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mikael males

University of Oslo, Department of Linguistics and Scandinavian Studies, Faculty Member

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Address: Oslo, Oslo, Norway

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Haukur Þorgeirsson

The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies

Yulia Osovtsova

University of Stavanger

Þorgeir Sigurðsson

The Reykjavik Academy

University of Nottingham

University of California, Los Angeles

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Papers by mikael males

The Dating of Hávamál

Maal og Minne, 2024

Along with Vǫluspá, Hávamál is probably the most famous Old Norse poem. It is traditionally dated... more Along with Vǫluspá, Hávamál is probably the most famous Old Norse poem. It is traditionally dated to c. 850-950, but some scholars have argued for a much later date based on its content. Existing content-based dating attempts suffer from a lack of specificity and testing, however, and as such their significance remains unclear. Nonetheless, content-based criteria can at times fulfil these requirements. If good criteria and methods for testing are found, these could provide much-needed avenues for the evaluation of competing hypotheses, since the metre of Hávamál, ljóðaháttr, offers fewer linguistic dating criteria than fornyrðislag. This article identifies and tests four such criteria, all of which point to a time of composition before c. 1000, lending support to formal criteria. No counterindications have been identified, and the spread of criteria across the poem suggests that, even if Hávamál may conceivably have been compiled from more than one poem, this must most likely have happened early, probably in the period c. 900-50.

The Dating of Bragi's Poetry

Medioevo europeo, 2023

Bragi Boddason is known as the earliest preserved skald in the Old Norse tradition, and from 1895... more Bragi Boddason is known as the earliest preserved skald in the Old Norse tradition, and from 1895 onwards, his poetry has generally been dated to c. 850. A reliable dating of Bragi’s poetry is crucial for our understanding of the metrical transformation of common Germanic fornyrðislag into the uniquely Nordic dróttkvætt, as well as for the development of poetic diction and the dating of the first attested loanword from Old Irish into Old Norse, to mention just a few aspects. Even so, the available evidence has never been collected and evaluated in a single publication, and some of the data presented in previous scholarship are in need of further scrutiny. This article discusses the indications presented by Finnur Jónsson and Hans Kuhn in particular, and it concludes that the evidence is remarkably rich and unambiguously supports a dating to c. 850.

THE EARLIEST OLD NORSE METRICS

Filologia germanica 15, 2023

This article explores Old Norse metrical developments in the ninth century, focusing on the only ... more This article explores Old Norse metrical developments in the ninth century, focusing on the only securely datable evidence we have: the Rök stanza and Bragi’s poetry. It reveals a greater degree of continuity between the two than scholars have previously assumed, and it clarifies fundamental dynamics in the emergence of dróttkvætt that have hitherto been obscured by an unwarranted analytical dichotomy. It also presents the first detailed metrical analysis of the Rök stanza, specifying how far its form has
proceeded from the shared Germanic one towards later, specifically Old Norse forms.
While Bragi’s metrical practices are usually grouped together with those of other early poets, this article also clarifies how he differs from these in ways that are most plausibly explained by the fact that he represents the earliest attested stage of dróttkvætt poetry.

Textual criticism and Old Norse philology

Studia Neophilologica, 2023

Old Norse editors typically apply the principles of textual criticism with moderation, mainly cor... more Old Norse editors typically apply the principles of textual criticism with moderation, mainly correcting obvious errors. The exception is poetry, where the introduction of variant readings and emendations is often necessary. This two-pronged and overall restrictive approach is based on the characteristics of the corpus, but in recent decades, some scholars have called its premises into question, either in theory or in practice. In most examples discussed in this article, arguments against textual criticism are paired with disregard for or misrepresentation of its aims and methods. In other instances, scholars who attempt a reconstructive approach neglect the epistemological preconditions of textual criticism, even when drawing on its assumptions. In order to address these issues, the present article discusses the goals and principles of textual criticism with reference to examples from Old Norse scholarship. Specifically, it explores how scholars relate to scribal errors.

Irish Influence on Late Norse Paganism: The Leviathan and the Miðgarðsormr

Peritia, 2022

Hear No Sievers, See No Sievers: Metrics and the Eddic Commentary Tradition

Neophilologus, 2022

This article explores a gradual shift towards metrical and linguistic imprecision in the four maj... more This article explores a gradual shift towards metrical and linguistic imprecision in the four major commentaries on the Old Norse Eddic poems produced from the 1930s to today. This trend both affects and reflects the state of Eddic scholarship at large. Many scholars today do not avail themselves of metrical and linguistic criteria in the dating and textual restitution of Eddic poems but approach these issues either with agnosticism or by presenting vague arguments in favour of particular dates or variants. During the last three decades, however, testing along many parameters has placed the essentials of Eduard Sievers' metrical analysis (1893) beyond reasonable doubt, which means that the gradual abandonment of precise description has taken place in a context where the preconditions for such description were improving. These analytical advances and mainstream Eddic scholarship have yet to meet, and the present article aims to facilitate such a convergence. Furthermore, since the Eddic commentaries will remain indispensable heuristic tools for the foreseeable future, the field of Old Norse philology stands to gain from a concise description of the implicit metrical and linguistic assumptions guiding their analysis.

Gylfaginning: Poetic Sources and Structure of the Archetype

Saga-Book, 2021

The Poetics of Commemoration: Skaldic Verse and Social Memory, c. 890–1070 by Erin Michelle Goeres (review)

Chapter 21 Imagining the Holy Land in the Old Norse World

In Old Norse literature as elsewhere in the literature of medieval Europe, many images of Jerusal... more In Old Norse literature as elsewhere in the literature of medieval Europe, many images of Jerusalem and the Holy Land are to be found, not mutually exclusive, but rather adding to a range of functions and meanings. In an Icelandic twelfth-century itinerary, we encounter the pious pilgrim, admiring the blood of Christ on the ground where the cross had stood. From twelfth-century Orkney, by contrast, we have runic and poetic evidence of boastful Viking crusaders, belittling the cowards who stayed at home and viewing the concept of the Holy Land through the lens of the world of the sagas. In thirteenth-century Iceland, we find a peculiar version of the Holy Land in a local setting, fully integrated into Icelandic saga style. As late converts on the fringe of the known world, the Nordic peoples were removed in time and space from the events and sites that mattered most to salvation. In the Orcadian and Icelandic material, we see a creative negotiation of both the spatial and temporal distance. This chapter focuses on the attitudes to Jerusalem and the Holy Land found in some Old Norse sources, as well as the strategies used for making them, as it were, domestic. The first obvious act of domestication lies in the name Jerusalem itself, which in Old Norse was called Jórsalir. This is apparently the result of a reanalysis of the name, and it is likely that the name meant something like "royal halls" or "the city of the king" at the time of imposition. This topic is treated in full in Myrvoll's chapter in this volume, and it may suffice to note here that the adaptation of the name also amounted to an interpretation, providing some meaning to the name in the local vernacular. 1 In the following, I wish to focus on two other examples that I believe to be particularly telling of how the sagas of the North and perceptions of the Holy Land could sometimes feed into each other, resulting in a synthetic, secular yet spiritual, world. I do not think it expedient to distinguish sharply between Jerusalem and its surroundings in this context, since the sources suggest that they were seen as parts of the same holy landscape.

Kan fornisländskans rúnar betyda 'bokstäver'?

Scripta Islandica, 2021

Kan fornisländskans rúnar betyda 'bokstäver'? MIKAEL MALES Det närmast förbehållslösa svaret på f... more Kan fornisländskans rúnar betyda 'bokstäver'? MIKAEL MALES Det närmast förbehållslösa svaret på frågan i titeln har hittills varit 'ja'. Det mest välkända exemplet på denna betydelse återfinns i den Första gram matiska avhandlingen (ca 1150), där författaren argumenterar för att anpassa och utöka det latinska alfabetet för att uppnå ett mer grafo fonematiskt precist skriftsystem som lämpar sig för fornisländskan. Han säger då till sin tänkta motpart att eigi er þat rúnanna kostr þó at þú lesir vel eða ráðir vel at líkindum þar sem rúnarnar vísa óskýrt, heldr er þat þinn kostr (Hreinn Benediktsson 1972: 214). 1 Enligt hittills existerande över sättningar skulle detta betyda: 'det är inte bokstävernas förtjänst, utan snarare din egen, om du läser dem väl eller tolkar dem väl utifrån vad som är sannolikt i fall där bokstäverna ger oklart besked'. 2 Om översättningen är riktig är detta den enda gång avhandlingens för fattare använder rúnar för att beteckna latinska bokstäver. I det andra fall där han använder ordet betyder det sannolikt 'runor' (rúnar [heita] mál stafir '[en typ av] bokstäver [heter] runor') (Hreinn Benediktsson 1972: 222). För bokstäver använder han annars alltid stafir, málstafir eller bók stafir, och då det rör sig om en terminologiskt medveten författare som skriver en avhandling om ortografi vore det uppseendeväckande om han plötsligt bytte beteckning. 1 Citat återges med normaliserad ortografi. 2 Den ende äldre forskare jag har funnit som uppenbarligen förstår rúnar här som 'runor' är Björn M. Ólsen, även om han inte ger en översättning av texten (Björn M. Ólsen 1883: 91-92). Även redaktörerna av Ordbog over det norrøne prosasprog tycks förstå passagen så (se nedan).

Fóstbrœðra saga: A Missing Link?

Gripla, 2020

Imagining the Holy Land in the Old Norse World

Tracing the Jerusalem Code, 1: The Holy Christian Cultures in Medieval Scandinavia (ca. 100–1536), 2021

Pseodu-Remigius and the Old Icelandic Icelandic Barbarismus: A Pilot Study

Character, Provenance, and Use of the Icelandic Fifth Grammatical Treatise

The short treatise on poetics which has come to be known as the Fifth Grammatical Treatise (below... more The short treatise on poetics which has come to be known as the Fifth Grammatical Treatise (below 5GT) has received very limited scholarly attention since it was edited in 1884 (Björn M. Ólsen (ed.) 1884: 159). 1 in the edition, the treatise is attributed to 'Olaf [= Óláfr Þórðarson; see below] or another, slightly earlier author'. 2 This somewhat evasive attri-1 The name ('The Fifth Grammatical Treatise') was first given by sverrir Tómasson 1997: 190. apart from the edition and sverrir Tómasson's very short article, i am only aware of one more scholar who discusses 5GT beyond the mere mention of its existence, namely Guðrún Nordal 2001: 88, 213.

1100-talets psedonyma skaldediktning: En kritisk granskning.pdf

I denna artikel diskuteras ett antagande som har blivit allt vanligare inom skaldediktsforskninge... more I denna artikel diskuteras ett antagande som har blivit allt vanligare inom
skaldediktsforskningen från mitten av 1900-talet och framåt, nämligen att det under 1100-talet skall ha komponerats åtskillig poesi i de skalders namn som hade levat på 900-talet. Detta antagande förutsätter, åtminstone implicit, att sagorna hade antagit den prosimetriska form vi känner från 1200-talet redan hundra år tidigare. I denna studie granskas här så många tillgängliga indicier som möjligt för att bedöma om skaldediktsprosimetrum verkligen var en vanlig form på 1100-talet, och de visar sig alla peka mot att så inte var fallet. Formen tycks snarare ha utvecklats under påverkan av eddadiktsprosimetrum i perioden runt och framför allt efter 1200. antagandet om pseudonym 1100-talsdiktning motsägs därmed av den litterära utvecklingen och detta leder till frågan om vilka kriterier som har använts för att uppställa en hypotes. Dessa befinns bjuda på åtskilliga problem, och det föreslås att företräde istället bör ges åt mät- och falsifierbara kriterier.

Er Ólafur Þórðarson höfundur Eglu?

Den avhängiga: Kvinnoförakt som förutsättning för ett enda genus på 1200-talets Island?

Collegium Medievale, 2006

I artikein Regardiess ofSex: Men, Women and Power in Early Norihern Lurope (1993) hävdar Carol J.... more I artikein Regardiess ofSex: Men, Women and Power in Early Norihern Lurope (1993) hävdar Carol J. Ciover att kvinnor på 1200-talets Island bara utmärkte sig genom sin brist på manlighet och att de i likhet med andra omanliga individer var för aktade. Hon grundar sina påståenden dels på en analys av utvalda ord och dels på käl lornas relativa tystnad angående kvinnor. Jag menar att hennes argumentation är värd en nAmiare granskning.

Egill och Kormákr - tradering och nydiktning

Egils saga och Kormáks saga innehåller båda rikligt med lausavísur som forskare överlag ansett va... more Egils saga och Kormáks saga innehåller båda rikligt med lausavísur som forskare överlag ansett vara gamla, om också inte med nödvändighet "äkta". i denna artikel granskas två arkaiska eller arkaiserande drag i stroferna. Tillsammans med externa indicier tillåter fördelningen av dessa drag en hypotes om att åtskillig poesi har diktats och införlivats i sagorna efter omkring 1200, men att äldre poesi har använts både som byggstenar och inspiration. Detta arbetssätt kopplas till utvecklingen av, men också den möjliga äldre bakgrunden till, den folkspråkliga prosimetriska narrativen.

Allegory in Old Norse Secular Literature: Theoretical and Methodological Challenges

Wormianusredaktören 41

Wormianusredaktören 41 MIKAEL MALES Wormianusredaktören: Språk, tro och sanning vid 1300-talets m... more Wormianusredaktören 41 MIKAEL MALES Wormianusredaktören: Språk, tro och sanning vid 1300-talets mitt Codex Wormianus, AM 242 fol (nedan W), skrevs vid mitten av 1300talet, sannolikt vid benediktinerklostret på Þingeyrar (se Johansson 1997a: 10-18, 222-27). Handskriften utgör den största kompilationen av grammatisk litteratur på norrönt språk (grammatisk litteratur avser här litteratur som hör hemma inom grammatica, en disciplin som omfattade studier av såväl språk som litteratur och vars gränser till retorik delvis var flytande; jfr Irvine 1994). Fokus för denna artikel är, som titeln anger, W-redaktörens hållningar till språk, tro och sanning, och hur representativa dessa hållningar var för hans samtid. Diskussionen kommer att utgå från två grupper av tillägg och en fullständig text som bara finns i Males, M., postdoctoral fellow in Old Norse Philology, Abstract: Codex Wormianus (W: AM 242 fol) is the greatest compilation of grammatical literature in Old Norse, written in the middle of the fourteenth century, probably at the Benedictine monastery of Þingeyrar in northern Iceland. It contains Snorri's Edda and the four so-called Grammatical Treatises (1-4GT). The prologue to 1-4GT and portions of text in 2GT and the prologue to Snorri's Edda are unique to W. I establish the common authorship of these texts by the occurrence of features in all three that are not otherwise found in W, and analyse their content synoptically. The author's views on language seem to be inspired by Snorri's Edda and 2GT, but also by Stjórn (the Old Testament paraphrase), where the hand of the W-scribe is found in two copies. The author of the unique texts, the redactor, and the scribe thus seem to be the same person. His thoughts on a universal phonology are unique for his time and are founded on a creative reading of 2GT and Stjórn. I also compare the W-redactor/scribe to three contemporary monastic poets, who similarly formulate their thoughts on language in relation to Snorri's Edda. Whereas the W-redactor theorizes the possibility of a true language but argues for retention of the traditional, obscure style, the poets argue for a lucid style and demonstrate this in practice. The differing attitudes of the W-redactor and the poets are probably due to their respective subjects; he studies language and secular poetry from a grammatical point of view, they are concerned with religious poetry. The thoughts on language of all four betray influence from mainstream learned literature (Historia scholastica, Poetria nova, Gregory the Great), but is above all predicated on the strong position of traditional poetic diction in general and of Snorri's Edda in particular.

The Dating of Hávamál

Maal og Minne, 2024

Along with Vǫluspá, Hávamál is probably the most famous Old Norse poem. It is traditionally dated... more Along with Vǫluspá, Hávamál is probably the most famous Old Norse poem. It is traditionally dated to c. 850-950, but some scholars have argued for a much later date based on its content. Existing content-based dating attempts suffer from a lack of specificity and testing, however, and as such their significance remains unclear. Nonetheless, content-based criteria can at times fulfil these requirements. If good criteria and methods for testing are found, these could provide much-needed avenues for the evaluation of competing hypotheses, since the metre of Hávamál, ljóðaháttr, offers fewer linguistic dating criteria than fornyrðislag. This article identifies and tests four such criteria, all of which point to a time of composition before c. 1000, lending support to formal criteria. No counterindications have been identified, and the spread of criteria across the poem suggests that, even if Hávamál may conceivably have been compiled from more than one poem, this must most likely have happened early, probably in the period c. 900-50.

The Dating of Bragi's Poetry

Medioevo europeo, 2023

Bragi Boddason is known as the earliest preserved skald in the Old Norse tradition, and from 1895... more Bragi Boddason is known as the earliest preserved skald in the Old Norse tradition, and from 1895 onwards, his poetry has generally been dated to c. 850. A reliable dating of Bragi’s poetry is crucial for our understanding of the metrical transformation of common Germanic fornyrðislag into the uniquely Nordic dróttkvætt, as well as for the development of poetic diction and the dating of the first attested loanword from Old Irish into Old Norse, to mention just a few aspects. Even so, the available evidence has never been collected and evaluated in a single publication, and some of the data presented in previous scholarship are in need of further scrutiny. This article discusses the indications presented by Finnur Jónsson and Hans Kuhn in particular, and it concludes that the evidence is remarkably rich and unambiguously supports a dating to c. 850.

THE EARLIEST OLD NORSE METRICS

Filologia germanica 15, 2023

This article explores Old Norse metrical developments in the ninth century, focusing on the only ... more This article explores Old Norse metrical developments in the ninth century, focusing on the only securely datable evidence we have: the Rök stanza and Bragi’s poetry. It reveals a greater degree of continuity between the two than scholars have previously assumed, and it clarifies fundamental dynamics in the emergence of dróttkvætt that have hitherto been obscured by an unwarranted analytical dichotomy. It also presents the first detailed metrical analysis of the Rök stanza, specifying how far its form has
proceeded from the shared Germanic one towards later, specifically Old Norse forms.
While Bragi’s metrical practices are usually grouped together with those of other early poets, this article also clarifies how he differs from these in ways that are most plausibly explained by the fact that he represents the earliest attested stage of dróttkvætt poetry.

Textual criticism and Old Norse philology

Studia Neophilologica, 2023

Old Norse editors typically apply the principles of textual criticism with moderation, mainly cor... more Old Norse editors typically apply the principles of textual criticism with moderation, mainly correcting obvious errors. The exception is poetry, where the introduction of variant readings and emendations is often necessary. This two-pronged and overall restrictive approach is based on the characteristics of the corpus, but in recent decades, some scholars have called its premises into question, either in theory or in practice. In most examples discussed in this article, arguments against textual criticism are paired with disregard for or misrepresentation of its aims and methods. In other instances, scholars who attempt a reconstructive approach neglect the epistemological preconditions of textual criticism, even when drawing on its assumptions. In order to address these issues, the present article discusses the goals and principles of textual criticism with reference to examples from Old Norse scholarship. Specifically, it explores how scholars relate to scribal errors.

Irish Influence on Late Norse Paganism: The Leviathan and the Miðgarðsormr

Peritia, 2022

Hear No Sievers, See No Sievers: Metrics and the Eddic Commentary Tradition

Neophilologus, 2022

This article explores a gradual shift towards metrical and linguistic imprecision in the four maj... more This article explores a gradual shift towards metrical and linguistic imprecision in the four major commentaries on the Old Norse Eddic poems produced from the 1930s to today. This trend both affects and reflects the state of Eddic scholarship at large. Many scholars today do not avail themselves of metrical and linguistic criteria in the dating and textual restitution of Eddic poems but approach these issues either with agnosticism or by presenting vague arguments in favour of particular dates or variants. During the last three decades, however, testing along many parameters has placed the essentials of Eduard Sievers' metrical analysis (1893) beyond reasonable doubt, which means that the gradual abandonment of precise description has taken place in a context where the preconditions for such description were improving. These analytical advances and mainstream Eddic scholarship have yet to meet, and the present article aims to facilitate such a convergence. Furthermore, since the Eddic commentaries will remain indispensable heuristic tools for the foreseeable future, the field of Old Norse philology stands to gain from a concise description of the implicit metrical and linguistic assumptions guiding their analysis.

Gylfaginning: Poetic Sources and Structure of the Archetype

Saga-Book, 2021

The Poetics of Commemoration: Skaldic Verse and Social Memory, c. 890–1070 by Erin Michelle Goeres (review)

Chapter 21 Imagining the Holy Land in the Old Norse World

In Old Norse literature as elsewhere in the literature of medieval Europe, many images of Jerusal... more In Old Norse literature as elsewhere in the literature of medieval Europe, many images of Jerusalem and the Holy Land are to be found, not mutually exclusive, but rather adding to a range of functions and meanings. In an Icelandic twelfth-century itinerary, we encounter the pious pilgrim, admiring the blood of Christ on the ground where the cross had stood. From twelfth-century Orkney, by contrast, we have runic and poetic evidence of boastful Viking crusaders, belittling the cowards who stayed at home and viewing the concept of the Holy Land through the lens of the world of the sagas. In thirteenth-century Iceland, we find a peculiar version of the Holy Land in a local setting, fully integrated into Icelandic saga style. As late converts on the fringe of the known world, the Nordic peoples were removed in time and space from the events and sites that mattered most to salvation. In the Orcadian and Icelandic material, we see a creative negotiation of both the spatial and temporal distance. This chapter focuses on the attitudes to Jerusalem and the Holy Land found in some Old Norse sources, as well as the strategies used for making them, as it were, domestic. The first obvious act of domestication lies in the name Jerusalem itself, which in Old Norse was called Jórsalir. This is apparently the result of a reanalysis of the name, and it is likely that the name meant something like "royal halls" or "the city of the king" at the time of imposition. This topic is treated in full in Myrvoll's chapter in this volume, and it may suffice to note here that the adaptation of the name also amounted to an interpretation, providing some meaning to the name in the local vernacular. 1 In the following, I wish to focus on two other examples that I believe to be particularly telling of how the sagas of the North and perceptions of the Holy Land could sometimes feed into each other, resulting in a synthetic, secular yet spiritual, world. I do not think it expedient to distinguish sharply between Jerusalem and its surroundings in this context, since the sources suggest that they were seen as parts of the same holy landscape.

Kan fornisländskans rúnar betyda 'bokstäver'?

Scripta Islandica, 2021

Kan fornisländskans rúnar betyda 'bokstäver'? MIKAEL MALES Det närmast förbehållslösa svaret på f... more Kan fornisländskans rúnar betyda 'bokstäver'? MIKAEL MALES Det närmast förbehållslösa svaret på frågan i titeln har hittills varit 'ja'. Det mest välkända exemplet på denna betydelse återfinns i den Första gram matiska avhandlingen (ca 1150), där författaren argumenterar för att anpassa och utöka det latinska alfabetet för att uppnå ett mer grafo fonematiskt precist skriftsystem som lämpar sig för fornisländskan. Han säger då till sin tänkta motpart att eigi er þat rúnanna kostr þó at þú lesir vel eða ráðir vel at líkindum þar sem rúnarnar vísa óskýrt, heldr er þat þinn kostr (Hreinn Benediktsson 1972: 214). 1 Enligt hittills existerande över sättningar skulle detta betyda: 'det är inte bokstävernas förtjänst, utan snarare din egen, om du läser dem väl eller tolkar dem väl utifrån vad som är sannolikt i fall där bokstäverna ger oklart besked'. 2 Om översättningen är riktig är detta den enda gång avhandlingens för fattare använder rúnar för att beteckna latinska bokstäver. I det andra fall där han använder ordet betyder det sannolikt 'runor' (rúnar [heita] mál stafir '[en typ av] bokstäver [heter] runor') (Hreinn Benediktsson 1972: 222). För bokstäver använder han annars alltid stafir, málstafir eller bók stafir, och då det rör sig om en terminologiskt medveten författare som skriver en avhandling om ortografi vore det uppseendeväckande om han plötsligt bytte beteckning. 1 Citat återges med normaliserad ortografi. 2 Den ende äldre forskare jag har funnit som uppenbarligen förstår rúnar här som 'runor' är Björn M. Ólsen, även om han inte ger en översättning av texten (Björn M. Ólsen 1883: 91-92). Även redaktörerna av Ordbog over det norrøne prosasprog tycks förstå passagen så (se nedan).

Fóstbrœðra saga: A Missing Link?

Gripla, 2020

Imagining the Holy Land in the Old Norse World

Tracing the Jerusalem Code, 1: The Holy Christian Cultures in Medieval Scandinavia (ca. 100–1536), 2021

Pseodu-Remigius and the Old Icelandic Icelandic Barbarismus: A Pilot Study

Character, Provenance, and Use of the Icelandic Fifth Grammatical Treatise

The short treatise on poetics which has come to be known as the Fifth Grammatical Treatise (below... more The short treatise on poetics which has come to be known as the Fifth Grammatical Treatise (below 5GT) has received very limited scholarly attention since it was edited in 1884 (Björn M. Ólsen (ed.) 1884: 159). 1 in the edition, the treatise is attributed to 'Olaf [= Óláfr Þórðarson; see below] or another, slightly earlier author'. 2 This somewhat evasive attri-1 The name ('The Fifth Grammatical Treatise') was first given by sverrir Tómasson 1997: 190. apart from the edition and sverrir Tómasson's very short article, i am only aware of one more scholar who discusses 5GT beyond the mere mention of its existence, namely Guðrún Nordal 2001: 88, 213.

1100-talets psedonyma skaldediktning: En kritisk granskning.pdf

I denna artikel diskuteras ett antagande som har blivit allt vanligare inom skaldediktsforskninge... more I denna artikel diskuteras ett antagande som har blivit allt vanligare inom
skaldediktsforskningen från mitten av 1900-talet och framåt, nämligen att det under 1100-talet skall ha komponerats åtskillig poesi i de skalders namn som hade levat på 900-talet. Detta antagande förutsätter, åtminstone implicit, att sagorna hade antagit den prosimetriska form vi känner från 1200-talet redan hundra år tidigare. I denna studie granskas här så många tillgängliga indicier som möjligt för att bedöma om skaldediktsprosimetrum verkligen var en vanlig form på 1100-talet, och de visar sig alla peka mot att så inte var fallet. Formen tycks snarare ha utvecklats under påverkan av eddadiktsprosimetrum i perioden runt och framför allt efter 1200. antagandet om pseudonym 1100-talsdiktning motsägs därmed av den litterära utvecklingen och detta leder till frågan om vilka kriterier som har använts för att uppställa en hypotes. Dessa befinns bjuda på åtskilliga problem, och det föreslås att företräde istället bör ges åt mät- och falsifierbara kriterier.

Er Ólafur Þórðarson höfundur Eglu?

Den avhängiga: Kvinnoförakt som förutsättning för ett enda genus på 1200-talets Island?

Collegium Medievale, 2006

I artikein Regardiess ofSex: Men, Women and Power in Early Norihern Lurope (1993) hävdar Carol J.... more I artikein Regardiess ofSex: Men, Women and Power in Early Norihern Lurope (1993) hävdar Carol J. Ciover att kvinnor på 1200-talets Island bara utmärkte sig genom sin brist på manlighet och att de i likhet med andra omanliga individer var för aktade. Hon grundar sina påståenden dels på en analys av utvalda ord och dels på käl lornas relativa tystnad angående kvinnor. Jag menar att hennes argumentation är värd en nAmiare granskning.

Egill och Kormákr - tradering och nydiktning

Egils saga och Kormáks saga innehåller båda rikligt med lausavísur som forskare överlag ansett va... more Egils saga och Kormáks saga innehåller båda rikligt med lausavísur som forskare överlag ansett vara gamla, om också inte med nödvändighet "äkta". i denna artikel granskas två arkaiska eller arkaiserande drag i stroferna. Tillsammans med externa indicier tillåter fördelningen av dessa drag en hypotes om att åtskillig poesi har diktats och införlivats i sagorna efter omkring 1200, men att äldre poesi har använts både som byggstenar och inspiration. Detta arbetssätt kopplas till utvecklingen av, men också den möjliga äldre bakgrunden till, den folkspråkliga prosimetriska narrativen.

Allegory in Old Norse Secular Literature: Theoretical and Methodological Challenges

Wormianusredaktören 41

Wormianusredaktören 41 MIKAEL MALES Wormianusredaktören: Språk, tro och sanning vid 1300-talets m... more Wormianusredaktören 41 MIKAEL MALES Wormianusredaktören: Språk, tro och sanning vid 1300-talets mitt Codex Wormianus, AM 242 fol (nedan W), skrevs vid mitten av 1300talet, sannolikt vid benediktinerklostret på Þingeyrar (se Johansson 1997a: 10-18, 222-27). Handskriften utgör den största kompilationen av grammatisk litteratur på norrönt språk (grammatisk litteratur avser här litteratur som hör hemma inom grammatica, en disciplin som omfattade studier av såväl språk som litteratur och vars gränser till retorik delvis var flytande; jfr Irvine 1994). Fokus för denna artikel är, som titeln anger, W-redaktörens hållningar till språk, tro och sanning, och hur representativa dessa hållningar var för hans samtid. Diskussionen kommer att utgå från två grupper av tillägg och en fullständig text som bara finns i Males, M., postdoctoral fellow in Old Norse Philology, Abstract: Codex Wormianus (W: AM 242 fol) is the greatest compilation of grammatical literature in Old Norse, written in the middle of the fourteenth century, probably at the Benedictine monastery of Þingeyrar in northern Iceland. It contains Snorri's Edda and the four so-called Grammatical Treatises (1-4GT). The prologue to 1-4GT and portions of text in 2GT and the prologue to Snorri's Edda are unique to W. I establish the common authorship of these texts by the occurrence of features in all three that are not otherwise found in W, and analyse their content synoptically. The author's views on language seem to be inspired by Snorri's Edda and 2GT, but also by Stjórn (the Old Testament paraphrase), where the hand of the W-scribe is found in two copies. The author of the unique texts, the redactor, and the scribe thus seem to be the same person. His thoughts on a universal phonology are unique for his time and are founded on a creative reading of 2GT and Stjórn. I also compare the W-redactor/scribe to three contemporary monastic poets, who similarly formulate their thoughts on language in relation to Snorri's Edda. Whereas the W-redactor theorizes the possibility of a true language but argues for retention of the traditional, obscure style, the poets argue for a lucid style and demonstrate this in practice. The differing attitudes of the W-redactor and the poets are probably due to their respective subjects; he studies language and secular poetry from a grammatical point of view, they are concerned with religious poetry. The thoughts on language of all four betray influence from mainstream learned literature (Historia scholastica, Poetria nova, Gregory the Great), but is above all predicated on the strong position of traditional poetic diction in general and of Snorri's Edda in particular.

Approaches to Dating the Poetry in the Sagas of Icelanders

Scripta Islandica, 2023

E ven more than previous volumes, SkP 5 is a milestone within skaldic studies. The poetry in the ... more E ven more than previous volumes, SkP 5 is a milestone within skaldic studies. The poetry in the sagas of Icelanders has generated lively debate for more than a century, not least due to the thorny dating issues relating to this corpus. In its 'Introduction', SkP 5 presents a richer and more precise set of dating criteria than any previous, widely accessible overview, and in the editions of the poetry, discussions of dating are much more prominent than in previous volumes. SkP 5 therefore heralds an interesting new approach. In addition, tensions between the methodology of the 'Introduction' and individual contributions make for an illuminating analysis of available options. Since relevant criteria vary between sagas and are used differently by indi vidual editors, the methodology of SkP 5 is here explored through case studies. Egill's poetry is explored in detail, since despite being the largest corpus in the edition, formal dating criteria are largely bypassed. SkP 5 and Probability The 'Introduction' to SkP 5 differs from previous volumes in taking a more probabilistic approach to two topics. First, it contains a list of so-called half-kennings, collected by Margaret Clunies Ross (SkP 5: cxxxiv-cxxxvi).