Auðunar þáttr vestfirzka

"Auðunar þáttr vestfirska" ('the story of Auðun the of the Westfjords') is a short tale (or þáttr) preserved in three distinct versions as part of the saga of Harald III of Norway (reigned 1047-66, a.k.a. Haraldr inn harðráði Sigurðsson), as the saga is told in the manuscripts Morkinskinna, Flateyjarbók, and several others. Widely translated and anthologised, it is admired for its beautifully simple account of a poor Icelander from the Westfjords, the harshest region of the country, who decides to take a polar bear as a present to Sweyn II of Denmark (reigned 1047-74/76, a.k.a. Sveinn Úlfsson). Auðun sticks to his task despite having to pass through the court of Haraldr, who is continually as odds with Sweyn, and proceeds on a pilgrimage to Rome. Auðun's mixture of determination, audacity and humility leads him to gain the respect of both kings, and through him their respect for one another increases also.

Although ostensibly historical, the work is more plausibly to be seen as 'a historified folktale'. [Marlene Ciklamini, ' "'Exempla" in an Old Norse Historiographic Mold', "Neophilologus", 81.1 (1997), 71-87, doi: 10.1023/A:1004216615263, at p. 72.]

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