Hovstad, Johan. Tradisjon og diktning i Egils saga

• Author: Hovstad, Johan
• Title: Tradisjon og diktning i Egils saga
• Place, Publisher: Oslo: Norske samlaget
• Year: 1946
• E-text:
• Reference: Hovstad, Johan. Tradisjon og diktning i Egils saga. Oslo: Norske samlaget, 1946.

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Annotation

In his article, Johan Hovstad, discusses the influence of oral tradition on Egils saga, and questions if the reader can trust the saga as a historical source. He puts forward the views of different scholars in terms of this subject, but addresses the PhD thesis of Per Wieselgren from 1927 and Sigurður Nordal’s edition of Egils saga from 1933 in particular.

Hovstad claims that Wieselgren has increased the historical truth-value of Egils saga by comparing the inner chronology of the saga to English sources, such as annals. Furthermore, he discusses whether Egill Skallagrímsson composed all of the poems himself in Egils saga, or if the author has written the poems subsequently. He in particular points out the poem that Egill recites at the feast of Atley, claiming that this poem has been written later on. Hovstad also debates the historical truth-value of the battle between Egill Skallagrímsson and Ljótr, which Hovstad postulate to be a real historical event.

The main conclusion of the article is that the content of the poems in Egils saga to a large extent matches the historical events they describe. Additionally, Hovstad points out that there is no reason to claim Egils saga to be unhistorical in general if there is no evidence saying so.

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• Written by: Gunvald Dversnes
• Icelandic/English translation: