Jones, Gwyn. The Religious Elements of the Icelandic “Hólmganga”

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  • Author: Jones, Gwyn
  • Title: The Religious Elements of the Icelandic “Hólmganga”
  • Published in: Modern Language Review 27/3
  • Year: 1932
  • Pages: 307-13
  • E-text:
  • Reference: Jones, Gwyn. "The Religious Elements of the Icelandic “Hólmganga”." Modern Language Review 27/3 (1932): 307-13.

  • Key words: religion, history (trú, sagnfræði)


Annotation

Two sagas, Kormáks saga and Egils saga, contain holmgang narratives that suggest there may have been certain religious elements to such duels as practiced in Icelandic society before being banned in the early 11th century. Kormáks saga makes mention of a tjösnublót in one holmgang, while a blótnaut or sacrificial bullock appears in both Kormáks saga and Egils saga. Jones argues that the tjösnublót sacrifice and the sacrifice of the blótnaut are two distinct forms of sacrifice, the tjösnublót taking place before combat and the blótnaut being then sacrificed by the victorious party. He also suggests, however, that by the 10th century these ceremonial sacrifices had largely lost their meaning and took place only on rare occasion, which would explain why they appear only rarely in literary accounts.

Lýsing

Í bæði Egils sögu og Kormáks sögu má finna frásagnir af hólmgöngum sem benda til að þær hafi haft viss einkenni helgiathafna í íslensku samfélagi, fram til þess tíma að þær voru bannaðar snemma á 11. öld. Kormáks saga getur um að farið hafi fram tjösnublót í tengslum við hólmgöngu, en jafnframt er kemur blótnaut fyrir í báðum sögunum. Jones telur að tjösnublót og dráp blótnauts séu tvö ólík afbrigði fórnarathafna; tjösnublót hafi farið fram fyrir hólmgönguna en blótnautinu hafi síðan verið fórnað af þeim sem fór með sigur af hólmi. Hann heldur því reyndar einnig fram að þessar hefðbundnu, trúarlegu athafnir hafi að mestu verið búnar að glata merkingu sinni á 10. öld og heyrt til undantekninga sem skýrir hvers vegna þeim er sjaldan lýst í fornbókmenntunum.

See also

References

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Links

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