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Guð Launar Fyrir Hrafninn“ an Analysis of the Usage of the Raven Kenning in Old Norse Skaldic Poetry

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Guð Launar Fyrir Hrafninn“ an Analysis of the Usage of the Raven Kenning in Old Norse Skaldic Poetry „Guð launar fyrir hrafninn“ An analysis of the usage of the raven kenning in Old Norse skaldic poetry Ritgerð til M.A.-prófs í Viking and Medieval Norse Studies Kristine Mærsk Werner Kt.: 060693-4129 Leiðbeinendur: Luke John Murphy & Torfi Tulinius May 2019 MA-thesis Kristine Mærsk Werner Viking and Medieval Norse Studies Spring 2019 Abstract The purpose of the following thesis is to examine the use and meaning of kennings related to ravens in Old Norse poetry. The importance of the raven in the literary corpus of Old Norse poetry is still not properly understood, and this thesis is an attempt to get a little closer to the significance the bird may have had during the Viking Age. The first part of the thesis focuses on the different ways in which the raven was used within skaldic poetry. We begin by examining the kennings which have ravens as their referents – that is, the kennings which can be interpreted to directly mean raven. Links between the raven and other birds through the invocation of common traits are examined, as are connections with the warrior archetype. Thereafter, the kennings which use the word ‘hrafn’ as a base word are studied, and the connection between Old Norse and Old English skaldic tradition considered. Lastly, the thesis will analyse three poems all given the same title: Hrafnsmál. The purpose of this will be to answer the following: how is the raven used in these poems, and are the uses different? Does the title Hrafnsmál have any significance as to the content of the poems? It is argued on the basis of this comparison that Hrafnsmál did not constitute a medieval genre of raven-based poetry, although there are notable similarities between two of the three poems examined. Concluding the thesis will be the author’s ideas as to what could be looked at as further research into the fascinating world of the raven. MA-thesis Kristine Mærsk Werner Viking and Medieval Norse Studies Spring 2019 Ágrip Tilgangur þessarar ritgerðar er að skoða notkun og merkingu kenninga sem tengjast ímynd hrafnsins í fornnorrænum kveðskap. Mikilvægi hrafnsins í fornnorrænum kveðskap hefur ekki verið rannsakað til hlítar og er markmið ritgerðarinnar að komast nær þeirri þýðingu sem fuglinn hafði á tímum víkinga. Fyrri hluti ritgerðarinnar fjallar um mismunandi birtingarmyndir hrafnsins í dróttkvæðum. Fyrst verður fjallað um kenningar sem hægt er að túlka á þann hátt að bein merking þeirra sé hrafn. Í þeim kafla verður tenging hrafna við aðra sambærilega fugla og við erkitýpu stríðsmannsins skoðuð sérstaklega. Þar á eftir verður áhersla lögð á kenningar þar sem orðið „hrafn“ er grunnorð, ásamt því að fjallað verður í stuttu máli um tenginguna á milli fornnorræns kveðskapar og engilsaxnesks kveðskapar. Í síðari hluta ritgerðarinnar verða borin saman þrjú kvæði sem öll bera sama titil: Hrafnsmál. Tilgangurinn er að skoða hvernig hrafninn er notaður í þessum ljóðum og hvort merkja megi mun á kvæðunum. Er titillinn mikilvægur til skilnings á innihaldi þeirra? Á þessum grundvelli er lagt til að "hrafnsmál" teljist ekki heiti á sérstakri tegund kvæð, þó það séu eftirtektaverð líkindi milli tveggja af þeim þrem kvæðum sem skoðuð voru. Ritgerðinni lýkur síðan með hugmyndum höfundar um frekari rannsóknir á hinum heillandi heimi hrafnsins í fornum kveðskap. MA-thesis Kristine Mærsk Werner Viking and Medieval Norse Studies Spring 2019 Acknowledgements First, I must thank my primary supervisor, Luke John Murphy, for his academic support during the writing of this thesis. His encouragement and vast knowledge of the field has helped me push my own boundaries in writing a thesis that I am proud to present. Also, I would like to thank my secondary supervisor, Torfi Tulinius, who helped me stay focused throughout the writing of this thesis. Secondly, I would like to thank Timothy Bourns, Klaudia Karpińska, Harriet Jean Evans, and Katie Haley-Halinski for their support and help in finding articles, books, and other sources during the research phase for this thesis. Furthermore, I would like to thank Anita Sauckel for her part in the coordination of this year’s thesis workshop. Additionally, I would like to thank Anna Margrét Björnsdóttir and Nemi Nødskov for their support and help both academically, through their proof-reading of this thesis, in addition to their support as friends throughout this experience. Anna Margrét deserves an extra thank you for her help with translating the abstract above into Icelandic. I would also like to give a heartfelt thank you to my classmates from the VMN programme with a special thank you to Kat, Eric, Christian, Beth and Lea for making the hard days a little easier. Lastly, I am eternally grateful of the support from my boyfriend, Jökull Tandri Ámundason, as well as my family and friends, who have all been there for me throughout this process. I am happy to have all of them in my life, and it makes me proud that they were part of the journey to obtain this MA-thesis. MA-thesis Kristine Mærsk Werner Viking and Medieval Norse Studies Spring 2019 Table of contents Chapter 1: Introduction........................................................................................... 1 1.1. The structure of the thesis ........................................................................ 1 1.2. What is a kenning? ..................................................................................... 3 Chapter 2: Raven Kennings from Skaldic Poetry ............................................... 8 2.1. Ravens as Referents ....................................................................................... 9 2.1.1. Snorri Sturluson on Ravens ........................................................................... 9 2.1.2. Other Birds as Ravens ................................................................................. 12 2.1.3. Ravens as Warrior Companions .................................................................. 22 2.2. Ravens as Base Words .................................................................................. 27 2.2.2. Blood and Battle ......................................................................................... 27 2.2.3. “Feeding the Raven” ................................................................................... 34 Chapter 3: Analysis of Three Poems Called Hrafnsmál ................................... 42 3.1. The Three Hrafnsmál .................................................................................. 42 3.1.1. Þorbjörn hornklofi ....................................................................................... 42 3.1.2. Þormóðr Trefilsson ...................................................................................... 49 3.1.3. Sturla Þorðarson ......................................................................................... 53 3.2. Hrafnsmálar: A Generic Title? .................................................................. 57 Chapter 4: Conclusion ........................................................................................... 61 Chapter 5: Bibliography ........................................................................................ 64 5.1. Primary sources: ........................................................................................... 64 5.2. Secondary sources: ....................................................................................... 67 MA-thesis Kristine Mærsk Werner Viking and Medieval Norse Studies Spring 2019 Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1. The structure of the thesis A caw rings out over the desolate landscape; a shadow passes high above your head; the flutter of wings disappears in the distance; a single yellow eye stares at you intently. Wise bird, trickster, harbinger of death, omen. These are just some of the ways the raven or crow has been depicted in different literary cannons over time, showing an overall fascination with this mysterious bird. That same fascination is part of what prompted me to choose the raven as a motif to be the topic of this thesis. The Old Norse raven appears to have more to it than what may be seen in other poetic discourses, such as the Old English sources, where the raven seems to only have a single association: the coming of death.1 Within Old Norse poetry, however, the raven seems to be a more diverse animal that is viewed, not as an ill omen, but rather as a respected and knowledgeable bird, which the listener should favour. In the following I hope to shed some light upon the significance of this striking bird within the corpus of Old Norse skaldic poetry through its associations and the literary discourse with which it is spoken of. Until now, research on the significance of the raven has been sparse within the realm of Icelandic literary studies. With the exception of Timothy Bourns’ MA from 2012 “The Language of Birds in Old Norse Tradition”, the main analysis of birds within this field has been archaeological – with such scholars as Katie Haley-Halinski and Klaudia Karpińska paving the way to name a few2 – or within religion studies (see for 1 Bromhall (1658); D’acouto (2016). 2 Gotfredsen (2013). 1 MA-thesis Kristine Mærsk Werner Viking and Medieval Norse Studies Spring 2019 example Christopher Moreman3). However, even in these examples, the raven does not seem to have a focal role in the analysis, but rather to be included in a collective look upon the role of “birds” overall. In my opinion, a more thorough examination of the raven alone is needed, given the fact that the raven, as this thesis intends to demonstrate, is a quintessential
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