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 (1988) á doktorsritgerð Sävborgs sem fjallaði um sorgarlýsingar í Eddukvæðum en Sävborg færði rök fyrir því að tregaljóð Eddu tækju meira mið af norrænni og forngermanskri hefð en trúarbókmenntum hámiðalda eins og von See hafði haldið fram. Gagnrýnina segir Sävborg byggjast á misskilningi. Í ritgerð sinni tók Sävborg Sonatorrek sem dæmi um þessa hefð þar sem sorgin er undirstaða kvæðisins líkt og í Eddukvæðum eins og Guðrúnarhvöt og Guðrúnarkviðu. Sonatorrek og Guðrúnarhvöt eiga ýmislegt sameiginlegt, m.a. bíða bæði Guðrún og Egill dauðans og fagna honum. Sävborg er einnig ósammála von See um að Bjólfskviða sé ekki sannarlega forngermanskt kvæði.

References

Chapter 80: sverði of rækag: "In my dissertation I maintain that Egil Skallagrimsson's poem from the 10th century, Sonatorrek, can throw light on the origin of the "Eddic Elegies", as this poem like these "elegies" has grief as its main theme and shares several of the specific thematic and characteristics of the "Eddic elegies" Guðrúnarhvöt and Guðrúnarqviða I … Egil presents his son's death by drowning as a manslaughter in a heroic poem, and he reacts to the 'manslaughter' with both grief and revengeful stories." (p. 48).

Links

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