Coalbiters [Icel. kolbítar] are figures known from the Icelandic sagas. They are seemingly unpromising male youths that, sometimes due to necessity, become heroes and warriors after having spent most of their youth in idleness, often lying or sitting close to the fire. The term is applied to several such “ashlad” figures in the Old Norse sagas, including sagas of Icelanders and legendary sagas, even though the word is not always used in the actual medieval sources.
Possibly the motif becomes more prominent in 14th and 15th century sagas. One typical example is Ketill hœngr in Ketils saga hœngs, who is referred to as a “kolbítr” and “eldhúsfífl” [kitchen fool]; another is Starkaðr Stórverksson in Gauterks saga who is called “hímaldi ok kolbítr”, after spending
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Citation: Jakobsson, Ármann. "Coalbiters". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 August 2023 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=19699, accessed 04 May 2024.]
