Ralph, Bo. Om tilkomsten av Sonatorrek

• Author: Ralph, Bo
• Title: Om tilkomsten av Sonatorrek
• Published in: Arkiv för nordisk filologi 91
• Year: 1976
• Pages: 153-65
• E-text: journals.lub.lu.se
• Reference: Ralph, Bo. "Om tilkomsten av Sonatorrek." Arkiv för nordisk filologi 91 (1976): 153–65.

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Annotation

In this article, Bo Ralph writes about the poem Sonatorrek and the events leading to Egill Skallagrímsson writing this poem. In the article, Ralph discusses if the poem is an original part of the saga, or if the author has added it himself. He points out Jan de Vries and Sigurður Nordal as two scholars with different views on this. He also discusses how medieval poets were believed to get their poetic skills directly from Óðinn, and retells the myth about how Óðinn stole the mead of poetry. Egill´s magical powers are discussed and put in context with Sonatorrek. The author also describes similarities between Egill´s reaction to Böðvar´s death and Kveldúlf´s reaction to his son, Þórólf´s death. Ralph also presents arguments to say that Egill does not want to starve himself to death, but tries to shape shift. He writes that Egill most likely goes into a state of mind that people should not disturb. It was believed at that time that when someone went through a shape shifting, they would lose their soul forever if they were disturbed. Ralph then explains how Sonatorrek shows that Egill feels betrayed by Óðinn. Egill got his magical powers and his poetic abilities from Óðinn, and therefore trusted him. Therefore, he feels betrayed when his sons die.

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References

Chapter 80: að eg gjarn sék: “På Odin är Egill uppenbarligen besviken, för honom hade Egill litat på. Odin har ju gett honom den gåva som är värdefullare än andra: skaldekonsten. Egils reaktion får förstås mot bakgrund av den föreställningsvärld som var hans. För trollkarlen Egill är det en allt överskuggande angelägenhet att med alla medel få makterna på sin sida. När någon olycka drabbar honom är det ett tecken på att hans magiska kraft är otillräcklig.” (p. 163)

Links

• Written by: Hans Kristian Bonden
• Icelandic/English translation: