Clunies Ross, Margaret. A Tale of Two Poets

• Author: Clunies Ross, Margaret
• Title: A tale of two poets: Egill Skallagrímsson and Einarr skálaglamm
• Published in: Arkiv för nordisk filologi 120
• Year: 2005
• Pages: 69-82
• E-text:
• Reference: Clunies Ross, Margaret. "A tale of two poets: Egill Skallagrímsson and Einarr skálaglamm." Arkiv för nordisk filologi 120 (2005): 69-82.

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

Annotation

Two verses by Einar skálaglamm are preserved in Egil's Saga, but only the A-version (Möðruvallabók) preserves them both, neither is preserved in the B-version and one in the C-version. It is generally believed that these verses are taken from some version of The Saga of the Jomsviking. The purpose of this article is to consider why Egils saga includes material on Einar skálaglamm and why his verses were added to the saga. Clunies Ross goes trough the relations between Egill and Einar in Egil's Saga and adds information on Einar from The Saga of the Jomsvikings. She believes that their dealings in the saga have a certain literary purpose. When Einar is brought into the saga, the narrative pace is slow and it is the perfect opportunity to give Egill a chance to stand out as a great poet in comparison with Einar.

Lýsing

Tvær vísur eftir Einar skálaglamm eru varðveittar í Egils sögu, þó aðeins í A–gerð sögunnar (Möðruvallabók); hvorug þeirra er í B–gerð en önnur vísnanna í C–gerð. Almennt er talið að vísurnar séu teknar upp eftir einhverri gerð Jómsvíkinga sögu. Tilgangur greinarinnar er að varpa ljósi á hvers vegna efni um Einar og vísurnar hans hafi þótt nauðsynlegar í sögu Egils. Clunies Ross rekur samskipti Einars og Egils í sögunni og bætir við upplýsingum um Einar úr Jómsvíkinga sögu. Telur hún að lýsingunni á samskiptum Einars og Egils sé ætlað að gefa Agli tækifæri til þess að rísa sem stórkostlegt skáld á þeim tímapunkti í sögunni þar sem hefur hægst á atburðarásinni.

References

Chapter 81: gaf Agli skjöldinn: "The semiotic import of Einarr's gift is complex and works within binary thematic oppositions already established in the text of Egils saga. It represents an act of generosity on the part of a court poet, who is said to be often short of money, towards an older (and presumably, in Einarr's eyes, better) poet who is known to be miserly and unpredictable in his behaviour, as well as hostile to Norwegian royalty" (p. 80).

Links

• Written by: Þórdís Edda Jóhannesdóttir
• English translation: Þórdís Edda Jóhannesdóttir