Edwards, Paul. Alcohol into Art: Drink and Poetry in Old Icelandic and Anglo-Saxon

• Author: Edwards, Paul
• Title: Alcohol into Art. Drink and Poetry in Old Icelandic and Anglo-Saxon
• Published in: Sagnaskemmtun: Studies in honour of Hermann Pálsson on his 65th birthday, 26th May 1986
• Editors: Rudolf Simek, Jónas Kristjánsson, Hans Bekker-Nielsen
• Place, Publisher: Wien: Böhlau
• Year: 1986
• Pages: 85-97
• E-text:
• Reference: Edwards, Paul. "Alcohol into Art. Drink and Poetry in Old Icelandic and Anglo-Saxon." Sagnaskemmtun: Studies in honour of Hermann Pálsson on his 65th birthday, 26th May 1986, pp. 85-97. Eds. Rudolf Simek, Jónas Kristjánsson, Hans Bekker-Nielsen. Wien: Böhlau, 1986.

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• Key words: motives, poetry (minni, kveðskapur)

Annotation

The consumption of alcohol and religious worship are not always activities distinct from each other in Old Icelandic and Anglo-Saxon cultures; the poetic arts in particular serve to link alcohol and religion. Odin is both the god of drink and the god of poetry, and "Odin's mead" is poetic inspiration. In Egils saga, drinking bouts lead to Egill composing poetry on a number of occasions, while Örvar-Odds saga features a drink-and-poetry competition. Drinking also figures prominently in Beowulf, with numerous references to alcohol and objects associated with drinking. In these compositions, alcohol is arguably transmuted into art.

Lýsing

Áfengisneysla og trúariðkun eru ekki alltaf aðskilin fyrirbæri í menningu Íslendinga og Engilsaxa til forna; kveðskaparlistin er gjarnan sá hlekkur sem tengir saman áfengi og trú. Óðinn er bæði guð skáldskapar og drykkju og mjöður Óðins veitir skáldum innblástur. Í Eglu kemur oftar en ekki fyrir að áfengisdrykkja ýti undir kveðskap hjá Agli. Í Örvar-Odds sögu má hins vegar lesa um samhliða keppni í drykkju og skáldskapariðkun. Drykkja leikur einnig stórt hlutverk í Bjólfskviðu, þar sem ítrekað er vísað til drykkju og gripa sem henni tengjast. Í þessum textum má segja að áfengi ummyndist í list.

References

Chapter 73: spýju mikla: "Significantly, the saga of the great early poet, Egil, was written by the master of mediaeval Icelandic verse, Snorri Sturluson, and we might find, in the author’s delight in the details of alcoholic excess, the manner in which inspiration overcomes decorum, a sublime indication of Odin at work." (pp. 88-9).

Links

• Written by: Katelin Parsons
• Icelandic translation: Jón Karl Helgason