Gåtfullhet i sagalitteraturen

The article discusses several aspects of the well-known enigmatic character of the Icelandic family sagas. Four cases are examined in detail: the cause of Unnr’s sorrow in the beginning of Njáls saga, the talk between Stýrr and Snorri in the berserks’ episode in Eyrbyggja saga, the identity of Vésteinn’s murderer in Gísla saga, and Guðrún’s enigmatic last words about her love in Laxdoela saga. The use of the enigmatic narrative form in all these cases is discussed. The article argues that this kind of enigmatic episodes in the saga literature should not be interpreted in the same way as enigmatic episodes in modern literary works, where the solution of the mystery is left open. In the sagas, the mystery has a solution, and there is a correct answer. In contrast to modern literature, the mystery in the sagas can always be solved, and the use of enigmas and mysteries is rooted in the literary technique of the sagas. The article analyses and proposes several reasons for the enigmatic narrative style used by the saga authors

Frederik Wallenstein: Muntlighet och minne. Sagatraditionen, kulturhistorien och det kulturella minnets blinda fläck

Book review of Frederik Wallenstein: Muntlighet och minne. Sagatraditionen, kulturhistorien och det kulturella minnets blinda fläck. Stockholm: Stockholms universitet, 2023, 367 pp

Erotik, kärlek och känslor i Bjarnar saga Hítdoelakappa

Skaldsagorna, som brukar ses som en undergrupp bland islänningasagorna, förenas bl.a. av att de har en erotiskt grundad konflikt i centrum.Av dessa sagor har Bjarnar saga Hítdoelakappa i regel bedömtsannorlunda inom forskningen: denna saga påstås sakna intresse förkärlek, känsloskildring och för det erotiska motivet i intrigen; i ställetbeskrivs den som en berättelse om två nidskalders konflikt med varandra.I artikeln görs en närläsning av sagan. Det visar sig att det erotiskatemat spelar en betydligt större roll än vad som vanligen påstås.Kännedom om islänningasagans konventioner avslöjar också att kärleks-och känsloskildringen överlag är betydligt mer omfattande änforskningen sett och spelar betydligt större roll i intrigen och den litterärahelheten. Sagans händelseförlopp och personernas handlingarstyrs i själva verket av de starka, erotiskt motiverade känslornas irrationella kraft (kärlek, svartsjuka) – icke av männens planerade äregrundadeaggression

Painful Love and Desire in Skírnismál : Origins and Contexts

ABSTRACT: The Eddic poem Skírnismál depicts erotically associated suffering in several instances. The god Freyr is filled with pain and grief when he first lays eyes on the beautiful jǫtunn maiden Gerðr. Later in the poem, Gerðr is threatened with horrible punishments if she refuses to give herself to Freyr, and one of these punishments consists in unfulfilled desire. The present study examines the sorts of emotions that are in play in these instances and attempts to determine the origins of the ways in which these emotions are depicted. The study also focuses on whether, and if so in what way, the two cases of erotically associated suffering are related to one another. SAMMANDRAG: I eddadikten Skírnismál skildras erotiskt anknutet lidande vid flera tillfällen. Guden Freyr uppfylls av smärta och sorg vid första anblicken av den sköna jättinnan Gerðr. Senare i dikten hotas Gerðr med gruvliga straff om hon nekar att ge sig åt Freyr, och ett av straffen består i ouppfylld åtrå. Denna studie undersöker vilka slags känslor det handlar om i dessa fall och försöker fastställa ursprunget för traditionen för skildringarna av dessa känslor. Studien undersöker också om och i så fall hur de två fallen av erotiskt anknutet lidande i dikten är relaterade till varandra

Búi the Dragon : Some Intertexts of Jómsvíkinga Saga

The article discusses the information given at the end of Jómsvíkinga saga, where Búi digri after the battle of Hjǫrungavágr is said to have transformed into a dragon. This story is analysed in the light of some other sources which might elucidate the episode: Jómsvíkingadrápa, which confirms that the story of Búi’s trans­formation is essential in the Jómsvíking story, Þorskfirðinga saga, which ends in a similar way with the hero transforming into a dragon, Árngrímr abóti’s Guð­mundar saga byskups, and Árni Jónsson’s Guðmundardrápa, which both relate bishop Guðmundr’s encounter with the dragon in Hjǫrungavágr. The article argues for a direct connection between Jómsvíkinga saga and Þorskfirðinga saga and uses this connection to question the standard picture of Þorskfirðinga saga as a late, “post-classical” saga influenced by fornaldarsögur. The treatment of the dragon story in the two works about bishop Guðmundr is used to interpret how the story about Búi was perceived by the contemporary audience

Blot-Sven: En källundersökning

The article examines the sources for Blot-Sven, the alleged pagan king in late 11th century Sweden who is said to have lead a short pagan rebellion against King Inge the elder. For a long time this was seen as an historical event, but the last decades the historicity of both Blot-Sven and a pagan revolt in late 11th century Sweden has been questioned or rejected, and the events are now generally seen as unhistorical. The question of the historicity of those events is an important one, since it concerns the most fundamental process in the history of Sweden, the Christianization. The main arguments for rejecting the existence of Blot-Sven and the pagan revolt have been that the sources are claimed to be late and Icelandic and that the story must be a literary construct based on allegorical figures and literary clichés. The article demonstrates that there are more and older sources than most recent scholars are aware of and that there are several Swedish sources in addition to the Icelandic ones. The article focuses on the relationship between the sources. A main conclusion is that the Swedish and Icelandic sources are independent of each other. The article also demonstrates that the absence of contemporary mention is something Blot-Sven shares with all Swedish kings in late 11th and early 12th century whose existence has never been questioned. The article also shows that those features which have been pointed out as allegories and literary clichés occur only in the latest and least relevant source, which means that the knowledge about Blot-Sven is not bound to these features. In conclusion the article argues that the source evidence for a short pagan restoration under a king called Sven is stronger than the recent scholars have claimed

Rec. av Andreas Schmidt & Daniela Hahn. Unwanted. Neglected Approaches, Characters, and Texts in Old Norse-Icelandic Saga Studies

https://doi.org/10.33063/diva-499572</p