The Sagas of Icelanders and all the Icelandic medieval literature bloomed with the appearance of Gísla saga Súrssonar. The story is about the tragic fate of Gísli, as he is forced to take the life of a brother-in-law in order to avenge another brother-in-law. He is declared an outlaw and is hunted like an animal for thirteen years until he is killed in a vicious battle.

The saga is most likely written in the thirteenth century and depicts incidents which occured between 940 and 980. 

Gísla saga centres around the internal struggle of the protagonist. As his fate unfolds Gísli must struggle with more and more burdensome feelings of love and hate; which also appear to him in terrible dreams. The story differs from the typical family saga as the driving force is a vengeance which divides the family rather then strengthening the family bonds.  

The tension is high throughout the story, and underneath it all we hear the whisper of Guðrún Gjúkadóttir as she represents the old way of blood vengeance.