The Classical and Christian Impact on Vglospg Toward a Comparative Topomorphical Approach1
MICHAEL SCHULTE The Classical and Christian Impact on Vglospg Toward a comparative topomorphical approach1 Omnia in mensura, et numéro, et pondéré disposuisti. Liber sapientiae 11:21 It is a moot point in Scandinavian philology whether and to what extent Vglospg, the initial poem of the Codex Regius, is influenced by Christian thought and typology.2 Almost four decades ago in a review article, Gabriel Turville-Petre stated that “Vglospá ... is deeply coloured by Christian symbolism.” Referring to Anne Holtsmark (1964, 69-77), basically mentioned Christian metamorphoses of pagan gods such as Baldr and Gefion (Turville-Petre 1963-64, 373). In the same way, Jan de Vries (1964, 61) emphasizes the role of the innocent god Baldr in Vglospg as opposed to the ancient war god Óðinn: Die neue Welt aber ist eine Welt Balders. Und das ist des Dichters ureigenster Gedanke. Aussöhnung, Friede, Gerechtigkeit, das sind die Merkmale, an denen man die neue Zeit, in der Balder regiert, erkennen wird, (de Vries 1964, 61) Indeed, the resemblance between Baldr and Christ is striking, both being Hoffnungsträger of a new world free from moral defilement (cf. also Turville-Petre 1964, 114-20). As regards further conceptual contrasts, Jan de Vries noticed the tragic tone of ragna rgc in Vglospg which differs markedly from that in other mythological poems such as Vafþrúðnismál and Grimnismàl (de Vries 1964, 45, 58-59). It is obvious that these 1 This article, which is based on a lecture held at the International Medieval Congress (IMC) in Leeds, 8th -1 ith July 2002, relates directly to a previous contribution (see Schulte 2002a).
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