The Saga of Ref the Sly

This saga appears to have many similar aspects to other sagas, but there are still new facts being introduced. For instance, while Ref was building the ship people were surprised that he not only made a beautiful and the largest ocean-going vessel in Iceland but that he was a "simpleton" who did so. This implies that there was something of a class system and that ship-builders were on the higher end of this. Also, the mention of animals was intriguing to me. The gift of a polar bear and walrus parts was intriguing in the least. Yet it shows that both polar bears and walruses were popular creatures in Scandanavia at the time of the sagas.