Women’s Voice in Bárðar saga Snæfellsáss and Víglundar saga

In Medieval Icelandic sagas, poetry is usually recited by men, who are also almost always the main characters in these works. However, some sagas pay more attention to women and their voices, occasionally preserving poetry recited by women themselves or attributed to female skalds (skáld). This is the case with two “late” Sagas of Icelanders (Íslendingasögur) from the 14th century: Bárðar saga Snæfellsáss and Víglundar saga. This thesis investigates the instances of women’s poetry conveyed in these two sagas. Specifically, it focuses on how the sagas depict women’s voices, their attitudes, and their dignity within the texts themselves and in the context of Icelandic society, particularly the society at the time when the texts were written. Thus, the socio-cultural context of the creation and use of these texts will also be considered to shed light on the origins of these representations, their meaning, and possible interpretations.