorstein, 'and drink'. [ ... ]
'A lot is going wrong for me today,' said Bjami; 'Now my
shoelace has come untied.' [ ... ]
Then Bjarni chopped Thorstein's entire shield away from him, and
Thorstein chopped Bjarni 's away from him.
IV
'Now you're swinging,' said Bjarni.
Thorstein answered, 'You did not deal a lighter blow.'
Bjarni said, 'The same weapon you had earlier today is biting
harder for you now.'
Thorstein said, 'I would save myself from a mishap if 1 could and 1
fight in fear of you. 1 am still willing to submit entirely to your
judgement.
,I
[Ok pa er peir hofou mjok lengi barizk, pa m<elti Bjami till>orsteins: "1>yrstir
mik nu, pvi at ek em 6vanari erfioinu en pu." "Gakk pu pa til Ic ekjarins, " sagoi
I>orsteinn, "ok drekk." [ ... ] "Margt hendir mik nu f dag, "sagoi Bjami. "Lauss er
nu sk6pvengr minn." [ ... ] J>a h~ggr Bjami allan skjoldinn afl>orsteini, en pa hj6
I>orsteinn skjoldinn af Bjama. "St6Tt er nu hoggvit," kvao Bjami. I>orsteinn
svaraoi: "Ekki hj6ttu sm<era hogg." Bjami m<eiti: "Betr bitr per nu it sarna
vapnit, er pu hefir aor i dag haft." I>orsteinn m<eaiti: "Spara munda ek vio mik
6happ, ef ek m<etta sva gera, ok berjumk ek hr<eddr via pik. Vilda ek enn alit a
pinu vaJdi vera Jata. "]2
The scene ends in the agreement that, as a form of atonement, I>orsteinn should take
1>6ror's place in Bj arni 's household. And so the matter is settled with no further
blood spilt, and no honour stained.
What struck me about this duel (as hard, 1 am tempted to say, as 1>6ror's staff
did our hero) was that in its curious divergence from the familiar heroic ideal
(encountered in Beowulf and other great European epics - The Iliad, The Aeneid, La
Chanson de Roland, etc.) it remarkably resembles the duel of Marko Kraljevic and
Bogdan the Fierce, two heroes from another literature of the European margins, a
literature 1 knew simply by being born into it - that of the Serbs.
As they draw dangerously close on their journey to the lands of Bogdan the
Fierce, Marko warns his blood-brothers, Milos and Relja, not to ride through
Bogdan's vineyards and relates a story of his previous encounter with this valiant
warrior in which he barely escaped with his life. The two reproach him in the manner
of the heroic code, saying that it is better to die than run in fear. Marko has no choice
The Tale o/Thorstein Staff-Struck in: bm61fur Thorsson, ed. The Sagas 0/ Icelanders. Anthony
I
Maxwell, trans!. London: Penguin, 2000, pp. 681-682.
Porsteinn pattr stangarhoggs in: Austfiroinga sogur. J6n J6hannesson, ed. islenzk fornrit. 1950, Vol.
2
XI, pp. 75-76. Here, as in other places in this study, '0' stands for the' hooked 0'. See' A note on
spelling and other conventions', p. ix.
v
other than to succumb, but when the infuriated Bogdan arrives with his twelve
retainers, he offers his two blood-brothers a choice: either they could take on Bogdan
alone, or they could attack his twelve men. Forgetting their former boasting, the two
of them, rather unheroically, decide to fight Bogdan alone, but he proves to be a
tougher choice. He deals with them as easily (captures them) as Marko does with the
twelve retainers. Now, after the dynamic action in which both heroes show
themselves worthy and skilled warriors, Marko and Bogdan are finally left alone,
looking at each other:
Bogdan stood at the vineyard's edge,
When he took in Marko's black eyes,
The warlike glare in them,
Bogdan's legs froze underneath him.
Marko is looking at Bogdan the Fierce,
Bogdan is looking at Kraljevic Marko.
None dares make a move on the other;
A long while later, spoke Bogdan the Fierce:
'Come, Marko, let's make up:
Release my twelve retainers,
And rIllet Relja and Milos go.'
Marko could hardly wait to hear this [. .. ]
They sat and started drinking red wine .. .
[CT3.Ae Eor}];aH YKPaj BIDIOrp3.Aa,
K3.A carJIe}];a IqJHe O'IH MapKY,
If KaKaB je Ha O'IHMa MapKo,
IIo}]; EOmaHoM Hore o6aMpeme.
fJIe}];a MapKo Jh)'THlO' EomaHa,
EomaH rJIe}];a KpaJbeBHha MapKa,
A He cMHje je}];aH Ha .D:Pyrora;
,lJ,OI.(KaH peqe JhyTHJ..J;a EomaHe:
"Xo}1;ll, MapKO, }];a ce nOMHpHMo:
IIycTII MeHe }1;BaHaeCT BojBO}];a,
,lJ,a TIl nyCTHM PeJbY H MRJIOma."
To je MapKo je}1;Ba }];OqeKaO, r···]
IIaK cje}];ome TIHTH pyjHo BIDIO ... ]3
Untied shoelaces and blunt swords, staring contests and shaky legs, stalling for time,
hesitancy, and purely pragmatic concerns hardly go hand in hand with the heroic
.~ MapKo KpQ.Jbe8Uh u Jbymul{a bOloaH in: KapaJ,IHh, BYK Cre¢aHoBBIi, ed. CpncKe HaPOOHe njecMe.
Vol. II, EeorP3.A: IIpocBeTa, 1976, pp. 163-164.
VI
