Egil's Saga: Part I

Firstly, I wanted to note that I found it rather strange that Egil was not even introduced until 50 pages into the saga, such was the extent of the background story of how the feud began between his family and King Harald. While other sagas generally give a more brief overview of preceding events, Egil's Saga went very in depth, seeming to accentuate the significance of the roots of this feud that is passed through the generations.
I noticed that Egil and all of his kin were portrayed as very noble, righteous men with strong morals as well as physique. They seem to be very prosperous and good leaders who can accomplish most anything they might put their minds to. Because of this those like Thorolf are taken advantage of or slandered by those less industrious and successful. Also, it seems as though in every generation of Egil's family, of the two sons born, one is strong and handsome in appearance while the other is talented, but described as being rather ugly.
As a side note, I was wondering if when the saga states that Egil and his brother, Thorolf, were sprinkled with water if that was a reference to Christianity and baptism?

Prologue to Prose Edda

What struck me most about this piece was the incredibly close resemblance to the creation story in Genesis. The prologue differed so greatly from anything else we have read, even from those written after the saga age, mainly because the blatant conversion to Christianity. This prologue seems to be an adaptation of the biblical story meant to relate more to the Scandinavians than the original text. It takes on a very historical and educated air when explaining not only how God made earth, but also how people migrated and paganism arose.
I found it interesting that Snorri made room for the pagans in his account and how he did not demean them or call them heathens, he simply portrayed them as a people who, over time, strove to find meaning in life and thus found God again. The mapping of the different philosophies was intriguing in that it was delivered very matter of factly and showed a very logical progression. And finally, I thought it was worth noting how Troy was not only mentioned in this prologue, but it seemed to be an integral part of this historical story.