RG 1

English W170
Representations of Vikings

Reading Guide Thorsteinn Staff-Struck

5 points
Due 8/27
1) Describe the character of Thord. What details does the narrator
supply about him? What do you think it means that, he made
people feel that he worked for a powerful man, though he himself
became no more valuable or popular for that? (677)
Thord appears to be a self-centered, controlling man who wants to
give himself the best possible image no matter the significance of
the detail. The narrator informs us of how overbearing and selfconcerned he is in the middle of the paragraph, which I think is what
the statement following it is trying to reinforce by explaining how he
tries to unnecessarily inform people that he worked for a powerful
man.
2) Describe the incident at the horse fight. Given what went down, why
might Thorsteinn have, asked people not to tell his father about
it? (677)
The author describes Thorstein as a very even-tempered man, so he
may have wanted to avoid conflict altogether just because that is
was his personal preference. He also may not want his father to be
involved due to his old age or possibly even due to the fact that he
may be embarrassed by what happened in the fight, and as a result,
be shunned by his father.
3) When people wrong one another today, how can they go about
making it right? What sort of compensation might normally be
sought in the US at present? What sort of compensation did
Thorsteinn expect from Thord? And what kind did he get?

People today can go about making their wrongs right by possibly

compensating with an apology, money, or numerous other gifts and
gestures. It would be normal to in the US to apologize with a favor
or gift such as money. The compensation Thorstein expected from

Thord seemed to be for Thord to tell everyone who heard about the
incident that it was an accident and not in any way intentional.
Instead, he just received some taunting from Thord and no further
compensation than that.
4) Who is Rannveig? What sort of woman does the tale portray her as?
Based on how much screen time she gets in the narrative, would
you call her a major character or a minor one? Why?
Rannveig appears to possibly be Bjaris spouse due to the fact that
the author mentioned that they sleep together. The tale portrays
her as a woman who is very influential and somewhat demanding.
She is also portrayed as someone who wants the best for those she
cares about, which is why she suggests that Bjari should kill
Thorstein. I would consider her a major character because despite
her lack of screen time because throughout the story her
influence on the characters has a major impact on the story.
5) How would you describe the relationship between Thorarin and
Thorsteinn? Does it change over the course of the tale?
It appears that Thorarin is fairly hard on his son, labeling him as a
coward multiple times throughout the story and expecting him to be
an overall more courageous, honorable man. However, towards the
end when he tries to avenge his sons death, he shows that he is in
a state of mourning from his sons passing and that he may have
somewhat deeply cared for him despite his previous actions.
6) What deal is made between Bjarni and Thorarin at the tales end?
What do you make of this?
Bjarni offers to welcome Thorarin back to Hod where he will hold a
seat of honour with him. Thorarin says hell agree to it and for Bjarni
to help him up, but secretly intends to kill Bjarni as soon as he leans
toward him. I interpreted this as an act of vengeance Thorarin was
trying to achieve by trying to punish Bjarni for murdering is son.