A Choice of Two: Structure and Literary Form in “Auðunar þáttr vestfirska”

“Auðunar þáttr vestfirska” or the story of “Audun and the Bear” is about two kings, one Icelander, and one bear, and concerns a wide range of topics and issues. The core of the story, however, concerns the comparison of two great men (a medieval and Icelandic topos) and how an apparently naïve and certainly stubborn young Icelander succeeds in making them reveal themselves as moral actors. On first reading, it might appear that King Svein of Denmark is the clear winner of this implicit contest, but the comparison is a subtle one and the kings more equal than such a reading might initially suggest.