Marold, Edith. The presentation of the skalds in Íslendingasögur

• Author: Marold, Edith
• Title: The presentation of the skalds in Íslendingasögur
• Published in: Alþjóðlegt fornsagnaþing, Reykjavík 2.-8. ágúst 1973: Fyrirlestrar. Vol. 2
• Place, Publisher: Reykjavík: s.n.
• Year: 1973
• Pages: 19 pp.
• E-text:
• Reference: Marold, Edith. "The presentation of the skalds in Íslendingasögur." Alþjóðlegt fornsagnaþing, Reykjavík 2.-8. ágúst 1973: Fyrirlestrar, Vol. 2. Reykjavík, 1973.

---

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

Annotation

On Egils saga and five other “skáldsögur” or Sagas of Poets: Kormáks saga, Hallfreðar saga vandræðaskálds, Bjarnar saga Hítdælakappa, Gunnlaugs saga ormstungu and Fóstbræðra saga. Marold focuses on the 13th century presentation and treatment of skalds and their poems, examining each saga individually and concluding that the Sagas of Poets “are not historical or biographical accounts of the lives of the skalds. Rather each of them is built round a certain theme, to which the action, the preserved traditions concerning the skalds, and the quotations from their works, are subordinated” (18). The article documents similarities between these skalds’ often difficult personalities and personal love lives and between their reception abroad and considers whether (and to what extent) these may be linked to literary traditions and interdependence.

Lýsing

Greinin fjallar um Egils sögu og fimm aðrar skáldasögur, Kormáks sögu, Hallfreðar sögu vandræðaskálds, Bjarnar sögu Hítdælakappa, Gunnlaugs sögu ormstungu og Fóstbræðra sögu. Höfundur skoðar með hvaða hætti skáldum og kvæðum þeirra er lýst á 13. öld, hún fjallar sérstaklega um hverja sögu fyrir sig og kemst að þeirri niðurstöðu að sögurnar séu hvorki söguleg né ævisöguleg umfjöllun um viðkomandi skáld. Hver saga er fremur samin í kringum tiltekið þema sem söguþráðurinn og skáldskapur viðkomandi skálds eru látin undirstrika. Í greininni eru dregnar fram hliðstæður á milli oft stríðra persónuleika ólíkra skálda og tilhugalífs þeirra, sem og fjallað um gengi þeirra erlendis, auk þess sem ljósi er varpað á það hvernig þessi atriði eiga sér rætur í bókmenntalegum hefðum og áhrifum einnar skáldasögu á aðrar.

References

Chapter 40: Vil eg,“ sagði hann, „fara utan : „ We see that in the skáldasögur there is a certain uniformity of pattern, in that the skalds are difficult, though unusually intelligent and talented people, who already from their youth do not adjust well to their surroundings. It is difficult to dicide whether this is a literary tradition. In my opinion it is possible to show siuch a connection between Gunnlaugs saga and Egils saga: to the common wish to travel abroad other parallels can be added … But I do not think it probable that all the skáldasögur show a literrary independence in presenting the skald as a difficult ans partly unpleasant character. But this apart: what is the importance of literary influence. Even when an author seeks his model in an earlier work of art, he will only take what fits his purpose. And the total outcome is more important than the origin of the individual parts.“ (s. 12)

Links

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