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1

Jarl Sigvaldi and the battle of Svoldr in saga tradition

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Morawiec J.

Folia Scandinavica Posnaniensia

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2009

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vol. 10

69-90

EN

The battle of Svoldr is one of the most outstanding momentsin saga tradition, which preserves memory about Viking AgeScandinavia. The fame of the battle was strictly connected with particularpersonas involved in the conflict, among them the Norwegian kingÓláfr Tryggvason played the most significant role. The battle itself and itscircumstances proved that Óláfr was a great, warlike, valiant and at thesame time deeply Christian to do monarch, whose death was compared to martyrdom. The saga authors, thoroughly describing all events connected with the battle of Svoldr, included also Sigvaldi, the jarl of Jomsborg, in their narratives. According to most accounts, the jarl was member of coalition, Óláfr Tryggvason’s enemies, who planned to trap the Norwegian king, depriving him of life and power. Sigvaldi’s role was to pretend Óláfr’s friend and ally and lead him from Vindland, where he stayed, directly into trap. The saga authors created their narratives about Sigvaldi and his role in the events ofthe year 1000, quoting particular skaldic stanzas, which were used to corroborate their prose accounts. The analysis of these verses leads to conclusion that the saga authors felt completely free in using them, differently and very often mistakenly understanding their content. Particular stanzas, quoted in the saga narratives, analysed once more, seem in fact to refer to completely different persons and/or events, having nothing in common with either Sigvaldi or Óláfr Tryggvason’s last battle.

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Why Would the Skalds Not Have Lied about the Rulers’ Expeditions and Battles? Some Remarks on a Relic of Medieval Attitude toward Sources in Modern Medieval Studies

88%

Rutkowski R.

Acta Poloniae Historica

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2021

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vol. 122

165-179

PL

The article presents a critique of a research method whereby historical sources could not have possibly lied as they were targeted at the addressees who knew the actual course of the events described or referred to. This attitude toward the sources has its antecedence in Snorri Sturluson’s argument on the reliability of skaldic poetry. To his mind, the poems were biased but still valuable, in a way, as they were declaimed before the rulers who would have perceived an untrue account “as a mockery, rather than a praise”. The question arises, what kind of a situation Snorri tried to preclude: one where a mean warrior would have been shown as a great hero? Or, perhaps, one where a defector would have been portrayed as a warrior bravely marching in the first rank? The story of Giffard from the Morkinskinna saga seems to offer the answer. Giffard fled from the battlefield but had a praise poem dedicated to him, which the (real) character aptly deciphered as derision aimed at him.

3

A skald in royal service – the case Þórarinn loftunga. Part 2: Poetics and ideology of Tøgdrápa

75%

Morawiec J.

Studia Maritima

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2021

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vol. 34

33-59

EN

The present study is focused on Tøgdrápa (Journey drápa), a poem Þórarinn devoted to Knútr’s expedition to Norway in 1028. A distinguished feature of Tøgdrápa is its metre – tøglag (journey metre). It differs from dróttkvætt by having four syllables (instead of six) in each line. Presumably, referring to the title of the poem, the metre was to be used in ac- counts on war expeditions, optionally other travels of the king. Tøglag seems to be especially bound to Knútr’s court. Close metrical analysis of the poem as well as comparison with Sigvatr Þórðarson’s Knútsdrápa suggests that, contrary to previous assumptions, it is very likely that neither of the poets was an inventor of tøglag. Rather both, as talented and already distinguished skalds, did not hesitate to take another artistic challenge, most likely put up by somebody else. It seems reasonable to assume that such a challenge was born at Knútr’s court, probably as a side effect of the king’s success in Norway in 1028.

PL

Artykuł poświęcony jest Tøgdrápie (Wiersz o wyprawie), utworowi skomponowanemu przez Þórarina, w którym opisuje wyprawę Knuta Wielkiego do Norwegii w 1028 roku. Wiersz wyróżnia zastosowane przez skalda metrum – tøglag (metrum podróżne). Od dróttkvætt różni go występowanie czterech (zamiast sześciu) sylab w każdej linii zwrotki. Prawdopo- dobnie, odnosząc się do tytułu wiersza, metrum to było stosowane w kompozycjach po- święconych wyprawom wojennym, ewentualnie innym podróżom podejmowanym przez władcę. Użytkowanie tøglag wydaje się być szczególnie związane z dworem Knuta Wielkie- go w Anglii. Dokładna analiza metryczna poematu Þórarina, jak również porównanie go z Knútsdrápą Sigvata Þórðarsona, wskazują na to, że, wbrew wcześniejszym sądom, żaden z dwójki poetów nie powinien być uważany za twórcę tego metrum. Raczej, obaj skaldowie, już jako wzięci i utalentowani twórcy, bez obaw podjęli poetyckie wyzwanie, które najpew- niej podsunął im ktoś inny. Wydaje się słusznym założenie, że pomysł ten zrodził się na dworze Knuta Wielkiego, najpewniej jako skutek sukcesu jaki król Anglii i Danii odniósł w Norwegii w 1028 roku.

4

A skald in royal service – the case Þórarinn loftunga. Part 1: Ideological contexts of Hofuðlausn

75%

Morawiec J.

Studia Maritima

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2020

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vol. 33

33-52

EN

The first half of the 11th century was marked by serious challenges for the skaldic art. An advent of Christianity in the North in general and the baptism of numerous rulers in par- ticular, made skalds make efforts to implement symbolism of the new faith into their art. This trend is clearly reflected in the poetry of Þórarinn loftunga, an Icelandic poet, who is known for his compositions for Knútr inn ríki, the king of England, Denmark and Norway. The article investigates preserved lines of one of Þórarinn’s poems, Hǫfuðlausn (Head-ran- som). Special attention is paid to its sophisticated stylistic features, namely references to Byzantium (Gríklands) and the Heavenly Kingdom (himinríki) and a kenning “defender of Byzantium” (gætir Gríklands). The article argues that the presence of these features, juvenile in the skaldic art, in Þórarinn’s poem, was an effect of skald’s both ability and willingness to adopt certain elements of Christian doctrine and royal ideology present at Knútr’s English court as a response to particular expectations of the king towards his skalds and their poetry.

PL

W pierwszej połowie XI wieku poezja skaldów musiała zmierzyć się z poważnymi wyzwa- niami. Coraz większe wpływy chrześcijaństwa na Północy, znaczone chrztem kolejnych skandynawskich władców, postawiły poetów przed koniecznością zaimplementowania w swojej sztuce symboliki związanej z nową wiarą. Proces ten znajduje swoje odbicie między innymi w poezji Þórarina loftunga (Pochwalny Język), islandzkiego skalda działającego na dworze Knuta Wielkiego, króla Anglii, Danii i Norwegii. Artykuł poświęcony jest zachowa- nym fragmentom jednego z wierszy Þórarina, zatytułowanego Hǫfuðlausn (Okup za głowę). Szczególna uwaga poświęcona jest stylistycznym elementom utworu takim jak nawiązania do Bizancjum (Gríklands) i Królestwa Niebieskiego (himinríki) oraz kenningowi „obrońca Bizancjum” (gætir Gríklands). Celem artykułu jest wykazanie, że elementy te były efektem gotowości ze strony poety zaadoptowania w swojej sztuce określonych aspektów doktryny chrześcijańskiej i ideologii królewskiej obecnych na angielskim dworze Knuta. Gotowość ta była odpowiedzią poety na oczekiwania ze strony króla adresowane do skaldów działających w jego otoczeniu.

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Jarl Sigvaldi and the battle of Svoldr in saga tradition

Why Would the Skalds Not Have Lied about the Rulers’ Expeditions and Battles? Some Remarks on a Relic of Medieval Attitude toward Sources in Modern Medieval Studies

A skald in royal service – the case Þórarinn loftunga. Part 2: Poetics and ideology of Tøgdrápa

A skald in royal service – the case Þórarinn loftunga. Part 1: Ideological contexts of Hofuðlausn