Unlike modern society—in which law and order are served by the well-defined agents of police and courts—medieval Iceland was a land of blood feuds and frequent injustice. Only the strong and courageous managed to survive once involved in a feud. Leading citizens occasionally attempted to reconcile families and individuals by imposing fines or exile in cases where harm had been done, but these efforts were seldom successful. Many judgments of the land's major court, the Althing, were arrived at through a show of power or trickery. The Althing's judgments, both fair and unfair, were often doomed to break down.

The Story of Grettir the Strong shows how the hero struggles for his own rights, and how he struggles for peace in the face of constant turmoil. Ironically, although Grettir constantly defends others, society at large is unwilling to protect his rights or...