Dialogues with Tradition: Studying the Nordic Saga Heritage 9789949112678, 9949112672

Table of contents :
Foreword 7
Authors 10
Summaries 11
TATJANA JACKSON: Russian History, Icelandic Sagas and Russian Historiography of the Eighteenth to Early Twentieth Centuries 15
TÕNNO JONUKS: A Few Additions to the Depiction of Estonia and the Eastern Shore of the Baltic Sea in Scandinavian Sagas 45
KRISTEL ZILMER: The Motive of Travelling in Saga Narrative 64
SIRPA AALTO: The Digital "Other" in "Heimskringla" 93
IAN BEUERMANN: "Orkneyinga Saga": 1195 and All That? 113
HEIMIR PÁLSSON: Getting Rid of the Rebels: A Study in Class Struggle in "Brennu-Njáls Saga" 153

Citation preview

NORDISTICA TARTUENSIA NO. 14

DIALOGUES WITH TRADITION: STUDYING THE NORDIC SAGA HERITAGE

NORDISTICA TARTUENSIA NO. 14

DIALOGUES WITH TRADITION: STUDYING THE NORDIC SAGA HERITAGE

Edited by Kristel Zilmer Language editor Zachary Michael Gagnon

Tartu, 2005

Abstract DIALOGUES WITH TRADITION: STUDYING THE NORDIC SAGA HERITAGE This volume, which is number 14 of the series Nordistica Tartuensia, results from an international network project in the field of saga studies. The volume is partly a report on an international seminar held at the University of Tartu, Estonia from April 15th—16th, 2004, in as far as some of the contributions are based on the papers read during the seminar. With regard to other contributions, certain thematic modifications or shifts in emphasis have been undertaken along the lines of the authors’ more recent research interests. The volume as a whole addresses the study of medieval Nordic saga heritage from a variety of platforms, all of which are at the same time united by a broad culturally and historically motivated interest towards the meaning and role of sagas. The papers range from historiographical discussions of saga research and the thematic study of specific categories of sagas to the more detailed case studies of single sagas. A general overview of the project and an introduction of the papers are provided in the foreword of the current volume, followed by a list of authors and short summaries of their papers. Copyright the authors, 2005 Cover picture: The sculpture Sonatorrek (“Lament for the Sons”) by Ásmundur Sveinsson, at Borg á Mýrum in Iceland. The sculpture is based on a poem from Egils saga Skallagrimssonar. Photo by Kristel Zilmer. ISSN 1406-6149 ISBN-10 9949-11-267-2 ISBN-13 978-9949-11-267-8 Tartu University Press www.tyk.ee Oder No. 739

CONTENTS

Foreword...............................................................................................

7

Authors.................................................................................................. 10 Summaries............................................................................................. 11 TATJANA JACKSON: Russian History, Icelandic Sagas and Russian Historiography of the Eighteenth to Early Twentieth Centuries............................................................................................... 15 TÕNNO JONUKS: A Few Additions to the Depiction of Estonia and the Eastern Shore of the Baltic Sea in Scandinavian Sagas.......... 45 KRISTEL ZILMER: The Motive of Travelling in Saga Narrative...... 64 SIRPA AALTO: The Digital “Other” in Heimskringla....................... 93 IAN BEUERMANN: Orkneyinga Saga: 1195and All That?................ 113 HEIMIR PÁLSSON: Getting Rid of the Rebels: A Study in Class Struggle in Brennu-Njáls Saga...................................

153

FOREWORD

This volume, which is number 14 of the series Nordistica Tartuensia, results from an international network project in the field of saga studies. The project “Dialogues with Tradition: Studying the Nordic Saga Heritage” was initiated in autumn 2003 by the Section of Scandinavian Studies (Skandinavistika) at the University of Tartu, with the aim of holding an international saga seminar at the university. In connection with this a network was formed, including the following institutes: Section of Scandinavian Studies, University of Tartu; Department of History, University of Joensuu; Department of Language and Culture, Åbo Academy; Institute for Universal History, Russian Academy of Sciences; Department of Scandinavian Languages, University of Uppsala; Centre for Viking and Medieval Studies, University of Oslo; and the Department of Cultural Studies, University of Helsinki. With the help of a grant awarded to the project by the Nordic Coun­ cil of Ministers under the programme for Nordic Studies Abroad, an international saga seminal' was held at the University of Tartu, April 15th—16th, 2004, with invited guest speakers from all the network partners. Also, students of Scandinavian languages from the Latvian and Lithuanian universities were invited to participate in the seminar. The current volume presents itself partly as a seminar report, in as far as some of the contributions are based on the papers read during the seminar. With regard to other contributions, certain thematic modifi­ cations or shifts in emphasis have been undertaken along the lines of the authors’ more recent research interests. The papers range from historiographical discussions around saga research and the thematic study of specific categories of sagas to the more detailed case studies that deal with single sagas. Certain emphasis is placed on the treatment of two of the most common saga genres, i.e. the kings’ sagas (konungasögur) and the sagas of Icelanders (Islendin-

8

Foreword

gasögur). However, parallels are also drawn to other types of sagas, as well as to various contemporary source categories. The volume starts with a study by Tatjana Jackson, in which the author offers a comprehensive overview of the development of saga studies in Russia from the eighteenth to early twentieth century, in this manner opening up the central lines of the evolving discussions around sagas as potential sources for Russian history. The article is supplied with a bibliography of major publications in Russian. Historiographical comments are included in the article by Tonno Jonuks, with regard to the history and the current state of saga research in Estonia. The main emphasis of the paper is in the meantime placed on the saga depictions of the Eastern Baltic area, particularly of Estonia. The author has consulted various sub-genres of saga literature, and suggests an interpretation for the emerging mixture of realistic and supernatural motives in corresponding saga scenes along the lines of the religious situation. In the article by Kristel Zilmer, it is the corpus of the sagas of Ice­ landers alongside shorter prose tales, known as þœttir, that lie in focus, and the topic dealt with concerns the sagas’ narrative representation of the motive of travelling. The author undertakes an analysis of travelrelated themes from the point of view of applied narrative strategies and imagery, characterising travelling as a means of determining the saga characters’ identity and as a common custom that finds its expression within the tradition of travel stories. The contribution by Siipa Aalto deals with the classical work among the kings’ sagas - Heimskringla, the history of the Norwegian kings, attri­ buted to the Icelandic saga writer Snorri Sturluson. The paper by Aalto addresses Heimskringla from the perspective of digital otherness understood as the concept expressing extreme difference in relation to the Norse society. The author discusses the saga perceptions of groups of people, such as Wends, Finnar, Bjarmians, and Blámenn, illuminating the Christian world view and its relation to the “others”, i.e. the heathens.

Foreword

9

Ian Beuermann has conducted a study on Orkneyinga saga categorised as a kings’ saga that is set in the British Isles - with the aim of revealing the purpose and the function of the saga from a historical perspective. In connection with this the author seeks to clarify the poten­ tial ideological and political aims that lie behind the saga, and to which degree the saga may even serve as a piece of propaganda. It is argued that the saga could present an idealised model of an old aristocratic society in opposition to the new and oppressive (Norwegian) monarchy. Finally, the paper by Heimir Pálsson undertakes an analysis of one of the grand epics among the sagas of Icelanders, Brennu-Njåls saga. According to the author, the saga can be understood as a tale exempli­ fying the importance of law and order in the Icelandic chieftain-domi­ nated society. It is claimed that Brennu-Njáls saga describes a revolt undertaken by landholding farmers against the chieftains, which in its essence is determined to be unsuccessful and leads to a dramatic out­ come in the form of killing those who do not conform to law and order. The volume as a whole thus addresses the study of medieval Nordic saga heritage from a variety of platforms, all of which are at the same time united by a broad culturally and historically motivated interest towards the meaning and role of sagas.

Acknowledgements The organizing committee of the international seminar “Dialogues with Tradition: Studying the Nordic Saga Heritage” and the editors of this current volume wish to thank the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Tallinn, who supported the arranging of the seminar and the publication of this book. Tartu, December 2005 Kristel Zilmer

AUTHORS

SIRPA AALTO (Phil.Lic.), Department of History, University of Joensuu, Finland. Research areas: Icelandic Sagas, History of the Nordic countries in the Middle Ages. IAN BEUERMANN (M.Ph.), Ph.D. candidate, Centre for Viking and Medieval Studies, IAKH, University of Oslo, Norway. Research areas: political and ecclesiastical relations between Norway and the British Isles 11th—13th centuries; processes of satellite state formation and interactions in the political culture in medieval northwest Europe. TATJANA JACKSON, Dr. of history, leading research fellow of the Institute for Universal History, Russian Academy of Sciences; Professor of the University of Tromsø. Research areas: Konungasögur; Old Norse literature as a source for Russian history; Russian-Scandinavian relations of the Early Middle Ages; Norwegian history. TÕNNO JONUKS (M.A.), Ph.D. candidate of the University of Tartu, researcher at the Estonian Literary Museum, Tartu, Estonia. Research areas: Estonian prehistoric religion; Scandinavian prehistoric religion and worldview. HEIMIR PÁLSSON (Ph.D.), Associate Professor of Icelandic, Department of Scandinavian Languages, Uppsala University. Research areas: Icelandic literature and history of literature. KRISTEL ZILMER (Ph.D.), lecturer of Scandinavian Studies, Section of Scandinavian Studies, University of Tartu, Estonia. Research areas: travel and communication in the Viking Age and the Middle Ages as depicted in early Nordic sources, such as runic inscriptions, skaldic poetry and Icelandic sagas; hermeneutics and inter-disciplinary methodology in studies of historical texts.

SUMMARIES

Tatjana Jackson, “Russian History, Icelandic Sagas and Russian Historiography of the Eighteenth to Early Twentieth Centuries” The article presents the development of saga source criticism in Russia, from the establishment in 1724 of the Imperial Academy of Arts and Sciences in Saint-Petersburg up to the beginning of World War II. In the eighteenth century the Icelandic sagas started being used as a source for research in the field of Russian history. They were not estimated as a highly reliable source; however, Snorri Sturluson’s Heimskringla was steadily qualified as a “real chronicle”. The nineteenth century brought several (not very high quality) publications of source material, a long discussion on the sagas’ veracity (closely connected with the Normanist controversy), and a wide spectrum of evaluating saga data, ranging from severe scepticism to absolute trust in their reliability. In the pre-war twentieth century in Russia several attempts were made to publish Scandinavian sources pertaining to early Russian history. They were not very successful, but in the works of Fjodor Braun and Elena Rydzevskaja, who were connected with these projects, we can trace the beginnings of real saga source criticism in this country.

Tõnno Jonuks “A Few Additions to the Depiction of Estonia and the Eastern Shore of the Baltic Sea in Scandinavian Sagas” The article gives a short overview of descriptions of the Eastern Baltic area in sagas, particularly of Estonia. It will be shown that there are two strata in sagas. The first and most widespread shows the Eastern Baltic as a common area of Nordic cultural space. Another, less expanded one, shows different supernatural creatures who according to the sagas live or

12

Summaries

originate from the eastern shore of the Baltic. A hypothesis will be posed that the second stratum could have been caused by a religious situation - as the Eastern Baltic was the last heathen island in Christian Europe together with how Christian saga- and chronicle writers understood the last pagans and presented them to the Christian community.

Kristel Zilmer “The Motive of Travelling in Saga Narrative” The paper discusses the narrative representation of the motive of travelling in the corpus of the sagas of Icelanders, with an emphasis on illuminating characteristic patterns and imagery that the sagas apply in connection with such themes. Travel as depicted in the sagas of Icelanders can be of different nature, motivated by various practical and idealistic purposes, and may comprise journeys to foreign destinations as well as inland mobility. This current study concentrates on the former aspect of travel. The motive of travel often fulfils the task of characterising and determining the significance of different saga personalities; travelling emerges in the sagas as a commonly accepted and respected custom. Besides a number of practical factors, the sagas connect the urge to travel with the concepts of manhood, respect and honour. There exist certain abstract ideals that govern over this activity. A remarkable feature in the sagas’ representation of travel is their emphasis on the role of travel stories as a means of sharing and passing on collective experience. The sagas of Icelanders thus demonstrate in an elucidative manner how travel-related motives are fused into the narrative imagery that the Icelanders created in connection with depicting their own past, and in certain ways these depictions can even cast light on forms of local lore.

Summaries

13

Sirpa Aalto “The Digital ‘Other’ in Heimskringla” The article deals with the concept of digital otherness in Heimskringla. The purpose is to examine how and in which situations digital otherness (meaning extreme difference in relation to Norse society) appears, and what kind of elements are involved that depict digital otherness. Ultimately, the image of the digital “other” in Heimskringla can reveal something about the Norse world view in the 13th century; i.e. how the Norse people defined strangers, and what their place was in the medieval Norse mental map.

Ian Beuermann, “Orkneyinga Saga: 1195 and All That?” Is the Orkneyinga saga a piece of propaganda? The independent foundation-legend of the earls and the characterization of their promising progenitor underline the status of the new dynasty. The depictions of conflicts contain, firstly, a warning that internal strife carries the danger of a royal Norwegian takeover. Secondly, the usefulness of a saint can be gauged, that of Earl St. Magnús of Orkney, the fourth Scandinavian saintly ruler joining Óláfr of Norway, Eirikr of Sweden and Knútr of Denmark. St. Magnús comes to the aid of his relatives, but possibly also to that of a wider north Atlantic community on the defence. Is the description of Earl Rpgnvaldr Kali Kolsson’s reign, the likely protagonist of the saga, a Treatise on the good ruler’ and does it describe his failure, or instead a golden age? Arguably, the Orkneyinga saga paints a picture of an idealised Viking society, with the ruler as primus inter pares. It presents a glorified model of an oldtype aristocratic society as opposed to an oppressive new monarchy that of King Sverrir of Norway, who abandoned the independent earldom of Orkney in 1195, at the very time the saga was first written.

14

Summaries

Heimir Pálsson, “Getting Rid of the Rebels: A Study in Class Struggle in Brennu-Njáls Saga” Brennu-Njáls saga is one of the most important of the sagas of Icelanders. It is long and complicated, famous for intricate judicial quarrels and an enormous number of persons. In this study the author proposes an interpretation of the saga as a more or less symbolic tale of law and order in the chieftain-dominated society. Both law and order are threatened if the landholders try to break into the group of chieftains that is, to begin a revolt - and thus it is the chieftains’ duty to restore the status quo. Here this is used to explain why such popular and promising landholders as Gunnarr Hámundarson and Njáll Þorgeirsson could be killed without their neighbours lifting a finger to help them. They had tried to change the social order and had to be got rid of.

TATJANA JACKSON

Russian History, Icelandic Sagas and Russian Historiography of the Eighteenth to Early Twentieth Centuries Sagas have been thoroughly studied as pieces of art, works of literature, sources for Scandinavian history, and as a testimony of Old Norse mentality. Few scholars in the world outside Russia have tried to look at sagas as a source for Russian history. Still, the works of Samuel Hazzard Cross, Birger Nerman, Adolf Stender-Petersen, Kåre Seines, Hil­ da R. Ellis Davidson, Henrik Birnbaum, Stefan Søderlind, and Omelian Pritsak1might be familiar to the reading audience. On the contrary, saga studies in Russia have always been, for objective reasons, locked up for the majority of our western colleagues. My intention now is to bring to light the efforts of Russian scholars in the field.1 2

1 S. H. Cross, “Yaroslav the Wise in Norse Tradition.” 1929; Idem, “La tradition islandaise de St. Vladimir.” 1931; B. Nerman, Die Verbindun­ gen zwischen Skandinavien und dem Ostbaltikum in der jüngeren Eisenzeit. 1929; A. Stender-Petersen. Varangica. 1953; K. Seines, “Rus­ sisk historie i norrøn saga.” 1965; H. R. Ellis Davidson, The Viking Road to Byzantium. 1976; H. Stang, “Russlands uppkomst - en tredje Stand­ punkt.” 1981; H. Birnbaum, Essays in Early Slavic Civilization. 1981; S. Söderlind, Rusernas rike: Til frågan om det östslaviska rikets uppkomst. 1978; O. Pritsak, The Origin o f Rus’ Vol. I, Old Scandinavian Sources other than the Sagas. 1981. 2 See my paper: T. H. Джаксон, “К методике анализа русских известий исландских королевских саг.” 1978; cf. a shorter survey of the historio­ graphy of the problem in Pritsak, pp. 94-103.

16

Tatjana Jackson

Eighteenth Century: The Origin of the 'Normanist Controversy' Sagas became known to Russian historians3 with the establishment in 1724 of the Imperial Academy of Arts and Sciences in Saint-Petersburg. In 1725, a German historian and philologist, Gottlieb Siegfried Bayer (1694-1738), was invited to Russia. Being an Orientalist and a classical philologist, he still paid much attention to Old Scandinavian written sources and became in fact a founder of the ‘Normanist theory’. The Normanist theory’, ‘the Normanist problem’, or ‘the Varangian problem’ - all these are the designations of “the problem of the part played by the Nordic-Scandinavian ethnic element in the history of the political and cultural creation and early development of the ancient Russian state”.4 This problem has for nearly three centuries been the subject of a debate between the so-called ‘Normanists’, who held that the Northmen played a decisive role in this process, and the so-called ‘anti-Normanists’, who, for reasons of their insulted national pride, tried to prove the opposite.5 First published in Latin in the Commentarii Academiae scientiarum imperialis Petropolitanae and many years later translated into Russian, Bayer’s papers De varagis, Origines russicae, Geographia Russiae vicinarumque regionum circiter A. C. 947. Ex Scriptoribus septemtrionalibus were based on: “the Swedish and Norwegian sagas”, mostly on Olafs saga Tryggvasonar by the monk Oddr Snorrason and on Snorri Sturluson’s Heimskringla; on Latin chronicles, Historia de antiquitate regum Norwagiensium by the monk Theodricus, and Gesta Danorum by

3 Philological investigations of Icelandic sagas in Russia had until recently been few and are not studied here. 4 A. Stender-Petersen, p. 5. 5 Cf. Varangian Problems. 1970.

Russian History, Icelandic Sagas and Russian Historiography

17

Saxo Grammaticus; and on Snorri’s treatise on skaldic poetry, the Younger Edda.6 Bayer was prone to believe in sagas, although, in his words, “they take a lot from the wind”; he also came to the conclusion that in “accu­ racy”, Snorri Sturluson “overcame Saxo in many ways”.7 Bayer’s source criticism was quite in agreement with the level of the development of historical science of his time, which explains why the greatest Russian historian of the eighteenth century, Vasilij Nikitich Tatischev (1686— 1750), who cared much about the trustworthiness of his sources, used Bayer’s works. Though he disagreed with some of his German collea­ gue’s conclusions and even noticed a certain tendency in his writings, Tatischev appealed to them in search of Scandinavian source material and even included two papers by Bayer as two separate chapters in his Russian History. 89 Bayer’s immediate follower in both explaining the origin of the Old Russian state and evaluating the historicity of Scandinavian sagas (he used mostly the works of Saxo Grammaticus and Snorri Sturluson) was the other Russian academician of German origin, G erhard Friedrich Muller (1705-1783). In 1749 he presented his dissertation work The Origin o f the Name and the People o f Russia to be read at a public meeting of the Academy of Arts and Sciences. However, this thesis, on the order of the Academy Office, was destroyed in 1750. Luckily enough, Muller managed to publish the main part of his work in the journals issued at the Academy: in German in Sammlung Russischer Geschichte* and in Russian in Сочинения и переводы, к пользе и 6 G. S. Bayer, “De varagis.” 1735; Idem, “Origines russicae ” 1741; Idem, “Geographia Russiae vicinarumque regionum circiter A. C. 947. Ex Scriptoribus septemtrionalibus1744; Сочинение о варягах. 1767; Гео­ графия Российская. 1767. 7 G. S. Bayer, Сочинение о варягах, р. 9. 8 В. Н. Татищев, История российская. 1962, рр. 208-232, 292-310 (chapters 17 and 32). 9 Saint-Petersburg, 1760. V, pp. 381-572.

18

Tatjana Jackson

увеселению служащие.101The reason for the abolition of Muller’s text was the opinion that his work was “harmful to Russia”, and the main proponent of this idea was the famous Russian scholar Mikhail Vasiljevich Lomonosov (1711-1765),11 who had been appointed to evaluate Muller’s thesis. In his Criticism o f M uller’s Thesis, which was chiefly an anti-Normanist defence of the honour of the nation, Lomonosov alleged that in an attempt to prove the Scandinavian origin of Rus, Muller had completely ignored the Russian sources and had tried to use the Scandinavian ones, but without any adequate criticism. We should notice that here and there in his Old Russian History and A Short Description o f Different Voyages to Northern Lands,12 Lomonosov made use of the original Old Norse texts, quoting Snorri from the Stockholm edition of 1697, and Saxo from the Basel edition of 1534,13 though in fact he never estimated these sources highly enough. From 1761 till 1767, with an interval in one year, there lived and worked in Russia a professor of the University of Göttingen, August Ludvig Schlözer (1735-1809). Beginning in 1762 he had been a junior scientific assistant, and since 1765 a professor of Russian history at the Academy of Arts and Sciences. On his return to Germany in 1767, he kept close contacts with Russia and continued working in the field of Russian history until his last days. Schlözer played a great role in the development of Russian historical science. The evolution of Schlözer’s attitude towards Scandinavian sagas is really remarkable. In his plan of studies presented to the Imperial Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1762, he pointed out that “Icelandic and Swedish historians were invaluable for the Russian history”, and that “there were lots of useful works of history” little known outside Sweden. He even thought it necessary to choose all the data they possessed and “publish them under the title 10 11 12 13

July 1761. Saint-Petersburg, 1761, pp. 3-50. M. В. Ломоносов, “Замечания на диссертацию Г.-Ф. Миллера ” 1952. М. В. Ломоносов, Полное собрание сочинений 6, рр. 255-256, 442. Ibidem, рр. 558, 552.

Russian History, Icelandic Sagas and Russian Historiography

19

Critical Papers on Russian History”.14 In his further studies, however, Schlözer characterised sagas as “nothing but silly inventions”.15 The basis for his criticism was, among other things, the fact that the Russian chronicler Nestor spoke, for the period of time preceding the ninth century, only about peoples, but not about states, that he knew only chieftains, but neither kings nor princes, while Icelandic sagas were saying that in those unknown lands there had been great countries and powerful kings even before Christ.16 Schlözer still made an exception for Snorri Sturluson’s Heimskringla and claimed that “Icelandic fairy tales” “should not be mixed up with Snorri’s real chronicle”.17 Nevertheless, Old Norse studies in Russia developed for a rather long time after that under the influence of his general conclusion: “Thus, let us throw away all this Icelandic gibberish out of the early Russian history.” 18 The official historiographer of Russia in the early nineteenth century, Nikolaj Mikhajlovich Karamzin (1766-1826), went far ahead of his predecessors in the expansion of a source base of his work. In his History o f the Russian State, he used a great number of historical sources, the majority of which had not yet been published. Among other sources, he paid attention to the Icelandic sagas. Following Schlözer, he wrote that “the best Icelandic chronicler was Snorri Sturluson”, and that “chronicles that deserved respect had to be distinguished from quite unreliable Icelandic sagas, or fairy tales”.19 Thinking that “the legendary

14 [А. Л. Шлёцер,] “Мысли о способе обработки русской истории.” 1875, рр. 296, 297. 15 [А. Л. Шлёцер,] Нестор. Русские летописи на древле-славенском языке. 1809, р. 53. 16 Ibidem, р. 460. 17 Ibidem, р. 53. 18 Ibidem, р. 55. 19 Н. М. Карамзин, История государства Российского. 1842, book 1, note 78 to vol. I, chapter II, column 34.

20

Tatjana Jackson

content” of the sagas could be of interest only for “credulous people”,20 Karamzin was still widely quoting Snorri’s Heimskringla without ever trying to discuss (as he did with other sagas) the correlation of truth and fantasy in it. Thus, in the eighteenth century the Icelandic sagas started being used as a source for the Russian history. They were not estimated as a highly reliable source; however, Snorri Sturluson’s Heimskringla was steadily qualified as a “real chronicle”.

Nineteenth Century: Eymundar þáttr and Old NorseIcelandic Research in Russia In 1833 the Royal Nordic Antiquarian Society in Copenhagen published seventy copies of Eymundar þáttr21 describing the adventures of the Norwegian Viking Eymundr Hringsson in Russia, at the court of Prince Jaroslav the Wise.22 This booklet, including both the text in Old Icelandic and its Latin translation, was sent round to different scholarly institutions in Russia. (The Society also proposed that they should prepare a special edition of sagas and other texts pertaining to the history of Old Rus, with a Latin translation and comments.) Already in 1834, there were published in Russia two translations of Eymundar þáttr. One of them had been made from the Latin translation by a student of the Linguistic Department of Moscow University, Dmitrij 20 Ibidem, book 1, vol. I, chapter II, column 22. 21 Eymundi et Ragnaris... Vitae et gesta. 1833. 22 Eymundar þáttr, more often called by the Russian historians Eymundar saga, is part of Óláfs saga Helga in Flateyjarbók (1380-1394). Scholars classify Eymundar þáttr among the kings’ sagas. Although the story is supposed to have been based on the tales of Eymundr’s companions, still a number of features in the text points to its late origin. Thus, Jan de Vries dates it to the thirteenth century (Cf. J. de Vries, Altnordische Literaturgeschichte. 1967, II, p. 304).

Russian History, Icelandic Sagas and Russian Historiography

21

Lavdovskij.23 A paper by M ikhail Petrovich Pogodin (1800-1875) stood as an introduction to this publication, and it was stressed there that the story of Eymundr was “chronologically correct” and “was an impor­ tant supplement to the Russian history”.24 Another translation of Eymundar þáttr, and in this case from the Old Icelandic original, had been prepared by a professor at the University of Saint-Petersburg, a historian and philologist, as well as an editor and publisher of the periodical The Reading Library, Osip Ivanovich Senkovskij (1800-1858).25 His article about Old Norse sagas, fore­ running the translation, was aimed against the traditional, at that time, disregard of this historical source.26 The author estimated the sagas higher than the Russian chronicles and was sure that Nestor had created the major part of his work on the basis of Varangian sagas, correlated with the chronology of those Byzantine authors who had written about Rus 27 Eymundar þáttr, he thought, “had had a direct relation to the Russian history”. When analysing its text, Senkovskij explained the discrepancy between this saga and the Russian chronicle either by means of those reductions that the saga had suffered, or by Nestor’s mistakes apd ignorance.28 This understanding of a correlation between the Russian chronicles and the Icelandic sagas was at once severely criticised. Stepan 23 Эймундова сага, перевод с латинского Д. Павловского. 1834. 24 М. П. Погодин, “Эймундова сага.” 1834. 25 О. И. Сенковский, “Eymundar Saga. Эймундова сага.” 1834. This translation was also published as a separate edition in 1834, and in Senkovskij’s collected works in 1858. Cf. N. T. Belaiev, “Eymundar Saga and Icelandic Research in Russia.” 1928-1936. 26 О. И. Сенковский, “Скандинавские саги.” 1834. Extracts of this paper were published in Leipzig as a separate off-print (without a year of publication) under the title “Исландские саги в их отношении к Российской истории.” 27 О. И. Сенковский, “Скандинавские саги”, рр. 30-31. 28 Ibidem, рр. 44,48-49, 77.

22

Tatjana Jackson

Vasiljevich Russov (died in 1842) tried to defend Nestor’s chronicle, this “priceless written monument and the basis of our history”,29 from opponents’ attacks, while Sergej Mikhajlovich Stroev (1815-1840), writing under the pen-name Sergij Skromnenko, argued that the discre­ pancy between the sagas and the Russian chronicle, as well as the absence of some facts in the chronicle (for instance, the name of Eymundr, the main hero of this saga), was a result of the sagas’ unrelia­ bility in general.30 “Could one rely, - he asked, - on the words of those bold fellows who had come back home with a supply of wonderful stories about their energy, bravery, fearlessness, etc.? Leibnitz was the first to realise all the falsity of these sagas... but with greater passion they were attacked by the famous Schlözer who called the sagas gibberish and silly fairy tales”31 The section of Stroev’s paper discus­ sing “the falsity and wrongness” of Senkovskij’s attitude towards the sagas was concluded with the above-quoted words by Schlözer: “Thus, let us throw away all this Icelandic gibberish out of the early Russian history.” Pogodin, on the contrary, highly regarded Senkovskij’s paper and criticised Stroev, who rejected any Scandinavian influence on Old Rus, for his formal attitude towards the saga.32 Pogodin was prone to think that, regardless of the untrustworthiness of some details, general features of Russian reality preserved in the sagas were important to the history. He thought sagas to be of great value, as they depicted “Normans who had been the main heroes of our history during its first two hundred years” and introduced “their way of behavior, beliefs and ideas”,33 29 С. Руссов, О сагах в отношении к русской истории, или вообще о древней Руси. 1834, р. 102. 30 С. Скромненко [С. М. Строев], Критический взгляд на статью под заглавием: Скандинавские саги, помещенную в первом томе Библио­ теки для чтения. 1834. 31 Ibidem, р. 32. 32 М. П. Погодин, “О северных сагах.” 1846, рр. 275-316. 33 Ibidem, р. 285.

Russian History, Icelandic Sagas and Russian Historiography

23

probably slightly overestimating the role of Scandinavians in early Russian history. Pogodin was the first among the Russian historians to touch upon the problem of genre subdivision of sagas, dividing the sagas “on the basis of their contents into mythological, historical and poetical”.34 It is evident that his three grades refer to “mythological” and “historical” sagas (in accordance with their nineteenth-century classification), as well as to skaldic and eddic poetry. Icelandic sagas in Russia, as the Soviet literary critic Dmitrij Sharypkin put it, “were part of a literary process of the epoch of roman­ ticism”.35 Russian journals were publishing translations of sagas and critical articles written by Scandinavian scholars. In 1840, an Excerpt from the Saga o f Olaf Tryggvason, the King o f Norway appeared in the Russian translation made by the archpriest Stefan Karpovich Sabinin (1789—1863).36 A short introduction states that, although “Icelandic sagas are repudiated by many educated people in our motherland”, the interpreter dares to present to “those who are interested in Russian history and antiquities” a saga wherein “everything is really true”, in spite of the fact that it is missing in Nestor’s chronicle.37 It is quite natural that in this atmosphere an appeal put forward in Senkovskij’s paper - to start a national endowment that would help to get “by means of donations a necessary sum of money ... with an aim of offering it to the Society in Copenhagen as a patriotic contribution” to the preparation and publication of Old Norse sources relating to the early history of Russia38 - was not left unnoticed.

34 Ibidem, p. 282. 35 Д. M. Шарыпкин, Скандинавская литература в России. 1980, р. 144 36 Русский исторический сборник, издаваемый Обществом истории и древностей Российских 4:1.1840, рр. 7-116. 37 Ibidem, рр. Ш-V. 38 Сенковский, “Скандинавские саги”, р. 47.

24

Tatjana Jackson

The imperial minister of public education, Count Sergej Semenovich Uvarov (1789-1855), became interested in Senkovskij’s proposal, and so in 1835 there started a years-long exchange of correspondence bet­ ween the Ministry of Public Education and the Society in connection with the publication of Old Norse sources. In 1843 a special Section for the study of Russian history was organised within the Society.3940 Its members were Carl Christian Rafh, Finnur Magnusson (until his death in 1847), Peter Andreas Munch (after 1847), and Sveinbjöm Egilsson, as well as Stefan Sabinin, Anders Johan Sjögren (1794-1855), M. P. Pogo­ din, and Friedrich Carl Hermann Kruse (1790-1866). The necessary sum of money was collected in Russia and deposited in Copenhagen, and in the early 1850s a two-volume edition entitled Antiquités russes d 9apres les monuments historiques des Islandais et des andens Scandinaves was finally published.41 It is worth mentioning that in the process of preparing this publi­ cation there were expressed, among other opinions, strictly negative considerations as to the advisability of the project. Thus, a member of the Archaeographic Commission, academician-historian Jakov Ivano­ vich Berednikov (1793-1854), wrote the following in connection with the suggestion of the Royal Nordic Antiquarian Society: “Sagas that are to be included into this publication are of bad reputation among the scholars. Based solely on poetic legends of rude Scandinavians, sagas are not able to develop for certain our early history. First, their content is absolutely fabulous; second, they do not follow any chronology; third, 39 Cf. В. К. Щипаное, “Материалы о торговых и культурных связях России со Скандинавскими странами XIX - начала XX в. в фондах ЦГИА СССР.” 1970, р. 377. 40 Cf. В. С. Иконников, Опыт русской историографии. 1891, 1:1, рр. 319-320. 41 C. C. Rafn (Ed.), Antiquités russes d ’aprés les monuments historiques des Islandais et des andens Scandinaves éditées par la Société Royale des Antiquaires du Nord 1-2. 1851-1852. See about it: И. П. Шаскольский, “Антинорманизм и его судьбы.” 1983, рр. 35-44.

Russian History, Icelandic Sagas and Russian Historiography

25

although some historical situations and names mentioned in our chronicles get from time to time into the sagas, this still does not add much to what is known from our chronicles, or, for the reasons of the sagas’ doubtful origin and unreliable character, this cannot historically prove or explain any facts, even when the sagas contradict the Russian chronicles or pertain to any extra information; fourth, sagas are of late origin, although they deal with very far-off times.”42 It is remarkable that the author of this criticism touched upon those questions that are of paramount importance for the discussion of sagas’ reliability, namely their “doubtful” and late origin, their fabulous character and the absence of proper chronology in the sagas. Unfortunately, these questions have often been disregarded by Russian historians. Antiquités russes turned out to be quite a failure. Its main drawback, stressed by many specialists in the field, was the full absence of wider contexts for the source fragments published here. Not by chance, one of the most prominent Russian Scandinavianists, Karl Tiander, characte­ rising this enterprise, pointed out that “one can estimate the value of saga fragments only when he has a right understanding of the saga as a whole”.43 Rafh and his associates never bothered themselves with this question, so saga data were, so to say, tom out of their contexts, and that is why their interpretations, for the reasons of a specific character of the saga genre, could not always be indisputable. Furthermore, as Ernst (Arist Aristovich) Kunik (1814-1899) was quite right to notice, the work of the Danish antiquarians could not be used by Russian historians because of the absence of a corresponding historiographical introduction that would have included data on the origin and nature of the literary works published there.44 In the words of Omeljan Pritsak, “the main reason for the failure of the Antiquités Russes was its inability to 42 Протоколы заседаний Археографической комиссии 1835-1840 гг. 1. 1885, рр. 205-207. 43 К. Ф. Тиандер, Поездки скандинавов в Белое море. 1906, рр. 102-103. 44 Melanges Russes 1. 1851, рр. 247-250.

26

Tatjana Jackson

combine the two totally different disciplines of Old Scandinavian philology and East European history”.45 Still, these two big volumes supplied Russian historians with the knowledge of the rich information preserved in the Old Norse sources, and this information has often since been utilised, though not always accurately, from the point of view of source criticism. In speaking of nineteenth-century historians, one has to mention two more names. The first is that of a well known Russian Byzantologist, Vasiiij Grigorjevich Vasiljevskij (1838-1899), who in 1874—1875 made an attempt to use the Icelandic sagas in comparison with Byzan­ tine sources.46 He thought it necessary to discuss “the nature and quality” of the historical material preserved in the sagas,47 but as he found no work in Russian scholarly literature that he could rely upon, he investigated the problem in one of the chapters of his study. Proceeding from the at that time traditional subdivision of the sagas into “mythological” and “historical”, Vasiljevskij paid attention to the material of the “historical” sagas. He suggested that in saga studies one had “to start with the revelation of those elements that should be considered absolutely non-historical”, in order to get “the historical remainder”.48 “The rational part” of the sagas, according to Vasiljevskij, is close to nothing: at least, the only historical data on the Varangians, in his opinion, are preserved in skaldic poetry.49 45 O. Pritsak, The Origin of Rus \ p. 98. 46 В. Г. Васильевский, “Варяго-русская и варяго-английская дружина в Константинополе.” 1908, рр. 176-377. 47 Ibidem, рр. 222-223. 48 Ibidem, р. 223. 49 Ibidem, р. 240. This point of view had been formulated in scholarly literature long before Vasiljevskij (which he, probably, did not know about). Cf. V. Bring, Swea rikes historia ifrån de äldsta til de nœrwarande. 1-2 (Stockholm, 1769). In his comments to Vasiljevskij’s study, Fjodor Braun noted that sagas had been more dependent on oral tradition than Vasiljevskij thought (cf. Васильевский, p. 240, note 1).

Russian History, Icelandic Sagas and Russian Historiography

27

Vasiljevskij realised that sagas mostly reflected social relations of the time when they were written down, and found it doubtful that all the details in the sagas “should in fact relate to the epoch their content was supposed to belong to”.50 His main achievement, as far as I understand, was to pose the questions that cannot be avoided if one’s aim is to get a reliable historical information out of a saga: “...what is an Icelandic saga, to what degree can it serve as a historical material, i.e., how much real factual history does it include, and how should this historical element be differentiated from poetry and fable?”51 The other person left to mention here had a diametrically opposite attitude towards the sagas. This was a lieutenant-general and an archaeologist, Nikolaj Efimovich Brandenburg (1839-1902), who used saga material in his book dedicated to (Old) Ladoga, a settlement with Finno-Ugrian, Slavic and Scandinavian population, founded in the 750s on the banks of the Ladoga Lake. Brandenburg was rather uncritical, giving preference to “legendary” sagas as more ancient, in his understanding, and for that reason more reliable.52 Thus, the nineteenth century brought several (not very high quality) publications of source material, a long discussion on sagas’ veracity (closely connected with the Normanist controversy), and a wide spectrum

Still more extreme was the position of N. P. Dashkevich who expressed his complete disagreement with those “sceptics who did not pay due attention to the fact that such literary monuments as sagas possessed inner truth and had certain true details” and who did not notice “essential difference between a saga and a ballad”. The latter criticism was aimed directly against the above mentioned observation of Vasiljevskij. Cf. H. П. Дашкевич, “Приднепровье и Киев по некоторым памятникам древнесеверной литературы.” 1886, р. 224. 50 В. Г. Васильевский, рр. 244-245. 51 Ibidem, р. 240. 52 Н. Е. Бранденбург, Старая Ладога. 1896.

28

Tatjana Jackson

of evaluating saga data, ranging from severe scepticism to absolute trust in their reliability.

Early Twentieth Century: New Perspectives in Old Norse Studies On the initiative of the eminent Russian scholar and academicianphilologist Aleksej Aleksandrovich Shahmatov (1864-1920), the Impe­ rial Academy of Sciences included into its plans a publication of Scandi­ navian sagas bearing on Russian history (to the thirteenth century). Editorship was entrusted to Fjodor Aleksandrovich Braun (1862— 1942),53 who, in 1900, presented to the Department of Russian Language and Literature of the Academy a “Memorandum” on the fruitfulness of such an enterprise. Pointing out the differences between the “historical” sagas on the one hand and the “heroic and mythological” sagas on the other, he considered the former a mere fixation of facts, and the latter a unity of “historical and literary material which can be criticised only within the boundaries of a literary monument as a whole”.54 In connec­ tion with this view, the scholar was planning to make excerpts out of the “historical” sagas and to translate the “mythological” sagas in full. In 1905, at the meeting of the Department of Russian and Slavonic Archaeology of the Russian Archaeological Society, Braun presented a paper on Russian princes in Icelandic sagas where he stressed that Icelandic sagas had preserved lively features of historical reality.55 However, in the process of his work he came to believe that his initial plan had to be put off.56 Critical study of sources brought him to the 53 Cf. M. Б. Свердлов, “Ф. А. Браун - исследователь скандинавских источников по истории древней Руси ” 1976. 54 СпбОА РАН, fund 9, inventory 1, No. 749, sheets 21-21 rev. 55 Ф. А. Браун, “Русские князья в исландских сагах.” 1905, р. 179. 56 Ф. А. Браун, “Записка, представленная на заседании Отделения русского языка и словесности императорской Академии наук.” 1911.

Russian History, Icelandic Sagas and Russian Historiography

29

conclusion that “the seeming richness of the sagas in respect to the information about Russia and the East could be explained by an exclusively literary development, still in Iceland, of a small number of the main motives”. So, a scholar working with sagas has “a purely histo­ rical and literary task to find out, by means of a detailed study of all corresponding sagas, their sources and relations, to trace in them the literary evolution of the Russian and Byzantine motives, and finally, releasing the latter from later layers, to come down to their origin, i.e., to an oral tradition that reflects, more or less correctly, the known historical facts and personalities”.5758 Some years after the October Revolution of 1917, Braun came back to the plan of publishing saga translations. On the basis of his “Memo­ randum” of 1919, the Department of Russian Language and Literature of the Academy decided “to include into the estimate of 1920 an edition of several translations of Icelandic sagas”. This project of Braun, ho­ wever, remained unfulfilled: in 1920 he was sent to work at the University'of Leipzig and never came back to Russia. A result of his saga studies was formulated by him in 1924 in a paper on historical data concerning Old Rus in Old Norse literature.59 Still seeing differences between the “historical” and the “mythological” sagas, the author discussed saga data in connection with the different type and character of his sources: information pertaining to the history of Rus was eva­ luated on the basis of saga genre subdivision. Very important, from the methodological point of view, is the question raised by Braun concer­ ning the routes along which the information about Rus could get into the Icelandic sagas: whether it passed via “the second hands” of the Swedes and the Norwegians who had more close contacts with East European lands, or the Icelanders visited Rus themselves. This, he thought, had CQ

57 Ibidem, pp. 29,30. 58 СпбОА PAH, fund 9, inventory 1, No. 1086, sheets 12-14. 59 F. Braun, “Das historische Russland im nordischen Schrifttum des X XIV. Jahrhunderts.” 1924.

30

Tatjana Jackson

influenced the veracity of the “historical” sagas. Braun came to the conclusion that the “providers” of Russian material were the Icelanders themselves, and first of all the skalds.60 As Braun’s student Elena Rydzevskaja wrote later, this was the first work in Russia where “there was clearly formulated the following question: which category of lite­ rary monuments did these or those Old Norse texts, pertaining to the history of Russia, belong to, what cultural and social milieu in Scandi­ navia was their origin, circulation and meaning connected with?”61 One of Braun’s disciples, Karl Fridrihovich Tiander (1873-1938), studying in his book Scandinavian trips to Bjarmaland on the White Sea through the investigation of literary development of corresponding moti­ ves in the sagas,62 differentiated between the kings’ sagas, the Icelandic sagas and “the lying sagas”. He believed Agrip a f Nóregs konunga sögum, Morkinskinna and Fagrskinna to have been compilations “wit­ hout any features of active personal treatment of the material included”. At the same time, he thought that in Heimskringla “the author’s perso­ nality showed through every line”, although he noted that “Snorri’s history was in fact objective”, because the latter “had not been a zealous Christian”.63 Thus, Tiander did not doubt the veracity of the kings’ sagas; he was often satisfied with the “purely subjective criteria” and did not bother himself “with the questions of chronology, even rela­ tive”.64 Explaining the reasons why historians did not believe in the sagas’ veracity, Tiander emphasised that they “found themselves facing the questions that were alien to their main tasks”, since, to get into the structure of a saga, they needed to apply the methodology of folklore 60 Ibidem, p. 189. 61 E. А. Рыдзевская, “Легенда о князе Владимире в саге об Олафе Трюггвасоне.” 1935. 62 К. Ф. Тиандер, Поездки скандинавов. 1906. 63 Ibidem, рр. 386-389. 64 Ф. А. Браун, [Review of Karl Tiander’s book]. 1910, pp. 429,430.

Russian History, Icelandic Sagas and Russian Historiography

31

studies and medieval literary criticism. Sometimes the scholars could not give a satisfactory answer to such questions as: “Under what cir­ cumstances did oral stories about Rus reach Iceland? Where did the isolated tales start being combined into sagas? What was the role of Sweden, Denmark and Norway in this process?”65 It is surprising, however, that Tiander himself did not pay any attention to this aspect of the Icelandic sagas’ veracity problem.66 Alongside the philological school of Fjodor Braun, there still flourished an uncritical attitude towards the sagas, a striking example being the book by Alexej Parfenovich Sapunov (bom 1852) dedicated to the Old Norse information on the history of Polotsk and the Western Dvina. The author left aside all those problems that had been outlined by previous scholars, and started his book with a statement that “Icelandic sagas had preserved lively features of reality and extremely valuable data for Russian history.”67 He made no difference between the geo­ graphical treatises, the Icelandic family sagas, the kings’ sagas and the mythical-heroic sagas (fomaldarsögur). In the 1920s and 1930s, Scandinavian sources were used more syste­ matically than any other European sources for early Russian history. Sagas were applied by historians of different specialities. Arkadij Ioakimovich Ljaschenko (1871-1931), a scholar in the field of Russian history and literature, using Latin translations in Antiquités russes, studied three sagas as a source for the history of Kievan Rus. He compared Haralds saga harðráða with the Russian ballads68 and clai­ med that he was proceeding from “conclusions of V.G.Vasiljevskij,

65 К. Ф. Тиандер, Поездки скандинавов, p. 103. 66 Ф. А. Браун, 1910, p. 430. 67 А. П. Сапунов, “Сказание исландских, или скандинавских саг о По­ лоцке, князьях полоцких и р. Западной Двине.” Витебск, 1916, р. 1. 68 А. И. Лященко, “Былина о Соловье Будимировиче и Сага о Гаральде.” Петроград, 1922, рр. 94-136.

32

Tatjana Jackson

adding his own extra observations”.69 The way the problem was put is rather surprising, since Vasiljevskij was not a Scandinavianist, and stu­ died the saga in the interests of his own investigation; moreover, his work was published about half a century earlier. Ljaschenko’s “extra observations” are also very specific. Thus, quoting Vasiljevskij on the reliability of skaldic stanzas only, as well as Braun’s commentary on this subject, Ljaschenko, however, asserts that “the details, that are of little historical value, still have their meaning”, and that is why he utilises them in his commentary.70 Never doubting the veracity of the sagas as a historical source and not being well read in the literature on Oláfs saga Tryggvasonar, Ljaschenko came, in discussing it, to a 72 number of false conclusions. At the same time, analysing Eymundar þáttr in comparison with the Russian chronicles,73 he concentrated his attention on some very essential features of the sagas, unnoticed by his predecessors. Thinking that “the ‘historical’ sagas were based on real events”, Ljaschenko also noted: 1) the chronological gap between the events related in the sagas and the time when the sagas were put on parchment; 2) the literary overworking of traditional texts and “commonplaces” of stories; 3) an attempt, even of those who immediately participated in the events described, “to embellish their trips”; 4) and the desire of Eymundar þáttr's compilers “to exalt the role of Eymundr and his companions”. As it was declared in the 1970s, the Normanist views of the main representatives of the official historical science in Russia in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries influenced the works of some 69 Ibidem, p. 110. 70 Ibidem, p. 111. 71 А. И. Лященко, “Сага про Олафа ТрЛгвасона и лшшисне оповиданя про Ольгу.” Khíb, 1926, рр. 3-23. 72 Cf. Е. А. Рыдзевская, “Легенда о князе Владимире”, рр. 10,12-13. 73 А. И. Лященко, “«Eymundar saga» и русские летописи.” 1926, рр. 1061-1086. 74 Ibidem, рр. 1061,1086.

Russian History, Icelandic Sagas and Russian Historiography

33

Soviet scholars of the 1920s and 1930s.75 A scholar who did not deny the Scandinavian influence on the process of Slavonic state formation, Veniamin Aleksandrovich Brim, studied the sources that included the description of the route “from the Varangians to the Greeks”.76 He believed sagas to have been “poetical works whose authors were not interested in any historical or geographical matters”. This explained, he thought, the absence in the sagas of sufficient data on the famous river route. However, in spite of his theoretical statements, Brim made use of saga material, and, among other things, “of some undoubtedly historical information about Old Ladoga”.77 In 1929, at the meeting of the Department of Social Sciences of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, there was pronounced the opinion of the Archaeographic Commission that it would be desirable to start working on the project of publishing Byzantine, West European and Arabian sources pertaining to early Russian history.78 In connection with this enterprise, Elena Aleksandrovna Rydzevskaja (1890-1941) started studying Scandinavian sagas. Alongside the valuable concrete conclusions based on the analysis of saga material, her papers present a number of methodologically important observations. The scholar insis­ ted on the necessity of due regard of saga genre subdivision.79 However, she thought “historical” sagas (in Braun’s terminology) to have been “monuments of quite a real character”.80 Rydzevskaja explained the insufficiency of saga material relating to the history of Old Rus81 using 75 Cf. Советская историография Киевской Руси. Ленинград, 1978, рр. 152-156. 76 В. А. Брим, “Путь из варяг в греки.” Известия АН СССР. VII серия. Отделение общественных наук, 1931, рр. 201-247. 77 Ibidem, рр. 202,235,221. 78 СпбОА РАН, fimd 1, inventory 1 (1929), No. 253, sheet 67; cp.: inven­ tory 1 (1930), No. 256, sheets 12-13. 79 E. А. Рыдзевская, “Легенда о князе Владимире”, р. 6. 80 Ibidem, р. 5, note 1. 81 Е. А. Рыдзевская, “К. варяжскому вопросу.” Известия АН СССР. VII серия. Отделение общественных наук, 1934, 7/8, р. 618.

34

Tatjana Jackson

two reasons: first, by the “one sided orientation” of Icelandic sagas, when “positive data” referred to Scandinavian countries only82 (a similar view had already been put forward by Braun who wrote that “a saga worked with a different material and had other interests”);83 second, by the lack of Swedish sagas. In contrast to Braun, Rydzevskaja believed that the Icelanders received their information not by them­ selves, but via “the second hands” of the Swedes and the Norwegians.84 She was the first to pose a question of parallel study of written sources and archaeological material, claiming that “literary data... needed coordination with methods and results of archaeological investi­ gations”.85 Rydzevskaja formulated a correct notion that, in spite of the limited amount of factual information in the sagas, nearly all already known to scholars, “in case of a different treatment of saga material, compared to the one one comes across in our literature, it can be further investigated with a positive result of revealing and concretising a number of historical facts”.86 The novelty of her approach to the sagas lay in the fact that she put forward, as a primary task in studying “Rossica” of the sagas, the revelation of certain narrative complexes within this material, on the basis of their place in the Old Norse literature.87 Rydzevskaja started working on the publication of “Rossica”, i.e. saga data pertaining to the history of Old Rus.88 Here, however, she failed to avoid the mistakes of the editors of Antiquités russes: saga 82 E. А. Рыдзевская, “Легенда о князе Владимире”, р. 5, note 1. 83 Braun, “Das historische Russland”, p. 161. 84 E. А. Рыдзевская, “Ярослав Мудрый в древнесеверной литературе.” Краткие сообщения о докладах и полевых исследованиях Инсти­ тута истории материальной культуры АН СССР, 7. МоскваЛенинград, 1940, р. 67. 85 Е. А. Рыдзевская, “К варяжскому вопросу”, р. 617. 86 Е. А. Рыдзевская, “Легенда о князе Владимире”, р. 6. 87 Ibidem. 88 АИИМК РАН, fund 39, No. 5.

Russian History, Icelandic Sagas and Russian Historiography

35

fragments were tom out of their contexts, which was noted by Boris Dmitrievich Grekov (1882-1953) and Mikhail Konstantinovich Karger (1903-1976), who gave an in general positive estimation of her work. Grekov suggested to “supply such fragments with a short exposition of the text it belonged to, and thus to connect it with its context”. Karger advised to “change the excerpts through partial enlargement of their contexts”.8990 Unfortunately, this undertaking of Rydzevskaja remained uncompleted. Among some other materials “Rossica” was included into the posthumous publication of her works.91 Thus, in pre-war twentieth-century Russia there were several attempts made to publish Scandinavian sources pertaining to early Russian histoiy. They were not really successful, but in the works of Fjodor Braun and Elena Rydzevskaja, who were connected with these projects, we can trace the beginnings of real saga source criticism in this country. However, illustrative and non-critical methods in using saga material were still prevailing.

89 Ibidem, fund 2, inventory 2, No. 1135, sheet 1. 90 Ibidem, sheet 161. 91 E. А. Рыдзевская, Древняя Русь и Скандинавия в IX-XÍV вв. Мате­ риалы и исследования. 1978, рр. 29-88. Cf. М. Б. Свердлов, “Изуче­ ние Е. А. Рыдзевской русско-скандинавских отношений в период раннего средневековья.”

Ui

Tatjana Jackson

Figure 1. Elena Rydzevskaj а, Древняя Русь и Скандинавия в IX-XIV вв.

Russian History, Icelandic Sagas and Russian Historiography

37

Further Development: A Brief Commentary Saga studies in this country cannot be described without mentioning the two most famous names in the field, the world-renowned names of Mikhail Ivanovich Steblin-Kamenskij (1903-1981) and Aron Jakovlevich Gurevich (b. 1924), although neither of them was interested in sagas as a source for early Russian history. Steblin-Kamenskij initiated and carried out several publications of translations of Old Norse literature, supplying the Russian reader with three volumes of family sagas, Snorri Sturluson’s Heimskringla, two Eddas, skaldic poetry, and Scandinavian ballads. He developed his understanding of the Icelandic saga in many works, the best known of which is The Saga Mind,91 which was translated into many languages and provoked an intense discussion. His main thesis was that saga authors and their audiences were familiar with only one type of truth, namely “the syncretic truth”, which harmoniously connected both “historical truth” and “artistic truth”. He claimed that fiction (for instance, speeches and dialogues of the characters) was not noticed by the audience, and thus it was a kind of “hidden fiction”. The further away the country described and the bigger the chronological gap, the larger the amount of this “hidden fiction”. This helps the scholar to distinguish between those sagas that are less reliable and those that are more reliable. He was sure that even mythical-heroic sagas, with all their imagination, had a historical background, since they were based on epic poetry, and all epic poetry had originated out of historical events. Gurevich worked with Old Norse literature (sagas, laws, chronicles) as a source for early Norwegian history. His main principles of source criticism were as follows: 1) he studied different categories of sources separately and only then compared the results; 2) the sources were not studied selectively but in full volume, so that each fragment of infor­ mation could be placed into a wider context; 3) retrospective study of 92

М. И. Стеблин-Каменский, Мир саги. Ленинград, 1971.

38

Tatjana Jackson

sources made it necessary to determine their inner subdivision, to single out layers of information dating from different historical periods.93 He also studied the “historical conception” of Snorri Sturluson and came to the conclusion that the kings’ sagas were further from the philosophy of history than West European chronicles. The attitude of their authors to the course of human affairs was not expressed in a conscious, workedout system of ideas and values; it was not explicitly formulated, but followed the narrative itself.94 In the early 1970s, on the initiative of Vladimir Terentjevich Pashuto (1918-1983), a group of scholars at the Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences started the project of the serial edition Ancient Sources for the History o f Eastern Europe. Today, among twenty published volumes there are eight volumes of Scandina­ vian sources that supply historians of Old Rus with information pre­ served in runic inscriptions and geographical treatises (Elena Alek­ sandrovna Melnikova),95 Icelandic kings’ sagas (Tatjana Nikolaevna Jackson),96 and several mythical-heroic sagas (Galina Vasiljevna

93 А. Я. Гуревич, Норвежское общество в раннее средневековье: Проблемы социального строя и культуры. Москва, 1977. 94 А. Я. Гуревич, История и сага. Москва, 1972; A. Ja. Gurevich, “Saga and History: The ‘historical conception’ of Snorri Sturluson.” Mediaeval Scandinavia, 4 (1971), pp. 42-53. 95 E. А. Мельникова, 1) Скандинавские рунические надписи. Тексты, перевод, комментарий. Москва, 1977; 2) Древнескандинавские гео­ графические сочинения. Тексты, перевод, комментарий. Москва, 1986; 3) Скандинавские рунические надписи. Новые находки и интерпретации. Тексты, перевод, комментарий. Москва, 2001. 96 Т. Н. Джаксон, 1) Исландские королевские саги о Восточной Европе (с древнейших времен до 1000 г.). Тексты, перевод, комментарий. Москва, 1993; 2) Исландские королевские саги о Восточной Европе (первая треть XI в.). Тексты, перевод, комментарий. Москва, 1994; 3) Исландские королевские саги о Восточной Европе (середина XI середина XIII в.). Тексты, перевод, комментарий. Москва, 2000.

Russian History, Icelandic Sagas and Russian Historiography

39

Kigure 2. Tatjana N. Jackson, Исландские королевские саги о Восточной Европе.

40

Tatjana Jackson

Glazyrina).97 These three authors have also published a number of papers dedicated both to a further development of the methodology of source-criticism, and to the study of certain concrete problems of social, political, economical and cultural life in Old Rus, and on RussianScandinavian relations in the early Middle Ages, based on the materials of Old Norse literature.

Bibliography Bayer, Gottlieb Siegfried. 1735. “De varagis.” In: Commentarii Academiae scientiarum imperialis Petropolitanae 4. Petropoli. 375—411. —. 1741. “Origines russicae.” In: Commentarii Academiae scientiarum imperialis Petropolitanae 8. Petropoli. 388-436. —. 1744. “Geographia Russiae vicinarumque regionum circiter A. C. 947. Ex Scriptoribus septemtrionalibus.” In: Commentarii Academiae scientiarum imperialis Petropolitanae 10. Petropoli. 371-419. Belaiev, N. T. 1928-1936. “Eymundar Saga and Icelandic Research in Russia.” In: Saga-Book of the Viking Society XI. London. 83-99. Birnbaum, Heinrik. 1981. Essays in Early Slavic Civilization. München. Braun, F. 1924. “Das historische Russland im nordischen Schrifttum des X.XIV. Jahrhunderts.” In: Festschrift Eugen Mogk zum 70. Geburtstag. Halle. 150-196. Bring, V. 1769. Swea rikes historia if rån de äldsta til de nœrwarande, 1-2 Stockholm. Cross, Samuel Hazzard. 1929. “Yaroslav the Wise in Norse Tradition.” In: Speculum A. 177-197. —. 1931. “La tradition islandaise de St. Vladimir.” In: Revue des études slaves И. 132-148. de Vries, Jan. 1967. Altnordische Literaturgeschichte II. Berlin. Ellis Davidson, Hilda R. 1976. The Viking Road to Byzantium. London. 97 Г. В. Глазырина, 1) Исландские викингские саги о Северной Руси. Тексты, перевод, комментарий. Москва, 1996; 2) Сага об Ингваре Путешественнике. Текст, перевод, комментарий. Москва, 2002.

Russian History, Icelandic Sagas and Russian Historiography

41

Eymundi et Ragnaris, Norvegicorum principum, tandem Polteskae vel Polociae in Russia Dynastarum; Vitae et gesta, in originali islandico e membrana Bibliothecae Daniae regis unacum latina versione et brevi introductione edidit Societas Regia Antiqvariorum Septentrionalium. København, 1833. Melanges Russes, 1 (SPb., 1851), 247-250. Nerman, Birger. 1929. Die Verbindungen zwischen Skandinavien und dem Ostbaltikum in der jüngeren Eisenzeit. Kungl. vitterhets historie och antiquitets akademiens handlingar 40:1. Stockholm. Pritsak, Omelian. 1981. The Origin of Rus’. Volume I. In: Old Scandinavian Sources other than the Sagas. Cambridge, Mass. Rafn, C. C. (ed.). 1851-1852. Antiquités russes d ’apres les monuments historiques des Islandais et des andens Scandinaves éditées par la Société Royale des Antiquaires du Nord. 1-2. Copenhagen. Söderlind, Stefan. 1978. Rusernas rike: Til frågan om det östslaviska rikets uppkomst. Stockholm. Seines, Kåre. 1965. “Russisk historie i norrøn saga.” In: Historisk tidsskrift 44:2. Oslo. 141-151. Stang, Håkon. 1981 “Russlands uppkomst - en tredje Standpunkt.” In: Scandia 2 .153-177. Stender-Petersen, Adolf. 1953. Varangica. Köbenhavn. Varangian Problems. 1970. Scando-Slavica. Supplementum I. Copenhagen. АИИМК PAH = Archive of the Institute of the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences. [Байер.] 1767. География Российская и соседственных с Россиею областей около 947 году, из книг северных писателей выбрана. Санкт-Петербург. [—.] 1767. Сочинение о варягах автора Феофила Сигефра Беэра, бывшего профессора восточной истории и восточных языков при императорской Академии наук, переводил с латинского языка Кирияк Кондратович. Санкт-Петербург. Бранденбург, Н. Е. 1896. Старая Ладога. Санкт-Петербург.

42

Tatjana Jackson

Браун, Ф. А. 1905. “Русские князья в исландских сагах.” In: Записки Отделения русской и славянской археологии императорского Русс­ кого археологического общества 7:1. Санкт-Петербург. —. 1910. [Review of Karl Tiander’s book]. In: Журнал Министерства народного просвещения. 1907:10. —. 1911. “Записка, представленная на заседании Отделения русского языка и словесности императорской Академии наук.” In: Известия Академии наук, VI серия, 1. Санкт-Петербург. 24-32. Брим, В. А. 1931. “Путь из варяг в греки.” In: Известия АН СССР. VII серия. Отделение общественных наук. Ленинград. 201-247. Васильевский, В. Г. 1908. “Варяго-русская и варяго-английская дру­ жина в Константинополе.” In: Васильевский, В. Г. Труды 1. СанктПетербург. 176-377. Дашкевич, Н. П. 1886. “Приднепровье и Киев по некоторым памят­ никам древнесеверной литературы.” In: Университетские известия, 26:11. Киев. Джаксон, Т. Н. 1978. “К методике анализа русских известий исландских королевских саг.” In: Методика изучения древнейших источников по истории народов СССР. Москва. 128-139. Иконников, В. С. 1891. Опыт русской историографии 1:1. Санкт-Пе­ тербург. Карамзин, Н. М. 1842. История государства Российского, 5-е издание, в трех книгах. Книга 1. Санкт-Петербург. Ломоносов, М. В. 1952. “Замечания на диссертацию Г.-Ф. Миллера «Происхождение имени и народа российского».” In: Ломоносов, М. В. Полное собрание сочинений 6. 17-80. —. 1952. Полное собрание сочинений. Т. 6. Москва-Ленинград. Лященко, А. И. 1922. “Былина о Соловье Будимировиче и Сага о Гаральде.” In: Sertum bibliologicum в честь А. И. Малеина. Петроград. 94-136. —. 1926. “«Eymundar saga» и русские летописи.” In: Известия АН СССР. VIсерия, 20:12. 1061-1086. —. 1926. “Сага про Олафа Тр1ггвасона и лггописне оповиданя про Ольгу.” In: Украша IV. Кшв. 3-23.

Russian History, Icelandic Sagas and Russian Historiography

43

Погодин, M. П. 1834. “Эймундова сага.” In: Ученые записки импе­ раторского Московского университета Ш:8. Москва. 374-385. —. 1846. “О северных сагах.” In: Погодин, М.П. Исследования, заме­ чания и лекции о русской истории 1. Москва. 275-316. Протоколы заседаний Археографической комиссии 1835-1840 гг. 1. Санкт-Петербург, 1885. 205-207. Русский исторический сборник, издаваемый Обществом истории и древностей Российских 4:1. Москва, 1840. Руссов, С. 1834. О сагах в отношении к русской истории, или вообще о древней Руси. Санкт-Петербург. Рыдзевская, Е. А. 1934. “К. варяжскому вопросу.” In: Известия АН СССР. VII серия. Отделение общественных наук. Москва-Ленинград. 7: 485-532, 8: 609-630. —. 1935. “Легенда о князе Владимире в саге об Олафе Трюггвасоне.” In: Труды Отдела древнерусской литературы Института русской литературы (Пушкинскийдом) РАНИ:8. Москва-Ленинград. 5-20. —. 1940. “Ярослав Мудрый в древнесеверной литературе.” In: Краткие сообщения о докладах и полевых исследованиях Института истории материальной культуры АН СССР 1. Москва-Ленинград. 66-72. —. 1978. Древняя Русь и Скандинавия в IX-XIV вв. Материалы и исследования Москва. Сапунов, А. П. 1916. “Сказание исландских, или скандинавских саг о Полоцке, князьях полоцких и р. Западной Двине.” In: Полоцко-ви­ тебская старина IV:3. Витебск. Свердлов, М. Б. 1971. “Изучение Е. А. Рыдзевской русско-сканди­ навских отношений в период раннего средневековья.” In: Тезисы докладов Пятой Всесоюзной конференции по изучению Сканди­ навских стран и Финляндии 1. Москва. 47-49. —. 1976. “Ф. А. Браун - исследователь скандинавских источников по истории древней Руси.” In: Скандинавский сборник XXI. Таллинн. 221-225. Сенковский, О. И. 1834. “Скандинавские саги.” In: Библиотека для чтения 1:3. Санкт-Петербург. 1-77.

44

Tatj ana Jackson

—. 1834. “Eymundar Saga. Эймундова сага.” Библиотека для чтения, 2:3. Санкт-Петербург. 1-46 (Russian translation and the original text). 47-71 (Commentary). Скромненко, С. [Строев, C. M.]. 1834. Критический взгляд на статью под заглавием: Скандинавские саги, помещенную в первом томе Библиотеки для чтения. Москва. Советская историография Киевской Руси. 1978. Ленинград. СпбОА РАН = Saint Petersburg Department of the Archive of the the Russian Academy of Sciences. Татищев, В. H. 1962. История российская. Москва-Ленинград. Тиандер, К. Ф. 1906. Поездки скандинавов в Белое море. Санкт-Петербург. Шарыпкин, Д. М. 1980. Скандинавская литература в России. Ленинград. Шаскольский, И. П. 1983. “Антинорманизм и его судьбы.” In: Генезис и развитие феодализма в России. Ленинград. 35-44. [Шлёцер, А. Л.] 1809. Нестор. Русские летописи на древле-славенском языке, перевел с немецкого Дм. Языков. 1. Санкт-Петербург. [—.] 1875. “Мысли о способе обработки русской истории. Приложение к Общественная и частная жизнь Августа Людвига Шлёцера, им самим описанная.”, перевод с немецкого с примечаниями и при­ ложениями В. Кеневича. In: Сборник Отделения русского языка и словесности императорской Академии наук 13. Санкт-Петербург. Щипанов, В. К. 1970. “Материалы о торговых и культурных связях России со Скандинавскими странами XIX - начала XX в. в фондах ЦГИА СССР.” In: Исторические связи Скандинавии и России ÍX-XX вв.: Сборник статей. Ленинград, 367-378. Эймундова сага, перевод с латинского Д. Лавдовского. 1834. In: Ученые записки императорского Московского университета. Москва. П1:8, 386—401; Ш:9, 576-596.

Dr. Tatjana Jackson Institute for Universal History Russian Academy of Sciences [email protected]

TÕ NNO JONUKS

A Few Additions to the Depiction of Estonia and the Eastern Shore of the Baltic Sea in Scandinavian Sagas The voyages of Eastern Baltic and Scandinavian people over the Baltic Sea began thousands of years ago. Thus the Younger Bronze Age when forms of over-ground graves that got their inspiration from Nordic cultural space started to spread along the eastern coast of the Baltic, and Scandinavian artefacts became more numerous in archaeological mate­ rial on the other side of the Baltic - has been called the Older Viking Age. A specific culmination in the seafaring of the Baltic came with the Scandinavian Viking Age in the 8th-11th centuries, followed by the time of the austrvegsmenn, or “men from the East”. This article looks at the sagas written down in Iceland since the 13th century and tries to analyse the imaginations of the Norsemen; especially those of the Icelandic saga writers concerning the pagan East. Sagas of different origins are studied together here. Although diffe­ rences in the source material and its formation certainly exist, it will be shown that mythical and heroic sagas can reveal more about the mentality of saga writers and their community, as these are more open to later additions, which are only loosely bound to the original story. At the same time, the sagas of Icelanders and the kings’ sagas represent a different and probably more widespread tradition. The choice of sagas has been influenced by the attempt to give an overview of the majority of the texts concerning Estonia, although it can be relatively complicated when it comes to the term ‘Eastern Way’, Austrvegr. In this case I have picked out texts which allow one to

46

Tõnno Jonuks

conclude from the context that the activity has taken place on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea, hence the research area. The meaning of Austrvegr has undergone certain changes during different periods - from its broad meaning, denoting wide territories to the east of the Baltic Sea, to later ones referring more specifically to the eastern coast of the Baltic.1 During the Scandinavian Viking Age, it was an important trade route predominantly used by merchants and voyagers of Swedish origin. In the present article, most of the emphasis is on the section connected to Estonia and Curonia - the areas along the Eastern Way that were not yet Christianized, or had been recently baptized by the time of the writing of the sagas. Russia (Garðaríki) and Novgorod (Hólmgarðr) as Christian localities, and according to sagas, the areas in close contact with Norsemen, as well as Christian and non-Christian territories further along the Eastern Way, have been left out of the research scope. Finland together with its northern and eastern areas is not included in the study either. There are different reasons for that. Firstly, the toponym Finnland is very ambiguous. It has been suggested that the word fiinnr initially denoted the Saami and extended to the Finnish.1234The tightly and uniquely intertwined culture of the Saami and the Scandi­ navians is also observed on larger scale. Thus one of the most secret witchcrafts of the Scandinavians - seiðr - has been considered a loan from the Saami.3*The latest studies consider it as more of a common system, and not a loan. In addition to the toponyms, the finnr is also related to the Saami by the meaning of the word in compound words. And finally - Finland is definitely exceptional in sagas for its location

1 See К. Zilmer,4He Drowned in Holmr’s Sea - His Cargo-ship Drifted to the Sea-bottom, Only Three Came out Alive' 2005, pp. 223-224,291-293. 2 R. I. Page, Lapland Sorcerers. 1964, p. 215. 3 H. R. E. Davidson, The History of the Danes / Saxo Grammaticus. Books I-DC. 1980. 4 N. Price, The Viking Way: Religion and War in Late Iron Age Scan­ dinavia. 2002, p. 278.

A Few Additions to the Depiction of Estonia and the Eastern Shore

47

and hence different traditions in communicating with Scandinavia. Due to the aforesaid it is not always certain who is meant by the jinnr in sagas. Therefore the problem with Finland is far more complicated and would need an independent research, which is not the purpose of the present article.5 In the current article I will try to regard the sagas through the eyes of their writers, placing an emphasis on what has been left aside or is usually left beyond attention - the supernatural creatures.

History of Saga Research in Estonia The study of the sagas and their relation to Estonia started already in the first half of the 19th century, together with the activity of Balto-German researchers. Their main purpose was to connect the information of the sagas with Estonia, and via this with the history of the whole of northern Europe. The first deserving mention are Friedrich Kruse6 and Johannes van der Smissen.7 The research extended at the time of the Estonian Republic, when the first translations of sagas to Estonian and the trans­ lations and retells of Eddas were published.8 The most valuable of the studies of this period was Die Verbindungen zwischen Skandinavien und dem Ostbaltikum in der jüngeren Eisenzeit by Birger Nerman.9

5 About Finnar in sagas, see also Sirpa Aalto’s article in the same volume. 6 F. Kruse, Ur-geschichte des Estnischen Volkstammes und der Kaiserlich Russischen Ostseeprovinzen Liv-, Esth- und Kurland überhaupt, bis zur Einführung der christlichen Religion. 1846. ' J. Smissen, “Olaf der Heilige auf Oesel, nebst einigen Bemerkungen über die Nachrichten der Isländer von Estland.” 1849. 8 A. Kann, Asgard: Skandinaawlaste muinaslood. 1919; P. Grünfeldt, Frithjof: Skandinaavia Kalevipoeg. 1922; J. Kärner, Edda: kogu vanaislandijumalate- ja kangelaste lugusid. Ümberjutustanud ja esisõna ning märkustega varustanud Jaan Kärner; Franz Stasseni joonistused. 1924. 9 B. Nerman, Die Verbindungen zwischen Skandinavien und das Ostbal­ tikum in derjüngeren Eisenzeit. 1929.

48

Tõnno Jonuks

The main research area of the Scandinavian studies during the Soviet time were Varangians - a topic only superficially observed by the Esto­ nian authors. In the treatments of Estonian history, the sagas have rather been used as illustrative material to depict the end of the prehistoric period and the beginning of the Middle Ages. Nevertheless, several translations that formed the basis of the research of Scandinavian studies were published during the Soviet period. At this point, the translations of Nordic poetry by Rein Sepp10 as well as the Estonification of Grettis saga Asmundarsonar (‘The Saga of Grettir the Strong’) by Arvo Alas,*11 should be mentioned. Next to the translations of sagas and epics, several popular scientific translations of Nordic culture were published.12 The undertakings of Estonian researchers in exile also cannot be overlooked, as several articles concerning the relations of Estonia and medieval European literature were published, especially by Paul Johan­ sen.13 In the 1990s a new period started in Estonian “saga-studies”. Several translations have been published, not only of sagas14 but also of Middle Age chronicles,15 which create the necessary background for further stu­ dies. New treatments and articles by Estonian authors that discuss the relations of sagas and Estonia, as well as more wide-ranging topics, have been or are being published.16

10 R. Sepp, Vanem Edda. 1970; Idem, Noorem Edda. 1990. 11 A. Alas, Grettir Ásmundripoja saaga. 1982. 12 M. Steblin-Kamenski, Islandi kultuur. 1974; A. Gurevitš, Viikingite retked. 1975. 13 P. Johansen, “Saxo Grammaticus und das Ostbaltikum.” 1974. 14 A. Alas, Njálli saaga. 2001; Idem, Viikingid Vinlandis: Eiriks Punase saaga. Gröönlaste saaga. 2003; T. Jonuks, Ynglingite saaga. 2003. 15 A. Saluäär, Saxo Grammaticus: Taanlaste vägiteod. 2000. 16 E.g K. Zilmer, “Learning about Places and People: Representations of Travelling Connections and Communication Situation in the Sagas of Icelanders.” 2003; Idem, 2005.

A Few Additions to the Depiction of Estonia and the Eastern Shore

49

Sagas as the Source of History Most of the sagas were written down in the 13th century and the following centuries in the monasteries of Iceland, predominantly in two major centres: Þingeyrar and Hólar in northern Iceland and Skálholt in southern Iceland. The style of writing of sagas is close to that of the historic novel, and while the accuracy of their factology cannot be relied on, they serve more as main sources for studying folklore, mentality, religion, etc. At the same time, the historic value of sagas cannot be forgotten. Regarding the saga as historic source material, it should be noted how the saga writers understood the event that was worth writing down. These were incidents that shook the society of the time - war, killing and revenge, sometimes short descriptions of trading or campaigns. This kind of approach was also characteristic of medieval chronicles. Peaceful daily life where nothing important happened was not worth describing. That is why the world of the sagas seems violent and bloody. Next to the descriptions of campaigns and raids, journeys where nothing important happened are also mentioned, but their depictions are not so colourful. If the tendency is understood, it forces one to look at quarrels in sagas with a totally different glance, and to seek signs between them that would reflect either daily life, a historic event behind the affairs, or maybe the reasons why the saga was written down in the way that it was. It has been a source of much concern, regarding what a saga is - is it a historical document, a historically accurate description of the past, or a fictional novel? Recent studies suggest analyzing sagas in a more intricate manner, and to see the saga writer, the tradition of writing, and the historical and cultural background as being all parts of the same complex.17 17

See K. Zilmer, 2003, pp. 2-3.

50

Tõnno Jonuks

Motives While characterizing the documentation of the sagas generally related to the Eastern Way, it appears that the prevailing majority of those are connected to campaigns. Warriors often came over the Baltic Sea and waged war here on the eastern coast; sometimes they even stayed for longer. For example, chapter 46 of Egils saga Skalla-Grimssonar (‘The Saga of Egill Skallagrímsson’) describes how Egill fought with his friend on Austrvegr, stayed in Curonia, made peace with the local people, and when the truce was over, fought and robbed some more.18 As another more common motive, the countries here have been men­ tioned in the context of longer travels. Reports of trading and other relationships are reflected in the texts. Especially exciting are the descriptions of giants and other supernatural creatures living on Austr­ vegr, which I will in the following take under my observation.

Personal and Place Names As mentioned earlier, most of the saga reports handle battles and forays. While these descriptions are compared to battles or raids portrayed in other sagas, it is apparent that these are comparatively similar. There are battles where the names of the main participants are known - the usual practice of Nordic battle depictions. True, doubt can be raised of course as to whether we are dealing with local warriors. Brennu-Njáls saga (‘The Saga of Bumt-Njáll’) describes Icelandic Vikings on a sea voyage.19 In the course of the journey they reached Rafala at first,20 where they fought a battle, and after that Eysysla 18 Egils saga Skalla-Grimssonar (íslenzkfornrit II, pp. 114-118). 19 Brennu-Njáls saga, ch. 30 (fslenzkfornrit XII, pp. 79-82). 20 Usually understood as north western Estonia, where a county called Rävala in Estonian was situated (see also R. Simek, Altnordische Kosmographie: Studien und Quellen zu Weltbild und Weltbeschreibung in Norwegen und Island vom 12. bis zum 14. Jahrhundert. 1990).

A Few Additions to the Depiction of Estonia and the Eastern Shore

51

(Saaremaa), where they met Toil, a slave of Danish origin. He showed them the camp of two important leaders, Hallgrimr and Kolskeggr, and a battle followed. Weapons are described before the battle, and Hallgrimr is said to have an atgeirr. The weapon has been translated as “battle axe” into Estonian,21 “halberd” into English,22 and it is thought that the word has stood for two types of spear: a light throwing spear and a 23 heavy hewing spear - halberd, combination of a sword and a spear. Therefore, Gunnarr had the opportunity to kill Hallgrimr by stabbing the blade of the halberd through his body. A few weapons of this kind are known among archaeological finds from Iceland.24 There are two possible ways to interpret this story: first, typical Scandinavian names ascribed to the Vikings of Saaremaa and the using of the atgeirr might indicate that the fighters were not local islanders, but instead Scandinavian Vikings who found their camp on Saaremaa.25 Another possibility worth considering is that we could be dealing with a description of a historic event which occurred at the time of the writing of the saga, where the author has tried to make the tale more plausible by adding or (re)constructing names and smaller details. This would explain the chiefs with Scandinavian names in a region where we know of completely different names from the same period. Contracts between the Order of Brethren of Sword and the chiefs of Saaremaa are familiar from the 13th century, where Ylle, Culle, Yalde, Melete, etc. appear as the names of Estonians. As well, the chiefs of Estonian origin (Lembito, Tabellinus, Unnepewe) mentioned in the Chronicle of Henry of Livonia have similar stems. The names of both written sources named above differ in many ways from the contemporary Scandinavian names, 21 22 23 24 25 26

A. Alas, 2001, p. 61. H. Shetelig, H. Falk, Scandinavian Archaeology. 1937, p. 389. Ibidem. K. Eldjam, Kuml og haugfé í heiðnum sið á Islandi. 1956. A. Alas, “Islandi saagad ja Eesti.” 1999, p. 247. J. Uluots, Eestlaste lepingud võõrastega XIII sajandil. 1975, p. 69.

52

Tõnno Jonuks

as well as those appearing in sagas. Therefore, it seems more probable that the names of the chiefs of Saaremaa mentioned in the saga of Njáll have been placed on the island by the author at the time of the writing of the saga. Also, the weapon of the chiefs - the atgeirr - is more similar to those that could have been used on Iceland; in this given case, it could have even been a belletristic detail. Another and probably the most famous saga description, where the names of so-called Estonians are mentioned, originates from Olåfs saga Tryggvasonar (‘The Saga of Oláfr Tryggvason’), the 6th chapter of which describes how young Óláfr with his mother Astríðr falls into the hands of Estonian buccaneers.27 It has been suggested by Raivo Palmaru that the names of the Estonian “slave-traders” (Klerkón and Klerkr) and landsfolk (Réás, Rékón and Rékóni) could be of Baltic origin. At the same time, it should be noted that the saga writers as well as the charac­ ters of sagas still made a clear difference between the northern and southern part of the Baltic and the languages spoken there; thus it is not very likely that these were mixed, especially when a remark was added confirming that they were Estonians (Þat váru E istr)29 It is rather more plausible that while writing a story of such importance as the imprisonment of the king, it was necessary to know the names of all those taking part in the event, and these were simply “recreated”, with the aim of making the story more credible and trustworthy. This would explain the Scandinavian-like names and their unusual grouping (Klerkón-Klerkr as slave-traders and Réás-Rékón-Rékóni as local inhabitants). And again - these names also do not fit into the system presented by the sources of the Order in the 13th century. Furthermore, the hypotheses of the names being Baltic is not supported by etymology

27 Heimskringla I (jslenzkfornrit XXVI, p. 230). 28 R. Palmaru, “Eesti vanimais kirjalikes allikates.” 1980, p. 269. 29 Heimskringla I (fslenzkfornrit XXVI, p. 230).

A Few Additions to the Depiction of Estonia and the Eastern Shore

53

either, since neither of the stems of the names have any similarities with Baltic names.30 Good knowledge of and contacts with the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea is demonstrated by several toponyms (see fig. 1). Thus, Raivo Palmaru has suggested that the names of Saaremaa (Eysýsld) and western Estonia ('Aðalsýsla) have been included into sagas through the people o f Saaremaa, translated from Estonian - Eysýsla, literally mea­ ning the land of island. The suffix sysla gives also another meaning as a (tax)region or a county. The prefix aðal- refers to big or main, thus Aðalsýsla means “big land” (or “mainland”); that could be the name that the people of Saaremaa gave to the Estonian mainland, most probably to Läänemaa (West-Estonia).31

Figure 1. Map of Estonian toponyms used in sagas (map by Andres Kuperjanov). 30 True, some authors see similarities between these names and Baltic stems, see R. Palmaru, 1980. 31 R. Palmaru, 1980, p.268.

54

Tõnno Jonuks

The designation Eistland (Estonia) has been used ambiguously; it usually refers to Estonia generally (e.g. Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar ch. 6), and sometimes to a smaller region (Örvar-Odds saga ch. 30). Raivo Palmaru has suggested that Eistland has meant the area between Vironia and Livonia. It seems most convincing, however, that Eistland has been used to mark Estonia in general, or to refer to regions whose exact names were not known. Among county names the saga writers have expectedly been familiar with the counties along the coast. The names of Virland (Virumaa) and Rafala (Rävala) appear several times (Örvar Odds saga ch. 30, Brennu Njáls saga ch. 30), which are supplemented by Eysýsla and Aðalsýsla. This allows for the suggestion that Eistland denoted the inland of Estonia. Virland and Rafala have been used to mark counties in sagas. An exception is known from chapter 30 of Örvar-Odds saga (‘The Saga of Arrow-Oddr’),33 which mentions Rafalaland as if emphasizing the word “land”, and would thus refer to a smaller settlement called the same way (possibly later Revala/Tallinn). According to this observation, both the considerably precise topography as well as Scandinavian personal names seem to indicate that the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea was considered as a part of the Nordic cultural space (or at least as the space that was known and common). Scandi­ navians and possibly also saga writers themselves were familiar with the names of the counties on the coast; as well, communication with the local people, including trading and campaigns as well as common markets, seems natural. The ascribing of Scandinavian names to the locals (for example the chiefs of Saaremaa or the enslavers of Óláfr and his family) shows that no difference was made between Scandinavians as the own and Estonians as the strangers. However, there is another stratum in the sagas.

32 R. Palmaru, 1980, p. 267. 33 Cf. Örvar-Odds saga (Fornaldarsögur Noröurlanda I).

A Few Additions to the Depiction of Estonia and the Eastern Shore

55

Supernatural Creatures According to the Nordic pre-Christian worldview, the majority of the trolls, giants and creatures that were dangerous and unfavourable to human society came from the east (cf. The Younger Edda, Gylfaginning, ch. 12). Þórr also went to fight with the giants in the east (The Younger Edda, Gylfaginning, ch. 45). According to sagas several giants lived either in the neighbourhood of Austrvegr or even on it. Most of the corresponding descriptions derive from rather late sagas; they are common in the mythical-heroic sagas and the sagas of chivalry. There are just a few similar examples from the sagas of Icelanders and the kings’ sagas. The reason - which will be commented upon below - would be that it was much easier to fit supernatural beings into stories that did not originate from the North. In the romantic Samsons saga fagra of the 14th century, it is said that “giants live north and east of the Austrvegr”.34 There are also descriptions of giants that we meet in Sigurdar saga Þögla, translated into Icelandic in the 14th century, describing the events of the king’s son Sigurðr (Siegfried).35 In the 7th chapter of the saga, Vilhjálmr and Hálfdan sailed from Saxony to Austn>egr and met a giant on the beach who was twelve cubits long. He had one eye, a hom four cubits long, big teeth and a huge mouth; he did not have any neck, but had short hair. According to the saga, the giants were supposed to be cannibals, and are called Cyclopes in books. In order to beat a giant, a thin spear was used so as to stick his eye out. An interesting expression reveals the name and the origin of the cyclope. A phrase “this kind of species of trolls are said to be called in books...”36 itself refers to influences obtained from literature that has helped the writer create this character. One-eyedness, the name “cyclope” and the way to defeat the giant demonstrates clearly 34 Cf. J. Wilson, Samsons saga fagra. 1953. 35 M. J. Driscoll, Sigurdar saga Þögla: The Shorter Redaction. 1992. 36 Ibidem.

56

Tõnno Jonuks

that the author knew the classical Greek myths. And to make sure that the Norsemen would not appear inferior to the Greek, the author let Vilhjálmr and Hálfdan beat not one but six monsters without getting any wounds themselves. A report from a medieval chronicle inspired by sagas is also connected to giants. According to Gesta Danorum (‘The History of the Danes’), written in the 12th to 13th century by Saxo Grammaticus, one of the most famous berserkr of the Norse - Starkatherus/Starkaðr came east of Sweden, a place inhabited by Estonians and other wild tribes. Berserks and their companions úlflieðnar were warriors devoted to the god Oðinn; they shared rage and spontaneity, characteristic of Oðinn, and for them fighting and warfare were connected to religion. According to the 8th chapter of Sögubrot a f nokkurum fomkonungum i Dana- ok Sviaveldi (‘Saga Fragments of Several Early Kings of Denmark and Sweden’), Starkaðr grew up in Norway.38 Relying on Sögubrot, Axel Olrik and J. R. R. Tolkien have connected Starkaðr with the spirit of water or waterfall that, in the opinion of Hilda R. Ellis Davidson, could be a later connection.39 According to Gautreks saga,40 written down in Iceland and used as the main source for the research concerning Starkaðr, he was the human grandson of a giant with eight arms, also called Starkaðr, and the protégé of Óðinn. Saxo, on the other hand - who only knew of the myth of Starkaðr as the giant with eight arms, six of which were cut off by Þórr, thus making him human-like places Starkaðr consistently with the pagan worldview to the east. Nevertheless, Saxo considered the story unbelievable, as he mentions in his chronicle. The story of the origin of Starkaðr might also be just a in

37 J. Pühvel, Comparative Mythology. 1989, p. 196. 38 Cf. Sögubrot af nokkurum fomkonungum i Dana- ok Sviaveldi (Fomaldarsögur Norðurlanda II). 39 H. R. E. Davidson, The History of the Danes / Saxo Grammaticus. Books I-IX. 1980II, p. 99. 40 Cf. Gautreks saga (Fornaldarsögur Norðurlanda III).

A Few Additions to the Depiction of Estonia and the Eastern Shore

57

classical myth. Still, it does not explain why Saxo, or being more exact, his informant, determined the geographical origin of this giant fighter quite precisely. Unsimilarlý to the Icelanders who wrote down the sagas, the main characteristic of berserks - their devotion to Oðinn, the god of rage and spontaneity - was secondary to Saxo, if he even saw the connection. Saxo and his sources most likely considered the descent of Starkaðr from giants, and thus his origin in Útgarðr, a pagan and hostile country, as being the most important aspect. Therefore, Saxo located the birth place of this giant, according to earlier imagination, in the east. Moreover, according to some studies, Christian missionaries in the 13th century did not deny the existence of pagan gods and spirits, but understood them as devilish creatures.41 In this light it was natural for the chronicler to specify the descent of such a creature. And what could have been more suitable for a giant than to live in the neighbourhood of the Christian oecumene, but at the same time within a pagan area? The fact that sailors from the Baltic countries took the leading role on the Baltic Sea after the Scandinavian Viking Age probably supports the hypotheses of the violent warrior originating in the east as well. A completely different creature was met by the Icelander Þorkell hákr in ch. 119 of Brennu-Njáls saga, who, while serving the Swedish king Sørkvir, reached Austrvegr42 First he met a half-human-half­ animal at Bálagarðssíða (a place on the south-western coast of Finland), which he killed. After arriving at Aðalsýsla (probably Läänemaa in Estonia), he came across a flying dragon (flugdreki), which he killed as well. The story is especially interesting because dragons hardly ever appear in ordinary saga contexts; instead they occur on the islands of the southern ocean, e.g. the 5th chapter of Bjarnar saga hítdælakappa (‘The Saga of Bjgm, Champion of the Hitardalr people’) , 3 where a dragon 41 E. Tarvel, Henrikja tema aeg. 1987, p. 14. 42 Brennu-Njåls saga (íslenzkfornrit XII, pp. 302-303). 43 Bjarnar saga hitdœlakappa (íslenzkfornrit III, p. 124).

58

Tõnno Jonuks

attacks the ship of Bjgm. Kristel Zilmer draws attention to the nickname of Þorkell, hákr, that can be translated as “swashbuckler”; and thus the whole story could be called a sailor’s story.44

Conclusion According to several place names mentioned in sagas, events and descriptions, the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea was familiar to ancient Scandinavians, and communication over the Baltic was considerably intense. The same is confirmed by archaeological artefactual material supported by many researchers.45 This realistic communication distinguishes itself clearly from the descriptions of giants, dragons, etc., who lived on Austrvegr or in its neighbourhood. The reason for the developing of these motives should be looked for in the pre-Christian worldview of the Norse, still existent in the Middle Ages, according to which powers that were dangerous and strange to people lived somewhere in the north and east, in the country of the giants - Útgarðr. This picture of the world has influenced not only secular but also Icelandic saga writers with Christian backgrounds as well, who have probably added mythological creatures into otherwise realistic saga texts. Apparently the religious picture of medieval northern Europe served as an impetus to this vision; accordingly most of the areas were baptized by the beginning of the 13th century and belonged to the so-called accepted world, the oecumene, through church parishes and bishoprics. Finland and the present areas of Estonia and Latvia differed from these

44 K. Zilmer, 2003, p. 1. 45 Ü. Tamla, “Scandinavian Influences on the Estonian Silver Ornaments of the 9th—13th centuries.” 1995; K. Creutz, Tension and Tradition. A Study of Late Iron Age Spearheads Around the Baltic Sea. 2003.

A Few Additions to the Depiction of Estonia and the Eastern Shore

59

countries. Beyond a doubt, the people were familiar with Christianity,46 there were baptized people among them,47 and possibly the first churches were already established;48 but as long as the country was not a member of the accepted world through the institutions of the Church, it was a strange and non-Christian territory. These views were intensified by the crusade to Mary’s Land that started in the end of the 12th century and its ideological justification by the Pope. Possibly as a result of these views, a pagan place was created by Icelandic saga writers next to the Christian oecumene. Giants and dra­ gons who symbolized powers hostile to people in pre-Christian Norse as well as Christian Europe were easy to fit into this heathen place. Although the Eastern Way had been known to Scandinavian sailors already for centuries, due to its special ideological position, the area became suitable for inhuman forces. Together with the Eastern Way the same fate befell the Western Way, Vestrvegr, and areas further away, which according to sagas were also inhabited by strange creatures. Out of the three examples of giant stories observed above, two belong to the so-called sagas of chivalry. The sagas of chivalry as a genre is a late phenomenon in the saga literature, dating mostly from the 14th century onwards. These sagas include predominantly knight stories from the Middle Ages that have been translated into Icelandic, and which acquired a certain saga-like tinge, though in a slightly changed form. As we noticed already above, later additions were the easiest to hide into those sagas that did not have any direct connection to the Nordic cultural space. In the case of some of the additions, it was even mentioned that they were taken from a book (e.g. Sigurðar saga Þögla). Such additions say very little about the Nordic view of course, but they are still very valuable in analysing the writers’ mentality. Later additions, included by 46 M. Mägi, At the Crossroads of Space and Time. Graves, Changing Society and Ideology on Saaremaa (Ösel) 9th-13th centuries AD. 2002. 47 R. Kleis, Henriku Liivimaa Kroonika. 1982, p. 199. 48 M. Mägi, 2002, p. 156.

60

Tõnno Jonuks

the saga writers themselves, show most directly their attitudes, as well as how they understood the problems treated in their works. At the same time, there are almost no examples of supernatural beings represented in “classical” sagas like the sagas of Icelanders or the kings’ sagas. The most likely reason is that the story as such was already formed and the writer could not change it essentially, if only, to add or specify certain details. Medieval European translations, which were adapted into Icelandic culture and language, could be more susceptible to expressing the worldview of the saga writer or translator. The spread of this worldview is a different question, whereas we depend on the saga writers themselves when observing the problem. At any rate it seems quite unbelievable that this image was dominant in northern Europe during the Middle Ages. In folk beliefs the older, pagan depictions got mixed with the Christian ones, as elsewhere. The conflict between heathen images and Christian understandings appeared with the clergy, who considered the explaining of these questions to be much more important. They were also those who knew the skill of writing, and who wrote down the sagas. Thus, generally two strata can be distinguished with regard to Estonia and the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea: the first and more widespread stratum forms the main part of the sagas and refers to rea­ listic and dense communication in the common Nordic cultural space; the other, created by saga writers, presents the area as a special and peculiar country in Christian Europe.

Bibliography Alas, Arvo (Transi.). 1982. Grettir Ásmundripoja saaga. Loomingu Raamatukogu 33-35. Tallinn. —. 1999. “Islandi saagad ja Eesti.” In: Looming 2. Tallinn. 244-248. —. (Transi.). 2001. Njälli saaga. Tallinn.

A Few Additions to the Depiction of Estonia and the Eastern Shore

61

—. (Transi.). 2003. Viikingid Vinlandis: Eiriks Punase saaga. Gröönlaste saaga. Loomingu Raamatukogu 7-8. Tallinn. Bjarnar saga hítdœlakappa. Edited by Guðni Jónsson, Sigurður Nordal. islenzkfornrit НА, 1938. Reykjavik. Brennu-Njáls saga. Edited by Einar Olafiir Sveinsson. Islenzk fomrit XII, 1954. Reykjavik. Creutz, Kristina. 2003. Tension and Tradition. A Study of Late Iron Age Spearheads Around the Baltic Sea (Thesis and Papers in Archaeology N.S. A 8). Stockholm. Davidson, Hilda Roderick Ellis. 1980. The History of the Danes / Saxo Grammaticus. Books I-IX. Vol I—II. London. Driscoll, Matthew James (Ed.). 1992. Sigurðar saga Þögla: The Shorter Redaction. Reykjavik. Egils saga Skalla-Grimssonar. Edited by Sigurður Nordal. Islenzk fornrit П, 1933. Reykjavik. Gautreks saga. Edited by Guðni Jónsson, Bjami Vilhjálmsson. FornaIdarsögur NorÖurlanda III, 1943-1944. Reykjavik. Gurevitš, Aron. 1975. Viikingite retked. Translated by Jüri Selirand. Tallinn. Johansen, Paul. 1974. “Saxo Grammaticus und das Ostbaltikum.” In: Zeit­ schrift fur Ostforschung Länder und Völker im östlichen Mitteleuropa 23: 4. Marburg. 623-639. Jonuks, Tõnno (Transi.). 2003. Ynglingite saaga. Eesti Kirjandusmuuseum. Tartu. Kann, Aleksander (Transi.). 1919. Asgard: Skandinaawlaste muinaslood. Tallinn. Kleis, Richard (Transi.). 1982. Henriku Liivimaa Kroonika. Tallinn. Kristján, Eldjám. 1956. Kumi og haugfé i heidnum sid å Islandi. Reykjavik. Kruse, Friedrich. 1846. Ur-geschichte des Estnischen Volkstammes und der Kaiserlich Russischen Ostseeprovinzen Liv-, Esth- und Kurland über­ haupt, bis zur Einführung der christlichen Religion. Moscow. Kämer, Jaan (Transi). 1924. Edda: kogu vana-islandi jumalate- ja kange­ laste lugusid. Umber jutustanud ja esisõna ning märkustega varustanud Jaan Kämer; Franz Stasseni joonistused. Noorsoo Kirjavara: Noorsoo Jutukiijastik / Eesti Kirjanduse Seltsi Koolikirjanduse Toimkond nr 105. Tallinn.

62

Tõnno Jonuks

Mägi, Maarika. 2002. At the Crossroads o f Space and Time. Graves, Changing Society and Ideology on Saaremaa (Ösel) 9th - 13th centuries AD. CCC Papers: 6. Tallinn. Nerman, Birger. 1929. Die Verbindungen zwischen Skandinavien und das Ostbaltikum in der jüngeren Eisenzeit. Kungl. vitterhets historie och antiquitets akademiens handlingar 40:1. Stockholm. Örvar-Odds saga. Edited by Guðni Jónsson, Bjami Vilhjálmsson. Fornaldarsögur Norðurlanda 1,1943-1944. Reykjavik. Page, Raymond Ian. 1964. Lapland Sorcerers. Saga-Book XVI: 2-3 (1963— 1964). London. 215-232. Palmaru, Raivo. 1980. “Eesti vanimais kiijalikes allikates.” In: Keel ja Kirjandus 5. Tallinn. 261-269. Price, Neil S. 2002. The Viking Way: Religion and War in Late Iron Age Scandinavia. Aun 31. Uppsala. Pühvel Jaan. 1989. Comparative Mythology. Baltimore and London. Saluäär, Anu (Transi.). 2000. Saxo Grammaticus: Taanlaste vägiteod. Loomingu Raamatukogu 8-10. Tallinn. Sepp, Rein (Transi.). 1970. Vanem Edda. Tallinn. —. (Transi). 1990. Noorem Edda. Valik tekste: Tallinn. Shetelig, Haakon & Hjalmar Falk. 1937. Scandinavian Archaeology. Oxford. Simek, Rudolf 1990. Altnordische Kosmographie: Studien und Quellen zu Weltbild und Weltbeschreibung in Norwegen und Island vom 12. bis zum 14. Jahrhundert. Ergänzungsbände zum Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde IV. Berlin, New York. Smissen, Johannes van der. 1849. “Olaf der Heilige auf Oesel, nebst einigen Bemerkungen über die Nachrichten der Isländer von Estland.” In: Friedrich Georg von Bunge (Ed.). Das Inland: Eine Wochenschrift für Liv-, Esth- und Curländische Geschichte, Geographie, Statistik und Litte­ ratur 35. Dorpat. 600-604. Snorri Sturluson: Heimskringla I. Edited by Bjami Aðalbjamarson. Islenzk fomrit XXVI, 1979. Reykjavik. Sögubrot af nokkurum fornkonungum i Dana- ok Sviaveldi. Edited by Guðni Jónsson, Bjami Vilhjálmsson. Fornaldarsögur Norõurlanda II, 19431944. Reykjavik.

A Few Additions to the Depiction of Estonia and the Eastern Shore

63

Steblin-Kamenski, Mihhail. 1974. Islandi kultuur. Translated by Arvo Alas. Tallinn. Sundqvist, Olof. 2002. Freyr's Offspring: Rulers and Religion in Ancient Svea Society. Historia Religionum 21. Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. Uppsala. Zilmer, Kristel. 2003. “Learning about Places and People: Representations of Travelling Connections and Communication Situation in the Sagas of Icelanders.” In: Stefanie Würth, Tõnno Jonuks, Axel Kristinsson (Eds.). Sagas and Societies: International Conference at Borgarnes, Iceland. September 5-9, 2002. University of Tübingen, Germany. http://w210.ub.uni-tuebingen.de/dbt/volltexte/2004/1076/pdf/ 22_kri~l .pdf. —. 2005. ‘He Drowned in Holmr’s Sea - His Cargo-ship Drifted to the Seabottom, Only Three Came out Alive. ’ Records and Representations of Baltic Traffic in the Viking Age and the Early Middle Ages in Early Nordic Sources. Dissertationes philologiae scandinavicae Universitatis Tartuensis 1. Nordistica Tartuensia 12. Tartu. Tamla, Ülle. 1995. “Scandinavian Influences on the Estonian Silver Orna­ ments of the 9th-13th Centuries.” In: Ingmar Jansson (Ed.). Archaeology East and West o f the Baltic. Papers from the Second Estonian-Swedish Archaeological Symposium Sigtuna, May 1991. Theses and papers in archaeology N.S. A 7. Stockholm. Tarvel, Enn. 1987. “Henrik ja tema aeg.” In: Religiooni ja ateismi ajaloost Eestis. Artiklite kogumik III. Tallinn. 7-32. Tegnér, Esaias. 1922. Frithjof: Skandinaavia Kalevipoeg. Translated by Peeter Grünfeldt. Tallinn. Uluots, Jüri. 1975. Eestlaste lepingud võõrastega XIII sajandil. Maaijamaa taskuraamat nr 6. Rooma. Wilson, John (Ed.). 1953. Samsons saga fagra. Samfund til udgivelse af gammel nordisk litteratur 65:1. København.

Tõnno Jonuks Estonian Literary Museum, Tartu [email protected]

KRISTEL ZILMER

The Motive of Travelling in Saga Narrative Introduction There were two brothers called Sigtrygg Travel-quick and Hallvard Travel-hard, who came from Vik and were among King Harald’s men. [...] Sigtrygg and Hallvard handled all the king’s missions, both in Norway and outside it, and had made many dangerous voyages, both to execute people and confiscate property from people whose homes the king had ordered to be attacked. They took a large band of men with them everywhere and were not popular among the common people, but the king respected them highly. They were outstanding runners and skiers, capable of outsailing other men, and strong and shrewd in most respects.1 The quote above derives from Egils saga Skalla Grimssonar - one of the most well known sagas of Icelanders (.Islendingasögur) - introducing two saga characters who play a certain role in the activities unfolding in Norway during the earlier stages of the saga.1 1 Egils saga Skalla-Grimssonar, ch. 18 (The Complete Sagas o f Icelanders (CSI) I, p. 51). In Old Norse: Sigtryggr snarfari ok Hallvardr hardfari hétu brœðr tveir; þeir váru með Haraldi konungi, víkverskir menn; [...] Þeir Sigtryggr ok Hallvarðr hQfðu sendiferðir konungs allar, bœói innan lands ok útan lands, ok hgfdu margar ferdir þœr farit, er håskasamligar váru, bædi til aftQku manna eda fé upp at taka fyrir þeim тдппит, er konungr lætr heimferdir veita. Þeir hgfdu sveit mikla um sik; ekki våru þeir vingadir alþýdu manns, en konungr mat þá mikils, ok váru þeir allra manna bezt fœrir bædi á fæti ok á skidum, svå ok i skipfprum våru þeir hvatfærri en adrir menn; hreystimenn våru þeir ok miklir okforsjålir um flest (íslenzkfomrit (ÍF) II, p. 44).

The Motive of Travelling in Saga Narrative

65

The two brothers described here, Sigtryggr and Hallvarðr, are identified as travellers who undertook different missions both inland and abroad, as commanded by the Norwegian king. Already their nicknames, snarfari (Travel-quick) and harðfari (Travel-hard), serve to underline the nature of their main engagements, as well as what could be conside­ red their typical personality traits. Such imagery is further supported in the saga by additional comments concerning their skills and status in the eyes of others; a point is made about Sigtryggr and Hallvarðr being held in high esteem by the king, whereas ordinary people - who naturally had to suffer under their attacks - were obviously not so enthusiastic about their accomplishments. In accordance with traditional patterns of narration, the saga also provides information on the genealogical background of the two, making it clear that the men had remarkable connections both on the mother’s and father’s side. We even learn that besides Sigtryggr and Hallvarðr, there were two more sons in the family - Þórðr and Þorgeirr; the latter two were younger and did not travel around but took care of the household. In this manner the quoted passage may serve as our point of departure when casting light on some narrative strategies applied by sagas in dealing with travel-related themes. To name one example, we observe here how the information concerning travelling is fused into the introduction and general description of new saga figures - in this particular case by applying specific nicknames,2 and also by explicitly referring to their “dangerous voyages”. Another interesting feature to consider in connection with this is the manner in which travelling as an activity contributes to personal significance, no matter whether the 2 Similar nicknames can be found in other sagas, see e.g. chs. 30, 77 of Grettis saga Ásmundarsonar (the Traveller, the Much-travelled); ch. 1 of Þorskfirðinga saga (the Much-travelled); ch. 46 of Vatnsdœla saga (the Far-traveller); ch. 7 of Hœnsa-Þóris saga (the Travel-Wide); as well as Þorvalds þáttr víðfprla.

66

Kristel Zilmer

people in question otherwise appear in a positive or negative light. Also, with regard to the differences between the named brothers (Sigtryggr, Hallvarðr, Þórðr and Þorgeirr) - on the basis of the saga statements these four men can, in fact, be divided into two rather different perso­ nality categories: those who stayed at home and those who engaged in travelling and hence were active on various fronts. In this current paper I wish to discuss the narrative representation of the motive of travelling in the sagas of Icelanders. To start with, we shall outline the general nature of the source material as well as moti­ vate the chosen approach; the second and the central part of the paper then undertakes a closer analysis of the sagas’ treatment of travel-related themes with the purpose of identifying characteristic concepts; and finally, a few broader cultural perspectives will be introduced into the discussion.

Studying the Sagas of Icelanders: What, Why and How As determined above, this current paper deals with travel-related themes in certain sagas that are collectively labelled as Islendingasögur, the sagas of Icelanders.3 In addition to the sagas, a few examples will also be given from shorter prose-tales known as þœttir\ the latter usually have a more concentrated plot than the sagas, although the borderline between shorter sagas and longer þœttir is not always obvious.4 In saga studies it has become a usual convention to divide the known volume of saga literature into various sub-groups or genres according to their main subject matter, assumed temporal context, conditions of origin and preservation, and distinctive stylistic and compositional fea­ tures. In many ways this division indeed proves to be a justified research 3 These sagas may in English also be referred to as the “family sagas”. 4 Many of the þœttir are preserved in compilations of kings’ sagas, but theme-wise they demonstrate parallels to the sagas of Icelanders.

The Motive of Travelling in Saga Narrative

67

tool; looking at the whole continuum of Icelandic sagas we do find that certain sagas have central features in common with each other, which at the same time allow us to treat them separately from other forms of saga literature. However, it should at all times be kept in mind that any such genre specifications are modem constructions, which do not automati­ cally accord with the traditional reality of saga composition.5 The sagas of Icelanders tell us about the lives, activities and conflicts (i.e. series of feuds) of well-known Icelandic families - both chieftains and farmers - concentrating on the period around 930-1030, which is therefore often designed as ‘the Saga Age’ (sggugld). In their intro­ ductory sections some sagas also relate of the times of the settlement of Iceland in the years from around 870-930. The emphases of individual sagas naturally vary considerably but we do find examples of extended saga narratives that follow the fate of one kin during many generations. The sagas of Icelanders can further be divided into different groups either according to their assumed age of composition or their main themes. With regard to the first aspect, certain scholars divide íslendingasögur within the groups of archaic sagas, classical sagas and postclassical sagas.6 Age and thematic considerations are sometimes united; according to one suggestion we could distinguish between the sagas of poets (skald sagas), early feud sagas, classical feud sagas, tragedies, and the sagas of champions and wonders.7

5 See e.g. Vesteinn Ólason, Dialogues with the Viking Age. Narration and Representation in the Sagas o f the Icelanders. 1998, pp. 17-18; P. Meulengracht Sørensen, Saga and Society. An Introduction to Old Norse Literature. 1993, p. 168. 6 See the scheme in E. Mundal, “Sagalitteraturen.” 2004, p. 291. 7 See the preface to The Complete Sagas of Icelanders I, pp. xxi-xxii, with reference to the classification proposed by Vesteinn Ólason, as well as an adaptation developed by Ömólfur Thorsson. The latter brings out cate­ gories such as the Vinland sagas, biographies (including the sagas of poets, the sagas of outlaws and the sagas of champions), and feud sagas.

68

Kristel Zilmer

Today, approximately forty íslendingasögur are known8 - they are preserved in a more or less complete form in various later manuscripts, which means that the texts we can actually study are not originals but copies and copies of copies.9 It is traditionally considered that the most active period for the writing of Islendingasögur unfolded from the beginning of the 13th to mid-14th century. Thus, these sagas provide us with a retrospective interpretation of the Icelanders’ past - although at the same time the realistic narrative makes a claim to present historical circumstances and events. The sagas’ relationship to the period they describe and to the potentially authentic oral tradition of earlier times has long been a subject of vigorous scholarly discussions. In traditional saga scholarship there used to be much debate around the question whether the sagas should be regarded as “documents about the historical past” or as “poetic writings”.101It is not possible to provide an overview of such exhaustive methodological issues in this current paper, but the following more recent developments should be brought to the fore. L. Lönnroth has given a summary of four central developments in saga scholarship. Instead of the earlier dominating text-critical approach and the study of inter-textual relationships, scholars have now developed a more literary interest towards the meaningful constituents of the saga narrative. Also, it is noticeable that more attention is paid to The exact number of the sagas of Icelanders can be discussed, since scholars categorise some sagas differently. 9 The study of saga literature is hence further complicated by various textcritical considerations. See e.g. J. G. Jørgensen, “Sagalitteratur som forskningsmateriale. Utgaver og utnyttelse.” 2002. The author also criticises the application of idealised standard editions in such saga research that attempts to analyse linguistic or stylistic matters in texts. 10 P. Meulengracht Sørensen, “Some Methodological Considerations in Connection with the Study of the Sagas.” 1992, p. 27. 11 L. Lönnroth, “På andra sidan Fyrisvallama. Några tendenser i modem sagaforskning.” 1993, see particularly pp. 86-97.

The Motive of Travelling in Saga Narrative

69

the comparative study of sagas in the light of contemporary European evidence. New perspectives have been added from research into the fea­ tures of various oral cultures. And finally, sagas are perceived as sources that can reflect the mentality and ideology of the saga-writing period. Furthermore, certain scholars have re-evaluated the collective value of the saga material, paying attention to the overall picture that the sagas produce of the past, where reoccurring patterns may provide witness to the historical core of the tradition.12 In this way the approaches applied in modem saga scholarship are more dynamic and all-inclusive. To quote the words of P. Meulengracht Sørensen: They [i.e. the sagas] are accounts of events that took place in a previous culture and as such are appropriate objects for historical and anthropological study, but they are also narrative presentations of that past and therefore suitable objects for literary analysis and interpretation.13 In this current context we regard the sagas of Icelanders as complex cul­ tural representations and voices of a past tradition. From this it follows that the sharp distinction between factual history and imaginative fiction as such does not really serve its purpose - rather, the sources should be understood as integral entities that follow their own modes of expression where meaning is created by the dialectical interplay between the expe­ riences and images of the past and their interpretation in the contempo­ rary communicative context. A few comments should be made with regard to the choice of the sagas of Icelanders as sources for this particular study. The sagas of Icelanders make up a collection of stories that focus primarily on the matter of Iceland - that is, on the characteristic aspects of its local tradition. The main setting is usually Iceland, although much of the 12 See e.g. Vésteinn Ólason, “Norrøn litteratur som historisk kildemate­ riale.” 1987, especially pp. 38,41. 13 P. Meulengracht Sørensen, 1992, p. 33. My addition.

70

Kristel Zilmer

(initial) action can be related to Norway. At the same time the sagas of Icelanders do contain elucidative information about the saga characters’ travels on a broader scale. Various scholars have acknowledged travelling as a specific plot developing device in the sagas. Travel-related motives have been cha­ racterised as important structural and content elements that guide over the composition of various sagas and shorter þœttir,14 Additional emphasis has been given to the interpretation that sees travelling as a way to determine the advancement of a saga hero’s career through his accomplishments abroad.15 Attention has even been paid to the potential cultural-historical significance of the emergence of travel themes in the saga literature, as a reflection of the Icelanders’ traditional way of life the settlement of the country was in itself the outcome of travelling, and contacts with other regions (first of all with Scandinavia) remained crucial for further development.16 Among concrete informative ele­ ments, the sagas’ application of different place and inhabitant names has been under scrutiny in a number of connections.17 14 See e.g. J. Harris, “Genre and Narrative Structure in Some íslendinga þættir.” 1972; L. Lönnroth, Njáls Saga: A Critical Introduction. 1976, particularly pp. 42-103; E. Mundal, 2004, p. 297. 15 See e.g. P. Meulengracht Sørensen, Fortælling og ære. Studier i islændingesagaeme. 1993, pp. 224-226; Vésteinn Ólason, 1998, pp. 78-79. 16 In connection with this, К. Hastrup has understood foreign travels as “an important element in the training of young men”, Culture and History in Medieval Iceland. 1985, p. 223. 17 It should be underlined that this current study focuses on the narrative representation of travel in the sagas, and does not seek to discuss the span of the world that was known to the Icelanders, or address questions in connection with particular geographical destinations. It is also for that reason that we have chosen to concentrate on the íslendingasögur where travel-related themes are presented in the framework of a full-bodied and at the same time realistic mode of narration that seeks to portray the Icelanders’ own past. For studies that deal with various destinations as recorded in the sagas of Icelanders, see e.g. the M.Phil. study by

The Motive of Travelling in Saga Narrative

71

The following discussion of travel as depicted in the sagas of Ice­ landers purports to illuminate some characteristic patterns and distinc­ tive concepts that offer deeper insight into the semantics of travelrelated themes in the saga narrative. The illustrative examples are mainly treated as collective evidence of tendencies present in the overall material, but at the same time we attempt to point out certain individual foci that become apparent from different sagas.

The Semantics of Travel General Schemes of Narration In the setting presented by the sagas of Icelanders, we may generally distinguish between scenes that are staged on the so-called native arena and scenes that take place somewhere abroad, i.e. outside the saga characters’ usual environment. The applied perspectives may differ; for example, in the introductory segments of certain sagas, Norway makes up the initial home-base from where travels are made into different areas, including the actual settlement voyages to Iceland. With the shifting focus, Iceland turns into the main stage for action, whereas

Š. Radvilavičius, Islendingenes oikoumene i islendingesagaene og Heimskringla. 1998; K. Zilmer, “Learning about Places and People: Representations of Travelling Connections and Communication Situation in the Sagas of Icelanders.” 2003; as well as K. Zilmer, 'He Drowned in Holmr's Sea - His Cargo-ship Drifted to the Sea-bottom, Only Three Came out Alive 2005 (the latter work contains an overview of Baltic destinations as recorded in the sagas of Icelanders and some kings’ sagas). Much focus has otherwise been given to the evidence of the kings’ sagas, as well as the geographical writings of medieval Icelanders, which allow one to discuss travelling connections from a different source platform (cf. e.g. R. Simek, Altnordische Kosmographie: Studien und Quellen zu Weltbild und Weltbeschreibung in Norwegen und Island vom 12. bis zum 14. Jahrhundert. 1990).

72

Kristel Zilmer

Norway now figures as a common travelling target, or as a temporary station for further voyages.18 Both arenas - home and abroad - can be equally important for the unfolding plot and the main conflicts) that the saga is centred around. The emphasis then depends on the concrete narrative devices that are applied in a particular saga. On the one hand, we thus have sagas where the evolving confrontation between two saga characters actually gets shaped during their travelling ventures; sometimes the roots of oppo­ sition may lie more or less directly in an incident occurring abroad.19 Even when such connections are not explicitly stated, it is still obvious that certain sagas (or parts of them) pay considerable attention to the varyingly purposed journeys that the heroes undertake during different stages of their lives. In its purest form the main story-line may thus deal with explorative voyages to some remote regions, as is the case with the Vinland expeditions that lie in the focus of Eiriks saga rauða and Grœnlendinga saga. In some sagas, the theme of travelling is a reoccurring pattern that divides the narrative into various sequences, and now and then even builds a unifying frame around it. In the abovementioned Egils saga, we hear in some detail about Egill’s major raids and expeditions; these journeys constitute an important part of the whole saga, since they depict the personal development of the main hero and reflect Egill’s changing relationship with his brother Þórólfr. In addition to that, Egils saga offers us a classical example of how the semantics of travel gets connected with the representation of various saga characters - as a matter of fact, the saga both starts and concludes according to 18 Norway usually makes up the point of departure for the Icelanders’ further travels around the Baltic, to the British Isles or various parts of the European mainland. 19 See e.g. Gunnlaugs saga ormstungu, and the conflict pattem concerning Gunnlaugr and Hrafn. In ch. 9 there is a scene at the Swedish king’s court where Gunnlaugr and Hrafn - both mastering the skaldic art - get into a dispute with each other while reciting praise poems to the king, which eventually causes their friendship to end.

The Motive of Travelling in Saga Narrative

73

such a pattem. The saga begins with information about Úlfr (Kveldúlfr), Egill’s grandfather: “Ulf was so big and strong that no man was a match for him; and he was still only a youth when he became a viking and went raiding”;20 and its final part refers to the grandsons of Egill, among whom “[...] Skuli was the greatest. He lived at Borg after his father’s day and spent a long time on viking raids.”212 On the other hand, it should be remembered that the sagas of Ice­ landers also contain numerous cases of merely brief and concentrated references to the fact of going abroad, without much additional infor­ mation about the circumstances around that or the events occurring during these travels. The incidental mode of corresponding references does not automatically mean that the act of travelling is in itself regarded as insignificant - otherwise it could simply be left unmen­ tioned. Rather, this presentation strategy stands in connection with the general style of saga writing, which concentrates on the most dramatic events and highlights, and normally does not devote much attention to situations that do not exercise straightforward influence on the conflict matter. The same also applies to the scenes at home - along similar lines, the sagas may find it sufficient to give a summary of the events of several years by simply stating that nothing worthy of mention happened. From this it follows that as a rule neither the scenes at home

20 Egils saga, ch. 1 (CSI I, p. 33). Úlfr var maðr svá mikill ok sterkr, at eigi váru hans jafningjar; en er hann var å unga aldri, lå hann i vikingu ok herjaöi (ÍFII, p. 3). 21 Egils saga, ch. 87 (CSI I, p. 177). [...] en Sküli var mestr; hann bjó at Borg eptir dag Þorsteins, fQÖur sins. Sküli var lengi i viking (ÍF II, p. 300). Similar framing we also find for example in Kormáks saga (cf. chs. 1, 27); Hallfredar saga (chs. 1, 11); Grænlendinga saga (chs. 1, 9); Grettis saga (chs. 1,93). 22 However, as soon as the story-line reaches its more dramatic points, the pace of the narration is slowed down considerably, allowing the narrator to give an in-depth presentation of a variety of details.

74

Kristel Zilmer

nor the scenes abroad contain detailed milieu descriptions; the sagas do not usually aim at portraying foreign regions and their inhabitants but merely cast light on the deeds of the main characters. So far we have operated with a general distinction between the home arena and the foreign arena, at the same time pointing out certain simi­ larities in the narrative function of the scenes that are carried out in those settings. However, it should be added that in the sagas of Ice­ landers travelling does not necessarily have to indicate journeys to foreign destinations. We could namely also claim that even such saga depictions that signal mobility within the Icelandic (or some other setting) function as travel scenes from the point of view of the overall narrative scheme. In as far as movement outside a person’s immediate home-base is involved, these trips contribute in a similar manner to the travel-related imagery of the sagas. In some sagas we even learn about a special group of road-travellers - people who were constantly wandering around the country.2324 Often there are parallel motives behind such inland travels and the journeys overseas; in both cases the reason for the saga character’s mobility may for example lie in the fact that he has been declared an outlaw and has to leave the country or - if he decides to stay in Iceland - go in hiding and constantly move from one spot to another.25 In connection with this we witness what could be called the 23 That is to say, usually only the identifying labels (place names and inhabitant names) are provided. The sagas that relate of travels to Vinland deviate somewhat from this general pattem, since they portray the journey, the discovered regions and the natives in some more detail, at the same time combining these descriptions with some supernatural elements. A few similar examples are also found in other sagas, e.g. in Egils saga. 24 See e.g. Gisla saga Súrssonar, ch. 28. 25 Cf. Grettis saga that depicts inland travel in connection with outlawry, see e.g. ch. 61: “He spent the whole summer and winter travelling and went to see all the leading men, but he was turned away everywhere and could find neither food nor a place to sleep” (CSI II, p. 146).

The Motive of Travelling in Saga Narrative

75

forced travels of saga people; although the line between these and the travels that one undertakes of one’s own free choice is not always impor­ tant - one may also evolve into the other, and either type may bring about positive or negätive results (such as fame, fortune or failure and death). Similarly, the urge to visit certain people, resolve conflicts, carry out punishing missions, trade or obtain goods, learn about particular news, attend feasts or assemblies, etc., may play a role both when travelling around in one’s native area (Iceland) or heading off towards some other region.26 At the same time, we do also find certain distinctive features about foreign travels that set them apart from the more customarynatured inland mobility. These longer journeys are in a very specific way connected to the idea of manhood and honour, which includes gaining wealth, renown and high status - that is to say, travelling abroad signals accomplishments on a more distinguished level exactly for the reason that it takes place outside one’s usual environment and allows one to achieve something out of the ordinary. In the following step we shall thus concentrate on this latter form of travel (i.e. foreign ventures) and illustrate corresponding motives more closely. For that purpose, the whole volume of íslendingasögur has been consulted but when quoting relevant saga examples certain emphasis will be given to Egils saga, where the theme of travel is indeed central.27

Var harm í þessarri ferd um sumarit ok vetrinn ok farm alia ina meiri menn, ok bœgði honum svå vid, at hvergi fekk harm vist né veru (ÍF VII, p. 201); cf. also Gisla saga. 26 Even the motives of exploration and/or settlement may connect both with inland and foreign travels. One example concerning Greenland - which simultaneously functions as a foreign target and a new settlement area can be found in ch. 2 of Eiriks saga rauda, with the depiction of Eirikr arriving in Greenland and exploring the country. 27 Egils saga deals with the events during the 10th century, but also looks back at the times of Egill’s grandfather and father, and their conflicts with the Norwegian king towards the end of the 9th century. Norway is also the scene to which Egill and his brother return later in the saga.

76

Kristel Zilmer

Motives in Connection with Depicting Travel and Travellers Travelling makes up an important constituent of many a saga narrative; even the laconic and incidental travel references often carry the task of introducing or characterising a person of some significance. In this manner travelling in sagas emerges as a commonly accepted and respected custom, and related themes often serve to illuminate the features and deeds of young men who mature and make themselves a jo name through their adventures abroad. The depictions of travel are connected with named persons; the described act of travelling singles out individual travellers, gives them a certain identity and adds obvious qualities to their personalities. Usually one can expect such commentaries to concern those saga characters whose imagery entails some form of positive evaluation or admiration. For example in Egils saga we hear of a man called Þorgils gjallandi: There was a man called Thorgils Boomer whom Thorolf regarded most highly among all the members of his household. He had been on viking raids with Thorolf as his standard-bearer and sat in the prow of his boat. [...] He was a man of great might and courage.2829 Or take Hallfreðar saga: Now the foster-brothers Ottar and Avaldi left the country, heading west to England, and acquired wealth for themselves. They spent three or four years sailing between Norway and England, and became

28 See also K. Zilmer, 2003. 29 Egils saga, ch. 13 (CSI I, p. 46). Þorgils gjallandi hét madr; hann var heimamaðr Þórólfs ok hafói a f komm mesta viróing húskarla hans; hann haföi fylgt Þórólfi, þá er hann var i viking, var þá stafnbúi hans ok merkismaår. [...] Þorgils var rammr at afli ok inn mesti hreystimadr (ÍFII, p. 33).

The Motive of Travelling in Saga Narrative

77

very wealthy. They then went to the Orkneys, where they were highly regarded by worthy men.30 However, the saga may also highlight the travel-related accomplishments of such characters whose features are otherwise characterised in more negative terms. In the same chapter of Hallfreðar saga we are introduced to a person called Sokki, “a big man and vicious to deal with” of whom it is said that “he went far and wide on plundering raids”.3132 The examples above have shown that when depicting the activities of individual travellers it is possible to either point out the destinations they reached or simply speak of travelling in general terms. When more attention is given to the undertaken act of travelling, it is natural to fit the information about destinations into the same scheme. But when the story wishes to simply bring to the fore certain personal skills of the traveller, corresponding specifications are not always necessary. On the other hand, in certain other contexts the identification of particular travel skills - which include knowledge of routes, etc. - may still require a more detailed approach, as visible from the depiction of the Norwegian king’s messenger in Egils saga: 30 Hallfreóar saga, ch. 1 (CSI I, p. 227). Nú fara þeir ór landi fóstbrœðr, Ottarr ok Avaldi, vestr til Englands ok afla sér får. Þrjá vetr еда fjóra váru þeir í siglingum til Englands ok áttu þá stórfé. Þeir fóru þá til Orkneyja ok váruþar vel metnir a f góðum mpnnum (IF VIII, p. 138). 31 Hallfreðar saga, ch. 1 (CSI I, p. 225). [...] víkingr einn mikill ok illr vióreignar; hann fór víða meó hemaói (IF VIII, p. 135). 32 Compare e.g. Þorvaróar þáttr krákunefs, about Þorvarðr: “He was rich and a man of integrity. He travelled from country to country and was highly esteemed wherever he came” (CSI I, p. 397). [...] audigr madr ok drengr góór. Hann fór milli landa ok mazk vel, þar sem hann kom (IF VI, p. 371); and ch. 27 of Kormåks saga: “The brothers went raiding in Ireland, Wales, England and Scotland and were thought to be the most excellent men. It was they who established the stronghold named Scarborough” (CSI I, pp. 222-223). En þeir brœór herjuðu um Irland, Bretland, England, Skotland, ok þóttu inir ágœztu menn. Þeir settu fyrst virki þat, er heitir Skarðaborg (ÍF VIII, pp. 298-299).

78

Kristel Zilmer

The messenger who brought the command from the king was a widely travelled man. He had spent long periods in Denmark and Sweden and was familiar with the routes and knew all about the people there too. He had also been all over Norway.33 Along the lines of introducing the capacities of the travellers, the sagas naturally comment upon the practical activities in connection with travelling. When focusing upon the explicit categories of enterprises, we see that these differ from one time to another, but the most typical engagements are raiding and trading - as illustrated by a character presentation from Egils saga: “Bjorn was a great traveller and a most accomplished man, sometimes going on viking raids and sometimes trading.”34 Both enterprises can easily be combined with each other, which provides witness to the mixed nature of undertaken campaigns. Indeed, voyages often comprise both elements - as for example told about EgilTs and Þórólfr’s campaign to Curonia: “They offered the people there a fortnight’s truce and traded with them, and then the truce was over they began plundering again.”35 A number of other background motives explain why people go travelling - either of their own free will or as the result of pressure from others and confrontations with their opponents.36 Although usually we experience that the reasoning behind travelling has a pragmatic orientation, the sagas may occasionally make a point about the 33 Egils saga, ch. 70 (CSI I, p. 138). Madr så, er ørendiþetta bar, hann var allra landa maðr, hafdi verit iQngum i Danmprk ok i Sviaveldi; var honum þar allt kunnigtfyrir bædi um leidir ok mannadeili; hann hafdi ok vida farit um Nóreg (ÍFII, p. 221). 34 Egils saga, ch. 32 (CSI I, p. 69). Bjgrn varfarmadr mikill, var stundum i viking, en stundum i kaupferdum (EF II, p. 83). 35 Egils saga, ch. 46 (CSI I, p. 85). Heldu þeir ok iit til Kurlands ok iQgdu par vid land med halfs månadar fridi ok kaupstefnu; en er pvi var lokit, þá tdku peir at herja (ÍFII, p. 114). 36 See also the discussion of the sagas’ narrative schemes in connection with inland and foreign travels, above.

The Motive of Travelling in Saga Narrative

79

character’s genuine eagerness to experience the world and learn about other people.3738Among more specific circumstances we could further mention the motivating role of news about new, attractive regions or about interesting developments that have happened in a different country. One such example meets us in ch. 37 of Grettis saga, where Grettir learns about the change of power in Norway and immediately gets a desire to travel there. Or, from a different perspective, in ch. 23 of Egils saga, it is related about the settlement of Iceland and the voyagers Ingólfr and Hjprleifr. This fact is of inspiration for Kveldúlfr’s and Skallagrimr’s decision to leave Norway and travel to Iceland. Whatever the practical reasoning and motivating factors, one thing is, though, clear - according to the sagas’ representation of travel, there exist some superior ideals that govern over this activity. Such ideals have to do with the outcome of the journey, which is expected to pro­ mote one’s career in alternative ways. Sometimes after his return, the hero can solve the conflicts that initially made him leave the country, whereas in other saga situations he can pursue his own revenge actions, io now that he has gained more power and confidence. More importantly, during the course of travelling the saga character can win himself not only a better material and social status, but also a glorious reputation. The saga often places emphasis on all of these values; and even if it is only the more practical results that get mentioned, they contribute to the (implicit) concept of honour and fame as well. We could illustrate this with a few saga examples. Starting with some very concrete and materialistic results of travel, it is told in Egils saga about Þórólfr that when he returned to Iceland after having been 37 See e.g. Laxdœla saga, ch. 40. 38 Travels can also have a decisive effect on the saga characters’ mutual relationships - both in a positive and negative respect. A positive case is when two opponents end up establishing closer ties during their travels. On the other hand, confrontations during travelling may lead to even stronger hostilities.

80

Kristel Zilmer

abroad for a longer period of time, he “took great amount of wealth and many precious things with him”.39 In Fóstbrœðra saga, the explicit focus is placed not only on the material gain from trading, but also on the courage of the hero Þorgeirr who traded with Wends at times when peaceful trading there was rare: “He proved his excellence on this journey and obtained all he asked for.”40 Similarly, the description of Gunnlaugr’s achievements while plundering and raiding together with the earl of Orkney brings out the more abstract values of travelling: “Wherever they went, Gunnlaug proved himself to be a veiy brave and valiant fellow, and very manly.”41 The saga may even state that if the hero cannot achieve both wealth and honour during his travels, the latter is preferred; according to Qgmundar þáttr dytts: “Now it seems impor­ tant to me that you should get honour and reputation from the journey rather than a lot of money, if you can’t get both.”42 There is a certain admiration related to the imagery of foreign ventures. Therefore it is no wonder that some saga figures are depicted as having a strong urge to travel in order to be able to achieve something in their lives and be accepted by others. In most situations it is the person himself who expresses his wish to go travelling - and this can occur already at a rather young age: “When Gunnlaug was twelve years old, he asked his father for some wares to cover his travelling expenses, saying

39 Egils saga, ch. 38 (CSI I, p. 75). [...] kann hafói þá ógrynni fjár ок dýrgripi marga (ÍF П, p. 95). 40 Fóstbrœðra saga, ch. 8 (CSI II, p. 348). A f þessi ferð varð kann ágœtr, því at hann haföi þat afhverjum, sem hann vildi (ÍF VI, p. 159). 41 Gunnlaugs saga, ch. 12 (CSI I, p. 329). [...] ок reyndisk Gunnlaugr inn hraustasti ok inn vaskasti drengr ok inn haröasti karlmaór, hvar sem þeir kómu (ÍF Ш, p. 99). 42 This is what Glúmr says to Qgmundr in Qgmundar þáttr dytts (CSI II, p. 314). [...] пй þœtti mér mildu skipta, at þú f engir heldr a f fprinni sœmð ok mannvirðing en mikitfé, ef eigi er hvárstveggja kostr (IF IX, p. 102).

The Motive of Travelling in Saga Narrative

81

that he wanted to go abroad and see how other people lived.”43 In this particular case, however, Gunnlaugr’s father Illugi does not support the son’s first attempt, because Gunnlaugr obviously is not mature enough for such a demanding enterprise; in fact, according to Illugi, the result would be that the people abroad would get a poor impression of Gunnlaugr. To name an opposite example, sometimes we hear instead how a relative advises a saga figure to go travelling in order to grow in others’ eyes and gain more respect. In Hallfreðar saga this is the advice Hallfreðr receives from his father and foster father; he is even offered money so that he could make his trip.44 However - as already shown by the Gunnlaugr example - wanting to go abroad and make oneself a name is not always enough; a man also has to have certain pre-qualifications. He has to have what it takes to become a real traveller. Age can be one decisive matter, but it is by far not the most important aspect, since in the sagas’ narrative represen­ tation the travellers are often youngsters, i.e. they are still in their teens 45 Among other factors the sagas mention resources that allow one to pay for the passage or purchase (half of) a ship. However, the lack of material possessions does not have to be a disadvantage, because if the man otherwise demonstrates great skills and strength, he can be chosen to become the partner of someone more wealthy. This is what we learn about Hgrðr in Harðar saga, where a certain Brynjólff invites Hgrðr along, promising him half of his ship, since Hgrðr has demonstrated that

43 Gunnlaugs saga, ch. 4 (CSI I, p. 309). Ok er Gunnlaugr var tólf vetra gamall, bad kann fQÖur sinn fararefna, ok kvazk hann vilja fara útan ok sjá siö annarra manna (IF III, p. 59). 44 Cf. Hallfredar saga, ch. 4. 45 See e.g. ch. 5 of Víga-Glúms saga: “Glum was fifteen years old when he decided to go abroad” (CSI П, p. 274). Þá var Glúmr fimmtan vetra, er hann Jystisk útan (ÍF IX, p. 16). Glúmr does well during his travels and acquires a lot of wealth, but later in the saga a fellow insults him by stating that he still seems to be as foolish as when he went travelling (cf. ch. 7).

82

Kristel Zilmer

he is “well-suited to travel abroad and to be in the company of distinguished men”.46 In Hreiðars þáttr there is an interesting scene that further highlights the concept of required mental and physical capacity. The character Hreiðarr wants to go abroad, as his brother Þórðr does, but it is said that he is not smart enough. This is what Hreiðarr hears from his brother: “I don’t think you are suited for travelling.”47 Nevertheless, Hreiðarr gets his chance to travel, and this turns out to be a positive experience for him despite all the problems, so the tale can end with the statement: “For the most part he outgrew the foolishness which he had adopted in the first half of his life.”48 As mentioned above, a typical feature of the depicted travellers is their young age. The most vigorous travellers end up spending years and years abroad - a good example is Egill Skallagrimsson. In Harðar saga, it is related about Hgrðr’s return to Iceland: “Hord was then thirty years old. He had been abroad continuously for fifteen years and had become rich and highly esteemed.”49 Our final comments concern the sagas’ depiction of travel as such. In correspondence with the traditional saga style, there is not much talk about the so-called outer characteristics of a journey. In many contexts we therefore only find very brief statements of the kind provided by Egils saga: “Egil put out to sea when he was ready, and nothing of note happened until he reached Norway.”50 46 Hardar saga, ch. 12 (CSIII, p. 205). [...] vel hent at fara utan ok vera á hendi tignum mönnum (IF XIII, p. 33). 47 Hreiðars þáttr (CSI I, p. 375). Ekki þykki mér þér fallinn fprin (ÍF X, p. 247). 48 Hreidars þáttr (CSI I, p. 384). [...] ok hefir hann gQrt sér at mestum hluta þau kynjalæti, er hann sló á sik innjyrra hluta œvinnar (IF III, p. 260). 49 Hardar saga, ch. 20 (CSI II, p. 215). Hann haföi þá utan verit fimmtån vetr i einu ok orðit gott tilfjår bædi ok virdingar (BF XIII, pp. 52-53). 50 Egils saga, ch. 56 (CSI I, p. 104). Egill sigldi i haf, er hann var búinn; er frá hans ferd ekki at segja,fyrr en hann kemr til Ndregs (EF II, p. 152).

The Motive of Travelling in Saga Narrative

83

However, certain focus may be placed on the preparations for the journey - which usually start in spring with getting the ships ready, fin­ ding a suitable crew, etc.51 We also find frequent information about the weather conditions, and particularly the winds. The patterns of favou­ rable or unfavourable travelling conditions that the travellers experience often accord with the emphasis of the story. Thus, depending on whether the journey has to be slowed down, or the travellers have to deviate from their intended course,52 or come to a forced stop somewhere, the weather and the winds can play a haltering role. Several corresponding examples can be found from Eiriks saga rauða and Grœnlendinga saga; to name but one passage from the first saga: “But when Leif sailed from Green­ land that summer the ship was driven off course to land in the Hebrides. From there they failed to get a favourable wind and had to stay in the islands for much of the summer.”53 Complicated travelling conditions may also be the outcome of previous problems and disagreements, or warn of those that are yet ahead. In Kormáks saga we hear about Kormákr’s intention to travel to Iceland, which the Norwegian king tries to dissuade him from. When Kormákr and his men set out on their journey, the wind and the sea turn harsh: “They put out to sea and suffered harsh weather, and on one 51 See e.g. ch. 19 of Egils saga: “Once spring arrived and the snow and ice melted, Thorolf had a great longship that he owned brought out, and had it prepared to sail and manned with more than one hundred of his men in all, an impressive and well-armed band” (CSI I, p. 52). Þá er vår kom ok snæ leysti ok ísa, þá léí Þórólfr fram setja langskip mikit, er hann åtti, ok lét þat búa ok skipaði húskQrlum sinum ok hafdi med ser meir en hundraö manna; varþat lið it fridasta ok vápnat allvel (ÍF II, p. 46). 52 Failing to reach the intended destination can in the best case lead to the discovery of a new land. 53 Eiriks saga rauda, ch. 5 (CSI I, p. 7). En er Leifr sigldi af Grcenlandi urn sumarit, urdu þeir sœhafa til Sudreyja. Þadan byrjadi þeim seint, ok dvQldusk þeir þar lengi um sumarit (IF IV, p. 209). We learn from the saga that during his stay Leifr meets a woman, who gets pregnant with his child.

84

Rristel Zilmer

occasion, when there had been a particularly heavy sea, people got wet.”54 In Laxdoela saga, Óláfr is on his way from Norway to Ireland there, as we learn later on, the travellers will initially encounter some problems with the locals. The journey to Ireland is indeed rough: “They had poor winds during the summer, the breezes light and blowing from the wrong direction, and spells of thick fog. They drifted long distances at sea. Most of the men on board soon lost their sense of direction.”55 On the other hand, in connection with the saga hero’s successful enterprises, even the travelling is often depicted to go smoothly.56 To a certain degree the shift between favourable/unfavourable travel condi­ tions may even depend on whether we are dealing with positive or nega­ tive missions.57 However, the main characters may also experience such hardships, the purpose of which is rather to highlight their outstanding skills and strength. In this manner, we are told about one of Egill’s journeys: “Once their ship was ready they set off, but encountered rough weather with strong, unfavourable winds. All the same, they proceeded vigorously, rowing when they needed to.”58

54 Kormaks saga, ch. 19 (CSI I, p. 210). Þeir láta i haf ok þola haróa veðráttu, ok eitt sinn, er komit hafói mikit áfall, váru menn vátir (IF VIII, p. 271). 55 Laxdœla saga, ch. 21 (CSI V, p. 26). Þeim byrjaði illa um sumarit; hafa þeir þokur miklar, en vinda litla ok óhagstœða, þá sem váru; rak þá víða um hafit; váru þeirflestir innan bords, at á kom hqfvilla (IF V, p. 53). 56 See e.g. ch. 56 of Egils saga, about his return to Iceland after having been away for twelve years and gained much success: “When Egil was ready and a favourable wind got up, he sailed out to sea and had an easy passage” (CSI I, p. 103). Ok er Egill var búinn ok byr gaf þá siglir hann i haf ok greiddisk hans ferð vel (ÍFII, p. 150). 57 See e.g. the travel descriptions in ch. 22 of Egils saga and ch. 2 of Hallfreóar saga. 58 Egils saga, ch. 43 (CSI I, p. 80). Fara þeir feróar sinnar, er þeir váru búnir, ok fengu veðrabálk haröan, hvQss veðr ok óhagstœð, en þeir sóttu feróina knáliga, tóku róðrarleiði (IF II, p. 106).

The Motive of Travelling in Saga Narrative

85

Telling Travel Stories As a separate aspect in the sagas’ representation of travel-related themes, we should briefly mention their own focus on travel stories. The sagas of Icelanders frequently make a point about the importance of telling tales about one’s foreign ventures and passing on news and knowledge about different destinations. This is an interesting fact to consider - especially since we at the same time know that the narratives we have got seldom contain thorough reports on the countries and people the travellers got acquainted with. Nevertheless, according to the saga image, travel stories as such are considered necessary and they are more than welcome. Numerous saga scenes mediate the message that one of the first things the returning travellers do is to meet with their relatives and/or friends and talk about their travel experiences: “Thorolf headed for land and went to see his father Kveldulf, who welcomed him. Thorolf told his father what happened on his travels in the summer.”59 The same may easily take place while the man is still on the road - the traveller who finds lodging at someone’s household or meets up at a king’s court is immediately expected to relate the news and speak of his travels.60 Sometimes the depicted situation unfolds as a dialogue where both parts contribute with their own travel stories. In the example from Gunnlaugs saga, Gunnlaugr and Hrafh meet in Uppsala and start telling each other

59 Egils saga, ch. 19 (CSI I, p. 53). FjQrðu, þá sneri hann inn a f leid okfór å fund Kveld-Úlfs, fQÖur sins, okfenguþargóðar vidigkur; sagði Þórólfr fgdur sínum, hvat til tíðenda hafði orðit í fgrum hans um sumarit (ÍF II, p. 48). See also Brennu-Njáls saga, ch. 32: “Njal was happy at their coming and asked them to stay the night. They did, and Gunnar told about his travels” (CSI III, p. 36). Njáll varð feginn kvámu þeira ok bad, at þeir skyldi vera þar um nóttina; þeir gerdu svá, ok sagdi Gunnarr frá ferdum sínum (ÍF XII, p. 84). 60 Cf. Laxdœla saga, ch. 21.

86

Kristel Zilmer

about their journeys so far.61 More personal comments are added to the scene in Egils saga: Einar had just come back from a voyage abroad. Egil asked Einar about recent news and his friends in Norway, and also about the men he regarded as his enemies. He also often asked about the leading men there. Einar asked in return about Egil’s voyages and exploits; Egil enjoyed talking about them and they got on well together.62 The fact that certain people indeed enjoy talking about their own travels is also brought to the fore on other occasions, as done in Vatnsdœla saga, where one saga character purposely chooses the subject he knows the other man is most enthusiastic about: “Hrafh always wanted to talk about his viking adventures and raids.”63 However, stories are told not just because the adventurous soul needs to be heard; according to some saga depictions, it is required - or at least considered as good manners to tell tales about the places one has visited (particularly if these lie in some unknown region). If a saga character does not fulfil such expectations, this may even be held against him: “Bjami told of his voyage, during which he had sighted various lands, and many people thought of him short on curiosity, since he had nothing to tell of these lands, and he was criticised somewhat for this.”64 61 Cf. Gunnlaugs saga, ch. 8. 62 Egils saga, ch. 78 (CSI I, p. 162). Einarr hafdi litlu ådr komit iit ór fQr. Egill spurdi Einar mjgk austan tidenda ok at vinum sínum, svá ok at þeim, er hann þóttisk vita, at óvinir hans váru; hann spurdi ok mjgk eptir stórmenni. Einarr spurdi ok i mdti Egil at þeim tidendum, er fyrr hgfdu ggrzk um ferdir Egils ok stdrvirki hans, en þat tal þótti Agli gott, ok rættisk af vel (ÍFII, p. 268). 63 Vatnsdæla saga, ch. 17 (CSI IV, p. 23). [ ..f hann vildi jafnan ræda um viking sina ok herferdir (IF VIII, p. 48). 64 Grænlendinga saga, ch. 3 (CSI I, p. 21). Sagdi Bjarni frå ferdum sinum, er hann hafdi Ignd sét, ok þótti mgnnum hann verit hafa dforvitinn, er hann hafdi ekki at segja af þeim Igndum, ok fekk hann af því ngkkut ámæli (ÍFIV, p. 248).

The Motive of Travelling in Saga Narrative

87

Stories about attractive or otherwise unknown regions have the tendency to generate lasting discussions - which again makes men go travelling: There were great discussions that winter in Brattahlid of Snorri and Karlsefni setting sail for Vinland, and people talked at length about it. In the end Snorri and Karlsefni made their vessel ready, intending to sail in search of Vinland that summer.65 We also learn that such tales spread fast and wide, and get repeated many times.66 Sometimes it is even pointed out that stories about the hero’s foreign adventures are passed on in the form of praise poems, or recorded in a visual way. Thus, an example from Egils saga informs that King Eirikr gained a great victory in a battle in Bjarmaland, as the poems about him tell us.67 An interesting case is the episode from Njåls saga, where we hear about a certain Þorkell hákr and his eventful voyage to the Baltics - after his return he had the events carved into wood.68 In this manner the sagas show travel stories becoming part of the local lore; occasionally the saga writer may even find it important to emphasise that now the tales have also been recorded in writing: “It was Karlsefni who gave the most extensive reports of anyone of all of these voyages, some of which have now been set down in writing.”69 65 Eiriks saga rauóa, ch. 8 (CSI I, p. 12). Í Brattahlid hcfusk miklar umrœður, at menn skyldi leita Vinlands ins góöa, ok var sagt, at þangat myndi vera at vitja góóra landskosta; ok par kom, at Karlsefni ok Snorri bjuggu skip sitt at leita landsins urn várit (ÍF IV, p. 221); see also Grœnlendinga saga, ch. 7. 66 See e.g. Laxdœla saga, ch. 21 (“news of Olafs journey spread widely”, CSI V, p. 29; ok er Óláfs fpr allfrœg, ÍF V, p. 59); Grettis saga, ch. 62 (“a great many stories are told of his adventures”, CSI П, p. 149; ok er mikil saga frá honum spgd, IF VII, p. 205). 67 Egils saga, ch. 37. 68 Njåls saga, ch. 119. 69 Grœnlendinga saga, ch. 8 (CSI I, p. 32). Ok hefir Karlsefni gorst sagt allra manna atburöi urn farar pessar allar, er nu er npkkut orði å komit (ÍFIV, p. 269).

88

Kristel Zilmer

Conclusion The discussion above has demonstrated that the travels undertaken by the saga characters play a distinctive role in the saga narrative on different levels, contributing to the plot and the structure of the sagas, and at the same time opening up some characteristic concepts and perceptions that have shaped the story. Travelling is presented as a natural part of many a man’s career; it is an activity that emerges as a common custom that tests and develops the person’s various skills and even helps to determine one’s identity. On the very surface, the references to different travelling desti­ nations provide a physical “on-stage” setting for the story. In connection with this, various place names are woven into the narrative as signs that mark the routes for action. On a deeper level - we meet a cultural reality where travelling, without doubt, is considered an entertaining motive,70 but more importantly, also a valuable experience. The sagas frequently highlight the significance of preserving and sharing this collective experience in tales. It is not merely travelling that brings one wealth, status and renown, but rather the fact that the man himself - or even better, others - speak about his accomplishments, thus participating in a special discourse of travel stories. In this manner the sagas - written representations of the past - place emphasis on the meaning of original oral travel narratives. To finally broaden the perspective even further, we claim that the deeper semantics of travel-related themes in the sagas of Icelanders is connected with the interplay between the past and the present, and the realistic and the imaginary. What the sagas mediate are scenes and 70 The entertaining element in travel-related themes is often clearly present, especially with regard to such saga episodes where the realistic narrative mode also incorporates certain more fantastic, supernatural features. The sagas of Icelanders as a whole do not demonstrate that many corresponding scenes, but this strategy may be applied for example in connection with depicting more remote or somewhat strange travelling destinations.

The Motive of Travelling in Saga Narrative

89

situations that are considered important from the point of view of tradi­ tion, and as such the sagas work as voices of a dialogue that is both historically and fictionally motivated; their aim is to provide a meaningful interpretation of the past from a retrospective perspective. Travel-related motives are in a natural way fused into the narrative imagery that the Icelanders created in connection with depicting their own past, and in certain ways they can also be expected to cast light on forms of local lore. First of all, these images belong with the contempo­ rary environment of the saga narrators; but within that horizon we can trace reflections of traditional cultural knowledge. To travel is to experience and learn, but it is also to develop one’s imagination and creativity - and the narrative representation of travel in the sagas of Icelanders works in the same manner, mixing imaginary, illustrative interpretations with realistically grounded elements, and building a bridge between the experiences of different times. In their own special manner, the sagas of Icelanders continue to gene­ rate such cultural dialogues until this day, now inviting the modem saga reader on a different kind of journey, a journey into the world of sagas: The narrative art of the sagas, however modem it may seem in some respects, is part of a world of the past, a world we neither can nor will bring back to life, except in our imagination, but the sagas are one of the roads that are open to us if we want to travel in our minds to this world, either to study if for its own sake or even try to view the present in the light of the past.71

71 Vésteinn Ólason, “The Sagas of Icelanders.” 1993, p. 26.

90

Kristel Zilmer

Bibliography Brennu-Njáls saga. Edited by Einar Ólafur Sveinsson. íslenzk fomrit XII, 1954. Reykjavik. CSI = The Complete Sagas of Icelanders I-V. 1997. General Editor Viðar Hreinsson. Editorial team: Robert Cook, Terry Gunnell, Keneva Kunz, Bernard Scudder. Introduction by Robert Kellogg. Reykjavik. Egils saga Skalla-Grimssonar. Edited by Sigurður Nordal. íslenzk fornrit II, 1933. Reykjavik. Eiriks saga rauda. Edited by Matthias Þórðarson, Einar Ólafur Sveinsson. íslenzk fomrit IV, 1935. Reykjavik. Fóstbrœðra saga. Edited by Björn Þórólfsson, Guðni Jónsson. íslenzk fornrit VI, 1943. Reykjavik. Gisla saga Surssonar. Edited by Björn Þórólfsson, Guðni Jónsson. íslenzk fornrit VI, 1943. Reykjavik. Grettis saga Ásmundarsonar. Edited by Guðni Jónsson. íslenzJc fornrit VII, 1936. Reykjavik. Grœnlendinga saga. Edited by Matthias Þórðarson, Einar Ólafur Sveinsson. íslenzkfomrit IV, 1935. Reykjavik. Gunnlaugs saga ormstungu. Edited by Guðni Jónsson, Sigurður Nordal. íslenzk fornrit III, 1938. Reykjavik. Hallfreðar saga. Edited by Einar Ólafur Sveinsson. íslenzk fornrit VIII, 1939. Reykjavik. Harðar saga Grimkelssonar eða Hólmverja saga. Edited by Þórhallur Vilmundarson, Bjami Vilhjálmsson. íslenzkfornrit XIII, 1991. Reykjavik. Harris, Joseph. 1972. “Genre and Narrative Structure in Some Islendinga þættir.” In: Scandinavian Studies 44. 1-27. Hænsa-Þóris saga. Edited by Guðni Jónsson, Sigurður Nordal. íslenzk fomrit III, 1938. Reykjavik. Hastrup, Kirsten. 1985. Culture and History in Medieval Iceland. An Anthro­ pological Analysis of Structure and Change. Oxford. “Hreiðars þáttr.” Edited by Björn Sigfússon. íslenzk fomrit X, 1940. Reykjavik. 247-260. ÍF = fslenzk fomrit (1933-).

The Motive of Travelling in Saga Narrative

91

fslendinga sögur og þœttir I-III, 1998. Edited by Bragi Halldórsson, Jon Torfason, Sverrir Tómasson, Ömólfur Thorsson. Reykjavik. Jørgensen, Jon Gunnar. 2002. “Sagalitteratur som forskningsmateriale. Utgaver og utnyttelse.” In: Maal og Minne 2002/1. Oslo. 1-13. Kormåks saga. Edited by Einar Olafur Sveinsson. fslenzk fornrit V III, 1939. Reykjavik. Laxdæla saga. Edited by Einar Ólafur Sveinsson. fslenzk fornrit V, 1934. Reykjavik. Lönnroth, Lars. 1976. Njáls Saga: A Critical Introduction. Berkeley, Los Angeles, London. —. 1993. “På andra sidan Fyrisvallama. Några tendenser i modem saga­ forskning.” In: Göran Dahlbäck (Ed.). Snorre Sturlasson och de islandska källorna till Sveriges historia. Fyraföreläsningarfran ett symposium i Stockholm hösten 1988. Sällskapet Runica et Mediaevalia. Stockholm. 85-103. Meulengracht Sørensen, Preben. 1992. “Some Methodological Conside­ rations in Connection with the Study of the Sagas. In: Gísli Pálsson (Ed.). From Sagas to Society: Comparative Approaches to Early Iceland. Enfield Lock, Middlesex. 27-42. —. 1993a. Fortælling og ære. Studier i islændingesagaeme. Aarhus. —. 1993b. Saga and Society. An Introduction to Old Norse Literature. Translated by John Tucker. Odense. Mundal, Else. 2004. “Sagalitteraturen.” In: Odd Einar Haugen (Ed.). Handbok i norrøn filologi. Oslo. 267-302. Qgmundar þáttrdytts. Edited by Jónas Kristjánsson. fslenzk fornrit IX, 1956. Reykjavik. Radvilavičius, Šarūnas. 1998. Islendingenes oikoumene i islendingesagaene og Heimskringla. Mastergradsavhandling i nordisk vikingtid- og midde­ lalderkultur. Universitetet i Oslo. Simek, Rudolf. 1990. Altnordische Kosmographie: Studien und Quellen zu Weltbild und Weltbeschreibung in Norwegen und Island vom 12. bis zum 14. Jahrhundert. Ergänzungsbände zum Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde IV. Berlin, New York. Vatnsdœla saga. Edited by Einar Olafur Sveinsson. íslenzk fornrit VIII, 1939. Reykjavik.

92

Kristel Zilmer

Vésteinn Ólason. 1987. “Norrøn litteratur som historisk kildemateriale.” In: Gunnar Karlsson (Ed.). Kilderne til den tidlige middelalders historie. Rapporter til den XXnordiske historikerkongres, Reykjavik. 30-47. —. 1993. “The Sagas of Icelanders.” In: Anthony Faulkes, Richard Perkins (Eds.). Viking Revaluations. London. —. 1998. Dialogues with the Viking Age. Narration and Representation in the Sagas o f the Icelanders. Translated by Andrew Wawn. Reykjavik. Víga-Glúms saga. Edited by Jónas Kristjánsson. Islenzk fornrit IX, 1956. Reykjavik. Zilmer, Kristel. 2003. “Learning about Places and People: Representations of Travelling Connections and Communication Situation in the Sagas of Icelanders.” In: Stefanie Würth, Tönno Jonuks, Axel Kristinsson (Eds.). Sagas and Societies: International Conference at Borgarnes, Iceland. September 5-9, 2002. University of Tübingen, Germany. http://w210.ub.uni-tuebingen.de/dbt/volltexte/2004/1076/pdf/ 22_kri~l .pdf. —. 2005. ‘He Drowned in Holmr’s Sea - His Cargo-ship Drifted to the Seabottom, Only Three Came out Alive Records and Representations o f Baltic Traffic in the Viking Age and the Early Middle Ages in Early Nor­ dic Sources. Dissertationes philologiae scandinavicae Universitatis Tartuensis 1. Nordistica Tartuensia 12. Tartu. Þorskfiröinga saga еда Gull-Þóris saga. Edited by Þórhallur Vilmundarson, Bjami Vilhjálmsson. islenzkfornrit XIII, 1991. Reykjavik. “Þorvalds þáttur víðförla ” Islendinga sögur og þœttir III. Reykjavik. 2321— 2333. “Þorvarðar þáttr krákunefs ” Edited by Björn Þórólfsson, Guðni Jónsson. íslenzkfornrit VI, 1943. Reykjavik. 369-374.

Kristel Zilmer Section of Scandinavian Studies University of Tartu [email protected]

SIRPA AALTO

The Digital "Other" in

Heimskringla

It is told that one evening when King Ólaf was being entertained at Ogvaldsness an old and very wise-spoken man came in. He wore a hood coming low down over his face and was one-eyed. This man had things to tell of every land. He engaged in conversation with the king, and the king found much pleasure in his talk and asked him about many things. The guest had an answer to all his questions, and he stayed up long in the evening with him.1 The stranger in the text above is Óðinn in disguise, who visits King Oláfr Tryggvason. Oðinn is probably the archetype of a stranger in Old Norse mythology. This article deals with one form o f strangers: namely digital “others” in Heimskringla, which was written around 1230 by Snorri Sturluson. Heimskringla is categorized into the kings’ sagas.12 They tell mainly about the Norwegian kings and the history of Norway, and can be compared with the contemporary historiography in other parts of Europe. There is a good reason to call Heimskringla as the culmination of the kings’ sagas, because of its sophisticated style. 1 L. M. Hollander (Transl.), Heimskringla: History of the Kings of Nor­ way. 2002, p. 203. Svá er sagt, þá er Oláfr konungr var i veizlunni å Qgvaldsnesi, at þar кот eitt kveld maðr gamall ok ordspakr mjgk, hafði hQtt síóan. Hann var einsýnn. Kunni sá maðr segja af gllum Igndum. Hann kom sér í tal viö konung. Þótti konungi gaman mikit at rœðum hans ok spurói hann margra hluta, en gestrinn fekk órlausn til allra spurninga, ok sat konungr lengi um kveldit (OlTrygg, ch. 64, Islenzkfornrit XXVI, p. 312). All the abbreviations are listed at the end of the article. 2 J. Kristjánsson, Eddas and Sagas. 1988, pp. 168-169; about Snorri Stur­ luson, see D. Whaley, Heimskringla - An Introduction. 1991, pp. 29-37.

94

Sirpa Aalto

Figure 1. The statue of Snorri Sturluson by Gustav Vigeland at Reykholt in Iceland.

The Digital “Other” in H e im s k r in g la

95

The purpose of this article is to reconstruct the image of the digital “other”, or stranger, in Heimskringla.3 Methodologically, historical anthropology gives a suitable perspective with which to study the topic. Historian Aron Gurevich, himself a supporter of the French Annalesschool, has used historical anthropology as a starting point in his studies. According to Gurevich: [...] One of the main tasks of historical anthropology is to reconstruct images of the world which are representative of different epochs and cultural traditions. This requires the reconstruction of the subjective reality which formed the content of the consciousness of people of a given epoch and culture.4 Because Heimskringla is not a geographical treatise, it does not have comprehensive descriptions of countries and peoples. That is why the digital “other” is not easy to find. The best way to find descriptions on digital otherness is to study all kinds of contacts between people by asking the following questions: What kind of contacts would there be? What forms of digital otherness can be found in Heimskringla? In which situations would it appear? What kind of elements would be involved with the concept of digital otherness? The image of the digital “other” can reveal something about the Norse worldview in the 13th century, and how the Norse people would define themselves and the world outside. Before we start analysing digital otherness in Heimskringla, it is important to define what we mean by “otherness” in this case. The con­ cept of otherness derives from social psychology. It is a concept that is used when group identities are studied. When people are trying to identify themselves and their group, they tend to categorize, which is characteristic of all human beings. A human being identifies himself 3 The results of this article are based on my licentiate’s dissertation Främlingsbilden i Snorri Sturlusons Heimskringla, which was inspected at the University of Joensuu in April 2005. 4 A. Gurevich, Historical Anthropology of the Middle Ages. 1992, p. 4.

96

Sirpa Aalto

with a group, a so-called inner group, and creates a positive identity for his group. This positive identity can be created by dividing people into “us” and “them”, that is, “the others”. This also means that people are trying to create as great as possible a difference between “us” and “them” to achieve this positive group identity; and if it is possible, they tend to exaggerate these differences.5 Ethnicity6 is one way of grouping people. It is typical for an ethnic group to have a strong feeling of togetherness, and “the others” stand outside of the ethnic group. Without this juxtaposition there exists no ethnicity as a concept. We should remember that although ethnicity is supposed to reflect cultural differences, there is no clear connection or correspondence between ethnicity and cultural differences. All in all, ethnicity is a flexible concept.7 Ethnic groups may not be separated from each other territorially; the dividing boundary may also be social. In fact, there may not be a physical borderline that divides ethnic groups, and there exists interaction and communication between different ethnic groups. In this article it is not relevant to define ‘ethnicity’ further, but to concentrate on different degrees or categories inside the concept of ethnicity. Categories of ethnicity stretch from people that are “almost like us” to those who are “very different from us”. In other words, this degree of 5 K. Liebkind, Me ja muukalaiset - ryhmärajat ihmisten suhteissa. 1988, p. 73. 6 The concept of ethnicity was introduced in the 1950s by an American sociologist, David Riesman. It was created because there was a need to classify people and relations between groups. After WWII it was convenient to use the concept of ethnicity, which had not been compro­ mised, as the concept of “race” by the fascists. Ethnicity became a popular concept not just in sociology but also in humanities, especially in anthropology and history. In history the concept of ethnicity had rele­ vance as a means to understand nations and the birth of national states. W. Sollors, Ethnicity and Race. 2002, p. 98. 7 T. Hylland Eriksen, Ethnicity and Nationalism. 2002, pp. 34-41, 58.

The Digital “Other” in H eim skringla

97

difference can be called analog. It is also possible that everybody out­ side one’s own group is an alien without any category. That is, they are more or less outsiders, and they may be spoken of as digital. Both the terms analog and digital that I use here derive from Thomas Hylland Eriksen’s ideas, who has studied ethnicity and identity in history.8 In short: if an alien is totally outsider from one’s group, he or she is labelled as digital other. If his or her difference is something else - let us say, “somewhat different” or “quite different” from “us” - the degree of difference can be called analog. To find out who is the digital “other” in Heimskringla, we first have to decide who the subject is, i.e. the one who encounters “the other”. Because Heimskringla concentrates on Norway, it would be natural to look at those who were seen as digital “others” in the Norwegian society. However, it is not easy to define the Norwegian society, which was still in the process of becoming a state in the 13th century. Besides, the Icelanders have to be taken into account too, as Snorri himself was an Icelander. One solution is to call the subject Norse society, without defining its physical boundaries. The concept of Norse society includes both Norwegians and Icelanders. Still, it is important to make a difference between these two. The question as to when Norwegian settlers became Icelanders has been debated by scholars. Gunnar Karlsson has proven convincingly in his article Upphafþjóðar á Islandi that the Norwegian settlers who came to Iceland at the end of the 9th century could not identify themselves as Norwegians - they identified themselves with the region they came from; for example, Sogn, Møre, and Hordaland. This regionalism is also emphasized by Snorri, who often tells from which part of Norway the character was from. The children and grandchildren of the settlers, however, could not use these names, and they began to call themselves Icelanders. But as Karlsson points out, the Icelandic self-awareness did not arise immediately. It would come into being gradually during the

T. Hylland Eriksen, p. 66.

98

Sirpa Aalto

next centuries.9 And yet at the same time Icelanders, at least in the saga literature, considered it important to trace their genealogical lines back to the settlers and the regions those came from. In the Middle Ages, people identified themselves with the help of their group. People had meaning in a society only as members of the group: family, parish, and village. The church did not encourage people to show individualism. This group identity and lack of individualism can be seen in art: it was not important to portray people as individuals, but rather to show them as representatives of their own social class.10 This being the case, people who lived outside or on the fringes of society were outcasts (criminals, heretics) or somehow strange (hermits) in the eyes of other people. Then there were those who would have been accepted by society, but who were special because they had left their own society of their own will: merchants and pilgrims.*11 People did not travel for fun in the Middle Ages, and the reasons for travelling were usually either trading or religion, i.e. pilgrimage. Exploration and plun­ dering can also be considered as one form of travelling, but people did not leave for these trips for fun, but to gain something. According to Mats Roslund, it was possible to identify a stranger in the Middle Ages by the following descriptions: a stranger probably spoke another lan­ guage, he wore a dress that differed from others (and revealed his social status), and his legal position was dependent on his ethnicity. The last point means that in the Middle Ages people were condemned for their crimes according to the law which was practiced in the area he/she was from, and which was practised in his/her ethnic group. Merchants could buy legal status and protection from the chieftain that held power in the trading place in question. 9 10 11 12

G. Karlsson, Upphafþjóóar á íslandi. 1988, p. 169. J. Le Goff, Medieval Civilization. 1988, pp. 279-280. J. Le Goff, p. 322. M. Roslund, Gäster i huset. Kulturell överföring mellan slaver och skan­ dinaver 900 till 1300. 2001, p. 59.

The Digital ‘'Other” in H eim skringla

99

The following groups stand out in Heimskringla as digital “others”. Their extreme otherness in relation to Norse society is not always obvious - sometimes otherness is to be read between the lines. There­ fore, it is also necessary to take into account historical facts and back­ ground, so that we may get an overall picture of digital otherness in Heimskringla.

Wends The Danes had Western Slavic tribes called Wends as their neighbours, and the Danes had close relations to them, good and bad. They often formed alliances together to fight their common enemy, the German empire. Archaeology has brought us new information on relations between the Danes and the Western Slavs. It seems that the Danes had more contacts with the Slavs than has been estimated so far. It is understandable that because of their geographical position, the Norwegians did not have such close contacts with the Western Slavs as the Danes had. It seems that Snorri was not very familiar with the Western Slavs, if we look at the information he gives us on them in Heimskringla. It is not surprising that the Wends are not described in detail; Snorri rarely does that. But it is surprising how negative an image Heimskringla gives of them. The only positive - or neutral accounts - are in Oláfs saga Tryggvasonar. The saga tells us that King Óláfr, before he became king, was married to a Wendish princess, but that she died a few years after they were married.13 Then in ch. 97 it is described how King Óláfr went to Wendland to discuss his possessions with the Wendish ruler Búrizláfr. It is mentioned that everything went on friendly terms and that Óláfr met many of his friends during his stay in Wendland. After that, Snorri concentrates on the more negative side of the Wends. First of all, Wends are described as being heathen. We are told that the king 13 ÓlTrygg, ch. 22. Cf. also chs. 28-29.

100 Sirpa Aalto

of the Svear, Óláfr Sviakonungr Eiriksson, had a Wendish concubine. They had a son, Emundr, who was send to Wendland to be raised by his mother’s kin. The saga implies that Emundr gave up his Christian belief in Wendland.14 Þyri, who was the sister of the Danish king Sveinn tjúguskegg (Forkbeard), was forced to many Prince Búrizláfr. She resisted because she did not want to marry Búrizláfr, who was “old and heathen”.15 The longest account on the heathen Wends is in Magnuss saga blinda ok Haralds saga gilla (chs. 10-12). We get an image of a heathen tribe that tortures innocent Christians with their raiding and pillaging. The saga tells how the heathen Wends attacked the trading place of Konungahälla. Wends tried to use magic against the Christian inha­ bitants of the town; they “howled as dogs” as they besieged the town, and they finally conquered it and took the inhabitants as slaves.16 The description is full of contrasts between the heathens and the Christians, i.e. the inhabitants of the trading place. There are also other accounts in Heimskringla where Wends are playing the role of the evil heathen. Usually these episodes have something to do with miracles that are connected to the Saint Óláfr.17 For example in Haraldssona saga ch. 24 a man called Halldórr fell into the hands of Wends, who cut open his neck, took out the tongue through the opening, and cut out his tongue root. Halldórr prayed to Saint Óláfr and was miraculously cured. Creating contrasts between the Christians and the heathens is characteristic of the European medieval historiographical tradition. In this sense, the episodes in Heimskringla seem to repeat this tradition. So, heathenism is the main feature that characterizes Wends in Heimskringla. Knowing the historical background, it is possible that the Wends got their heathen label in Heimskringla because of the crusades against the Western Slavs in the mid-12th century, to be exact in 1147. 14 15 16 17

Ólhelg, ch. 88. ÓlTrygg, ch. 92. MblokHg, ch. 11. For example in Msona, ch. 31; Hsona, ch. 24.

The Digital “Other” in H eim skringla 101

The Danes united then with the Saxon army, and they attacked a Western Slavic tribe, the Abotrites.1819It would have been no wonder if Snorri had heard about these events, and that they would have influenced his image of the Wends (also other saga writers demonstrate familiarity with these events, for example the author of Knytlinga saga relates of a series of campaigns that the Danish rulers arranged against the Wends). Nevertheless, we should also remember that the image of heathen Wends is perhaps not truthful. After all, the Western Slavic tribes had become acquainted with Christianity already in the 10th century and even before. The Western Slavs revolted more than once against their Saxon oppressors (for example in 983, when the Danes also took advantage of the situation and joined them), and it was easy to label the Western Slavs as evil heathens who attacked innocent Christians, i.e. the Saxons, in the Christian ecclesiastical historiography.

The Finnar The designations Finni, Fiðr and Finnr (pi. Finnar) that are used in the sagas have caused much trouble for scholars. The sagas usually say that these Finnar live in Finnmprk, which is considered to be today’s Finnmark in northern Norway, and which would mean that the Finnar would be Saami people. Some accounts suggest, however, that there were also Finnar who lived in a place called Finnland}9 This unclear 18 E. Christiansen, The Northern Crusades. 1997, pp. 54—56. 19 See, for example, Ólhelg, ch. 9. To make things more complicated it is also necessary to refer to the word Lappir, which some East-Norwegian sources use when they mean Finnar. There are only a few examples of the word Lapp in the West-Norwegian sources and that is why it is impossible to say whether the word had the same meaning in both East-Norwegian and WestNorwegian. E. Mundal, The Perception of the Saamis and Their Religion in Old Norse Sources. 1996, pp. 97-116. By West-Norwegian sources E. Mundal means Orkneyinga saga and Fundinn Nóregr.

102 Sirpa Aalto

picture of the Finnar may indicate that the speakers of Old Norse knew there were two kinds of Finnar - Finns and Saami people - but that they had difficulties seeing differences between them. There may have been several reasons for this, but one could be the lack of contact between Finns and Norwegians, which is understandable when taking into account geographical distance. In this article it is not relevant to separate Finns from Saami people, but to look at the Finnar as a uniform group.20 The accounts we have about the Finnar in Heimskringla are not great in number. The Finnar seldom play a major part in the story. They are mentioned mainly in the following contexts: magic or witchcraft, marriage, and trading. The Finnar were thought to possess magical skills and they could, for example, cause the wind to rise. The Finnar, who possess magical skills, are “stock figures of Old Norse-Icelandic literature”, as John Lindow puts it.21 The characters in Heimskringla, who had learned the art of seiör from the Finnar or had had something to do with the Finnar and their witchcraft, usually had a miserable fate.22 There are some accounts where a king marries a finnkona. These marriages turn out to be disastrous. The wife causes the death of her spouse,23 or she causes otherwise unlucky events for the family24 or even for the whole country2526 The Norwegians traded with the Finnar although we may have suspicions about the nature of this trade (it is more likely that trading meant collecting of tributes). In addition to

20 About differences between the Finns and the Saami people in Heimskringla, see S. Aalto, “Alienness in Heimskringla - Special Emphasis on the Finnar ” 2003. 21 J. Lindow, Supernatural Others and Ethnic Others: A Millenium of Worldview. 1995, p. 11. 22 See for example Hhárf, ch. 34 and ÓlTrygg, ch. 76. 23 Yng, chs. 13 and 19. 24 Yng,ch. 14. 25 Hhárf, ch. 25. 26 Ólhelg, chs. 104, 170 and 193.

The Digital “Other” in H eim skringla 103

trading, the Norwegians presumably levied taxes on the Finnar, as Ottarr’s account in King Alfred’s Orosius suggests.27 Magic or witchcraft is associated either with gender or ethnicity in the Old Norse literature. This means that the practitioners of witchcraft tend to be either women or ethnic outsiders. The Finnar are an ethnic group that is frequently associated with witchcraft. They can also be described as an outsider-group, which existed on the outskirts of Norwegian society. The majority of practitioners of witchcraft whom Snorri describes in Heimskringla were male and were Finnar, or at least were connected to the Finnar in one way or another. Those magicians that were not ethnically Finnar were geographically marginalized. People who lived in the northern parts of Norway, such as in Halogaland, for example, were more inclined toward witchcraft than people who lived in other parts of Norway.28 Snorri is very careful in not confusing the Old Norse paganism with the practice of magic. These practitioners of magic were portrayed as not only being pagan, but also as evil - a view that is totally Christian. The fact that these magicians were characterized as ethnically distinct also distinguishes them from the Old Norse pagan tradition. In fact, ethnic otherness seems to be closely connected with supernatural otherness. Outsiders represented otherness, and that is why it is not surprising that supernatural powers were attributed to strangers. John Lindow has observed that what is striking about the description of strangers and other groups in Nordic tradition is “how closely they resemble attributes of supernatural beings”.29 If we examine marriages between “ordinary” men and finnkonur which is by the way a common motive in the sagas - the extreme 27 A. Ross, The Terfinnas and Beormas of Ohthere. 1940. 28 S. Bagge, Society and Politics in Snorri Sturluson *s Heimskringla. 1991, p. 216. 29 J. Lindow, Supernatural Others and Ethnic Others: A Millenium of Worldview. 1995, pp. 19, 22.

104 Sirpa Aalto

otherness of the Finnar becomes clearer. The Ynglinga Kings, in particular, are bewitched by finnkonur. But why do these marriages turn out to be disastrous? According to Lars Lönnroth, this is due to the fact that the finnkonur are “evil and practiced the art of seiðr”.30 Again, pagan witchcraft is a definition that is connected to the Finnar, Gro Steinsland, who has studied marriages between kings and giants or finnkonur in the sagas, has come to the conclusion that this kind of marriage presents hieros gamos, which has its prototype in Scandinavian mythology (the marriage between Skaði and Njgrðr). Steinsland suggests that this kind of extreme exogamy presents a geographical suspense between “the familiar” and “the alien”. Haraldr hárfagri’s (Haraldr the Fair-hair) and Snæfríðr’s marriage would be the best example of this in the kings’ sagas. Snorri did not compose the story of Haraldr and Snæfríðr himself, as Steinland points out. He was familiar with hieros gamos - a type of marriage that he knew from the skaldic poem Ynglingatal, and which he used in his Ynglinga saga. Apparently the giants of Scandinavian mythology were transformed into finnkonur in the medieval historical works. Steinsland concludes that the meaning of this hieros gamos was to symbolize the political power of the king and the fact that he was united with the land.31 It seems clear that Snorri uses the Old Norse mythology and tradition when he writes about the marriages between “ordinary” men and finnkonur, and when witchcraft is associated with the Finnar. The outer appearance of the Finnar is not enhanced in Heimskringla. In Óláfs saga helga (ch. 82) there is a description of a fiinni called Finnr litli. He was small, “so swift of foot that no horse could overtake him”32 30 L. Lönnroth, Dómaldi’s Death and the Myth of Sacral Kingship. 1986, pp. 81-82. 31 G. Steinsland, Det hellige bryllup og norrøn kongeideologi. 1991, pp. 207,307,311. 32 [...] allra manna fóthvatastr, svá at engi hestr tók hann á rås (Islenzk fornrit XXVII, p. 120).

The Digital “Other” in H eim skringla 105

and skilful in skiing and shooting with a bow. These skills, skiing and shooting with a bow, are frequently associated with the Finnar in the sagas. Finnr litli was in the service of King Hrcerekr, who was the opponent of Saint Óláfr, so he was definitely a bad character in the saga.33 The case of Finnr litli shows again that the Finnar had a negative image in Heimskringla; they can be described as evil and deceitful. We have practically no other account of the Finnar in Heimskringla which might describe their appearance. Snæfnðr, who was Haraldr hárfagri’s wife, was said to be kvinna fríðust.34 Otherwise we have no descriptions of the appearance of the finnkonur in Heimskringla. However, we must bear in mind that Snorri rarely describes things that are irrelevant to the main story. He concentrates on the main characters and scenes. The picture of the Finnar in Heimskringla is negative and unclear. It is possible that the Finnar were connected with the giants of Old Norse mythology, where they represent extreme otherness. The connection between the Finnar and the giants seems also probable when considering Gro Steins land’s study on marriages between Scandinavian kings and a giantess or a finnkona. The descriptions of the Finnar reveal that they had qualities that were connected to the giants in the Old Norse tradition, but that there were also other elements in the descriptions. It would be too simple, however, to assume that the Finnar would have replaced the giants of Old Norse mythology. Else Mundal has suggested that Christianity may have affected the attitudes of Norwegians towards the Finnar, i.e. the Saami people. Before Norwegians were converted to Christianity, the relationship between the Norwegians and Finnar may have been natural. But when Christianity had established its position in Norwegian society, it forbade contact with the pagan Finnar. Mundal refers to the laws of Borgarþinglag and Eidsivaþinglag, which prohibited Christians from having any contacts with the Finnar. It was illegal to travel to see them, ask them to foretell the future or even to 33 Ólhelg, ch. 83. 34 Hhárf, ch. 25 (íslenzkfornrit XXVI, p. 126); “a most beautiful girl”.

106 Sirpa Aalto

believe them. According to Mundal, this refers to a very close relation­ ship between the Norwegians and the Finnar, because it had to be prohibited by law.35 Why did the laws have such a negative attitude toward the Finnarl It is probable that the Church wanted to control its members: it would not tolerate dealings with pagans. During the 12th and 13th centuries a wave of intolerance toward dissimilarity began to emerge in Europe, and the Norwegian laws may well reflect this attitude. The descriptions of the Finnar in Heimskringla consist of many elements; Old Norse mythology and Christianity have influenced them, but they also contain grains of truth. When we look at the contexts where the Finnar appear in Heimskringla, we can conclude that they invariably represent a negative aspect and that they seem to have a position as a marginal group. If Snorri himself had had contacts with the Finnar, it must have been with the Saami people on his trips to Norway. Nevertheless, we cannot know this for sure, or know whether Snorri had to rely on others’ accounts of them.36 All in all, the Finnar seem to represent the stereotype of an evil heathen in Heimskringla. It is no wonder, because they were the closest example of a heathen to the Norwegians.

The Bj airmans The Bjarmians also represent a very strange group of people in Heimskringla. There are not as many accounts of them as of the Finnar, but we get some idea as to how they were seen. The longest account is in Óláfs saga helga in ch. 133, where some Norwegians, Þórir hundr and brothers Karli and Gunnsteinn, sail to Bjarmaland with their men. Their purpose is to trade with the Bjarmians. After having traded with the 35 E. Mundal, 1996, pp. 97, pp. 102-103. 36 S. Aalto, 2003, p. 6.

The Digital “Other” in H eim skringla 107

Bjarmians, the Norwegians “went out of the Vina river”.37 Þórir sugges­ ted that they would go on land and get booty during the night time. He knew that the Bjarmians buried valuable things with their dead. The crew set out for the expedition and they went on land. They found the graveyard, which was surrounded by a fence. Inside the fence stood the statue of the god Jómali, whom the Bjarmians worshipped. Þórir took a silver bowl which stood upon Jómali’s knees, and Karli wanted to have the gold ornament which hung around Jomali’s neck. Karli cut off the string which was tied behind the statue’s neck, but the stroke of his axe was so strong that the head of Jómali fell with a great sound. The Bjarmians woke up and the looters ran to their ships. The saga tells that Þórir had a sack in which he had something like ashes. He strewed it upon the footpath and also over the people. This had some kind of magical effect because the Bjarmians chasing the looters could not see them. It is supposed that the Bjarmians lived somewhere around the White Sea. The place names Gandvik and the river Vina point to this. But even if we leave the exact geographical location of the Bjarmians open to discussion,38 it is obvious that this group of people lived far away from the Norwegians, both physically and mentally. Heimskringla says that Þórir, Karli and Gunnsteinn sailed first to Hálogaland, then to north to Finnmark and then they continued their way to Bjarmaland. So Bjarmaland seems to have situated in the extreme north. This means that the place was already beyond the “known, Christian” world. That is why anything could happen there. In the above-mentioned account, the Bjar­ mians are not described as monsters or witches; but they were, however, pagan, because they worshipped their god Jómali. Here it is appropriate to notice, that the word resembles the Finnish word ‘jumala’, which means a god or the God. This has given reason to speculate, that the Bjarmians were Finno-Ugric. Also, the account of Ottarr in King 37 [---] þá helduþeir út eptir ánni Vínu (ÍF XXVII, p. 229). 38 T. Jackson, Location o f Bjarmaland. 1992, p. 125.

108 Sirpa Aalto

Alfred’s Orosius has been interpreted as a proof of this. Namely, Ottarr says that the speech of the Bjarmians resembled the speech of the finnas - i.e. the speech of the Saami people.39 Somehow the Bjarmians were considered to be enormously wealthy, because they are also mentioned as a target for plundering expeditions also in other sagas besides Olafs saga helga.4041Perhaps the saga implies indirectly that the wealth had something to do with the heathen god Jómali. Even though we do not get a proper picture of the Bjarmians, we can conclude that as heathens they belonged to one of those peoples who lived outside the world of the Christians. This means that they were considered to be strangers in the eyes of Norse people.

The "Blue Men" of the Far-off Lands In Magnúss sona saga (ch. 6) King Sigurðr makes a journey to the Holy Land. On his way he fights with the heathen blámenn in the Spanish Isles of Menorca and Ibiza. These so called “blue men” in the saga are of course Moors. The word blår means here ‘black’ and blámenn referred to the inhabitants of Blålgnd - Black Lands, which was an undefined, far-away geographical area in the minds of the learned medieval Scandinavians. As the word itself reveals, it was the black skin that mattered. In the mythical-heroic sagas (fomaldarsögur) blámenn were creatures of evil. Nevertheless, blámenn referred later not only to black men but also to Moors and Saracens. So, here we have again the thin line between the supernatural and ethnically different enemies. As the giants of the Old Norse mythology became the Finnar in historical writings, so did the blámenn offornaldarsögur become the enemies of Christianity: black men, Saracens, Moors. As John Lindow has pointed 39 A. Ross, The Terfinnas and Beormas o f Ohthere. 1940, pp. 16-23. 40 Hhárf, ch. 32; Hgráf, ch. 14; Mberf, ch. 2. 41 J. Lindow, 1995, pp. 14-16.

The Digital “Other” in H eim skringla 109

out, it must have been difficult to draw line between the supernatural and the natural in these contexts. In fact, in the Middle Ages there hardly existed a division between supernatural and natural. Snorri’s idea of Moors or Saracens is not very profound, and it is a stereotype of how enemies of Christianity were depicted in ecclesias­ tical literature. Obviously Snorri had small chances of depicting blámenn in other ways - he could have hardly got in his hands any objective description of them - and at the same time he followed the classical saga style, where far-off places are just background for the action. Last but not least, Snorri may have had his reasons to emphasize King Sigurðr’s deeds as a crusader, because his foster father Jón was related to Sigurðr.

Heathens as the "Real Strangers" It is obvious that in the Middle Ages Icelanders and Norwegians must have had only a faint understanding of far-off places that they knew merely by name: Spain, Sicily, Jerusalem, and Byzantium. But, it seems that the geographical distance had less importance than religion when regarding otherness. Namely, the Christian concept of the world was that it consisted of Christian peoples. Heathens and heretics did not belong to this world: they were outside of Christendom, Christianitas. It seems that this Christian world view is also perceptible in Heimskringla, as strangers are those who stand outside the Christian community. These outsiders are described with extreme difference without any category, i.e. their degree of difference is digital. In the Christian world view Jerusalem was considered to be the centre of the world and universe. The Christian world can also be described as vertical, with God being in the top. Kirsten Hastrup has argued that when the Scandinavians were converted to Christianity, they could easily adopt the Christian world view. Namely, in the Old Norse

110 Sirpa Aalto

cosmology there were two axes: the vertical and the horizontal. The vertical axis was Yggdrasill, “the world ash”, and on the horizontal axis lay Miðgarðr (the world of men), surrounded by Útgarðr, the world of giants and other supernatural beings. Hastrup says that this horizontal axis was left untouched by Christianity.42 It makes sense, if Christians considered that the centre of the universe was Jerusalem and Chris­ tianitas, and everything else stood outside of it. If we look at the digital “others” in Heimskringla - the Wends, the Finnar, the Bjarmians and the blámenn - they were all situated somewhere on the fringes of the mental map of the Christian world. In Old Norse mythology, the giants lived in the far-away north, as did the Finnar and the Bjarmians. It is no wonder that the Finnar got attributes that had been used for giants. The question is, does this image of the digital “other” represent Snorri’s personal ideas, or does it also reflect Norse mentality in the beginning of the 13th century? Snorri was an educated man and he visited Norway twice, and had undoubtedly more information on the outside world than many of his contemporaries in Iceland or in Norway. But I suppose it is not too far from the truth to suggest that ordinary, uneducated people also shared Snorri’s mental map in its main features: Icelanders considered Norwegians to be in the centre, so to speak, and they were surrounded by other Christians. The real stranger, the digital “others”, stood outside of Christendom.

42

K. Hastrup, Culture and History in Medieval Iceland. An Anthropo­ logical Analysis o f Structure and Change. 1985, pp. 147-148.

The Digital “Other” in H eim skringla 111

Abbreviations Yng Hhárf OITrygg Olhelg MblokHg Msona Hsona

Ynglinga saga Haralds saga hárfagra Oláfs saga Tryggvasonar Oláfs saga Helga Magnuss saga blinda ok Haralds gilla Magnússona saga Haraldssona saga

Bibliography Aalto, Sirpa. 2003. “Alienness in Heimskringla: Special Emphasis on the F in n a r In: R. Simek, J. Meurer (Eds.). Scandinavia and Christian Eu­ rope in the Middle Ages. Papers of the 12th International Saga Confe­ rence in Bonn/Geimany, 28th July-2nd August 2003. Bonn. 1-7. Bagge, Sverre. 1991. Society and Politics in Snorri Sturluson 's Heimskring­ la. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California. Christiansen, Eric. 1997 [1980]. The Northern Crusades. Penguin Books Ltd., Printed in England. Gunnar Karlsson. 1988. “Úpphaf þjóðar á íslandi.” In: Saga og kirkfa. Afmælisrit Magnúsar Mås Lárussornar. Reykjavik. 21-32. Gurevich, Aron. 1992. Historical Anthropology o f the Middle Ages. Polity Press, Great Britain. Hastrup, Kirsten. 1985. Culture and History in Medieval Iceland. An Anthro­ pological Analysis of Structure and Change. Oxford. Hylland Eriksen, Thomas. 2002 [1993]. Ethnicity and Nationalism. London, Sterling, Virginia. Jackson, Tatjana. 1992. “Location of Bjarmaland.” In: K. Julku (Ed.). Suomen varhaishistoria. Studia Historica Septentrionalia 21. Jyväskylä. 122— 130. Kristjánsson, Jónas. 1988. Eddas and Sagas. Reykjavik.

112 Sirpa Aalto

Le Goff, Jacques. 1988 [1964]. Medieval Civilization. Translated by Julia Barrow. Great Britain. Liebkind, Karmela. 1988. Me ja muukalaiset - ryhmärajat ihmisten suhteissa. Helsinki. Lindow, John. 1995. “Supernatural Others and Ethnic Others: A Millenium of Worldview.” In: Scandinavian Studies vol. 67 no. 1. 8-31. Lönnroth, Lars. 1986. “Dómaldi’s Death and the Myth of Sacral Kingship.” In: J. Lindow, L. Lönnroth, G. Weber (Eds.). Stmcture and Meaning in Old Norse Literature. New Approaches to Textual Analysis and Literary Criticism. The Viking Collection, Volume 3. Odense. 73-93. Mundal, Else. 1996. The Perception of the Saamis and Their Religion in Old Norse Sources. In: J. Pentikäinen (Ed.). Shamanism and Northern Eco­ logy. Religion and Society 36. Berlin, New York. 97-116. Roslund, Mats. 2001. Gäster i huset. Kulturell överföring mellan slaver och skandinaver 900 till 1300. Lund. Ross, Alan S. C. 1940. The Terfinnas and Beormas of Ohthere. Texts and Monographs, Number VII. Leeds. Snorri Sturluson: Heimskringla /-///. Edited by Bjami Aðalbjamarson. íslenzkfornrit XXVI-XXVIII, 1979. Reykjavik. Snorri Sturluson: Heimskringla: History o f the Kings of Norway. Translated by Lee M. Hollander. 2002 [1964]. Austin. Sollors, Werner. 2002. “Ethnicity and Race.” In: D. T. Goldberg, J. Solomos (Eds.). A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies. Great-Britain. 97104. Steinsland, Gro. 1991. Det hellige bryllup og norrøn kongeideologi. En analyse av Hierogami-myten i Skirnismål, Ynglingatal, Håleygjatal og Hyndluljóö. Oslo. Whaley, Diana. 1991. Heimskringla - An Introduction. Viking Society For Northern Research Text Series, Volume VIII. London.

Sirpa Aalto Department of History University of Joensuu, Finland [email protected]

IAN BEUERMANN

Orkneyinga Saga: 1195 and All That? Introduction In the context of a rather philological seminar on kings’ sagas and Icelandic family sagas, this article is doubly peripheral, in dealing with an Icelandic kings’ saga that is set in the British Isles while looking at this saga from a historian’s point of view. In addition, the discussion of ‘The Earls of Orkney and their Sagas’ begins at the wrong end.1 The year 1195 can be regarded as the end of the independent earldom of Orkney, and as the starting-point for Orkney’s incorporation into the Norwegian state. Orkneyinga saga contains the details of this: Earl Haraldr Maddaðarson of Orkney had backed a competitor to King Sverrir, but the earl lost the battle against Sverrir. Haraldr had to surrender unconditionally, and Sverrir used the opportunity to impose his will on the isles. Shetland was detached from the earldom and taken under direct royal control, while Orkney was only restored to Haraldr as a fief, after he had sworn a vassal’s oath of allegiance to Sverrir.12 From 1 Although incorrect, the earldom shall be referred to as ‘Orkney’. A translation of the Old Norse Nordreyjar, ‘the Northern Isles’ would be more, although also not completely, correct: the earldom comprised the Shetland Isles, the Orkney Isles, and Caithness on the ‘Scottish’ mainland. 2 OSa ch. 112, íslenzkfornrit (ÍF) p. 297; Translated Orkneyinga saga, Her­ mann Pálsson & Paul Edwards (HP&PE) p. 224; Sverrir’s competitor was Sigurðr, son of King Magnús Erlingsson of Norway, the øyskegger (‘islandbeards’) lost the battle of Flóruvágar (Florevåg), near Bergen. Cf. S. Imsen, “Earldom and Kingdom. Orkney in the Realm of Norway 1195-1397.” 2000, pp. 163,164; B. E. Crawford, “The Earldom of Caithness and the King­ dom of Scotland, 1150-1266.” 1976-77, pp. 97-117, in gen. J. Storer Clouston, A History of Orkney. 1932; W. P. L. Thomson, History of Orkney. 1987.

114 Ian Beuermarm

1195 onwards the Orkney earls belonged to the royal hird, governing their remaining territories on behalf of the kings of Norway. This was a national disaster for Orkney, after its earls had ruled as independent princes for more than three hundred years, making agreements with the kings of Norway and Scotland - or so Orkneyinga saga claims. But what exactly does Orkneyinga saga claim? What is it about? Or rather, what are the aims behind Orkneyinga saga? Its first version, now lost, was written around 1200, probably after 1192 and not long after 1200. A Danish translation of ca. 1570 of this version survives. The revised version we have today dates from the 1230s. Snorri Sturluson used the first version for his Heimskringla, and, to complicate matters, the author of the second version of Orkneyinga saga based his revision on Snorri.3 The identity of the author is still debated received opinion has it that he was an Icelander, and most likely connected to the intellectual centre of Oddi in southern Iceland.4 This unidentified author of Orkneyinga saga, or probably more correctly of Jarla SQgur (‘The Sagas of the Earls’), produced an account of the earls’ and their intimates’ raids, internal quarrels, relations with the kings of Norway and Scotland, and of Orkney’s native saint, Earl Magnús Erlendsson. Does the saga then, after the beginnings in a mythical age, simply record in ever growing detail the events of the ninth to the thirteenth centuries? There is, arguably, more: the saga carries a political message - it was compiled for its propaganda value for at least two interested parties. It is this, Orkneyinga saga as a piece of propaganda, which shall be analysed in the following discussion of various episodes.

3 OSa introduction (HP&PE) pp. 10, 11. 4 Overview over possible authors in P. Pulsiano, Medieval Scandinavia. 1993, sub. ‘Orkneyinga Saga’, who considers Snorri Grimsson most likely. Others include Bjami Kolbeinsson bishop of Orkney, Sighvatr brother of Snorri Sturluson, Ingimundr Þórgeirsson priest from Eyjafjörður in Iceland.

O rkneyinga S a g a : 1195 and All That? 115

The Foundation-legend: Fornjótr Orkneyinga saga opens with the story about the ancestors of the Orcadian earls: They can be traced back to the mythical king Fomjótr. He “ruled over Finland and Kvenland, the countries stretching to the east of what we call the Gulf of Bothnia, which lies opposite the White Sea”.5 According to geographical conceptions of the time, Fomjótr’s realm was placed in the extreme north. Fomjótr’s three sons, Hlér or Ægir, Logi, and Kári are clearly associated with the elements: Ægir is the name of a sea-god or sea-giant, Logi means ‘flame’, and Kiri is a name for the north wind. It is from Kári that the line goes on towards the Orkney earls: via Frosti (‘frost’) and Snær inn gamli (‘Snow the Old’), we get to Þorri (‘the Dry One’) and his three children: two sons Nórr and Górr, and a daughter Gói. The next episode in the saga is a classic in folk-legend, the search for an abducted princess.6 One winter Gói disappears, and her two brothers set out to look for her; Nórr by land, and Górr by sea. None of them finds their sister, but in the course of their journeys they subdue all the lands they pass through. When the two brothers meet again, in western Norway, they divide the lands between them: Norway is given its eponymous founder, as Nórr was to rule the mainland, and Górr got the islands. From this Górr the earls of Orkney descend. In the direct male line we get to Rggnvaldr the Powerful, or the Wise, earl of Mære.7 What function does this opening serve in Orkneyinga sagal From the oldest skaldic poetry to the prose literature of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, Old Norse literature is full of genealogical lore; 5 OSa ch. 1 (HP&PE) p. 23; [hannj red fyrir landi, er kallat [er] Finnland ok Kvenland; þat liggr fyrir aus tan hafsbotn þann, er gengr til móts vid Gandvík; þat kgllu vér Helsingjabotn. OSa ch. 1 (ÍF) p. 3. 6 OSa introduction (HP&PE) p. 12. 7 OSa chs. 1-3 (HP&PE) pp. 23-26; (ÍF) pp. 3-7. Discussion in P. Meulengracht Sørensen, “The Sea, the Flame and the Wind.” 1995, esp. pp. 212,213.

116 Ian Beuermann

especially so in the sagas. There, genealogy serves three main functions. Firstly, (also) in Old Norse society, the degree of kinship simply had practical consequences for everyday life. Secondly, an impressive correct or ‘improved’ genealogy showed high social status. Thirdly, in a still wider context, the choice of real or invented links as they appear in a genealogy provides an indication of the prevalent historical g interpretation and mythical thinking. In the case of Orkneyinga saga, the first, practical function is obviously not intended. But there is no gainsaying the second and third functions, in that the legendary genealogy of the Orcadian earls aims to establish their princely status. This as yet not particularly original statement needs to be further qualified: according to the classification found in Snorri, Fomjótr is listed among the names for giants. Otherwise, apart from the euhemerization in Orkneyinga saga, where he receives the title ‘king’, nothing is known about Fomjótr. The meaning of his name is also not entirely clear; amongst the explanations proposed are ‘the old owner’, ‘the old destroyer’, ‘the receiver of sacrifices’, and ‘the old howler, i.e. the storm’.89 However, taken together, the mythical meaning of his and his descendants’ names is obvious: we are told that his three sons represent the sea (i.e. water), the flame (i.e. fire), and the (north) wind; and we also find progeny representing frost and snow. Fomjótr’s line therefore

8 Cf. for this “imaginative art” J. Turville-Petre, “The Genealogist and History. From Ari to Snorri.” 1978/9, p. 7. 9 Cf. for Fomjótr as a giant the Þulur (name-lists) which were incorporated into some manuscripts of Snorri Sturluson’s Edda. Discussion of Fomjótr’s four sons by M. Clunies Ross, “Snorri Sturluson’s Use of the Norse Origin-Legend of the Sons of Fomjótr in his Edda ” 1983, pp. 4766; cf. P. Meulengracht Sørensen, 1995, pp. 213, 214 for the meanings. He still lists Flateyjarbók, the main manuscript of OSa, where Fomjótr figures as ‘the old Jute’, essentially the name of a primeaval being from a mythical Jutland, agreeing with his role as a progenitor.

Orkneyinga S a g a : 1195 and All That? 117

clearly “personifies] the nordic winter and northern nature.”101 The Orkney earls lay claim to a very northern-orientated origin-legend. This legendary part of the genealogy in its medieval guise expresses a conception of history as a continuous development. It is inspired, in the last resort, by the biblical stories about the spreading of mankind over the world. And the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries seem to have been a fertile breeding-ground for such origin-myths, not only in the Norse world. “Like a great deal of medieval history ... [also] Orkneyinga Saga deepens the sense of continuity by pushing back into a mythic or legendary past.” 11 It is the later medieval Christian authors who incorporate the older - and especially also Old Norse - idea that princely houses had to have mythical origins, and who then transform the mythical genealogies into history.12 But there is still more to this. This northern-orientated origin-legend serves a specific purpose. Old Norse royal genealogies usually involve gods, and an element of immigration from the south. For example, at the 10 P. Meulengracht Sørensen, 1995, p. 213. Cf. idem, p. 214, for Claus Krag’s theory that the story expresses learned speculation from the early 12th century, i.e. the adaptation of the Greek doctrine of the four elements of nature. According to Krag, instead of taking Ynglingatal as evidence for the antiquity of the Fomjótr-myth, one should rather view this myth as evidence for a younger age of Ynglingatal. Meulengracht Sørensen doubts this, underlining the active role of the elements in the Fomjótr-myth, as well as the absence of the fourth classical element, earth. Cf. parallels from Egils saga Skalla-Grimssonar (p. 215). 11 J. Turville-Petre, 1978/9, p. 12; cf. OSa (HP& PE), introduction, pp. 11,12. 12 E. Mundal, “The Orkney Earl and Scald Torf-Einarr and his Poetry.” 1995, p. 251; cf. for the pre-Christian ‘original’ origin-myths Ynglingatal for the Swedish kings with Fjglnir according to Hkr the son of the god Freyr and the giantess Gerðr; the lost Skjvldunga saga for the Danish kings with their descent from Óðinn (end of the 12th century); Eyvindr Finnson’s poem Haleygatal (ca. 985) tracing the earls of Hlaðir back to Sæmingr, son of Oðinn and the giantess Skaði; P. Meulengracht Søren­ sen, 1995, p. 217.

118 Ian Beuermann

beginning of the twelfth century, the Icelander Ari Þorgilsson lets the Yngling genealogy begin with the Turkish king Yngvi and links it with the Norwegian royal dynasty of historical times. The lost Slggldunga saga from the end of the twelfth century has an account of the descent of the Danish kings from Óðinn, and of the immigration of the Æsir from Asia. And at the beginning of the thirteenth century Snorri in his Heimskringla combines the myth of the skaldic poem Ynglingatal with the immigration theoiy from Asia, placing Óðinn and his three sons at the top of the northern royal genealogies.13 Continuing his account with the inter­ marriage between the ‘immigrant’ gods and wives of the native Nordic population, Snorri, as usual, provides a very authoritative version. It would easily have been possible to incorporate the Orkney into this genealogical tree - the Norwegian earls of Hlaðir, for example, claimed descent from Sæmingr, Oðinn’s son - but neither Snorri nor the Orkneyinga saga make any attempt to construct such a link between Óðinn and the ancestors of the Orkney earls.14 Instead, Orkneyinga saga picks up another element; that is, that there existed in the north a native population long before these immigrant gods, Óðinn and his followers, arrived. With their descent from Fomjótr the ancestors of the earls of Mære, and therefore of the earls of Orkney, are shown to be exclusively Nordic; they stem from an ancient native race hailing from a mythical past, and - to put it in somewhat racist terms - their blood had not been diluted by southern immigrants. In addition, as if the point needed to be pressed, Orkneyinga saga chooses for the part of the Orcadians’ non­ human ancestors not the gods of the Norwegian royal line, but their arch-enemies, the giants. By discarding descent from immigrated southern gods in favour of a direct male line which goes back to native 13 Snorri Sturluson, Hkr, Ynglingatál, chs. 1-3, Ed. & trsl. L. Hollander, 1999, pp. 6, 7. 14 But cf. Hálfdanar saga Eysteinssonar where Eysteinn glumra, Rpgnvaldr of Mcere’s father, descends from Sæmingr; P. Meulengracht Sørensen, 1995, p. 218.

O rkneyinga S a g a : 1195 and All That? 119

northern giants, the author conveys a sense of Orcadian self-esteem and pride, together with an impression of distinctness. To go even further, this account propagates not only that the origins of the earls of Orkney are distinct from those of the Norwegian kings, but also that they are more deeply rooted in Nordic history; they are, so to speak, more Norwegian than the kings of Norway. Consequently, the Orcadian origin-legend in its semi-historical twelfth-/thirteenth-century version is typical of its time, in that it underlines the status of a princely house. In addition, however, it serves the particular agenda of justifying the independence of the Orkney earls vis-å-vis the Norwegian kings.

The Progenitor: Earl (Torf-) Einarr (ca. 893-946) It may even be argued that this is a recurring motive in Orkneyinga saga's depiction of history. Although, at first sight, it seems that with (Torf-) Einarr the early earls of Orkney hardly got off to an auspicious start.15 According to the saga, Earl Rggnvaldr of Mœre’s brother Sigurðr was the first earl of Orkney. Although he apparently earned the byname “the Powerful” or “the Mighty”16, he is probably most commonly re­ membered for his somewhat less than heroic death. After a victorious battle in which he killed his adversary Earl Maelbrigte, Earl Sigurðr was riding home, with Maelbrigte’s head strapped onto his saddle. Sigurðr “went to spur his horse, he struck his calf against a tooth sticking out of Maelbrigte’s mouth and it gave him a scratch. The wound began to swell and ache, and it was this that led to the death of Sigurd the

15 Cf. for his byname commemorating his territorial gains (the southern limits of the earldom towards Scotland) rather than the introduction of peat as a fuel, H. Cheape, “Recounting Tradition: A Critical View of Medieval Reportage.” 1984, p. 210; B. E. Crawford, “The Making of a Frontier: The Firthlands from the Ninth to Twelfth Centuries.” 1986, pp. 33-46. 16 OSa ch. 5 (HP&PE) p. 28; Sigurðr inn ríki (ÍF) p. 9.

120 Ian Beuermann

Powerful.”17 Brilliant - after introducing him in the first sentence of the chapter with “Earl Sigurd became a great ruler”,18 these two short, laconic sentences about the quite embarrassing and really rather stupid death of the mighty first earl of Orkney immediately destroy any impression of a noble, powerful ruler that the reader might have had. Misfortune continues to dog the line. Earl Sigurðr’s son dies childless, and Hallaðr, son of Rpgnvaldr of Mære and next earl of Orkney, seems to have lacked the necessary warlike spirit: “Vikings would raid the islands as well as Caithness, looting and killing, but when the farmers complained of their losses to Earl Hallad, it seemed to him beyond his power to right matters for them: so, tiring of his rule, he gave up the earldom and went back to Norway as a common landholder. This excursion of his made him a laughing-stock.”19 If anything disqualified a man from being a ruler in those days, it was this, the failure to protect his dependents. Finally, the Orkney Islands did receive another earl, but in a nonetoo-auspicious way: Earl Rpgnvaldr of Mære apparently faced a diffi­ cult task when he had to decide which of his remaining sons should take up the challenge. Rpgnvaldr’s eldest son, Hrólfir, was gone on Viking expeditions - he was to earn lasting fame by conquering Normandy and Rpgnvaldr’s second son, Ivarr, was dead. To his third son, Þórir þegjandi (‘the Silent’), Rpgnvaldr said, “you’ll be better here than

17 OSa ch. 5 (HP&PE) pp. 27, 28; [...] þá vildi Sigurdr keyra hestinn vid fæti sinum, ok lystr ham kálfanum á tQnnina, er skagöi ór hgföi Melbrikta, ok skeindisk; ok í þat sår laust verkjum ok þrota, ok leiddi þat til bana; ok er Sigurór inn ríki heygðr á Ekkjalsbakka (ÍF) p. 9. 18 OSa ch. 5 (HP&PE) p. 27; Sigurðrja rlgerðisk hgföingi mikill (ÍF) p. 8. 19 OSa ch. 5 (HP&PE) p. 28; en víkingar fóru um eyjamar okyfir á Nes, drápu menn ok rœntu. En er búendr kœröu skaða sinnfyrir Hallaói jarli, þá þótti honum torvelt at rétta þeira hlut, ok leiddisk honum tignin. Hann verltisk ór jarldóminum ok tók hglósrétt ok fór aptr til Nóregs, ok þótti hans ferð in hœðligista (3F) p. 10.

O rkneyinga S aga : 1195 and All That? 121

anywhere else. Your path doesn’t lie overseas”,20 and he also discouraged his illegitimate son Hrollaugr: You’re not destined for the earldom, ... your fate will take you to Iceland, [and the saga continues] After that the Earl’s youngest son, Einar, came forward. ‘Do you want me to go to the islands?’ he asked. ‘I can promise you the greatest favour you could wish for, and that’s never to have to see me again. There’s little enough here to hold me, and I don’t see myself as being any more of a failure elsewhere.’ ‘Considering the kind of mother you have’, said the Earl, ‘slave-born on each side of her family, you’re not likely to make much of a ruler. But I agree; the sooner you leave and the later you return, the happier I’ll be.’ 21 After this kind exchange between father and son, Einarr leaves for Orkney. Are we now to understand that Orkney got the least promising of the Mœre-sons? One interpretation of the episode is that Earl Rpgnvaldr was reluctant to hand over real power to those of his sons who showed too

20 Þórir þegjandi, the silent. OSa ch. 6 (HP&PE) p. 28; [...] hér тип þinn þroski mestr; ok liggja vegirþínir eigi heðan (IF) p. 10. 21 OSa ch. 6 (HP&PE) pp. 28, 29; ‘Eigi тип þér jarldóms audit, ok liggja jylgjur þínar til Islands, [...] På gekk Einarr fram, inn yngsti sonr hans, ok mælti: ‘Villtu, at ek fara til eyjanna? Ek тип því heita, er þér тип mest veitt íþykkja, at ek тип aldrigi aptr кота þér í augsýn; á ek ok við litit gott hér at skiljask, ok ørvænt um, at minn þroski verði annars staðar minni en hér. ’ Jarl segir: ‘Olíkligr ertu til hofðingfa fyrir sakar móður þinnar, því at hon er i allar ættir þrœlborin, en satt er þat, at því betr þœtti mer, er þú ferr fyrr å braut ok kemr seinna aptr’ (ÍF) pp. 10, 11. The story is also recorded in Snorri’s Heimskringla, Haraldz saga ins hárfagra ch. 27, who uses OSa, and in Landnámabók (Sturlubók ch. 309, Hauksbók ch. 270), apparently based on an older form of OSa, cf. E. Mundal, 1995, p. 248, and idem, p. 249 for an overview over the legitimate (Rpgnvaldr’s three sons with his wife Hildr Hrólfsdóttir) and the illegitimate Mœre-sons (Hallaðr, Hrollaugr and Einarr).

122 Ian Beuermann

much initiative.22 Hence, he favours the younger Þórir the silent as his successor in Mære, and the older and more dangerous Hrólfr embarks on an overseas career in Normandy. Of the illegitimate sons, the dis­ qualified Hallaðr would not pose any threat to his father; neither would Hrollaugr, whose future lies in farming, eventually indeed in Iceland as predicted by his father. Only Einarr seems to be a bit of a troublemaker. What better solution than to send him abroad as well, on a mission that provides an outlet for his warlike temper, but where his likely failure would not do any lasting harm. However, one should be careful with taking at face-value the father-son conversation in the saga, and with accepting that Rggnvaldr despised his youngest son Einarr, as the descendant of a slave-mother. An entirely different interpretation sees this conversation as a provocation-scene. Usually in Old Norse litera­ ture, women and old men provoke young men to avenge the death of a kinsman, or to make them restore social order, especially when the family honour is sullied. The actual provocation lies in the - unfounded - accusation of not behaving as is expected of an honourable man. The scene involving Rggnvaldr and Einarr partly differs from this standard set-up in that Rggnvaldr provokes his son by reminding him of a fact, his descent from a slave-mother. But it also contains the classic element, the reproach that Einarr would not behave as befits an honourable man, but would only act like the son of a slave. The “you’re not likely to make much of a ruler”23, Rggnvaldr’s unfriendly words to his son, should therefore not be taken literally, but as the “sort of provocation which women and old men in Old Norse society were entitled to use in order to make their sons act according to the standards of honour”.24 This means for the Orkney earls succeeding Einarr - for he of course proves to be perfectly able to gain and hold the earldom - that in 22 OSa introduction (HP&PE) p. 13. 23 OSa ch. 6 (HP&PE) p. 29; Ólíkligr ertu til hgföingjafyrir’ (ÍF) p. 11. 24 E. Mundal, 1995, p. 248, cf. there for Snorri’s opening scene, with Rggnvaldr’s comment that his sons would be very unlike their forefathers.

O rkneyinga S a g a : 1195 and All That? 123

Rpgnvaldr’s eyes Einarr’s descent from a slave-mother provided an effective lever to spur him on to great deeds, and that it need not be seen as a lasting stain on their family honour. At least that, for one might push it further. In Else Mundal’s words: “In literature a provocation is usually directed to the most promising of the men in question, where there is most hope for a positive response. Such a provocation in fact proves that the person who provokes has faith in the young man in spite of what he or she says.”25 Einarr, to be seen as not as the least, but as the most promising of Rpgnvaldr’s sons - what else could he claim to recommend himself, apart from the legend­ worthy fact of being the youngest? It is in fact Einarr’s descent that might single him out, but in a positive way. For, apparently, it seems to have been not only acceptable but even desirable to have a slave-mother, if the father belonged to a princely house. Þóra, mother of the Norwegian king Håkon inn góði (reigned 943961), is called konungs ambått, ‘the king’s slave’, although she was probably not slave-born at all. Snorri gives as an explanation for this wrong claim that “in those days it was the custom to call even women of good family konungs ambátF.26 Apparently, in Old Norse society an alliance between a man of princely family and a slave woman was not only acceptable, on the contrary, it might even be a lucky combination for the ensuing offspring. This runs counter to the general rule of equal social status of husband and wife, where the union of free or high-bom man and slave woman would have constituted a serious misalliance - as far as the general population is concerned. Here, however, we consider princely,

25 E. Mundal, 1995, p. 250. 26 Heimskringla, Haraldz saga ins hárfagra, ch. 37; cf. E. Mundal, 1995, p. 250. L. Hollander translated konungs ambátt as “the king’s handmaid”, with the explanation “There were many at that time who did service at the king’s court, even though they were of noble birth, both men and women.” (Þóra’s good family and her good looks are stressed), Hkr (Hollander) p. 91.

124 Ian Beuermann

royal families. And in Old Norse ideology, the prototype of a king seems to descend from opposite parties. The royal founding-father stems from the mythic alliance of opposites, the hieros gamos between god and giantess. And this union of opposites is continued when the royal descen­ dants marry slave-women. The issue of these alliances is bom to rule.27 And alone among Rggnvaldr’s sons it is Einarr who meets this criterion. He is the bom ruler. Moreover, it is only fitting that he is introduced in such a dramatic way, and that he quickly makes a name for himself, for Einarr is of course in a way the real historic ancestor of the Orkney earls. His uncle Sigurðr’s line had died out. The saga of the earls of Orkney proper begins with Einarr, a man destined to be prince. Orkneyinga saga can also not resist a little side-swipe at the Norwegian royal house: Hálfdan, son of King Haraldr inn hárfagri (the Fair-hair) of Norway, together with his brother Guðroðr ljómi (the Gleam), kills Einarr’s father Rggnvaldr of Mære.28 Afterwards Hálfdan flees to, of all places, Orkney.29 Einarr can now be shown to conform completely to society’s demands of honourable behaviour: he kills Hálfdan, avenging his father’s death, not without composing some derisive skaldic verses about his brothers’ failure to do so.30 Again Einarr is presented as the leading one among his brothers, underlining that he is the most promising of Rggnvaldr of Mœre’s sons. 27 For hieros gamos and the ideology of kingship in Old Norse society, see G. Steinsland, Det hellige bryllup og norrøn kongeideologi: en analyse av hierogami-myten i Skirnismål, Ynglingatal, Håleygjatal og Hyndluljóó. 1991; discussion ofjafrœði in E. Mundal, 1995, pp. 250, 251. 28 OSach.8. 29 In OSa, King Haraldr hárfagri does not condone his sons’ behaviour, and Hálfdan (háleggr) flees his father’s wrath. Guðroðr ljómi surrendered to his father, and Haraldr hárfagri compensates Þórir son of Rggnvaldr of Mære with his daughter Álof árbót (the Fecund) and the title ‘earl’, OSa ch. 8. 30 OSa ch. 8, E. Mundal, 1995, pp. 252-255. As Einarr’s brother and successor to Mære Þórir had married Haraldr’s daughter he could not take revenge.

Orkneyinga S a g a : 1195 and All That? 125

With regard to the royal house of Norway, Einarr’s attitude is arrogant, to the point of being abusive. It is now when the famous incident of blood-eagling is supposed to have occurred in Orkneyinga saga. Whether Einarr did in fact put Hálfdan to death in this dramatic way or not, the saga claims that he “had his [Hálfdan’s] ribs cut from the spine with a sword and the lungs pulled out through the slits in his back. He dedicated the victim to Odin as a victory offering...”.31 This cere­ monial killing of Hálfdan’s “must have been an even greater provo­ cation to the victim’s family than an ordinary killing.” The historical accuracy is debated, but the important point is that Orkneyinga saga sees fit to depict the Orkney earl as sacrificing King Haraldr’s son Hálfdan like a slave to Óðinn.32 The whole encounter between earl and king’s son had been used to deride Hálfdan: “Around evening time when it was growing dark Halfdan jumped overboard...” We are given to understand that Hálfdan spent the whole night drifting in the water and hiding from his enemies, for the saga records that the next morning Einarr and his men scoured the sea for Hálfdan, until Einarr says: '“I don’t know what is bobbing up and down over there [...] It’s either a bird or a man [...]’ And that’s where they found Halfdan Long-Leg.”33 Hálfdan is then fished out of the water, and Einarr refers to him not by his

31 OSa ch. 8 (HP&PE) p. 30; [...] lét Einarr rísta Qrná bald копит med sverði ok skera rifin gll frå hrygginum ok draga þar út lungun ok gaf hann Odni tilsigrs ser (ÍF) p. 13. 32 In E. Mundal’s view, 1995, p. 257, in order to get Óðinn’s help for the next step in the attack, on someone higher than Hálfdan - the king himself. 33 OSa ch. 8 (HP&PE) p. 30; Hálfdan hljópfyrir bord vid myrkr um kveldit. Eigi veit ek, hvat ek sé i Rinansey, hefsk stundum upp, en stundum leggsk nidr; annathvårt er þat fogl eda madr’ [...] Þar fundu Þeir Hálfdan hálegg (ÍF) pp. 12, 13. Einarr’s words (“I don’t know what I see”) are less colourful than the “I don’t know what is bobbing up and down” of Pálsson’s/Edwards’ trsl., but the latter may represent Einarr’s general attitude.

126 Ian Beuermann

usual nickname, háleggr, but instead uses the feminine form of this; ‘long-legs’, háfœta. Magnus Olsen considers this form to be a common name for a sheep, or even worse, a goat. According to Old Norse laws, this is certainly níð, debasement.34 After Hálfdan’s death, Einarr asks his men to throw stones at his body. There may be more in this than just a senseless act of humiliation, for Einarr calls these stones - again in skaldic verse - harðan skatt, ‘hard taxes’.35 It is possible that Hálfdan was claiming taxes from Rggnvaldr of Mære and from Einarr earl of Orkney, a right Einarr categorically denied to the King of Norway’s son.36 In short, Orkneyinga saga depicts Earl Einarr as the perfect bom ruler; the most promising of Rpgnvaldr of Mœre’s sons. He not only manages to assume control in the Orkney Islands, but he also rises to the challenge posed by Hálfdan, son of King Haraldr hárfagri, repelling the latter’s claims to taxes and superiority. Einarr is the worthy progenitor of the new princely house of Orkney. 34 M. Olsen, “Torv-Einar og Hamðismál.” 1938 [1936], p. 192; Idem, “Hild Rolvsdatters vise om Gange-Rolv og Harald Hårfagre.” 1942a, pp. 40, 41; Idem, “Torv-Einar og Kormak1942b, pp. 151,152. 35 OSa ch. 8 (HP&PE) p. 31, (ÍF) p. 15. 36 If Hálfdan, after putting the foot down rather hard in Mære, turned to Orkney for collecting taxes, it would make it less surprising that he tra­ velled to the domains of his victim’s son, of all places. And in this case, of course, Einarr successfully resists Hálfdan’s attempt to impose taxes. Moreover, by throwing stones, “hard taxes”, he categorically denies Hálfdan’s right to taxes from his earldom, thereby also denying the preeminence of the king’s son over the earl’s son. Cf. E. Mundal, 1995, p. 255. Einarr goes on to challenge the Norwegian royal house, addres­ sing the king as equal in the last skaldic stanza (Idem, p. 258), but does in the end pay taxes to Haraldr - i.e., only to the king, not to a son of his. Cf. OSa chs. 7, 8 for Einarr paying the fine or tax due to Haraldr hárfagri, thereby acquiring the odal rights of all Orcadians - the significance of this passage reminiscent of Haraldr hárfagri’s supposed claims in Norway is not clear, cf. S. Imsen, 2000, p. 176.

Orkneyinga Saga: 1195 and All That? 127

Conflicts: It is the twelfth century that makes up the bulk of Orkneyinga saga: Chapters 1 to 43 take the reader all the way from the mythical begin­ nings and the first three hundred years of Norse Orkney, including the conversion to Christianity, up to the death of King Magnús berfœttr of Norway during his expedition to the British Isles in 1103. The whole rest of the saga, chapters 44 to 112, deals with the next one hundred years, with the rivalry between the two lines of the family stemming from the two sons of Earl Þórfinnr the Mighty - Páll and Erlendr in the course of which Orkney gets its saint, Magnús Erlendsson, around 1116. A large part of the saga recounts the reign of Rggnvaldr (formerly Kali) Kolsson, complete with the exploits of the arch-Viking, Sveinn Asleifarson. Finally, the saga finishes with events from the latter days of Earl Haraldr Maddaðarson’s reign - he died in 1206. Under the heading ‘Conflicts’, Orkneyinga saga shall be discussed as a propaganda work from two different angles, with examples from the reigns of different eleventh- and twelfth-century earls. The first aspect of conflicts concerns the role of the Norwegian kings during the disputes of the earls of Orkney. In the eleventh century Earl Þórfinnr the Mighty achieved sole rule over the Orkney islands, only after a thirty-two year struggle against his half-brothers Einarr and Bnisi and his nephew Rpgnvaldr Bnisason. During the conflict, Brúsi turned to King Óláfr Haraldsson, the later saint: He asked the King to help him hold on to his earldom and promised in return his fully committed friendship. The King’s reply was to point out that Harald Fine-Hair had taken possession of the odal rights in Orkney. ‘Ever since then the Earls of Orkney have held them as fiefs, never as personal property,’ he said. [...] ‘I’ll let you have the islands in fee as long as you become my man. [...] But if you turn my offer down, then all the property and odal rights my forebears have held in the isles I mean to take over myself.’

128 Ian Beuermann

Brúsi saw that ‘now that we’ve placed ourselves in his hands by coming here, it would be easy for an ambitious man like him to do whatever he wants with us.’ [So ...] he decided to surrender himself and his earldom to the king. With that, King Olaf appropriated the authority and overlordship of the Earl’s heritable lands, and the Earl swore an oath of fealty to become the king’s man.37 Bmsi’s opponent Þórfinnr did not want to lose out, and followed Bnisi hard on his heels to Norway and ran into the same trap: although the saga depicts Þórfinnr as defending more strongly against King Oláff’s wishes, claiming the competing rights of the king of Scots, and at last, because of his youth, his own inability to decide such matters without consulting people in Orkney, Þórfmnr was forced to accede to King Óláfr’s demands as well.38 This is as dramatic as it is classic: addressing King Óláfr for help, the two competing earls find themselves turned from independent princes into subservient vassals, outmanoeuvred by a shrewd king who grants them in fee (/ lén, i.e. as a non-heritable fief in the gift of the king) the lands they previously held as their ancestral property (eign, i.e. as heritable property of their own).39 But should one trust this account of Orkneyinga saga? Earl Þórfinnr had in fact already 37 OSa ch. 17 (HP&PE) pp. 44, 45; [...] bad konung veita sér styrk til at halda riki sinu, baud þar fram i mdti fullkomna vináttu sina. Konungr svarar ok tdk par fyrst til måls, er Haraldr inn hárfagri hafdi eignazk ddul i Orkneyjum, - ‘en jarlar hafa sidan haft i lén, en aldri at eign, ok er pat til jarteigna, ' segir hann, ‘ [...] Nú vil ek gera pér pann kost, at pú gerisk minn madr; mm ek på få pér Eyjar i lén. [...] En ef pú vill eigi penna kost, på тип ek eptir leita peim eignum ok ddulum, er vårirfrændr hafa ått vestrpar [...] at vér erum hér komnir, på тип honum lititfyrir at gera pat af vårum kosti, sem hann vill. [...] på tok hann pann kost at leggia attt &konungs vald, bædi sik ok riki sitt. Tdk på Olåfr konungr af jarli vald ok forråd yfir gllum erfdalgndum sinum, ok gerdisk jarl på konungsmadr ok batt pat svardggum (IF) p. 36. 38 OSach. 18. 39 OSach. 19.

Orkneyinga S a g a : 1195 and All That? 129

some time before paid a visit to King Óláfr, which is described in different terms: King Olaf sent a ship west to Earl Thorfinn with a request for the earl to come and see him and, since the message included an offer of friendship, the earl decided to go.40 King Olaf gave him a cheerful welcome. Thorfinn stayed there for a good part of the summer and when he was ready to go back home King Olaf gave him a fine, big, fully-equipped longship. [...] The King and earl Thorfinn parted on the best of terms.41 This is a much more usual description of princely-royal relations in the early eleventh century than the talk about fiefs and vassals in the previously quoted episode. The account of King Óláff’s judgement has therefore been criticised for applying the concepts of developed feuda­ lism on a pre-feudal age when relationships were less formalised 42 On the other hand, there may be some truth in Orkneyinga saga's account of the terms of the agreement, in their contents if not their language: The Icelandic Annals record that Earl Þórfinnr and Earl Bnisi gave Orkney into the power of King Óláfr in 1021.43 But do these 40 OSa ch. 15 (HP&PE) p. 42. [...] sendi konungr skip vestr um haf á fund Þórfinns jarls ok orósending þá, at jarl skyldi koma å hans fund. Hann lagdisk eigi ferdina undir hQfuá, því at vinåttumål fylgdu ordsendingunni (ÍF)pp. 32,33. 41 OSa ch. 16 (HP&PE) p. 42. Fekk hann þar gódar vidtgkur ok dvaldisk þar lengi um sumarit. Er er hann bjdsk vestr, þá gaf Olåfr konungr honum langskip mikitt og gott med yllum reida. [...] Skildusk þeir konungr okjarl inir beztu vinir med miklum kœrleikum (ÍF) p. 33. 42 J. Storer Clouston, 1932, p. 38. 43 IAnn s.a. 1021; cf. W. P. L. Thomson’s 1987, p. 47: “And the terms of the settlement which the saga records are by no means improbable: the division into thirds, ruled by earl Þórfmnr and earl Brusi respectively, and the last third, orig. Einarr’s, forfeit to king Olaf because of Einarr’s murder of Eyvind.” (Auroch’s Horn when he sheltered in Orkney on the way to Norway; king Óláfr sees this as an affront) St Olafs saga, Hkr, ch. 87, OSach. 15.

130 Ian Beuermann

agreements correspond to reality? Norwegian kings in the eleventh century were in no position to exercise direct rule in Orkney - which can be seen from the fact that King Óláfr immediately entrusted the third of the earldom that he had initially claimed as forfeit to the crown to the more pliable of the two earls, Bnisi, as soon as Þórfinnr had left Norway. Lastly however, Earl Þórfmnr managed to gain two thirds of the earldom by relieving his less warlike half-brother Bnisi of the obligation of defence. This obviously runs completely counter to King Óláff’s arrangements. But it might be “significant that this ultimate reversal of the king’s judgement was only possible with [...] O lafs exile and death” in 1030.44 After stripping the saga account of its anachronistic twelfth- and thirteenth-century language, it is difficult to decide whether the extent of King Oláfr’s authority over Orkney is exaggerated, which might come as a surprise in a saga which in general glorifies the earls of Orkney and their power. King Óláfr’s influence is certainly not played down. One explanation might be the enormous posthumous reputation the saint-king of Norway was to enjoy - here was a ruler who turned from Viking to martyr, from warlord to national, eternal king, especially in the second half of the twelfth century, when Archbishop Eysteinn of Niðaróss was writing his passio - shortly before the penning down of Orkneyinga saga itself.45 There are, of course, apart from the saint-king Oláfr Haraldsson in the early eleventh century, more examples of Norwegian kings intermittently claiming authority over Orkney. Another, arguably even 44 OSa ch. 19, W. P. L. Thomson, 1987, pp. 45^17 (47); cf. B. Smith, “Shetland in Saga-Time: Rereading the Orkneyinga Saga.” 1988, p. 26 for the highly unlikely claim of Óláfr’s that his predecessors had owned the islands, and for 11th century kings of Norway only slowly gaining control over their magnates; cf. B. E. Crawford, Scandinavian Scotland. 1987, pp. 76, 77. 45 Passio et miracula beati Olavi, written by Eysteinn in two versions, the younger expanded one during his exile in England 1179-1182, cf. P. Pulsiano, 1993 sub. Oláfs saga helga.

O rkneyinga S a g a : 1195 and All That? 131

more dramatic one from the beginning of the twelfth century exemplifies which consequences the conflicts of the earls had for their relationship with the Norwegian kings: Hákon Pálsson (ca. 1103-1123), youthful troublemaker and arch-enemy of his cousin, Magnús Erlendsson (ca. 1105-1116), was in the interest of peace prevailed upon to leave Orkney for a while.46 He travelled widely in Sweden and Norway,47 but eventually he received disturbing news from home that “the people of Orkney, who had been enjoying peace and quiet for a long time, were not at all keen for him to go there”.48 Apparently in need of more powerful backing, “he decided to ask King Magnus for help in bringing him to power in Orkney”.49 What follows shows the worst-case scenario such an appeal by an earl of Orkney to the Norwegian king might result in: Does the author of the saga claim that Håkon was completely naive when he says that “Hakon was shrewd enough to gather from conversation with Magnus that he was an ambitious man and greedy for power in other lands.”?50 “So Hakon put it to him that it would be a princely thing to do if he were to take an army abroad, plundering and conquering in Orkney just as Harald Fine-Hair had done.”51 Håkon further enticed King Magnus with the prospect of 46 OSach.35. 47 OSa chs. 35, 36. OSa depicts Håkon as a not particularly strict Christian: he consults a very pagan - and Swedish - soothsayer to find out about his future, where he is told that he and his descendants shall rule in Orkney. The soothsayer’s predictions come true. 48 OSa ch. 37 (HP&PE) p. 82; [...] at Orkneyingar myndi litt langa til, at hann kœmi vestrþangat, ok hQfóuþeirflid góðan ok kyrrsœti (ÍF) p. 93. 49 OSa ch. 37 (HP&PE) p. 82; Tók hann þat ráð, at sœkja at Magnús konung, at hann kœmi honum til ríkis í Orkneyjum (IF) p. 93. 50 OSa ch. 38 (HP&PE) pp. 82, 83; Håkon var vitr madr, ok þóttisk hann skilja á rœóum Magnúss konungs, er þeir rœddusk vió, at konungr myndi vera stórráðr ok ágjarn á ríki annarra hpfding/a (ÍF) p. 93. 51 OSa ch. 38 (HP&PE) p. 83; Håkon tók þœr rœóur fyrir konungi, at þat vœri hQfðingsbragðt at hafa leiðangr úti ok herja vestr um haf ok leggja undir sik Eyjar, sem gerói Haraldr inn hárfagri (IF) p. 93.

132 Ian Beuermann

plundering in the Hebrides, Ireland, and England, and he saw that the scheme appealed to Magnus. However, the author includes a warning which makes Håkon wonder whether he did the right thing: ‘“ But bear this in mind, Hakon,’ the king [Magnús] added, ‘should I let myself be persuaded by your arguments to undertake this western expedition, don’t be surprised at how harshly I deal with countries there: I mean to treat them all alike’”.52 But it was too late, also without any further prodding of Hákon’s; things had been set in motion, King Magnús had decided on the expedition to the west. Because of this, the peaceful joint rule of Håkon’s father Earl Páll and Páll’s brother Earl Erlendr was to come to an abrupt end: As soon as King Magnus arrived in Orkney he seized the Earls, Paul and Erlend, sent them east to Norway, and made his own son Sigurd overlord of the islands with regents to govern the earldom. Magnus went on to the Hebrides and with him the Earls’ sons, Håkon Paulsson and the Erlendssons, Magnus and Erling.53 And the slightly later shorter Magnus ’ saga still seems to know that “King Magnus declared that the earls would never rule in Orkney as long as he was King of Norway.”54 Various motives have been proposed for King Magnús berfœttr’s two expeditions to the west between 1098 and 1103; and King Magnús does in fact deal with several other rulers in 52 OSa ch. 38 (HP&PE) p. 83; [...]len þat skaltu hugsa, Håkon,’ segir konungr, ‘ef ek geri þetta fyrir ord þín ok åeggjan, at fara med her vestr um haf atþér skal ekki å dvart koma, þótt ek borakfrekan atsúg til rikja þeira, er liggja verstrþar, ok gera ek atþví engan mannamun ’ (ÍF) p. 94. 53 OSa ch. 39 (HP&PE) p. 84; På er Magnus konungr kom til Orkneyja, þa tók hann jarla, Pål ok Erlend, ok sendi þá austr til Ndregs, en setti Sigurd, son sinn, yfir Eyjar ok fekk honum råduneyti. Magnus konungr fór i Sudreyjar, ok fylgdu honum synir jarla, Magnus ok Erlingr, synir Erlends jarls, ok Håkon Pålsson (IF) p. 95. 54 Shorter MSa, 23; [...] ok sagdi svå, at jarlarnir skyldi aldri hafa riki i Orkneyjum, medan hann væri konungr í Nóregi: Magnúss saga skemmri, ch. 3, OSa (ÍF) pp. 312, 313.

Orkneyinga S a g a : 1195 and All That? 133

the area.55 Understandably, Orkneyinga saga is less interested in these activities. But it also depicts Orcadian events in a somewhat slanted way: while making plain that King Magnús “was an ambitious man and greedy for power in other lands”,56 the saga lays a great part, if not most of the blame on Earl Håkon. He is the ambitious troublemaker, who cannot accept that his uncle’s line rules in Orkney although there is peace in the land, people are happy, and he is not missed at all. He is determined to press his claims to the earldom, and, in the absence of Orcadian support, turns to the king of Norway. It is the rivalry within the ruling family of earls, the failure to come to an acceptable agreement, which opens the door for the Norwegian king to step in, and in this very dramatic case, to put the earldom of Orkney under direct royal rule for the first time in its history. And, it needs to be stressed, according to the saga it is a self-inflicted disaster. So much for the first aspect with regard to conflicts. Quarrels bet­ ween competing co-earls over the division of the islands57 and the resul­ ting appeals to royal authority make it possible for the kings of Norway to get a foot into the door. And, as both the Magnús berfcettr episode and the account of Bmsi’s and Þórfinnr’s contacts with King Óláff Haraldsson underline, earls of Orkney on the look-out for an ally might get 55 Seeing in them simple raiding expeditions, efforts to reaffirm Norwegian control over the Hebrides, the Norse-Irish towns, the northern Welsh coast, and even attempts to destabilise England, the revenge for King Haraldr hardráði’s death at Stamford Bridge in 1066 that Earl Håkon talks about. King Magnús captures the Manx king, makes a treaty with the high-king of Ireland, and interferes in Gwynedd in north Wales, possibly in order to restore Gruffydd ap Cynan as a Norse puppet king (cf. I. Beuermann, Man Amongst Kings and Bishops. 2002, pp. 37-48). 56 OSa ch. 38 (HP&PE) pp. 82, 83; [...] at konungr myndi vera stórráðr ok ágjam á riki annarra hpfdingja (EF) p. 93. 57 Cf. B. E. Crawford, “The Cult of St Magnus in Shetland.” 1984, pp. 66, 67 for the practice of division, first recorded in 1014 after the death of Earl Sigurðr Hlpðvísson (the Stout), when his three sons divided his realm amongst them.

134 Ian Beuermann

rather more than they had asked for. The Norwegian king might - in twelfth- and thirteenth-century language - force them to become his vassals, or worse, replace them with a representative of his, thereby putting Orkney under direct royal control. Orkneyinga saga contains a warning that internal strife carries the danger of a royal Norwegian take­ over.58 This should ring a very loud alarm bell for an Icelandic audience in the early thirteenth century. The second aspect of conflicts concerns the usefulness of a saint. After King Magnús berfœttr’s death native Orkney earls regain power and predictably, the rivalry flares up again between the ambitious Earl Hákon Pálsson and his cousin Earl Magnús Erlendsson. On the sixteenth of April, 888 years ago,59 a few days after Easter, matters between the two earls came to a head. A meeting had been arranged between Earl Hákon Pálsson and Earl Magnús Erlendsson.60 However, the saga depicts Hákon Pálsson as playing falsely. Magnus Erlendsson was captured, and it was decided to kill him. Orkneyinga saga describes in detail Magnús Erlendsson’s refusal to hide from and then to defend against Hákon Pálsson, as well as his pious last words, how he forgives the cook who is forced to do the deed, how he prays, and how he receives the blow.61 A saint has been bom - if that is the right word in 58 W. P. L. Thomson, 1987, pp. 45,46. 59 The paper was read on St. Magmas’ day, 16 April 2004. Magnús may also have died 891 or 893 years ago; 1115, 1116 and 1117 are proposed. 60 OSa ch. 47. As B. E. Crawford, 1984, pp. 69, 70 points out, “This sounds very much as if it was to be a meeting dominated by the clergy who probably hoped to put the final seal of the Church’s blessing on the secular agreements already made at the popular assembly. [...] It is not unlikely that the two rival bishops [William and Ralph Novell] also wanted their own respective spheres of influence in the diocese delineated.” 61 OSa chs. 49, 50. D. Brothwell, One Hundred and Fifty Years o f Human Skeletal Studies in Orkney. 2004, examining the skull found in Kirkwall Cathedral in 1919 and thought to be Earl Magmas’, concludes that the individual was killed with a blow to the side of the head, not to the front as described, or rather embellished, by the author of the saga.

Orkneyinga Saga: 1195 and All That? 135 62

this case. But Magnús, far from being the first earl of Orkney to be murdered, needed a promoter for his new role of martyr and saint, and it is revealing to look for the driving forces behind his cult.6263 Consider these miracles: the blind farmer Bergfinnr Skatason and the two cripples Sigurðr and Þórbjpm from Shetland had their health restored after keeping vigil at St. Magnús’ grave. This and the curing of another twenty-four people do not, however, convince Bishop William of Orkney, who doubts St. Magnús’ saintliness. But at a later point, when Bishop William is eager to sail back to Orkney, he finds himself stormbound in Shetland. The ship’s captain proposes a vow to St. Magmis, upon which the weather immediately improved. Then Bergfinnr Skatason takes action again, bringing his son Hálfdan to St. Magnus’ grave, and Hálfdan is cured of his leprosy. Another Ámundi from Shet­ land is also cured of leprosy. Þórðr, a tenant of Bergfinnr’s in Shetland, refused to stop working in time for St. Magnús’ Mass, although Berg­ finnr told him to. Þórðr duly goes mad, and only reverts to normal after Bergfinnr offers half a mark of silver and a vigil by Þórðr to St. Magnús. Another Shetlander called Qgmundr fractured his skull, but is cured after his uncle Bergfinnr gave a gift of money to the shrine of St. Magnús. And Sigurðr Tandrason from Shetland, possessed by the devil and therefore sewn up in a cowhide, also recovered at St. Magnús’ grave. “Everyone [...] praised God and his holy and beloved friend, Earl Magnus.”64 Admittedly, the examples are chosen with care, but an overview over St. Magnús’ miracles as recorded by the saga does show 62 Cf. B. E. Crawford, 1984, p. 70 for “Magnús’ lack of all respect for the all-powerful and his stubbom-ness in acting contrary to more normal codes of behaviour [....] this Christian saint died in the course of pursuing his own dynastic ambitions, and only marginally as a martyr for the faith.” 63 For a general background of saints’ legends, H. Delehaye, The Legends of the Saints. 1955/1988, is still the classic starting point. 64 OSa ch. 57 (HP&PE) pp. 103-108, quote 108; [...] oklofudu allir guð, þeir er hjå váru, ok inn helga hans åstvin, Magnus jarl (IF) p. 129.

136 Ian Beuermann

that people from Shetland figure in a disproportionate number of them: out of 26 recorded miracles, 13 involved Shetlanders - and the Shetlanders rarely feature in the saga otherwise. Considering also that Orkney must have had a much bigger population and taking into account that the Shetlanders had to cross a long and dangerous stretch of open sea in order to travel to St. Magnus’ grave in Orkney, this is surprising.65 Interestingly, the Legenda de Sancto Magno contains the information that Magnús, together with his father Erlendr and his brother Erlingr (who vanishes without a trace during Magnús berfœttr’s expeditions), was based in Shetland at the turn of the century.66 And while there are three certain dedications to St. Magnús in Orkney, there are five in Shetland, again in spite of a much smaller total number of churches there than in Orkney.67 At first glance it might therefore appear as if 65 Jarteinabok (Miracle Book), in Orkneyinga Saga, edited by A. B. Taylor, 1938, pp. 209-224; cf. W. P. L. Thomson, 1987, p. 61; B. E. Crawford, 1984, pp. 65-81, G. M. Brunsden, “Politics and Local Tradition within the Cult of Saint Magnus of Orkney.” 1977, p. 133. Map plotting the miracles in W. P. L. Thomson, “St Magnus: An Exploration of his Sainthood.” 2003, p. 55. 66 Legenda de Sancto Magno in OSa (ÍF), p. 304: ad hoc tandem ventum est, ut patrem et germanum comitatus Hatlandiam applicaret. Like the chs. on Magnús in OSa (34-57, they are, in turn, the main source for the Shorter (ca. 1250) and Longer (ca. 1300) Magnús Sagas), the Legenda is based on a hagiographical Latin vita of Magnús’. This lost vita is thought to have been written possibly in 1137 by a priest known as Master Robert, possibly the same cleric responsible for the vita of Thomas Becket (Earl Håkon functions as a Henry II), possibly Robert of Cricklade (d. 1170s). The time of writing (1137) would coincide with Rggnvaldr Kolsson founding the Cathedral at Kirkwall (shorter MSa, ‘Texts and Sources’ 45,46). For this and for Magnús as lord of Shetland, see B. E. Crawford, 1984, p. 73. For the reliability of its information on Shetland, P. Foote, “Observations on Orkneyinga Saga.” 1988, pp. 204, 205; cf. B. Smith, 1988, pp. 29-31. For Westray in Erlendr-line, see miracle with Gunni, OSa ch. 57; cf. B. E. Crawford, 1984, p. 71. 67 The three Orcadian dedications are Egilsay, Birsay and Kirkwall, the Shetland ones Northmaven, Delting, Yell, Tingwall and Sandwick,

Orkneyinga S a g a : 1195 and All That? 137

Magnus as their previous live-in lord was particularly close to the Shetland fanners. They were, it seems, the first to promote his cult, possibly also because of rivalry with the Orkney people and the Orkneybased line of earls.68 This interpretation contains more than a grain of truth, but there was in addition a much more forceful party to whom the murdered earl was a godsend. When King Magnús berfcettr intervened so forcefully in Orkney affairs, he not only dispatched the earls to Norway and conscripted their sons on his ships, he also gave Magmis Erlendsson’s sister Gunnhildr in marriage to the Norwegian Kolr Kalason.69 It appears that their son Kali, or Rpgnvaldr as he was to become known, began building up his power in the Northern Isles slowly and carefully, first in Shetland. There Rpgnvaldr could hope for support since he was heir to the claims of the Erlendr line, and, of course, the nephew of the murdered Magnús. As pointed out above, a surprisingly large number of miracles involve Shetlanders. Even more suspect is the fact that of these, more than half happen to Bergfinnr Skatasson, his family, friends, and servants.70

cf. B. E. Crawford, 1984, p. 75. Cf. for a map of medieval churches in Orkney and Shetland R. G. Cant, “Settlement, Society and Church Organisation in the Northern Isles.” 1984, pp. 171, 172. 68 Cf. B. Smith, 1988, pp. 21-41, for the relation between Orkney and Shetland; also B. E. Crawford, 1984, esp. pp. 70, 71. 69 Kali son of Sæbjom, who had been close to Magnús berfoettr, had been killed fighting for the king at the Menai Straits. Therefore his son, Kolr Kalason, lenörmaðr in Agder, was recompensed with Gunnhildr of Orkney (OSa chs. 39, 41, 42). Lendmadr was the highest rank a man could gain in the king’s hird, his military following. It corresponds approximately to a medieval baron in England and Scotland. 70 Already in 1129 Kali (Rpgnvaldr) Kolsson had his rights in Orkney confirmed by King Sigurðr Magnússon, and in 1134 by King Haraldr gilli with whom he was on excellent terms, OSa ch. 59; cf. W. P. L. Thomson, 1987, p. 61.

138 Ian Beuermann

A detailed map of Shetland shows the especially dense concentration of places with a connection to St. Magnús in northwest Shetland.71 And while there is no firm evidence, Bergfinnr’s home was possibly in the very centre of this area.72 When Rggnvaldr (Kali) Kolsson journeys from Norway to the isles for the first time in 1135, he makes a landfall in Yell Sound, again in the same area, in the midst of three of the five church dedications to St. Magnús on Shetland.7374And Orkneyinga saga tells us that Rpgnvaldr, newly arrived from Norway, “went to feasts all over the land, and the bonder received him well”. In the words of an Orkney historian: “It looks as if an active propaganda industry was at work and it may be suspected that it was managed by Bergfinn Skatisson on Rognvald’s behalf.”75 The Shetlanders and Bergfinnr Skatasson may figure prominently in the miracles, but the driving force behind all this was Rggnvaldr Kalisson, a man with high hopes. Although Rpgnvaldr is told by his father “you’ve achieved a lot, now that the Shetlanders are your friends”, Shetland could only be a stepping-stone;76 this aspiring earl needed more allies against the 71 Crawford, 1984, pp. 75-79, with the additional speculation that an earlier campaign of Magnús Erlendsson’s with Hákon Pálsson against a Þórbjgm in Shetland, whom they killed in Burra Firth (rather likely in northwest Shetland, not on Unst), made Magnús popular in this area (pp. 78, 79). 72 On Bergfinnr: B. E. Crawford, 1984, p. 72. 73 B. E. Crawford, 1984, p. 79 and n. 9, p. 80: “Presumably in the narrowest part of the Sound between Yell and the north mainland, although whether in the former or the latter is not made clear.” 74 OSa ch. 64 (Taylor, 1938) p. 236, [...] en fóru at veizlum of landit, ok fpgnudu boendr þeim vel (IF) p. 144. 75 W. P.L. Thomson, 1987, p. 61. 76 OSa ch. 65 (HP&PE) p. 122; ørendit gott ok mildt at ggrt, ef Hjalttar eru vinir yðrir (ÍF) p. 148. Control over Shetland was however not unimpor­ tant: Rpgnvald “assured of support from the Shetlanders”, based himself there first, also when he arrived for good, “large following from the bonder”, while “Earl Paul was so uncertain of any support that he did not dare to go ashore from his ships for ‘he did not trust the Shetlander’

O rkneyinga S aga : 1195 and All That? 139

incumbent and powerful Earl Páll Hákonsson. And Rpgnvaldr found a classic and in this case particularly appropriate ally: The miraculous improvement of the weather after Bishop William had made a vow to St. Magnús has been mentioned above. This bishop William had until then been a firm supporter of Earl Páll, and as such he had consistently and strongly denied the murdered Magnus’ saintliness, doubted the miracles, and done everything in his power to obstruct the growing cult. Accor­ ding to the saga, even after the fair weather miracle, Bishop William really only sees the light - literally - when one day [he] was praying alone in Christ Church at Birsay and as he stood up to leave he suddenly went blind and could not find his way to the door. For a long time he tried to get out. Then he was seized with a great terror, went to Earl Magnus’ grave and prayed there in tears, vowing that he would translate the holy relics of Earl Magnus whether earl Paul liked it or not. And after that, there at the graveside, he got back his sight77 This experience, and the meteorological miracle, take place on Bishop William’s return from Norway in late 1134 - where it is a safe guess that he had consultations with Rpgnvaldr, agreed on backing the latter’s claims, and promised to support Rpgnvaldr’s other ingenious idea, the ceremonial translation of Magnús Erlendsson’s bones (i.e. of St. Magnús

(OSa ch. 65). Outsiders with a claim to the earldom had a tendency to arrive via Shetland, cf. Brúsi Sigurðarson, Rpgnvaldr Brúsason, Magnús Erlendsson, and of course Rpgnvaldr Kali Kolsson; B. Smith, 1988, pp. 21, 22. 77 OSa ch. 57 (HP&PE) pp. 103, 104; Sá atburðr varð at Kristskirkju i Byrgisheraði einn dag, at byskup gekk til kirkju ok var á bæn sinni; hann var einn maðr í kirkju; en er hann stóó upp ok œtlaói å brot at ganga, þá varå hann blindr ok fat eigi til duranna. Hann fór lengi at leita um, ef hann mœtti i brot komask. Þá sló å hann hræzlu mikilli; ok vid fór hann til leiðis Magnúss jarls ok bazk þar fyrir med tårum ok hét því, at hann skyldi upp taka helgan dóm Magnúss jarls, hvårt er þat likadi Påli jarli vel eda illa. Ok eptirþat tók hann sýn sína þar å leidinu (IF) pp. 123, 124.

140 Ian Beuermann

relics) to the newly-to-be-built grand cathedral at Kirkwall - a place conveniently situated in the part of the isles traditionally controlled by the Erlendssons’ line, and bound to replace Birsay - which was in Earl Páll’s sphere - as the capital.78 There is no evidence to link the dramatic intervention by the previously mentioned king-, or rather earl-maker, Sveinn Ásleifarsson to R9 gnvaldr or Bishop William, but they certainly profited, if at a price, from Sveinn kidnapping Earl Páll and spiriting him away to Scotland, never to return.79 Rpgnvaldr became earl, and true to his promises and political aims, he immediately began with the construction of St. Magnús Cathedral in Kirkwall, the most ambitious building project which Orkney had ever seen. “In part, Magnus the Saint was the creation of Rognvald the would-be earl”,8081to the great benefit of both ecclesiastical cult and secular rule.” 1

78 The change of Bishop William’s heart concerning the relics’ translation to Kirkwall (OSa ch. 57, p. 103) “probably had more to do with the appreciation of the growing support for Earl Rognvald in Norway and the islands” (B. E. Crawford, 1984, p. 71). Earl Páll’s “blocking of the growth of the cult must have been one of the reasons lying behind Earl Rognvald’s plan to extract his uncle’s relics from his great-grandfather’s church in Birsay and house them in a magnificent new church in a palace within his and his family’s half of the earldom - at Kirkwall. There, [...] the worship of the saint could flourish and the miracles be encouraged to happen” - very much against earl Páll’s wishes, also since “it must have detracted from the prestige of the earl’s church at Birsay” B. E. Crawford, 1984, pp. 71, 72. Cf. W. P. L. Thomson, 1987, pp. 61,62. 79 The price to be paid was Rggnvaldr’s acceptance of Haraldr Maddaðarson as co-earl, in return for Sveinn’s, Margrét Hákonsdaughter’s, and/or Scottish support for his bid for the earldom, OSa chs. 74,75. 80 W. P. L. Thomson, 1987, p. 61. 81 Cf. W. P. L. Thomson, 2003, pp. 46-64; B. Smith, 1988, pp. 31-35; G. M. Brunsden, 1977, pp. 132, 133. More evidence for Magnús’ saintliness already during his lifetime: praying unharmed during the battle in the Menai Street (OSa ch. 39), escaping from bloodhounds (OSa ch. 40), predicting his death (OSa ch. 47).

Orkneyinga S aga : 1195 and All That? 141

Created in Orkney, Magnús would come in very useful as an envoy for political aims in another part of the Norse world. The surprisingly high number of church dedications to St. Magnús in Shetland has already been mentioned. Even more surprising is that apart from under­ standably in the earldom itself, there are ten dedications in Iceland, but none in Norway.82 In other words, it seems St. Magnús’ cult did not spread in Norway - although the paternal family of St. Magnús’ nephew Rpgnvaldr were long-established lendrmenn in Agder, pure Norwegians so to speak. Instead, we find St. Magnus very popular in Iceland. Again, a look at miracles proves interesting: Eldjám Varðason, a farmer in the north of Iceland, became sick and destitute during a famine. In the spring, after Easter, Eldjám asked to be carried to church. “He made a vow then, to fast for six days if God would give him better health, and promised to observe the fast before St O lafs Mass and St Magnus’ Mass.”83 Eldjám then falls asleep in the church, and has a vision: a bright light appears, and St. Magnús addresses him by name, saying “‘King Olaf the Saint heard your prayer, and the vow you made to both of us for the recovery of your health. It was he who sent me here to make you well, as he himself had gone west in the fjords to cure a woman there who had made a vow to him.’ ”84 St. Magnús duly restores Eldjám’s health, and “Everyone praised God for the mercy he had

82 There is one church dedicated to St. Magnús in London in the ‘Scandi­ navian quarter’, not far from a church dedicated to St. Oláfr, and one in the Faroe Islands, while in Norway there is merely one altar dedicated to St. Magnús, inNiðaróss Cathedral; В. E. Crawford, 1984, pp. 73, 74. 83 Shorter MSa, 42; Þá tóк hann ok hét sex dœgra fps tu, ef guð gœfi hpnum npkkura heilsu; þeiri fps tu hét hann bceói fyrir Oláfsmessu ok Magnúsmessu (IF) p. 331. 84 Shorter MSa, 42; Olåfr konungr inn helgi heyrói bæn þína ok heitþat, er þú hézt á okkr til heilsubótar þér. Er hann sendi mik hingat at gefa þér heilsu, þvi at копа hét á hann vestr í Fjprðum, ok fór hann þangat at gera hana heila (IF) p. 331.

142 Ian Beuermann

shown, to honour the Holy Earl Magnus.”85 This miracle is the very last episode recorded in the shorter Magnus saga, written in the north of Iceland around 1250.86 The longer Magnus saga, also of northern Iceandic origin, written possibly early in the fourteenth century,87 relates a different miracle: two Norwegian brothers seducing a woman are punished by her relatives - one brother is killed and his body is devoured by wolves, the other brother is broken, muted and blinded. This surviving one prays to God for mercy, and St. Magnús is sent to intercede. St. Magnús mends the bones, restores speech and eyesight to the one brother, and, in a remarkable feat even for a saint, summons the wolves to disgorge the flesh and bones of the other brother, and brings him back to life too. Not surprisingly, they gave “thanks to God and to the holy Magnus for so marvellous a mercy as had been granted them.”8889 Arguably, these miracles carry a politico-religious message: in the case of Eldjám, the Orcadian St. Magnús comes to the rescue, where the Norwegian St. Oláfr cannot. St. Oláfr’s cult was spreading rapidly, and it had arrived in Iceland by the 1250s. One has the impression that the author of the shorter Magnus saga puts up St. Magnús as a counter­ weight to St. Óláfr - see here, St. Magnús is also there, and at least as powerful.90 This impression is reinforced by the second miracle, where OQ

85 Shorter MSa, 43; En allir lofuóu gud fyrir þá miskunn, er hann (hafði) þeim veittfyrir veröleika ins helga Magnúss jarls (IF) p. 332. 86 Shorter MSa ‘Texts and Sources’, 45,46, cf. G. M. Brunsden, 1977, p. 130. 87 After 1298, G. M. Brunsden, 1977, p. 130. 88 Longer MSa, 363; [...] gerandi guói þakkir ok inum heilaga Magnúsi jarli fyrir svá ódvalda miskunn sem þeim veittist; Magnúss saga lengri (ÍF) p. 383. Cf. G. M. Brunsden, 1977, p. 131. 89 These miracles do not figure in Orkneyinga saga, and they are also highly unlikely to have been part of the first Latin passio of St. Magnus written by ‘master Robert’, cf. note 78. 90 Cf. R. W. Frank, “Shrine Rivalry in the North Sea World.” 2001, p. 234, arguing that rivalry was the main reason for the “reportorial detail” of shrine miracles. Cf. esp. pp. 237ff for English propagandists examples of St. Thomas, St. Cuthbert and St. Godric telling each other to intercede.

O rkneyinga Saga: 1195 and All That? 143

St. Magnus distinctly infringes upon foreign territory, curing Nor­ wegians in Norway, and very extravagantly so. But there is no popular or official cult of St. Magnús’ in Norway; it is only an Icelandic author stressing the saint’s power there. Of course, in the twelfth and especially the thirteenth centuries the Norwegian kings succeeded in intensifying their control over wider areas of Norgesveldet, the scattered Norse lands overseas. A milestone in this development in the twelfth century was the establishment of the church province of Niðaróss, with authority over Norway, Iceland, Greenland, the Faroes, the Orkneys and the Hebrides and Man.91 In the 1260s the period of the Icelandic Freestate or Commonwealth came to an end, and Iceland became part of the kingdom of Norway. The prece­ ding two centuries witnessed the birth or creation of several Scandi­ navian saint kings, Óláfr Haraldsson of Norway (died in the battle of Stiklestad in 1030), Knútr of Denmark, (murdered in the church of Odense in 1086), and Eirikr of Sweden (died in the battle of Uppsala in 1160). “All three saint-kings of Scandinavia symbolise the growing identity of their new Christian kingdoms, only recently converted to Christianity, and their cults are closely connected with the development of national entities and national monarchies.”92 St. Magnús of Orkney might be called the fourth Scandinavian saint-king, or saint-earl, serving similar needs and aims for Orkney - and for a wider north Atlantic community on the defence: Icelandic apprehension over the gradual encroachment of the Norwegian church and crown would find a literary 91 I. Beuermann, 2002 discusses the repercussions for the British Isles. Cf. the anniversary volume by S. Imsen (Ed.), Ecclesia Nidrosiensis 11531537. Søkelys på Nidaroskirkens og Nidarosprovinsens historie. 2003. 92 В. Е. Crawford, 1984, pp. 65, 66. “They were all warrior-kings who saw it as their pious duty to impose Christian laws and establish the Church as a formalised institution of their kingdoms. They were not therefore particularly popular with all sections of society during their life-time, and their downfall was caused by political factions associated with other claimants to their thrones.”

144 Ian Beuermann

expression in a rivalry between St. Óláfr and St. Magnús, adopting the Orcadian to a certain degree as an anti-Norwegian saint.93

Failure, Golden Age, or Nostalgia: Earl Rggnvaldr Kali Kolsson If this last chapter has a protagonist it is Earl Rpgnvaldr, St. Magnús’ nephew and later a saint himself. A look at the saga’s description of his life and character should get us still closer to answering the basic question ‘What is Orkneyinga saga About?’. For at least two reasons, Earl Rggnvaldr is undoubtedly one of the main characters of the saga: firstly, it has been proposed that the first, now lost, version of the saga was written, or rather completed, after 1192, when Rpgnvaldr was pro­ claimed a saint.94 Secondly, the author’s interest in Rpgnvaldr and his friends and enemies is obvious from the sheer number of chapters describing Rpgnvaldr’s life - nearly half of Orkneyinga saga is concer­ ned with his time.95 And that the author would of course have had access to more detailed information about these recent times might not only be due to an accident of chronology, but due to the deliberate decision to write things down then. But why? The original version of Orkneyinga saga ended with the death of Sveinn Asleifarson in about 1171, described in chapter 108, as can be seen from the Danish translation made in about 1570.96 As the 93 Diff. W. P. L. Thomson, 2003, p. 57. Iceland had three saint-bishops in the 12th/13th century, but obviously never a saintly ruler. 94 OSa (HP&PE) 10. 95 Not counting the ‘miracle book’, i.e. OSa ch. 57, and the information about Rpgnvaldr’s ancestry in chs. 39, 41, 42, chs. 58-104 deal with Earl Rggnvaldr and his reign, i.e. 46 chs. out of a total of 112 chs. 96 OSa (HP&PE), 10. Cf. B. Smith’s appreciation (1988, 37) “when earl Rggnvald dies [...], the Orkneyinga Saga is complete. There are several additional chapters, thrown together by somebody else, but they are fragmentary and confused. As far as the saga-writer is concerned his task was discharged when he completed the saga of Rpgnvald Kali Kolsson.”

O rkneyinga S aga : 1195 and All That? 145

treacherous king-maker and ultimate Orkney Viking, Sveinn was making and breaking earls, as well as pursuing his own political ambi­ tions. He did, to a certain extent, throw in his lot with Earl Rggnvaldr, only to blackmail the earl into supporting his constant private warfare. Orkneyinga saga has been said to romanticise Sveinn as one who epitomises the good old Viking way of life. But it may be that this is too superficial an understanding of the saga, that this overlooks a hidden criticism. A similar reproach can be levelled at those who would accept the saga’s depiction of Earl Rggnvaldr as the perfect embodiment of a semi-Viking, semi-modem prince, a man of many warlike and peaceful talents, as accomplished with sword and shield as with pen and lyre. In his many dealings with Sveinn, Rggnvaldr frequently gives in to the warlord’s demands, frequently re-extends his friendship and receives Sveinn back into his peace. One cannot help thinking that Sveinn gets away cheaply, and that Rggnvaldr fails to put his foot down. And this may in fact be an aim of Orkneyinga saga: to show Rggnvaldr’s, the earl’s, inability and lack of inclination to control the unruly Sveinn, the chief. If so, then nearly half of Orkneyinga saga would be “an essay in failure”. Then, the saga might be read as a “treatise on the good ruler”,99 stressing the need to dispense good justice and to control the unruly men of the realm - a duty Rggnvaldr failed at: the earl was to be murdered by another outlawed chief. And “earl Rognvald was deeply mourned, for he had been much loved in the isles and in many other places too. He had been a good friend to a great many people, lavish with money, moderate,

97 As has been pointed out in a slightly different context in Gísli Pálsson, From Sagas to Society. 1992, p. 13. 98 Cf. OSa chs. 72, 84. Cf. W. P. L. Thomson, 1987, p. 71 for a short ac­ count of Sveinn’s role in the War of the three Earls, Haraldr Maddaðarson, Erlendr Haraldsson and Rggnvaldr Kali Kolsson (1152-1154). 99 Quotes from Edward J. Cowan, “What is Orkneyinga Saga About?” 1973, p. 20.

146 Ian Beuermann

loyal to his friends, a many-sided man and a fine poet”100 This is all very positive, but there’s not a word about a powerful earl or a great ruler. Orkneyinga saga may therefore very well be an admonition to the earls to keep order in their own house. However, there may also be another, wider issue at stake: Rpgnvaldr the poet-earl does not make any bones about his achievements - he proudly claims: “At nine skills I challenge - a champion at chess: runes I rarely spoil, I read books and write: I’m skilled at skiing and shooting and sculling and more! - I’ve mastered music and verse.”101 Whether he sits drinking with friends, explores a cave, sees something unusual, flirts with a woman, is nearly shipwrecked - and of course during his pilgri­ mage or cruise all the way to Jerusalem -, Rpgnvaldr himself is “libe­ rally reciting scaldic poetry on every possible occasion”,102 and his court seems to be teeming with skalds.103 Together with the Icelandic skald Hallr Þórarinsson, Rpgnvaldr composes Háttalykill, a poetological work intended to demonstrate five different metres.104 But does not the idea to write down a key of metres imply that one finds it necessary to record such poetry for the future, because one has the feeling that it would be, 100 OSa ch. 104 (HP&PE) p. 214; RQgnvaldr jarl var пудк harmdauði, því hann var allvinsœll þar í eyjunum ok víða annars staðar. Hann hafói verit hjálparmaðr mikill mgrgum тдппит, grr af fé, hógvœrr ok vinhollr, íþróttamaðr mikill okskáldgott (ÍF) p. 283. 101 OSa ch. 58 (HP&PE) p. 108; Tafl emk grr at efla, - íþróttir kannk níu, týnik trauóla runum, - tið er mér bók ok smíðir. - Skrióa kannk á skíðum, - skýtk ok rœ ’k, svát nýtir, - hvárt tveggja kannk hyggja - harpslgtt ok bragþgttu (ÍF) p. 130. 102 O. Bruhn, “Earl Rognvald and the Rise of Saga Literature.” 1995, p. 240. Cf. for drinking: OSa ch. 60; cave: ch. 61; unusual procession of 16 men: ch. 72; Ragna: ch. 81; shipwreck: ch. 85; pilgrimage: chs. 86-90. 103 OSa chs. 62, 73, 78, for Hallr ch. 81. Cf. D. Whaley, “Amórr, Earls’ Propagandist? On the Techniques and Social Functions of Skaldic Eulogy.” 2003, pp. 18-32. 104 OSa ch. 81; cf. J. Storer Clouston, 1932, pp. 192ff; O. Bruhn, 1995, p. 241.

O rkneyinga S a g a : 1195 and All That? 147

or has already partly been, lost otherwise? And if skaldic art to a certain extent needs to be safeguarded or revived, might not the great number of verses contained in Rpgnvaldr’s part of Orkneyinga saga serve the same function? One does have the impression that there is something artificial about the Viking and skaldic mannerisms of the young earl. Apparently, at the time of writing, this seemed chic. A devotion to skaldic art seems to be both a passion and fashionable. One might explain this as a counter-reaction to central European influences. In describing Rpgnvaldr’s journey to Jerusalem and Byzantium, Orkneyinga saga shows him as one of the Orkney earls most closely in contact with the outside world. He also imports stone-masons from Durham in England to build his Romanesque cathedral at Kirkwall. But such a need to preserve one’s own cultural background in the face of European influences might also arguably have arisen earlier, for example already after Earl Þórfmnr had travelled to Rome in the eleventh century and built a fine stone church. It is this consideration of the time of writing, i.e. the late twelfth century, which leads to another source of danger for the ‘good old ways’. Above, Orkneyinga s account of the relation between, for example, Rggnvaldr and Sveinn Ásleifarson has been interpreted as an essay in failure on the part of the ruler - the strong ruler, one should add, because one can also see it in a different light. The saga could also be said to describe Rpgnvaldr’s reign as a ‘golden age’, where the earl engages in poetic competitions with the skalds, and where he rules together with his noble Viking warriors. “He had been a good friend to a great many people”105 runs Rpgnvaldr’s epitaph, a primus inter pares, it appears, in an idealised Viking society where kings or earls rule in conjunction with chiefs or the aristocracy.106 One king who definitely did not rule in conjunction with the aristocracy, and who initiated the writing of his own saga, was King Sverrir of Norway, ruling from 1177 105 OSa ch. 104 (HP&PE) p. 214; Hann hafói verit hjálparmaör mikill mgrgum тдппит (ÍF) p. 283. 106 Cf. for his ‘gentle rule’ in conjunction with ‘the people’ OSa chs. 76, 85.

148 Ian Beuermann

to 1202. What was left of the Norwegian aristocracy after the wars of succession was stripped of their privileges afterwards, and replaced by a new class of royal agents who were, of course, dependent on the king. It is very likely that Orkneyinga saga is a literary counter-measure to Sverrir’s new monarchy, to glorify a traditional Old Norse culture, the age of the aristocracy, as opposed to the age of the monarchy.107 This, in fact, closes the circle to the beginning. It was Sverrir who in 1195 abolished the independent earldom of Orkney.

Conlusion Orkneyinga saga, composed by an Icelander around the time when the earldom of Orkney was swallowed up by the Norwegian crown, and when similar processes were happening in Iceland, can be seen as a piece of political propaganda that argues in favour of the independent status of a north Atlantic community.108 The mythical origin-legend stressing the earls’ descent from native Nordic giants, and the historical progenitor shown to be a bom ruler underline the status of the Orkney earls, especially vis-å-vis the Norwegian royal line. The saga’s depiction of conflicts carries an unveiled warning to Icelanders against letting internal disputes to be exploited by the kings of Norway. Norwegian religious pre-eminence finds itself attacked in the cult of St. Magnús, competing with St. Óláfr. Finally, the presentation of Earl R9 gnvaldr 107 Cf. O. Bruhn, 1995, pp. 240-247. 108 Cf. E. J. Cowan, 1973, pp. 19-22 for the importance of keeping Norway and Scotland at bay; and J. Jesch, “England and Orkneyinga Saga.” 1995, pp. 222-239 for Orcadian-English contacts. For sagas as pieces of propaganda, cf. S. Bagge, “Propaganda, Ideology and Political Power in Old Norse and European Historiography; a Comparative View.” 1989/1991, pp. 199-208; Idem, “Oratory and Politics in the Sagas.” 1997, pp. 215-228; A. Kristinsson, “Lords and Literature: The Icelandic Sagas as Political and Social Instruments.” 2003, pp. 1-17.

Orkneyinga Saga: 1195 and All That? 149

allows for two interpretations. If it is meant as a treatise on the good Orcadian ruler, the description of Rggnvaldr’s reign would show the dangers of weak rule. It could, however, also be intended to serve as an example of a gentle prince, ruling in conjunction with his people, i.e. chiefs. It would then present a glorified model of an aristocratic society as opposed to an oppressive new (Norwegian) monarchy.

Bibliography Sources Islandske Annaler indtil 1578. Edited by Gustav Storm. 1888. Christiania (quoted TAnn’). Legenda de Sancto Magno. Edited by Finnbogi Guðmundsson. íslenzk fornrit XXXIV, 1965. Reykjavik. Magnus. The Life of St Magnus. Translated by W. M. Metcalfe, in Ancient Lives of Scottish Saints. 1895/1998. Felinfach. 322-365 (quoted 'longer MSa’). Magnus' Saga. The Life of St Magnus, Earl of Orkney 1075-1116. Trans­ lated by Hermann Pálsson & Paul Edwards. 1996. Kirkwall (quoted ‘shorter MSa’). Magniiss saga skemmri. Edited by Finnbogi Guðmundsson. Islenzk fornrit XXXIV, 1965. Reykjavik. Magnuss saga lengri. Edited by Finnbogi Guðmundsson. Islenzk fornrit XXXIV, 1965. Reykjavik. Orkneyinga saga. Edited by Finnbogi Guðmundsson. islenzk fornrit XXXIV, 1965. Reykjavik (quoted ‘OSa (ÍF)’). Orkneyinga Saga. The History*of the Earls of Orkney. Edited & translated by Hermann Pálsson & Paul Edwards. 1978. London (quoted ‘OSa (HP&PE)’). Orkneyinga Saga. Edited by A. B. Taylor. 1938. Edinburgh. SNORRI STURLUSON, Heimskringla. Edited by Bjami Aðalbjamarson. Islenzkfornrit XXVI-XXVIII (Hkr I-III), 1941-51. Reykjavik.

150 Ian Beuermann

SNORRI STURLUSON, Heimskringla. Edited & translated by Lee Hollan­ der Heimskringla. 1999. Austin. Studies Bagge, Sverre. 1989/1991. “Propaganda, Ideology and Political Power in Old Norse and European Historiography; a Comparative View.” In: L ’Historiographie Médiévale en Europe. (Editions du CNRS) Paris. 199— 208. —. 1997. “Oratory and Politics in the Sagas.” In: J-P. Genet (Ed.). L ’Histoire et les nouveaux publics dans l Europe médiévale (XIIIe-XVe siedes). Paris. 215-228. Beuermann, Ian. 2002. Man Amongst Kings and Bishops. Oslo. Brothwell, Don. 2004. One Hundred and Fifty Years of Human Skeletal Studies in Orkney; www.orkneydigs.org.uk/dhl, résumé http://www.orkneyjar.com/hist-ory/stmagnus/relics.htm. Bruhn, Ole. 1995. “Earl Rognvald and the Rise of Saga Literature.” In: C. Batey, J. Jesch, C. Morris (Eds.). The Viking Age in Caithness, Orkney and the North Atlantic. Edinburgh. 240-247. Brunsden, George M. 1977. “Politics and Local tradition within the Cult of Saint Magnus of Orkney.” In: Northern Studies 32. 129-139. Cant, Ronald G. 1984. “Settlement, Society and Church Organisation in the Northern Isles.” In: A. Fenton, H. Pálsson (Eds.). The Northern and Western Isles in the Viking World. Sunnval, Continuity, and Change. Edinburgh. 169-179. Cheape, Hugh. 1984. “Recounting Tradition: A Critical View of Medieval Reportage.” In: A. Fenton, H. Pálsson (Eds.). The Northern and Western Isles in the Viking World. Survival, Continuity, and Change. Edinburgh. 197-222. Clunies Ross, Margaret. 1983. “Snorri Sturluson’s Use of the Norse OriginLegend of the Sons of Fomjótr in his Edda.” In: Arkiv fór Nordisk Filologi 98. 47-66. Cowan, Edward J. 1973. “What is Orkneyinga Saga About?” In: Northern Studies 1973:2. 19-22.

Orkneyinga S aga : 1195 and All That? 151

Crawford, Barbara E. 1976/77. “The Earldom of Caithness and the Kingdom of Scotland, 1150—1266.” In: Northern Scotland vol. 2, no. 2. 97-117. —. 1984. “The Cult of St Magnus in Shetland.” In: B. E. Crawford (Ed.). Essays in Shetland History. Lerwick. 65-81. —. 1986. “The Making of a Frontier: The Firthlands from the Ninth to Twelfth Centuries.” In: J. R. Baldwin (Ed.). Firthlands o f Ross and Sut­ herland. Edinburgh. 33-46. —. 1987. Scandinavian Scotland. Leicester. Delehaye, Hippolyte. 1998 [1955]. The Legends o f the Saints. Dublin. Foote, Peter. 1988. “Observations on Orkneyinga Saga.” In: B. E. Crawford (Ed.). St Magnus Cathedral. Aberdeen. Frank, Robert Worth Jr. 2001. “Shrine Rivalry in the North Sea World.” In: Thomas R. Liszka et al. (Eds.). The North Sea World in the Middle Ages. Dublin. 230-242. Gísli Pálsson (Ed.). 1992. From Sagas to Society. Comparative Approaches to Early Iceland. Enfield Lock, Middlesex. Imsen, Steinar. 2000. “Earldom and Kingdom. Orkney in the Realm of Norway 1195-1397.” In: Historisk Tidsskrift 2000/2. 163-180; reprinted in D. J. Waugh (Ed.). 2003. Stones, Skalds & Saints. Edinburgh. 65-80. Imsen, Steinar (Ed.). 2003. Ecclesia Nidrosiensis 1153-1537. Søkelys på Nidaroskirkens og Nidarosprovinsens historie. Trondheim. Jesch, Judith. 1995. “England and Orkneyinga Saga.” In: C. Batey, J. Jesch, C. Morris (Eds.). The Viking Age in Caithness, Orkney and the North Atlantic. Edinburgh. 222-239. Kristinsson, Axel. 2003. “Lords and Literature: The Icelandic Sagas as Poli­ tical and Social Instruments.” In: Scandinavian Journal o f History vol. 28, no. 1.1-17. Meulengracht Sørensen, Preben. 1995. “The Sea, the Flame and the Wind.” In: C. Batey, J. Jesch, C. Morris (Eds.). The Viking Age in Caithness, Orkney and the North Atlantic. Edinburgh. 212-221. Mundal, Else. 1995. “The Orkney Earl and Scald Torf-Einarr and his Poetry.” In: C. Batey, J. Jesch, C. Morris (Eds.). The Viking Age in Caithness, Orkney and the North Atlantic. Edinburgh. 248-259. Olsen, Magnus. 1938 [1936]. “Torv-Einar og Hamðismál.” In: Norrœne stu­ dier. Oslo. 189-196.

152 Ian Beuermann

—. 1942a. “Hild Rolvsdatters vise om Gange-Rolv og Harald Hårfagre ” In: Maal og Minne. 1-70. —. 1942b. “Torv-Einar ogKormdk.” Maat og Minne. 151-153. Pulsiano, Phillip (Ed.). 1993. Medieval Scandinavia. New York & London. Smith, Brian. 1988. “Shetland in Saga-Time: Rereading the Orkneyinga Sa­ ga.” In: Northern Studies 25. 21-41. Steinsland, Gro. 1991. Det hellige bryllup og norrøn kongeideologi: en analyse av hierogami-myten i Skimismål, Ynglingatal, Håleygjatal og Hyndluljóð. Oslo. Storer Clouston, J. 1932. A History o f Orkney. Kirkwall. Thomson, William P. L. 1987. History of Orkney. Edinburgh. —. 2003. “St Magnus: An Exploration of his Sainthood.” In: D. J. Waugh, A. Finlay (Eds.). Stones, Skalds & Saints. The Faces of Orkney. Edinburgh. 46-64. Turville-Petre, Joan. 1978/9. “The Genealogist and History. From Ari to Snorri.” In: Saga-Book 20. 7-23. Whaley, Diana. 2003. “Amórr, Earls’ Propagandist? On the Techniques and Social Functions of Skaldic Eulogy.” In: D. J. Waugh, A. Finlay (Eds.). Stones, Skalds & Saints. The Faces o f Orkney. Edinburgh. 18-32.

Ian Beuermann Centre for Viking and Medieval Studies, LAKH University of Oslo, Norway [email protected]

HEIMIR PÁLSSON

Getting Rid of the Rebels: A Study in Class Struggle in Brennu-Njá/s Saga In recent years most scholars dealing with Icelandic medieval society agree in describing it as a Christian, chieftain-dominated, non-monarchical community, thus abandoning the more romantic picture, drawn by Icelandic scholars in particular, of a democratic society where indepen­ dent farmers had the power.1 The aim of this article is to show that it is possible to interpret Brennu-Njáls saga as a description of an unsuc­ cessful farmers’ revolt against the chieftains. For quotations I use Robert Cook’s translation Njal's Saga in The Complete Sagas o f Icelanders III (1997), also referring to the chapters (and the text) in Einar Ólafur Sveinsson’s edition in Islenzkfornrit XII.

The Chieftain and the Farmer The protagonists of Njal’s Saga, Njáll Þorgeirsson and Gunnarr Hámundarson, are bœndr ‘farmers’, which gives them a certain social 1 There are of course several ways of describing the social layers in the Icelandic medieval society. For the present article it is sufficient to operate with five classes: chieftains (in almost all cases also godar) landholders - tenants - farmhands and slaves. Many writers divide the landholders (boendr) in two: stórbœndr (rich landholders) and smábœndr (poor landholders). For further reading see for example L. Lönnroth, Njáls Saga: A Critical Introduction. 1976, pp. 58-61; J. Byock, Medieval Iceland. 1988, pp. 51-76, and most recently Gunnar Karlsson’s most comprehensive and convincing work, Goöamenning: Stada og áhrif goðorósmanna íþjóðveldi Islendinga. 2004.

154 Heimir Pálsson

status higher than the one we usually connect with the word 'farmer’, to say nothing of a ‘peasant’.2 A bóndi is so independent (Cleasby and Vigfusson divide them into ‘large freeholders’ and ‘freeholders’) that he can himself decide whether he follows the same ‘chieftain’ (goði or goðorðsmaðr) this year as he did last year. Even though we have only a few examples of farmers changing allegiance in this way, and most of them from the unreliable3 Icelandic Sagas, it is certainly one of the important features of medieval Icelandic society, at least as the writers of the 13th century interpreted the saga-society of the 10th century.4 As the conflict between the chieftains and the free farmers is very important in my reading of Brennu-Njåls saga, I start with the word hgföingi, ‘chieftain’. 2 The definition of godi is problematic and their position is different from time to time (see Gunnar Karlsson, 2004, pp. 369-458). In NjaVs Saga we are dealing with the 13th century Icelanders’ ideas about the godar in the 10th and 11th centuries. 3 From the historical point of view most of today’s scholars agree upon judging the Icelandic Sagas as poor witness of the real situation in the 10th or 11th centuries. On the other hand, as stated later, the sagas give a fair picture of the 13th century’s writers’ opinion and knowledge concerning life in Iceland around the year 1000. 4 As Gunnar Karlsson points out in his Goóamenning it is a fact that we only have one tale telling of a farmer who changed his allegiance. (“Við sitjum því uppi með ad sagan af Álfi Ömólfssyni [Sturlunga saga (1946) ch. 27] er eina frásögnin sem segir berum og ótvíræðum orðum frá frjálsum skiptum á þingfesti.” (p. 195) “The fact is that the tale about Alfr Ömólfsson is the only undisputable evidence of a free change of þingfesti (a ‘þing-community’)” (my translation). This is correct, but nevertheless, in the episode in NjaVs Saga Eyjólfr Bplverksson re­ commends that Flosi hands over his own goðorð to his brother and then chooses himself a new chieftain (NjaVs Saga 1997, p. 179, ch. 141). Gunnar Karlsson has pointed out to me that this act most likely was forbidden in Flosi’s days (moving from one jjórdungr ‘quarter’ to an other), but still it shows how the 13th century writer believed it to have been!

Getting Rid of the Rebels 155

What Does hgfðingiMean? According to the concordance of the Icelandic Sagas,5 the word hgfðingi occurs 26 times in Njal’s Saga. In Robert Cook’s translation the English word is (very correctly) 21 times ‘chieftain’, thus referring to the social role and power of the hgfðingi, ‘godi’ or ‘godordsman’, that is to say one of the members of the legislative assembly at the Alþingi. Two of the examples in the concordance are only found in some manuscripts and do not appear in the text in Islenzk fom rit, and consequently not in the English translation. In two cases the English text (very appropria­ tely) gives us ‘leader’, not chieftain. This is worth a closer look. For the meaning of ‘chieftain’ just a few examples will do. The first occurrence in the saga might be said to set the tone for the rest. It is found at the very beginning: There was a man named Mord, whose nickname was Gigja. He was the son of Sighvat the Red, and he lived at Voll in the Rangarvellir district. He was a powerful chieftain and strong in pressing lawsuits.6 When Hgskuldr Dala-Kollsson and his half brother Hrútr propose to Unnr, the daughter of this wise chieftain, Hgskuldr first states that “There are many chieftains here at the Althing...” and then gets the comment from Mord Gigja that “I know you to be a great chieftain.. ,”7

5 íslendinga sögur: Oróstööulykill og texti. 1996. 6 Mgrór hét maör, er kallaór var gigja; hann var sonr Sighvats ins rauða; hann bjó å Velli á Rangárvgllum. Hann var ríkr hgfóingi ok malajylgjumaðr mikill (ÍF XII p. 5). NjaVs Saga 1997, p. 1. My italics. 7 Hér eru m hgfðingjar margir á þingi (ÍF XII, p. 7). Veit ek at þú ert hQfdingi mikill (ÍF XII, p. 8). NjaVs Saga 1997, p. 2-3. No sources can be found to prove that Hgskuldr, the son of Dala-Kollr really was a godi, but of course that does not prevent the author of NjaVs Saga from seeing him as one. The social picture of the saga of course mainly gives us the ideas of the 13th century.

156 Heimir Pálsson

The noun hQfðingi is often, as in this case, followed by the adjective mikill, ‘great’, but even those chieftains can be quite mean:8 Skafti and his father were great chieftains and very expert in the law. Thorodd [the father] was thought to be mean-spirited and devious.9 All chieftains are equal, but some chieftains are more equal than others: Gudmund [the Powerful] was a great and wealthy chieftain; he had a hundred servants. He oppressed the other chieftains north of Oxnadal heath so much that some had to leave their farms, others lost their lives to him, and others gave up their godords because of him. From him are descended all the best people of Iceland.10 This is really interesting: the author (or maybe story-teller would be a more appropriate word) has no outspoken sympathy with the chieftains in general, even if it is the chieftain Flosi who draws the longest straw in the end. The last example of this kind can lead us into the next category. It is the chieftain Guðmundr who is speaking to another chieftain, Ásgrímr Elliða-Grímsson: “Have you met with any other chieftains?” They answered that they had met with Skafti and Snorri the Godi, and in a low voice they told him all about how it had gone with each of them. Gudmund spoke: “The last time we met I was small-minded and made myself difficult. I’ll be as easy now as I was unyielding then. 8 The adjectives in the original are grályndr ok sloegr and both are quite negative. 9 Þeir váru hpfðingjar miklir feögar ok Ipgmenn miklir. Þóroddr þótti npkkut grályndr okslœgr (ÍF XII, p. 141). Njal’s Saga 1997, p. 67. 10 Guðmundr var hpföingi mikill ok auöigr; harm hafði hundraó hjóna. Harm sat yfir virðingu allra hpfóingjafyrir noröan Øxnadalsheiåi, svá at sumir létu bústaói sína, en suma tók harm af lífi, en sumir létu goöorð sín fyrir honum. Ok er frá honum komit allt it mesta mannval á Islandi (EF XII, p. 285). NjaVs Saga 1997, p. 134.

Getting Rid of the Rebels 157

I, together with all my thingmen, will go to court with you and give you as much help as I can, and fight on your side and risk my life with yours if that’s necessary. I’ll take care of Skafti by seeing to it that his son, Thorstein Hare-lip, fights along with us; he won’t dare go against my wishes, since he is married to my daughter Jodis. Skafti will then try to stop the fighting.” They thanked him and talked for a long time so low that others could not hear them. Gudmund asked them not to beg at the knees of any other chieftains.11 This of course shows that the chieftains have normal disputes and disagreements and could change sides. This is only one example of many showing that the hgfðingi was a social leader, who besides that had the legislative and judicial power, in the eyes of the saga-teller of N jal’s Saga. The word is almost always synonymous with goðorðsmaðr or goði. But there are exceptions! The word hgfðingi occurs two times in the meaning ‘leader’, as mentioned earlier. Of course that is normal, since the word goes back to hgfuð, ‘head’ and thus can be compared to the Latin princeps meaning ‘leader’ and related to caput, ‘head’. But nevertheless the meaning godi or goðorðsmaðr is absolutely dominant; the following example may be of interest:1

11 “Hafið þér nQkkura hgföingja fundit áðr?” Þeir svgruóu, at þeir heföi fundit Skapta ok Snorra goða, ok SQgöu honum allt í hljóði, hversu farit hafði hvárum þeira. Þá mœlti Guðmundr: “Nœstum fór mér til yðvar lítilmannliga, er ek var yðr erflór. Skal ek nú því skemr draga Jýrir yör, er þá var ek torsóttari. Mun ek ganga til dóma meö yðr með alia þingmenn mína ok veita yör slikt er ek må ok berjask með yór, þótt þess þurfi við, ok leggja líf mitt vió yóvart líf Ek тип okþví launa Skapta, at Þorsteinn holmuór, sonr hans, skal vera í bardaganum með oss, því at hann тип eigi treystasк ддги en gera sem ek vil, þar sem hann á Jódísi, dóttur mina. Mun Skapti þá vilja skilja oss." Þeir þgkkuóu honum ok tgluöu lengi sidan svå, at ekki heyrðu aðrir menn til (ÍF XII, pp. 373— 374). Njal's Saga 1997, p. 178.

158 Heimir Pálsson

Flosi said to the Sigfussons, “Choose the man you think best suited to be our leader [hgföingi], Someone will have to be in the charge.” Ketill answered, “If the choice is up to us brothers, we would all choose you to lead us. Many things argue for that: you are well bom, a great chieftain [hgfðingi], unbending and clever.. .12 Cook’s translation is absolutely correct and reveals the pun, lying in the fact that both Flosi and Ketill use the word hgfðingi, but with different meanings. That is hardly an accident. A hgfðingi is a godi, and his task is to be a leader, and that is what it is all about.

The Farmers May Help the Chieftains When the farmers Njáll Þorgeirsson and Gunnarr Hámundarson are introduced in NjaVs Saga, it is in connection with the divorce and the following financial conflict between Hrútr Heijólfsson, half-brother of Hpskuldr - father of Hallgerðr, who later marries Gunnarr - and Unnr, the daughter of Mgrðr gigja. Unnr has left Hnitr (because of a great sexual problem in the marriage) and has not got any money from him for her further support in life. Her father, the chieftain, is dead and she does not seem to be able to get any help from any close chieftains, so she turns to a relative (they had the same grandfather), Gunnarr Hámundarson, and asks him for help. This is strange, since it was obviously the task of the chieftains to take care of such problems, and Gunnarr himself is not at all known to be especially cunning, even though he gradually becomes a great fighter.

12 Flosi mcelti til Sigfússona: “Kjósið þér yðr hQfóingja þann er yór þykJdr bezt til fallinn, því at einn hverr тип þurfa fyrir at vera málinu. ” Ketill svaraði: “Efundir oss brœðrum skal kørit, þá типи vérþat allir kjósa at þú sér Jyrir. Heldr þar mart til þess: þú ert œttstórr ok hgfðingi mikill, harðdrœgr ok vitr... ” (ÍF XII, p. 316). NjaVs Saga 1997, pp. 149-150.

Getting Rid of the Rebels 159

The story of Kaupa-Heðinn inn mikli (Huckster-Hedin the Mighty), told in chapters 21-23 in Njal’s Saga, and the following dispute between Gunnarr and Hnitr, will not be retold here. The important thing is that the farmers and friends Gunnarr and Njáll here take up a chieftain’s daughter’s case against her former husband. It ends with Gunnarr chal­ lenging Hnitr to a duel, and since Hnitr does not accept the challenge, Gunnarr wins and the saga tells us that “Gunnar had gained much honour from the case.”13

The Farmer's Hybris? The saga goes on, gradually showing us Gunnarr in fights with more and more important men in society, Njáll assisting him as long as possible and at last begging him to accept the settlement, including among other things that he should leave Iceland for three years. Gunnarr and his brother Kolskeggr are on their way to the ship, when we get one of the most famous scenes in the Icelandic sagas: They rode toward the Markarfljot river, and just then Gunnar’s horse slipped, and he sprang from the saddle. He happened to be facing the hillside and the farm at Hlidarendi, and he spoke; “So lovely is the hillside that it has never before seemed to me as lovely as now, with its pale fields and mown meadows; and I will ride back home and not go anywhere at all.” “Don’t give your enemies the pleasure of breaking your agreement,” said Kolskegg, “for no one would expect this from you. And you can be sure that everything will turn out just as Njal said.” “I shall not leave,” said Gunnar, “and I wish you wouldn’t either.”

13 [...] ok hafdi Gunnarr ina mestu sœmö af málinu (IF XII, p. 68). Njal’s Saga 1997, p. 30. For discussion of Gunnarr’s ’honour’, sœmó, see the present author 1972.

160 Heimir Pálsson

“That won’t be,” said Kolskegg. “I will not be false to this agree­ ment or to any other in which I am counted on.. .”14 Kolskeggr’s words “not to be false to this agreement” are indeed very strong in the original, since he uses the verbal phrase níðask á, which in Cleasby-Vigfusson’s dictionary is translated by “to break one’s faith”. This of course is a turning point in Gunnarr’s life. The important thing is that now his enemies are chieftains, namely Mprðr Valgarðsson (son to Unnr, the lady who was the daughter of Mprðr gigja), Gizurr hviti (Gizurr the White) and Geirr goði. When those chieftains come to Hlíðarendi in a group of 40,15 Gunnarr is alone to fight against them, and their killing of him is more reminiscent of an execution than of a chivalric fight.16 Gunnarr had slain many men, but never a chieftain; the godVs followers, þingmenn to be sure, but never a man from the real upper class. But he had gained more and more attention, honour, or whatever we call it, and we can see that his kinsmen followed him from the þing: “People rode home from the Thing, and many rode to Hlidarendi”, the 14 [...] Þeir rida fram at Markarfljóti, þá drap hestr Gunnars fæti, ok stQkk hann ór SQÓlinum. Honum vard litit upp til hlidarinnar ok bæjarins at Hlidarenda ok mælti: “FQgr er hlidin, svå at mér hefir hon aldri jafnfQgr sýnzk, bleikir akrar ok siegln tun, ok тип ek rida heim aptr ok fara hvergi. ” “Ger þu eigi þann óvinafagnad, ” segir Kolskeggr, “at þú rjúfir sætt þína, því at þér myndi engi madr þat ætla. Ok máttú þat hugsa, at svå тип allt fara sem Njáll hefir sagt. ” “Hvergi тип ek fara, ” segir Gunnarr, “ok svå vilda ek, at þú gerdir. ” “Eigi skal þat, ” segir Kolskeggr; “hvårki skal ek å þessu nidask ok engu