Article #598-2 | Gutenberg Articles

Excerpt

Excerpt from Heimskringla; Or, The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway, by Snorri Sturluson

Eyvind Skaldaspiller also reckoned up the ancestors of Earl Hakon the
Great in a poem called "Haleygjatal", composed about Hakon; and therein
he mentions Saeming, a son of Yngvefrey, and he likewise tells of the
death and funeral rites of each. The lives and times of the Yngling
race were written from Thjodolf's relation enlarged afterwards by the
accounts of intelligent people.

As to funeral rites, the earliest age is called the Age of Burning;
because all the dead were consumed by fire, and over their ashes were
raised standing stones. But after Frey was buried under a cairn at
Upsala, many chiefs raised cairns, as commonly as stones, to the memory
of their relatives.

The Age of Cairns began properly in Denmark after Dan Milkillate had
raised for himself a burial cairn, and ordered that he should be buried
in it on his death, with his royal ornaments and armour, his horse and
saddle-furniture, and other valuable goods; and many of his descendants
followed his example. But the burning of the dead continued, long after
that time, to be the custom of the Swedes and Northmen. Iceland was
occupied in the time that Harald Harfager was the King of Norway. There
were skalds in Harald's court whose poems the people know by heart even
at the present day, together with all the songs about the kings who have
ruled in Norway since his time; and we rest the foundations of our story
principally upon the songs which were sung in the presence of the chiefs
themselves or of their sons, and take all to be true that is found in
such poems about their feats and battles: for although it be the fashion
with skalds to praise most those in whose presence they are standing,
yet no one would dare to relete to a chief what he, and all those who
heard it, knew to be a false and imaginary, not a true account of his
deeds; because that would be mockery, not praise.

Explanation

Detailed Explanation of the Excerpt from Heimskringla

This passage is from Heimskringla (The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway), a 13th-century Old Norse saga written by Snorri Sturluson (1179–1241), one of Iceland’s most celebrated historians and poets. Heimskringla is a collection of sagas recounting the lives of Norwegian kings from mythical origins to the 12th century, blending history, legend, and skaldic poetry. The excerpt discusses genealogical traditions, funeral customs, and the reliability of oral and poetic sources in Norse historiography.

1. Context & Purpose of the Passage

Snorri is establishing the authority and methodology of his historical account. He relies on:

Skaldic poetry (composed by court poets like Eyvind Skaldaspiller and Thjodolf of Hvinir) as primary sources.
Oral traditions ("accounts of intelligent people") to supplement written records.
Funeral customs as markers of cultural shifts, linking them to legendary figures like Frey (a Vanir god in Norse mythology) and Dan Mikillati (a semi-legendary Danish king).

The passage serves two key functions:

Legitimizing Norse kingship by tracing lineages (e.g., Earl Hakon the Great’s descent from the Yngling dynasty, a semi-divine royal line).
Defending historical accuracy by emphasizing the trustworthiness of skaldic poetry, which was performed in the presence of the chiefs being praised.

2. Key Themes

A. Genealogy & Divine Lineage

The Yngling dynasty (mentioned via Saeming, son of Yngvefrey) was believed to descend from the gods (Frey, a fertility deity associated with prosperity and kingship).
Purpose: Norse rulers often claimed divine ancestry to justify their power. Snorri reinforces this by citing Haleygjatal ("Enumeration of the Lords of Hålogaland"), a poem tracing Hakon’s lineage.
Literary Context: The Ynglings are central to Ynglinga Saga, the first part of Heimskringla, which blends myth and history to create a foundational narrative for Norwegian monarchy.

B. Funeral Rites as Cultural Evolution

Snorri outlines a shift in burial practices, dividing history into two "ages":

Age of Burning (Crementation)
- Dead were burned, ashes covered by standing stones (a practice linked to the Swedes and Northmen).
- Symbolism: Fire may represent purification or a connection to the gods (e.g., Odin was associated with fire in some traditions).
- Example: The burning of Baldr in Gylfaginning (another of Snorri’s works) reflects this custom.
Age of Cairns (Burial Mounds)
- Began after Frey was buried under a cairn at Uppsala (a major pagan religious center in Sweden).
- Dan Mikillati (possibly a legendary or euhemerized figure) popularized cairns in Denmark, including grave goods (weapons, horses, treasures).
- Significance: Cairns were monuments of power, displaying wealth and status. The inclusion of a horse suggests a warrior’s afterlife (horses were sacred to Odin and Frey).

Why the Shift? Snorri implies a cultural diffusion from Denmark to Norway, though burning persisted longer in Sweden and Norway. This reflects regional variations in Norse paganism.

C. Historiography & the Role of Skalds

Snorri defends his sources:

Skaldic Poetry as Reliable History:
- Skalds (court poets) composed praise poetry (drápa) for kings, reciting their deeds in front of them.
- Argument: While skalds exaggerated, they could not lie outright—doing so would be mockery, not praise, and risked punishment.
- Example: Eyvind Skaldaspiller’s Haleygjatal is treated as a genealogical record because it was performed for Hakon the Great.
Oral Tradition vs. Written History:
- Snorri writes in the 13th century, when Iceland was Christianized, but he preserves pre-Christian traditions.
- He treats memory and performance as valid historical methods, contrasting with later medieval chroniclers who relied on Latin texts.

3. Literary Devices & Style

A. Genealogical Cataloging

Purpose: Establishes authority and continuity. By listing ancestors (e.g., Saeming → Yngvefrey), Snorri connects Hakon to a divine and heroic past.
Effect: Creates a mythic depth to history, blending legend and fact.

B. Contrast & Periodization

"Age of Burning" vs. "Age of Cairns":
- Snorri uses binary divisions to show cultural change.
- Irony: Even as new customs (cairns) emerge, old ones (burning) persist, showing tradition’s resilience.

C. Appeals to Authority

Skalds as Eyewitnesses:
- Snorri argues that poetry recited in a king’s presence must be truthful because the audience (the king and his warriors) would correct falsehoods.
- Rhetorical Strategy: This preempts skepticism about oral sources.
Reference to "Intelligent People":
- Vague but strategic—implies a collective memory rather than a single (potentially biased) source.

D. Euhemerism (Myth as History)

Frey’s Burial at Uppsala:
- Frey is a god, but Snorri presents his burial as a historical event that influenced human customs.
- Effect: Blurs the line between myth and history, a common technique in medieval chronicles.

4. Historical & Cultural Significance

A. Funeral Customs as Identity Markers

Burning vs. Cairns:
- Burning was associated with Viking Age Scandinavia (archaeological evidence supports widespread cremation).
- Cairns (like the Gokstad and Oseberg ship burials) were elite practices, symbolizing power and wealth.
- Snorri’s account aligns with archaeological findings, though he attributes changes to legendary figures rather than social shifts.

B. The Reliability of Skaldic Poetry

Modern Perspective:
- Scholars debate how historical skaldic poetry is. While it contains kernel truths, it is also propaganda.
- Snorri’s claim that skalds couldn’t lie is overstated—poets often embellished for patronage.
- Example: The Battle of Maldon (Old English) praises a lost cause; similarly, Norse skalds might glorify defeats.
Why It Matters:
- Snorri’s work is foundational for Norse historiography. Later scholars (e.g., 19th-century nationalists) used Heimskringla to construct Norwegian identity.

C. Christian vs. Pagan Worldviews

Snorri’s Dual Role:
- A Christian Icelander writing about pagan kings.
- He preserves pagan traditions while framing them in a Christian historical context (e.g., treating gods as ancient heroes).
- Example: In Ynglinga Saga, Odin is both a god and a mortal king who tricks people into worshipping him.

5. Close Reading of Key Lines

"because that would be mockery, not praise."

Meaning: Skalds had to balance flattery and truth. A poem that openly lied would insult the king’s honor and reputation.
Implication: Norse culture valued truth in boasting—a warrior’s word was his bond.

"Iceland was occupied in the time that Harald Harfager was the King of Norway."

Context: Harald Fairhair (Harfager) is credited with unifying Norway (c. 9th century). Snorri links Icelandic settlement to Norwegian politics.
Significance: Reinforces the Norwegian-Icelandic connection, important for Snorri’s audience (Icelanders under Norwegian rule in the 13th century).

"we rest the foundations of our story principally upon the songs which were sung in the presence of the chiefs themselves..."

Methodology: Snorri prioritizes contemporary accounts over later retellings.
Modern Parallel: Similar to how Herodotus relied on oral testimonies in The Histories.

6. Conclusion: Why This Passage Matters

This excerpt is a microcosm of Snorri’s historiographical approach:

Blends myth and history to create a cohesive national narrative.
Uses funeral customs to show cultural evolution.
Defends oral tradition as a legitimate historical source.

Legacy:

Heimskringla became a cornerstone of Norwegian identity.
Snorri’s methods influenced later medieval chronicles and modern historical writing on the Vikings.
His work remains essential for understanding pre-Christian Scandinavia, despite its biases and mythic elements.

Final Thought

Snorri was not just a historian but a storyteller—his account is part fact, part legend, reflecting the Norse worldview where history, poetry, and myth were intertwined. The passage reveals how culture, power, and memory shaped the writing of history in medieval Scandinavia.

Questions

Question 1

The passage’s discussion of skaldic poetry as a historical source is primarily structured to:

A. expose the inherent unreliability of oral traditions by highlighting the skalds’ obligation to flatter their patrons.
B. demonstrate the superiority of poetic sources over archaeological evidence in reconstructing Norse history.
C. reconcile the tension between artistic embellishment and factual accuracy by appealing to the social consequences of outright falsehood.
D. argue that skaldic poetry’s rhythmic and mnemonic qualities made it a more durable record than prose chronicles.
E. suggest that the divine ancestry of the Yngling dynasty was so well-attested in poetry that it required no further verification.

Question 2

The shift from the "Age of Burning" to the "Age of Cairns" is presented in the passage as:

A. a linear progression driven by the inevitable advancement of funerary technology.
B. an abrupt rupture caused by the religious conversion of the Danish elite under Dan Mikillati.
C. a regional phenomenon confined to Denmark, with no lasting influence on Swedish or Norwegian customs.
D. a cultural diffusion initiated by elite imitation of divine or semi-divine precedents, yet coexisting with older traditions.
E. a pragmatic response to overpopulation, as cairns required less land than scattered standing stones.

Question 3

The author’s assertion that "no one would dare to relate to a chief what he, and all those who heard it, knew to be a false and imaginary... account" assumes which of the following about Norse society?

A. That chiefs were uniquely perceptive judges of historical truth, immune to the flattery of skalds.
B. That the audience for skaldic poetry was exclusively composed of eyewitnesses to the events described.
C. That the primary function of skaldic poetry was legal testimony rather than artistic expression.
D. That the Norse had no concept of poetic license, treating all verse as literal historical record.
E. That public shame and the threat of reprisal acted as corrective mechanisms against blatant falsehood in praise poetry.

Question 4

The passage’s treatment of Frey’s burial at Uppsala serves to:

A. undermine the credibility of the Yngling dynasty by associating it with a deity whose existence is mythological.
B. illustrate the arbitrary nature of cultural change, as Frey’s burial is presented as a random event rather than a deliberate innovation.
C. suggest that the veneration of Frey was a short-lived cult, quickly superseded by the worship of Odin.
D. provide a mytho-historical origin for the cairn tradition, framing it as an imitation of divine precedent.
E. argue that the Swedes’ persistence in burning their dead was a deliberate rejection of Danish religious authority.

Question 5

The most defensible inference about the author’s attitude toward the "songs about the kings" is that he views them as:

A. infallible records, entirely free from the biases that afflict other historical sources.
B. primarily literary artifacts, valuable only for their aesthetic qualities rather than their factual content.
C. flawed but indispensable foundations for history, given the absence of superior contemporary documentation.
D. unreliable due to their composition by skalds, who were more concerned with meter than with accuracy.
E. deliberately falsified by Christian scribes to erase the pagan past of the Norwegian monarchy.

Solutions and Explanations

1) Correct answer: C

Why C is most correct: The passage explicitly acknowledges that skalds "praise most those in whose presence they are standing" (i.e., artistic embellishment) but argues that they could not present outright falsehoods because "that would be mockery, not praise." This structure reconciles the tension between poetic license and factual constraints by invoking social consequences (public ridicule or punishment) as a corrective mechanism. The answer captures the passage’s nuanced defense of skaldic poetry as a conditional historical source—neither wholly reliable nor entirely fictive.