Sävborg, Daniel. Beowulf and Sonatorrek are genuine enough

• Author: Sävborg, Daniel
• Title: Beowulf and Sonatorrek are genuine enough. An answer to Klaus von See
• Published in: Skandinavistik 30
• Year: 2000
• Pages: 44-59
• E-text:
• Reference: Sävborg, Daniel. "Beowulf and Sonatorrek are genuine enough. An answer to Klaus von See." Skandinavistik 30 (2000): 44–59.

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• Key words: poetry, motives (kveðskapur, sagnaminni)

Annotation

A response to Klaus von See’s 1998 criticism of Sävborg’s doctoral thesis, which dealt with grief and its presentation in Eddic poetry and suggested that Eddic elegies are rooted in Old Norse/Germanic tradition rather than high medieval religious literature, as von See maintains. Sävborg comments on a number of points where he believes von See’s argument to be based on a misunderstanding, then turns to the question of the leading theme of Sonatorrek and its relevance in the debate. He defends the importance of grief in Sonatorrek and proposed similarities between the treatment of grief in Sonatorrek and the Eddic elegies. He also rejects von See’s statement that Beowulf is not ‘genuinely Old Germanic’.

Lýsing

Svar við gagnrýni Klaus von See á doktorsritgerð Sävborgs þar sem Sävborg hélt því fram að það væri ákveðin hefð á bak við forn norræna og forn germanska sorgarþema* (finna betra orð) í skáldskap. Gagnrýnin segir hann helst byggjast á misskilningi. Sävborg tók Sonatorrek sem dæmi um þessa hefð í doktorsritgerð sinni þar sem sorgin er undirstaða kvæðisins líkt og í Eddukveðskapnum, svo sem í Guðrúnarhvöt og Guðrúnarkviðu. Sonatorrek og Guðrúnarhvöt hafa ýmislegt sameiginlegt, m.a. bíða bæði Guðrún og Egill dauðans og fagna honum. Bæði fara þau yfir ævi sína Sävborg og von See eru ósammála um aldur kvæðanna.

Links

• Written by: Álfdís Þorleifsdóttir
• Icelandic/English translation: Katelin Parsons