Guriewitch, Elena A. and Inna G. Matiuschina. Poetical mead

• Authors: Guriewitch, Elena A. and Inna G. Matiuschina
• Title: Poetical mead
• Place, Publisher: Moscow: Russian State University of the Humanities (RSUH) Publishing House
• Year: 1999
• E-text: Ulfdalir
• Reference: Guriewitch, Elena A. and Inna G. Matiuschina. Poetical mead. Moscow: Russian State University of the Humanities (RSUH) Publishing House, 1999.

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• Key words: poetry, characterization (kveðskapur, persónusköpun)

Annotation

Exploring the belief in special, divine nature of poetical gift, the mythical „mead of poetry“ given out by Odin, the authors take Egil Skallagrimsson as a vivid example of a skald, immensely conscious of his own genius. He seems eager to leave a memory of himself in his verses, some of which possibly became valuable sources of information for Egil's Saga. The authors also point out the reverse, sinister side of Egil‘s poetical gift. A dark and somewhat chthonic connection with the supernatural forces characterizes not only Egil himself, but also his male ancestors, who bore certain similarities to wild animals and giants. These inhuman features were either shown explicitly (for example, when they went berserk) or suggested in their names (like Bjalfi or Ulf the Fearless). Egil is very much like his father and grandfather, and the account of the great skald‘s appearance is one of the most grotesque descriptions in the whole saga corpus.

Lýsing

Höfundar fjalla í greininni um guðdómlegt eðli heiðinnar skáldagáfu og hlutverk skáldamjaðarins sem Óðinn úthlutar. Þeir lýsa Agli Skallagrímssyni sem erkitýpu hins heiðna skálds sem er meðvitað um snilld sína. Hann er áfram um að halda minningu sinni á lofti í kveðskap, en svo virðist sem hluti kvæðanna hafi verið dýrmætar heimildir fyrir þann sem setti Egils sögu saman. Höfundar ræða líka um myrkari hliðar á skáldagáfu Egils. Hann á í dulúðugu sambandi við yfirnáttúruleg öfl, rétt eins og forfeður hans sem minna að nokkru leyti á villidýr og jötna. Þessi einkenni birtast ýmist með beinum hætti (til dæmis þegar þeir ganga berserksgang) eða þá að vísað er til þeirra óbeint (t.d. með nöfnum á borð við Bjálfi og Úlfur hinn óargi). Egill sver sig í ætt föður síns og afa, og lýsingin á útliti þessa kostulega skálds er með gróteskustu köflum íslenskra fornsagna.

References

Chapter 1: Úlfur hét maður: “The images of Egill and his direct male ancestors (all of them being skalds) illustrate the idea of a poet as a dangerous marginal creature, who belongs, at least partially, to the “alien” world and is able to communicate freely with the supernatural, inhuman forces. Egill’s grandfather Ulfr was considered a werewolf [...] It seems most likely that Kveldulfr inherited his “wolfish” nature and inhuman powers from his ancestors, whose names give the reader some very obvious insinuations” (Russian text: "это представление о поэте как о существе маргинальном и опасном, отчасти принадлежащем " чужому" миру и способном по своему выбору вступать в контакт со сверхъестественным, внечеловеческим, нашло отражение в фигуре Эгиля и его прямых предков по мужской линии. Все они, как известно, были скальдами. Дед Эгиля, Ульв считался оборотнем [...] Оборотничество и " волчья" натура, по- видимому, были унаследованы Квельдульвом от предков, на что недвусмысленно намекают имена и прозвища последних").

Chapter 65: greyfðist að niður: "Egill‘s behavior corresponds perfectly to his "wolfish" appearance [...] fighting against Atli he discovers that no weapon can harm his adversary and still wins the combat by biting through Atli‘s throat. This "heroic feat" reminds us of a similar act undertaken by the legendary Sigurd, biting his son Sinfjotli while they were both living in a forest as two wolves" (Russian text: "Поступки Эгиля вполне соответствуют его "волчьей" внешности [...] вступив в поединок с Атли Коротким и обнаружив, что того не берет никакое оружие, все же одерживает победу над своим противником, перекусив ему горло ("подвиг", заставляющий вспомнить аналогичный поступок легендарного героя Сигмунда, укусившего за горло своего сына Синфьотли, когда они оба жили в лесу в волчьем обличьи)").

Links

• Written by: Anna Solovyeva
• Icelandic translation: Jón Karl Helgason