The Tale of Norna-Gest: Difference between revisions

[[File:Nornagest (gunnar vidar forssell).jpg|thumb|350px|''Death of Norna-Gest'', by G. V. Forssell]]

 

 

A stranger called Gest appears at the court of King Olaf Tryggvason in Trondheim, [[Norway]] 998 AD. He is old yet surprisingly strong, and astounds the king's retainers by his skill in harp-playing and [[The Storyteller|story-telling]]. Questioned how he can know so much about times long ago, the stranger reveals that he knew [[The Saga of the Volsungs|Sigurd Fafnisbane]] personally, as well as [[Ragnar Lodbrok and His Sons|the sons of Ragnar Lodbrok]], [[Heimskringla|Harald Finehair of Norway]] and King Ludwig of Germany. This amazes the King and his retainers, [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old|as all these men are long dead, some of them for centuries]]. Finally Gest, who now reveals that he is also called Norna-Gest, tells his full story:

 

Can be read online [http://www.northvegr.org/sagas%20annd%20epics/legendary%20heroic%20and%20imaginative%20sagas/old%20heithinn%20tales%20from%20the%20north/076.html here.]

 

* [[The Ageless]]: An interesting case. Phenotypically, Gest seems to be simply an "undying" character -- he does not age beyond a certain point and cannot die of natural causes. [[Fridge Logic|The more complex problem]], could he be killed by fatal violence or accidents, as long as the candle exists? Apparently not, or else the [[Curse Escape Clause]] would be proven invalid. In other words, the norn's spell must also have caused an in-universe [[Contractual Immortality]].<ref>Of course, it's speculation whether the author ever thought of that.</ref>

* [[Curse Escape Clause]]: The curse of the angry norn is pretty easily neutralized by exploiting [[Exact Words]].

[[Category:The Tale of Norna Gest]]

[[Category:Literature]]