Žišriks Saga Af Bern
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Radu Razvan Stanciu INFORMATION SHEET Þiðriks saga af Bern - extant in one late thirteenth-century manuscript ( possibly Norwegian ), two Icelandic paper manuscripts of the seventeenth century ( copies of medieval exemplars ) and two fifteenth- century manuscripts containing a Swedish re-working of the saga; - focused on the life and career of Þiðrikr of Bern ( Dietrich von Bern in the medieval German sources ), a character based loosely on Theodoric the Great, sixth-century king of the Ostrogoths; - the text shows some variation across manuscripts, while the oldest manuscript is incomplete; - summary: - Þiðrikr’s ancestors and youth, the growth of his retinue and various adventures, the great feast in Bern/Verona; - many minor stories are interspersed and even take the centre stage towards the middle of the saga, especially bridal quests; - Þiðrikr is chased out of his kingdom by his uncle Erminrikr; - he takes refuge with his friend Attila and helps him as an ally in various battles; - he tries to regain his kingdom, but fails because of the death of Attila’s sons under his command; - he is involved ( much against his will ) in the Fall of the Niflungs; - he regains his kingdom and is crowned in Rome; - after destroying a monastery he is carried away by a black horse and is never heard of again; - the saga is probably the translation into Old Norse of a German source or, more likely, of several German sources compiled together, complemented by input from German and Norse oral tradition; - the most likely place of origin is Bergen, the location of a great Hanseatic emporium in the thirteenth century; - literary activity at the royal court in Bergen and comparison with related German sources suggest a date around the middle of the thirteenth century. 1 DISSERTATION PASSAGE Occasionally in Þiðriks saga we encounter bride-winning narratives that follow patterns different from the one discussed so far. For example, we see men abducting and marrying maidens against their will. Samson does that with Hildisvid, through cunning, treachery and in the end plain force, and the maiden in the end has to resign herself to her fate. 1 Apollonius wins Herborg through a love-ring, a kind of artificial love-inducer that had been made popular in French romances ( e.g. the love-potion in the Tristan romances ).2 Apollonius is thus a suitor who is willing to tamper with his beloved’s mind in order to win her, but the brevity of his appearance in the saga does not allow the author to develop a moral stance towards Apollonius. Samson on the other hand is a much more developed character, although moral ambiguity can be observed regarding him also. He is one of the few characters in Þiðriks saga who is introduced with an extensive description. 3 We thus find that he was exceedingly strong, brave and skillful in all the military arts, but also meek towards the weak and modest. Many of his traits could well belong to the perfect medieval knight, especially his modesty and friendliness towards the poor. Still, they could also be applied to the model Germanic hero and indeed, qualities such as an iron will and a grim expression seem the preserve of the latter, while his huge size and the explicit comparison with giants reminds one of an Old Norse giant-hero such as Starkaðr. 4 In addition, his determination to have Hildisvid regardless of consequences points in the same direction, with faint echoes of the bragarfull -motif, the kind of bold and reckless, yet solemn, oath that we see for example in Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar (e.g. prose before stanza 31). Indeed, his description does not feature those qualities that would enable us to distinguish an ideal knight from a traditional hero, such as piety, learning or gallantry. This ambiguity between knight and Germanic hero, established in the description, is continued in his adventures. His abduction of the maiden is prefaced with a courteous greeting that seems intended for contrast. As a military commander he turns out to be ruthless and efficient, but never cruel, and in peace magnanimous; his treatment of the conquered cities’ burghers is firm, but just and reasonable. By contrast, his enemy, King Brunstein is not just completely incompetent but also full of himself. He is made to look 1 Bertelsen, Þiðriks saga , vol. I, pp. 10-11; Haymes, Thidrek’s Saga , p. 7. 2 Bertelsen, Þiðriks saga , vol. II, pp. 112-115; Haymes, Thidrek’s Saga , pp. 151-152. 3 Bertelsen, Þiðriks saga , vol. I, pp. 8-10; Haymes, Thidrek’s Saga , p. 6. 4 Bertelsen, Þiðriks saga , vol. I, p. 8; Haymes, Thidrek’s Saga , p. 6. 2 particularly stupid not just by Samson’s intelligence but also by his niece Hildisvid’s special wisdom and care. 5 The descriptions of Samson’s two sons suggest that Þettmar, the younger, is the one who resembles his father most in terms of character, but his bold demand for patrimony is met with anger. 6 This suggests that Samson, who is a king by right of conquest, a self-made sovereign, is keen to protect his feudal dominion from subversion, the same kind of subversion that made his own ascension possible. Nevertheless, when he manages to conquer a new territory he gives it to Þettmar, in order to endow him outside of Erminrikr’s patrimony. This last conquest shows us Samson as a Beowulf-like king who refuses to abandon military exploits completely even in old age; furthermore, he is contrasted with his sedentary retainers, who love their easy life. 7 He is a traditional hero favoured by fortune who, besides resembling a knight and acting like an ideal feudal sovereign, behaves according to a heroic moral code and whose small excesses on the violent side seem to be left morally uncensored or forgiven by the saga’s author. 5 Bertelsen, Þiðriks saga , vol. I, pp. 12-22; Haymes, Thidrek’s Saga , pp. 7-12. 6 Bertelsen, Þiðriks saga , vol. I, pp. 22-24; Haymes, Thidrek’s Saga , p. 12. 7 Bertelsen, Þiðriks saga , vol. I, pp. 24-26; Haymes, Thidrek’s Saga , pp. 12-13. 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 .