What to expect from a “blue” cloak? On the limits of the formula in Old Norse-Icelandic family sagas

Abstract

The article analyzes the “blue cloak” (í blári kápu) formula in the Íslendingasǫgur and examines the limits of its interpretation as a sign of aggression. Based on a systematic analysis of a corpus of references to “blue” clothing in family sagas, the study demonstrates that saga characters generally do not perceive the color blár as an unambiguous signal of violent intent: in most cases, they either do not react to such clothing at all or recognize individuals wearing it, since garments of this color frequently serve to mark social distinction and status. Expectations of aggression within the saga world arise only in a small number of cases and depend on situational and relational context rather than on color alone. The article pays special attention to the question of why blár nevertheless becomes associated with violence at the level of narrative convention. Drawing on evidence from color semantics and on the social and material status of dyed textiles in medieval Iceland, the author aligns with the view that within the narrative of the “saga world” blár primarily denotes special, non-everyday clothing associated with significant actions and social prestige, which helps explain its frequent appearance in episodes involving conflict without functioning as a stable diegetic signal of aggression. A key exception is discussed in relation to Valla-Ljóts saga, where the association between blue clothing and violent intent is explicitly verbalized and recognized by other characters; this episode is interpreted as a marked deviation from standard saga practice, possibly parodical, in which a narrative convention normally addressed to the audience becomes incorporated into the fictional world itself. On this basis, the article concludes that the “blue cloak” operates primarily as a convention shaping audience expectations rather than as a shared semiotic code among saga characters.