Andersson, Theodore M.. The Politics of Snorri Sturluson

• Author: Andersson, Theodore M.
• Title: The Politics of Snorri Sturluson
• Published in: Journal of English and German Philology 93/1
• Year: 1994
• Pages: 55-78
• E-text:
• Reference: Andersson, Theodore M. "The Politics of Snorri Sturluson." Journal of English and German Philology 93/1 (1994): 55-78.

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• Key words: social reality, history, authorship (samfélagsmynd, sagnfræði, höfundur)

Annotation

Establishes the political views of Snorri Sturluson by examining Heimskringla in light of the earlier Morkinskinna and the political events, particularly involving Norwegian kings, leading up to the writing of these texts. This then becomes the platform for an examination of the age of Egils saga by looking at the nature of the clashes between chieftains and kings (in particular Egill and Eiríkr) and how the depiction of these relationships compares with other kings’ sagas in order to examine whether Egla might be more politically aligned with Morkinskinna or Heimskringla. Although inconclusive, the article suggests that Egils saga is roughly contemporary with Morkinskinna and thus an earlier text than Heimskringla.

Lýsing

Andersson kortleggur pólitískar skoðanir Snorra Sturlusonar með því að bera Heimskringlu saman við forvera hennar, Morkinskinnu, og rekja þá pólitísku viðburði sem leiddu til að þessir textar voru settir saman, ekki síst viðburði sem snertu Noregskonunga. Í framhaldi af því veltir hann fyrir sér aldri Egils sögu. Sérstök athygli beinist að átökum höfðingja og konungsvalds (ekki síst milli Egils og Eiríks) en markmiðið er að kanna hvort þær pólitísku skoðanir sem þarna komi fram samsvari betur þeim hugmyndum sem koma fram í Morkinskinnu eða Heimskringlu. Án þess að skýr niðurstaða fáist þá telur höfundur líklegt að sagan sé álíka gömul og Morkinskinna og þar með eldri en Heimskringla.

References

Chapter 16: Eigi er eg þar fyrir sönnu hafður: "It is of course a considerable criticism to the king that he is unable to ditinguish between faithful service and palpable malice." (p. 72).

Chapter 29: Stóð þá á mörgum fótum fjárafli Skalla-Gríms: "He (Kveld-Úlfr) and Skalla-Grímr form an intelligent and effective opposition to an expansionist king. The idyllic description of their newly settled home in Iceland is calculated not only as a favorable contrast to a Norway that has passed unde the king's iron grip, but also as a just reward for their political acumen." (p. 73).

Chapter 85: þá land að Grími föður mínum: "The Mýramenn retain a sort of moral title to the land and the right to retract what they once bestowed (...). The Mýramenn are a historical entitiy, coeval with the centralized monarchy in Norway and therefore coentitled. In historical terms at least, the conflict between the Mýramenn and the Norwegian crown is a confrontation of equals." (p. 76).

Links

• Written by: Jane Appleton
• Icelandic translation: Jón Karl Helgason