Ritgerð til M.A.-prófs í Viking and Medieval Norse Studies

Trójumanna saga A case of translatio and translation of the Latin culture in

Beatrice Bedogni

Leiðbeinandi: Jan Alexander Van Nahl September 2019

Háskóli Íslands

Hugvísindasvið Viking and Medieval Norse Studies

Trójumanna saga

A case of translatio and translation of the Latin culture in Iceland

Ritgerð til M.A.-prófs í Viking and Medieval Norse Studies Beatrice Bedogni Kt.: 030994-3109

Leiðbeinandi: Jan Alexander Van Nahl September 2019

Útdráttur

Í þessari verður Trójumanna saga greind með tilliti til menningarlegrar aðlögunar milli latneskar menningar og íslenskra bókmennta. Þessi saga var valin vegna þess að hún byggir á eldri verkum, þ.e. Daretis Phrygii De Exicidio Troiae Historia. Íslenski textinn er borinn saman við latneskar heimildir, sem eru textar , Virgil, Ovid og Ilias Latina. Skoðað verður hvernig latnesk menning hefur áhrif á þá íslensku og reynt að sýna fram á hvernig þessir tveir ólíku heimar mætast og mynda nýja menningu, sem er mögulegt að sjá í þýðingarferlinu og í þessum textum, sem setja fram Tróju stefið. Einblínt verður á þýdda textann, hlutverk hans, aðlögun og breytingar frá þeim upprunalega. Einnig mun saga Tróju stefsins og hugmyndin um translatio imperii et studii gegna lykilhlutverkum í greiningunni, því þær eru nátengdar og koma fyrir í mörgum miðalda menningarheimum, ekki einungis á Íslandi. Að auki verður ferli menningarlegrar aðlögunar og Kristnitöku skoðað í smáatriðum, þar sem kirkjan bar latneska menningu til landsins.

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Abstract

This work provides a precise analysis of the Trójumanna saga, which is explored concerning acculturation's phenomenon between the Latin culture and the . This saga has been chosen because it derives from previous sources, that is the Daretis Phrygii De Excidio Troiae Historia. The Icelandic text is compared with the Latin sources, which are the texts of Dares Phrygius, Virgil, Ovid and the Ilias Latina. The essay analyses the influence of the Latin world on the Icelandic culture and it will try to demonstrate how these two different universes collaborate and create a new culture, and this is possible to notice in the process of translation and in these texts, which present the trojan theme. The discussion will focus on the phenomenon of the texts' translation: its role, the changes and the elaborations of the translated texts. Furthermore, the story of the trojan theme during the century and the theme of the idea of translatio imperii et studii hold an essential role in this discussion, because they are strictly linked and they are found in many other medieval cultures, not only in Iceland. Also, the process of acculturation and the Christianization of Iceland will be analysed in detail, because the Church was the vehicle which had transmitted the Latin culture on the island.

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Formáli

At first, I would like to say thanks to professor Lazzari, who have believed in this project and my capacity. To professor Salvaterra, who has permitted me to realize this project. I want to say thanks to professor Jan A. Van Nahl, who helps me in the redaction of this exciting project. I want to say thanks to the University of Bologna for the opportunity to come to Iceland, and to the University of Iceland for the hospitality and the support.

I would like to dedicate this work to my parents who have supported and believed in me in these years. To my best friends Chiara, Monica, Francesca, Beatrice, Sara and Simo, who are always giving me good advice and unconditional love, no matter what. To my friend Camilla, my wings, whose friendship are incredibly precious. To Marianna, who is fundamental for my mental health in this adventure. To Victoria, my German-Icelandic sister, my first roommate and my kitty girls. Thanks to all my old friends. And last but not least to my puffin-friends, Lillo, Chiara and Enri. Thank you all for your inestimable support and love!

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Efnisyfirlit

Introduction ...... 6 1 Translatio Imperii et Studii and the Trojan War ...... 9

1.1. The evolution of the theory of the Translatio Imperii et Studii ...... 9 1.2. The role of the Trojan theme and the Translatio imperii et studii ...... 14 1.3. The medieval construction of a mythical Trojan past during Middle Ages ... 18 1.4. Translation and translatio ...... 20

2 The Icelandic : a construction of a prehistory...... 22

2.1 The process of Acculturation in Iceland ...... 22 2.2 The construction of the origin: the myth of Troy ...... 29

2.2.1 Ari inn Froði Þorgilsson and the Íslendigabók ...... 31 2.2.2 (1179-1241) ...... 33 2.2.3 The Third Grammatical Treatise ...... 40

3. The Hauksbók’s Trójumanna saga ...... 43

3.1 Traditions ...... 44 3.2 The Latin Sources ...... 46

3.2.1. De Excidio Troiae Historia of Dares Phrygius ...... 46 3.2.2. The Ilias Latina ...... 49 3.2.3. Aeneid of Virgil ...... 49 3.2.4. Metamorphoses and Heroides of Ovid ...... 50

3.3. The Hauksbók and Haukr Erlendsson ...... 51 3.4. The version of the Hauksbók's Trójumanna saga ...... 55

3.4.1. “Her hefr Troio manna sogu” ...... 55 3.4.2. "Fra Edelon" ...... 66 3.4.3. "Fra Erkules" ...... 71 3.4.4. “Er Troo var eflð annan tima” ...... 72 3.4.5. “Fra hefred til Troio” ...... 75 3.4.6. “Svikin Trója” ...... 83

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Conclusions ...... 87 Heimildaskrá ...... 91

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Introduction The Trojan War is a timeless event floating in a timeless world1

Between the 12th and 14th centuries, in Iceland, the production of many manuscripts of European translated text became very consistent. One of these cases is the Trójumanna Saga: that is the re-elaboration in Old Icelandic of the Latin text of the Dares Phrygius’ De Excidio Troiae Historia. This case is fascinating and curious because the two versions are not only geographically distant, but they are also far away in time. The Latin text was probably written in the 1st century A.D., while the Icelandic one in the 14th century. It is peculiar that a text of this genre, which talks about an ancient theme distant from the Norse , was translated and used in this context. This attestation is crucial to demonstrate the vitality of the Trojan theme and the intensive contacts between the European kingdoms in time and space. This re-use of the Trojan theme during all the Middle Ages and later is not atypical. In many European kingdoms, it is possible to find the elaboration of a Trojan mythical past and the consequent diaspora of the citizens after the city’s fall. The question is, why did they do this? Also, how did they construct this image? The Icelandic case is more peculiar than the others because Iceland did not have any direct relationship with the Trojan world or with the Roman’s. It is essential to analyse this particular case. I have chosen the Trójumanna saga’s version of the Hauksbók manuscript, because the writer, Haukr, is known, so the context in which this version was written. Moreover, a comparison between this and its Latin sources is relevant to understand the Icelandic élite’s “world of view”2 and its acknowledgement. Because of the comparison, I have found out which sources are known in Iceland and at that time. I have underlined the changes and the similarity between them. The most interesting note is the capacity of Haukr to mix the text to make a peculiar version of the saga, as I describe in chapter 3. This single case could permit to understand how the Icelanders interpreted the continental literature and culture, and how they used these sources. Furthermore, the choice of the Trojan theme is linked to the theme of the idea of Translatio imperii et studii. This theme is prominent in the Middle Ages and

1 Finley, The World of , 1978 2 Sverrir 2007

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before: it is attested in many cultures and in a very different time and kingdoms. Why are the Trojan matter and the Translatio theme linked together? Because Troy represents the original land of many European kingdoms and Empire, like the Roman one. Under this point of view, it is possible to underline the idea of a sort of movement of power (imperium) and culture (studii) from the Eastern world to the Western one. The structure of the thesis is finalised to understand the general context of the translatio’s theme, which is analysed in chapter 1. I explain the theme and its evolution in time, and how the translatio’s idea is linked to the Trojan theme. A brief mention about the Trojan war’s story and its heroes from to the Middle Ages is essential to underline how this story changes in scope and narration, and how this theme was used in different times and cultures. It is crucial to present these general themes because they are necessary to understand the evolution of this theme and why it is so prominent in and Iceland. Even if this last one is not directly linked with the Latin-Roman culture and history, it is strongly connected to Medieval Europe, because of the voyages of the students, the erudite ones and the Church. After this general chapter, the second one is more specific, and it analyses the Icelandic process of acculturation. So, Chapter 2 analyses the role of the Christianisation of Iceland, which was huge in this process. Because of that, the Icelandic literature evolved on the island. Because of the theme’s complexity, this chapter is divided into two great subchapters: the first presents the process of acculturation and Christianization of Iceland, while the second analyses the construction of the myth of the Trojan origin in Iceland and its link to the historiographical genre. In particular, I explain why they chose the Trojan theme as a myth of the origins, and how they re-elaborated it. To do that, I briefly analyse the texts in which is possible to find the Trojan theme: the Íslendigabók of Ari Frodi, the Snorra Edda and the Heimskringla of Snorri, and at last the Third Grammatical treatise. In this way, it is possible to notice how they used the Trojan theme to include themselves in the world history. These two chapters are the necessary introduction to the real analysis of the Trójumanna saga, which is the main topic of Chapter 3. Because the complexity of the theme, this chapter is divided into four great subchapters. In the first one, I talk about the analysis of the saga in general and the different versions. The second subchapter presents the analysis of the saga’s Latin Sources and their fortune and their interpretation in the Middle Ages. In the third subchapter, the description of the manuscript and the author of the Hauksbók is explained. All of this explenations is essential to understand the context of the text. The real core of the thesis is the last subchapter, in which I describe the comparison between

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the Old Icelandic Trójumanna saga and the Latin Sources (Dare’s text, the Metamorphoses and the Heroides of Ovid, the Ilias Latina and the Aeneid of Virgil) chapter by chapter. In this way, it will be possible to see how the author changed the story and what he decided to translate and what not, what he added or which other sources he used.

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1 Translatio Imperii et Studii and the Trojan War

1.1.The evolution of the theory of the Translatio Imperii et Studii

Translatio imperii is an expression of the medieval historiography which refers to the transmission of the Imperium (the political power) from the East to the West. The pinnacle of this theorization was achieved in the 12th century, during the war between Frederick I Barbarossa and the Italian communes. In particular, this necessity is the result of the war between Swabian Emperors and the Pope over the control of the Empire's power. Frederick I refuted that the Pope and Rome should be over him because the emperor had obtained his power from his ancestors, who had conquered the govern over the Empire. Because of that, the imperial propaganda created the idea of a direct power's movement from Rome itself to the Swabians, using the image of the Romans as Swabians' ancestors. Sverre Bagge, when he talks about this ideology's construction, assumes: “Frederick’s reference to ancient Rome develop further the idea of the restoration of the Empire as described in Book 1: Fredrick’s effort in this matter is not only comparable to the situation before the Investiture Contest but also to the ancient Roman Empire. This Empire has not been destroyed but moved. The Germans are now the heirs of the ancient Romans, while the people of contemporary Rome are wrong in believing that they have any connection with ancient Rome. The central Roman institutions, the consuls, the Senate, the equestrian , and the arrangement of the Roman camp, are all to be found in German” 3 The complete construction and apex of this translatio’s ideology are expressed perfectly by bishop Otto of Freising4, the uncle of the emperor, in fact, he claimed in his Ottonis Episcopi Frisingensis Chronica, 8: Et notandum quod omnis humana potentia seu scientia ad Oriente cepit et in Occidente terminatur, ut per hoc rerum volubilitas ac defectus ostendatur5. However, Otto of Frisinga was not the first nor the last to write about that. In fact, this is a very ancient theme, and one of the first evidences of this idea on translatio is found in the Book of Daniel, which is dated around 168/165 BC. The focus is on the interpretation

3 Bagge, 2002, pp. 368-369. 4 He is a medieval chronicler and historian. He is the uncle of the emperor Frederick I Barbarossa. 5 “It should be noted that the human power, or rather the knowledge, takes from the East and end in the West so that through these things volubility and weakness are made known”

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of two dreams narrated in the text: the first about Nebuchadnezzar’s reign and the statue of different materials (Dan. 2.1-45)6; the second one about Daniel himself and the 4 beasts coming out the sea (Dan, 7.1-28)7. Both these dreams are interpreted as the transmission of power of the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar, from the Babylonians, passing to the Persians and to the Greek-Macedonians, eventually arriving to the Romans. The Roman Empire represents the conclusion of this translatio of power (imperium). This interpretation was the same reading given by Gerolamo and Augustine. Rome and its Empire seemed endless and without comparison, the strongest and the most important of all the kingdoms. The imagine offers by Daniel's dreams could seem pessimistic: the succession of the kingdoms goes from the ancient age of gold to an age of iron, which is read as the representation of the Roman age. However, Gerolamo lived during the last part of the Roman Empire, the IV century AD: because of that, the theologist could not consider that the Empire was a period of decline. To explain Daniel's dreams linking it to the era in which he lived, Gerolamo assumed that: the "iron age" is represented by the Roman Empire, but this reign, is not a declined one, but it is the most powerful because it embraces all the previous8. Because Rome, the Christianism had converted many people. This was possible because the Empire had assumed the control and the power of the previous kingdoms. The idea of politics and philosophic universalism is already present in the roman world before the advent of the Christianism. Fenzi assumed “all’interno del mondo romano e

6 “there was a great statue. This statue was huge, its brilliance extraordinary; it was standing before you, and its appearance was frightening. The head of that statue was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron and clay and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay the bronze, the silver and the gold, were all broken in pieces and became like the chaff of the summer floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth”. (Dan. 2,31) 7 “I saw in my vision by night the four winds of heaven stirrings up the great sea, and four great beasts came up of the sea, different from one another. The first was like a lion and had eagles’ wings. Then, as I watched, its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a human being; and human mind was given to it. another beast appeared, a second on that look like a bear. It was raised up on one side, had three tusks in its mouth among its teeth and was told, “Arise, devour many bodies!” after this, as I watched, another appeared, like a leopard. The beast had four wings of a bird on its back and four heads; and dominion was given to it. after this I saw in the vision by night a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth and was devouring, breaking in pieces and stamping what was left with its teeth. It was different from all the beasts that preceded it, and it had ten horns (…)” (Dan. 7,1) 8 See Enrico Fenzi, 2015, p. 173. Furthermore, there is an interesting article of Inglebert in which he explained the point of view of the Christian author about the reason of the existence of the Roman Empire (Inglebert January-March 1995)

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del suo universalismo tanto politico quanto filosofico già vive l’essenziale e per vari aspetti dirompente novità per cui quel legame tra potere e sapere è in verità strettissimo, e propriamente di consustanzialità.”9. The “virtus” is the key to the surviving of Rome’s power10, and many Latin texts say that. Also, the significant role of the mores in Roman History is strictly linked to the idea of translationes of studii. During the Roman Republic’s age, in particular after the conquest of Greece, this idea of translatio of power and culture was really firm and present. Sallust, Virgil and others author11 praised and created the idea of this great translatio of the knowledge from Greece to Rome, which remains popular during all the Middle Ages and in the Modern Age too. In fact, in the Roman culture, the notion of the translatio Studii was literally the transmission of a culture from a kingdom to another, in particular from the Eastern world to the Western, as Cicero himself said in Tuscolanae 4,2: “Hoc autem loco consideranti mihi studia doctrinae multa sane occurrunt, cur ea quoque arcessita aliunde neque solum expetita, sed etiam conservata et culta videantur”12 Cicero explains the appropriation of other knowledge from other cultures, but he adds that it is not enough, because it is necessary to protect them and to make them more excellent. To explain this idea in De Oratore, 3.131, Cicero claimed that the Greeks had not been able to protect their own culture, and because of that, the Roman could conquest them and their culture, making this transmission possible and essential because: “nati in litteris, ardentes iis studiis, otio vero diffluentes, non modo nihil adquisierint, sed ne relictum quidem et traditum et suum conservarunt”13

9 Everything within the Roman world and its political as well as philosophical universalism already lives the essential and, for various disruptive expectations, novelties for which that link between power and knowledge is indeed very close, and properly of consubstantiality. "(Fenzi, 2015, p. 176) 10 About the key of the survival of the power of Rome in the point of view of the authors of the Republican period a good reading could be the article of Inglebert, whom I have named in the previous note. Furthermore, the idea of Polybius about the excellence of the mixed composition of the government of the Republican Rome is interesting. 11 About the theorisation of the translatio imperii in Virgil, I will say later. Furthermore, about the other Latin authors, I suggest the essay of Fenzi (Fenzi 01 July 2015, Issue 1). 12 “To me who I consider here, many studies of science certainly come to mind, so it seems to me that they have also been taken from elsewhere and not only sought after but also preserved and cultivated.” 13 Cicero, De Orator, 3.131 “While those, born in a country rich in culture, full of passion for these studies, and moreover very free from pledges, not only did not increase the cultural heritage of their nation, but were not even able to preserve the existing one”

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The story of this notion continues and evolves after the fall of the Roman Empire. It changed during the Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages because the erudite ones had to come to terms with the end of the Roman Empire. One example of this is still linked to the interpretation of the dreams of the book of Daniel. Isidore of Seville presented the usual interpretation which I have described before, and he still identified the last beast of Daniel’s dream with the Roman Empire, but this should not the point of arrival. “Cette représentationd’une humanité une par l’origine, promais éclaté en gentes, laisse reconnaître l’influence du moment où Isidore écrit, et, plus précisément, on y retrouve l’écho des conceptions de Grégoire le Grand. Ce dernier est en effet le témoin privilégié de la faillite de l’universalisme imperial et de la reconaissance des regna qui trouvent droit de cité dans un nouvel ordre du monde où l’Église se substitue à l’Empire comme principe d’universalité et d’unité;”14. So, Isidore created a new ideological reference: he made the Roman Empire the exemplar model to follow, to ensure greatness to the ruler and freedom and peace to the people. This idea is identified as the theory of the imitatio imperi, as it possible to read in the essay of Enrico Fenzi of 2015 on the evolution of the idea of Translatio imperii et studii in time: “Isidoro, che produce un’interpretazione originale di Dan. 7. Anch’egli, sulla traccia di Gerolamo, identifica la quarta bestia con l’impero romano, ma contemporaneamente fa i conti con la sua avvenuta dissoluzione, ricavandone che ad esso si deve la civilizzazione universale e che, seppure politicamente scomparso, resta l’unico supremo modello di riferimento: così, i regni particolari (quello visigotico sarebbe uno dei dieci corni della bestia di Daniele) sarebbero vincolati a una sorta di imitatio imperii che dovrebbe garantire la libertà delle genti non più sottomesse.”15

14 “This representation of a humanity one by the origin,but broken into gentes, lets us recognize the influence of the moment when Isidore writes, and, more precisely, we find there the echo of the conceptions of Gregory the Great. The latter is indeed the privileged witness of the bankruptcy of imperial universalism and the recognition of regna who find their right to the city in a new world order in which the Church replaces the Empire as a principle of universality and unity” (Reydellet, 1986, pp. 342) 15 “Isidore, who produces an original interpretation of Dan. 7. Following Jerome, he, too, identifies the fourth beast with the Roman empire, but at the same time he comes to terms with its dissolution, deducing that the universal civilization owes to it and that, although politically disappeared, remains the only supreme reference model: so, the particular kingdoms (the Visigothic one would be one of the ten horns of Daniel's beast) would be bound to a sort of imitatio imperii that should guarantee the freedom of people no longer submissive” (Fenzi, 2015, p. 174)

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After the end of a significant period of changes and wars, the affirmation of the Franks as the Empire’s heir represents a new step of this evolution16. The evolution of this notion continued and found new life and strength in the Carolingian Renaissance and in particular with Alcuin17. The role of the erudite is vital: he inspired the scholastic organization of the Empire, he was the teacher of two generations of Franks, and he helped to develop the Carolingian Renaissance. His teaching was based on the study of the Latin texts. So, the Reign of Charlemagne and the set of the Scolae Palatina represent an epochal moment: “ proprio perché siamo dinanzi a un salto epocale e un nuovo regno s’inaugura, è finalmente possibile porre il tema della translatio, fino a quel momento inconcepibile perché l’epoca precedente, nella quale gli studi sono stati dimenticati, non è altro che la lunga appendice di quel crollo: è quel crollo.”18. In fact, in the introduction of the Gesta Karoli, Aeginard, a Frank chronicler, theorized a continuation of this translatio, which was found in the coronation of Charlemagne. This event represented the pinnacle of the rebirth of the culture. Moreover, Alcuin assumed that the Frankish kingdom was a new Athens, as it possible to read: “si, plurimis inclitum vestrae intentionis studium sequentibus, forsan Athenae nova perficeretur in Francia, immo multo excellentior” (Ep. 170: “Alcuini Epistolae” 279)19. So, Gilson is right, when he assumes:

16 A good reading about the evolution of the Frankish history and kingdom is the second volume of the New Cambridge Medieval History (700-900) edited by Rosamond Mckitterick (Mckitterik 2008) 17 About the role and the figure of Alcuin, an interesting reading is the essay of Leonardi, “Alcuino e la scuola palatina: le ambizioni di una cultura unitaria” (Leonardi 1981). In this essay, the scholar describes the role of the erudite at the court of Charlemagne. 18 “Precisely because we are faced with an epochal leap and a new kingdom is inaugurated, it is finally possible to put the theme of the translatio, which until then was inconceivable because the previous epoch, in which the studies were forgotten, is nothing but the long appendix of that collapse: it is that collapse.” (Fenzi 01 July 2015, Issue 1, 186 19 “If to more following the eminent inclination of your intention, maybe the new Athens could be done in France, rather more excellent”.

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“c’est donc que la science grecque, transmise jadis par la Grèce à Rome, a désormais été transmise par Rome à la France. À mesure que l’importance de augmente, c’est naturellement Paris qui prend la place d’Athènes”20. This idea of “Paris as new Athens” would not stop after the end of the Carolingians, but it became a model for other cultural and power’s centre. Marek Thue Kretschmer in an article about the notion of Translatio studii21, with particular attention about France as new Greece, assumes that it is a typical image of the Renaissance of the 12th century. Furthermore, this idea of new Athens would be recovered by the Universities, as Paris and Oxford, because Ancient Greece and in particular Athens were considered as the symbol of the origin of the philosophy and literature. However, this is not the only reference to this theme during the Middle Ages. Concerning the Frankish world, during the Merovingian era, a peculiar tradition, which narrated the trojan origin of the Franks, is attested. This theme is strictly linked to the construction of the mythological past, which usually was set in Troy. It is possible to say that the two themes of this essay here meet each other. The Trojan theme’s presence is found in many cultures and traditions, from Ancient Greece to the Iceland of the 14th century.

1.2.The role of the Trojan theme and the Translatio imperii et studii

As it is possible to understand, the story of the fall of Troy is a sort of the root of our literature and our identity: it looks like everything starts with a blind poet in the 12th century BC in Greece, around three thousand years ago. After this moment, the story of Troy and its destruction will be famous and popular, and it will have a really long life22. It is essential to underline that the war between the Greeks and Trojans is the core of the Trojan cycle. These events happened during the Mycenaean era, around the 12th century

20 “It is therefore that Greek science, transmitted by Greece to Rome, has now been transmitted by Rome to France. As the importance of Paris increases, Paris naturally takes the place of Athens” (Gilson, 1955, p. 183) 21 Kretschmer, December 2011. “Le concept de translatio implique un mouvement de savoir qui passe de l'Antiquité gréco-romaine à la France du Moyen Age, souvent représenté comme un passage d'Athènes à Rome, puis de Rome à Paris. C'est de là que vient la dénomination habituelle de Paris comme une nouvelle Athènes.”(p.1106) (The concept of translatio implies a movement of knowledge that passes from Greco-Roman antiquity to medieval France, often represented as a passage from Athens to Rome, then from Rome to Paris. This is where the common of Paris comes from as a new Athens.) 22 Martin L. West (M. L. West 2001) has written a very peculiar analysis of the traditions of the Homeric texts.

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BC. The destruction of the city named Troy, also known as , happened during the 12th century BC. In 1870, Heinrich Schliemann discovered the remains of the reconstructions of nine cities, on the hills of Hissarlik, in the north of Anatoly. In the 19th century, the archaeologist Blegen was able to reorder the stratification of these remains: he identified the Homeric Ilium in the first phase of the VII stratum (VIIa). This stratum presents the marks of a violent destruction and signs of arsons. Nowadays, the archaeological research is trying to identify the stratums better, as some do not correspond perfectly with the legends’ information. It is safe to affirm that what the poems say is the historical truth. At the same time during this age, the ἀοιδοι23, the poets, composed songs about this war, as always, and this is how the Trojan tradition started to be narrated. The scholars believe that these legends and mythical stories were transmitted in oral form for four centuries before obtaining a writing redaction. The oral poetry is very conservative, so these legends were transmitted with their technique of composition and performing, which is based on fixed scenes and on a formulary structure. The complete first redaction is attributed to Homer24, a mythical poet that lived around the 8th or 7th century BC. He is the composer of the and . Only the first poem, the Iliad, directly refers to the Trojan war. In fact, in this story, we find the Achaeans who set up a camp outside Troy’s wall. The Iliad was created from a mindful work of synthesis of all trojan material. Furthermore, this poem has an original structure, which made these poems the most famous epic poems of all times, and because of that, they are considered the beginning of European literature. Homer was the first great author, and he made an epochal venture because he reunited the different mythological traditions about the Trojan cycle, and he tried to give them unity. These poems are so famous that only after two centuries Pisistratus tried to commission the first unitary version of them, which is attested by Plato, in Hipparchus, and Cicero, in De Oratore. Furthermore, all the Greek polis wanted to have one copy of the Iliad and Odyssey. Moreover, these texts were considered scholarly since the 5th century BC. The production of written texts was not conventional because of its high costs. At this time, only the masterpieces, which were considered the most important ones, were written down. This copying did not happen in order to allow private

23 It is a professional cantor, a poet, and often a composer of epic poems. He sang the poems playing the zither during feast or banquets. 24 The question about the real existence of Homer as a historical figure is still debated (West 2011). It is not the main topics of the present essay, so I do not enter in this question, but I believe essential to underline this fact.

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reading, but rather to preserve it over time. So, if it was decided to create a written redaction of these texts, it is because they were very significant at that time. Nevertheless, during the 6th and the 5th centuries BC every polis wanted to have one copy of the two Homeric poems. It is possible to understand the importance of the work of Homer because, after him, every author of Ancient Greece took inspiration from his work. One famous example is the Argonautica of Apollonius of Rhodes, who took inspiration from the material and the of the epic poem. In particular, during the war between the Greeks and the Persians, the two Homeric poems became important, probably because the war between Trojan and Achaean seemed to remember the present conflicts and they wanted to glorify the noble roots of the Greeks. One example is the historian Herodotus, who used Homer as a source for the redaction of his Histories25. In facts, he quoted Helen’s kidnapping as one of the first reason for the war between the Persians and the Greeks. In the Hellenic age, some written editions have been discovered for private reading. In fact, at this time, the complete analysis of these texts and the complete editions are found and attested. Many grammaticus26 at this time were employed at the great library of Alexandria of Egypt, where they worked on the edition and studies of many classical texts: two of these were the Homeric poems. In particular, Zenodotus of Ephesus made the poem’s division in the twenty-fourth book. He “is described in the Suda as having been the first ‘corrector’ of Homer”27. Aristophanes of Byzantium and Aristarchus of Samothraki also worked on the edition of these texts. Because of their editions, around 150 B.C., all the manuscript of Iliad and Odyssey had the same number of verses, but this does not allow to define it as a canonical text. Different editions are found with differences from the original text. The life of this theme continues during the Roman age, with very particular attention during the I century A.D. And this is very interesting. The Roman world came in contact with Greece during the 2nd century B.C. The conquest started in the 146 BC with the destruction of Corinth, and it ended with the transformation of Greece in a Roman Province in 27 BC. In this period, many of the aristocratic classes came in contact with Greek traditions and culture. Also, in these years that the Scipio’s circle was created. This

25 Herodotus is the first historian. He composed the Histories in the 5th century BC. This text talks about the war between the Persians and the Greeks. 26 Today we can call them philologist 27 M. L. West 2001, 33

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circle was linked to the Greek culture, and they started to study these traditions. This is the same period in which Cicero claimed his theory about the conquest of the Greek culture. However, the most crucial step in the Trojan theme’s story is linked with the ascension to power of the Gens Claudia. The significant recovery of the Trojan theme happened because of Vergil ad his Aeneid. In fact, during the government of Octavian Augustus, the passage from the Repubblica to the Empire started, and in periods of significant political changes, the leaders felt the necessity to find legitimations to their power and to create consensus28. This happened at this time: the Maecenas’ circle created many literary works to glorify the history of Rome and to legitimize the government of August and his . One of these masterpieces is the Aeneid of Vergil. In this epic poem, the story of Rome’s past and the future Empire’s prophecy are narrated, as well as the celebration of the Octavian’s gens. This is a sort of representation of the idea of the translation imperii, because the Aeneid narrates how ran away from Troy. Aeneas did it, and he permitted the transmission of the power of Troy to Rome. Furthermore, another link between the two cities was represented by the Palladium, which was the statue of the goddess . Servius, in his commentary to the Aeneid29, tells us that: the Palladium arrived in Rome with Aeneas. This statue was collected in the temple of Vesta in Rome, as one of the Pignora Imperii, which were guarantees of the perpetual domain of Rome. So, it is possible to notice the weight of this mythical derivation. Also, it is essential to underline the idea of the primacy of the Trojan element on the Greek one. In fact, from this time, when it is necessary to create a mythical past, the focus will be on the Trojan heritage and not on the Greek one. While Herodotus and the other Greek authors used the story of the war of Troy to glorify their glorious past during the conflicts with the Persian, the Roman wanted to find a new origin avoiding the Greeks. In particular, in the 1st century AD, other relevant texts narrated the myth of Troy, and two are originally Greek, the Ephimeris of Dyttis Cretesis and the De Excidio Troiae Historia of Dares Phrygius30. Only the second one, the Dares’ text, had more fortune during the Middle Ages, because Dares and his text were considered pro-trojans and because the author was considered a Trojan himself, while Dyttis and his text were considered pro-

28 I refer to the book “The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Augustus” edited by Galinsky (Galinsky 2005) to have an overview of the period and the figure of August. 29 The Aeneid does not report the episode of the Palladium’s recovery by Aeneas. It was on Servius in his commentary to the Virgilian opera to refer this. To understand better the question, I refer to the essay of Lagioia Alessandro (Lagioia 2006). 30 The analysis of this text is in chapter 3.

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Greeks, because of that he had more fortune in the Byzantine world. However, both texts were the primary sources on the Trojan war during the Middle Ages, even if Virgil was the crucial base for the Trojan theme’s permanence in Middle Ages: “Virgil’s Aeneid, which seamlessly grafts the founding of Rome onto the fall of Troy, helped establish the cultural capital of the Trojan War for the Latin West, although the notion of a Trojan foundation for Rome pre-dates Virgil by several centuries.”31

1.3.The medieval construction of a mythical Trojan past during Middle Ages

At this point, the line of the translatio imperii et studi meets the Trojan theme’s line. “L’idea di translatio corre ora entro i diversi ‘miti di fondazione’ che cercano nella diaspora troiana le origini dei regni d’Inghilterra e di Francia”32. During the Merovingian era, three texts narrated the legend of an original derivation from Troy and Aeneas of the Frankish kingdom: these texts are the Chronicle of Fredegar and the Liber Historiae Francorum. “The story, stripped of its variants, tells us that the Franks were once Trojans who lived for a while near the sea of Azov and then in the lands of the lower Danube before coming to the Lower Rhine where, through conflict with the Romans, they forced their way into Gaul”33. The first text is written during the 7th century, and the author is unknown. The Chronicle narrated the events of the world from the creation to the 642 AD. In this text, also the genealogy of the Merovingian kings is narrated, and the author told that they descended from Troy, in particular from , who was their first king. Furthermore, he said that after the fall of the city, the Trojans were divided into two groups, the first became Macedonians, from who Alexander the Great descended. Ulysses’ treachery forced the other group to travel through many regions, and because of that, they chose Francio as a king. After many adventures, they arrived and settled between the Rhine, the Danube and the sea. This episode is the beginning of the Frankish settlement. It also narrated the conflict between the Romans and the alliance with the Saxons. Moreover, the anonymous author tells about a third group: the Turks. He also added the derivation of the Roman from Troy, from the same Family of the Phrygians. The Historia was written around 792

31 Desmond 2016, 251 32 “the idea of translatio now runs within the different "Foundation myths", which seek the origins of the Trojan diaspora in the kingdom of England and France” (Fenzi 01 July 2015, Issue 1, 193) 33 Gerbeding 1987, 13

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and, as for the Chronicle, we do not know who the author is. In this text, the origins and the deeds of the Neustrian Franci and their Merovingian kings are narrated. In the first chapter, the destruction of Troy by Ulysses’ treachery and the escaping of king Aeneas in Italy are narrated. Priam and , with the rest of the Trojans, arrived in Pannonians, and there they built a great city, which is called Sicambria, and there they lived for many years and grew into a great people. In chapter 2 it is possible to read the definition of this people as Franks: it is said that the emperor Valentinian called them Franks, “which means ‘wild’ in the Attic Language because of the hardness and bravery of their hearts” (Gerberding, 1987, p. 173). I assume that this is a sort of construction of the origin of the Frankish people. This happens again after the fall of the Carolingian Empire. One example of that is offered by Goffredo of Viterbo, who celebrated Charlemagne as a restorer of Rome and claimed him as the point of conjunction of the two lines of the Trojan bloodline: the western and German line from Priam thanks to his father Pippin; and the Romans from his mother Berta34. Furthermore Benoît de Sainte- Maure narrated the legend of the Trojan origins of the Duke of Normandy in his Chronique des ducs de Normandie around 1175 on request of the king Henry II Plantagenet (1133-1189), and he was also the author of the Roman de Troie, in which he retold in poetry the events of the Dares text. These are only a few examples of this tradition in France but among the most exemplar and essential. The same link between translatio imperii et studii and Troy is found in the British literature too, in the Matter of Britain. “While the Anglo-Saxon elite self-consciously rejected Trojan ancestry and categorized the matter of Troy as fictional, the ninth-century Latin chronicle composed in Wales—Nennius’ Historia Britonum—invokes Brutus, son of Ascanius and grandson of Aeneas, as the founder of Britain.”35 Also, the Historia Regum Britanniae, written by Geoffrey of Monmouth in the 12th century, is a famous example. This text is particularly famous for the story of King Arthur, but the author wanted to explain the origins of the kingdom, and he did the same as the other did for the Franks, in fact, “according to the ninth-century anonymous Historia Brittorum, the eponymous founder of Britain was Brutus, the great-grandson of

34 “Gotifredi Viterbiensis opera:” Speculum regum 1.684–90 e 2.1450–52; Pantheon, Particula 23.11–13; Memoria Seculorum 95 35 Desmond 2016, 252

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Aeneas”36. Geoffrey took inspiration by this tradition about Brutus, and made a prophecy for him, as there was one for Aeneas. So, in the first book of the Historia it is possible to read: “Brutus, to the west, beyond the kingdom of the Gaul lies an island of the ocean, surrounded by the sea; an island of the ocean where giants once lived, but now it is deserted and waiting for your people. Sail to it, it will be your home for ever. It will furnish your children with a new Troy. from your descendants will arise kings, who will be masters of the whole world” (HRB book 1; Reeve and Wright 2007, 20). The story goes on with Brutus’ arrival with the other Trojans in Britain, on the island of Albion, after a series of adventures. Here, on the bank of the Thames, he built the city of Trinovatum, “the New Troy”. This text is significant for Trójumanna saga’s history and the use of the Myth of Troy in Iceland. After the redaction of the Historia Regum Britanniae, many other writers translated this story in their language, and one example is the case of the Romain de Brut written in French by Wace, a Norman cleric of Caen in 1155, while Britain and Normandy had the same ruler. Furthermore, there is another essential translation of this text: the Old Icelandic Breta Sögur. This saga tells about Arthur’s kingdom and his ancestors and, in particular, it tells about the conquest of Iceland by Arthur, as it is also said in the original Latin text. This text demonstrates the importance of this legend for Iceland’s history and, under this point of view, it is possible to understand why the Icelanders translated this text. It is also important to underline this fact: the Breta sögur is strictly linked with the Trójumanna saga, which is the focus of this essay. These two sagas are usually presented together, as a sort of duo in which the Trojumanna saga is a sort of prologue about the reason of the migration of the Trojans, while the Breta sögur tells about the migration37.

1.4.Translation and translatio

Both these two sagas are examples of translatio from Latin to vernacular. This phenomenon is really fascinating and essential for this field of study.

36 Fulton 2009, 48 37 See Würth 2006

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“The foreign literature conventions did not replace existing forms, but rather served as the impetus for the enrichment of the native literary language and of its poetic and thematic representation” (Sif Rikhardsdottir, 2012, p. 1). The translation is never neutral, but it could be the base for cultural formation’s process, and it is useful to understand what developments represent the meeting point of two different cultures. Copeland38 assumes that the translation not only reshapes a text, but it is also an appropriation of the literary authorship. Furthermore, she claims that the translation is strictly linked to the rhetoric and the hermeneutics. As we will see for the case of the Trójumanna saga, the translation is not made word by word, but the author made some changes for his audience. “In a manuscript culture to translate means also to turning of a prior text into something more completely itself, or something more than what it literally is”39. One reason could be the difficulty to explain a concept written in Latin in his language; other many reasons, cultural, political, or social also could explain the changes. I believe that the key to understanding the changes is to analyse the context and public of the text. The specific case of Medieval Iceland and its construction of the myth of the origins followed the same way of the other European lands. In particular, this link is created by the compelling case of the translations of Latin texts, as is the case of the Dares’ De Excidio Troiae Historiae and the Old Icelandic Trójumanna saga. How did the Latin culture and the Icelandic one come to be in touch? Also, how did this meeting evolve with time? Moreover, how was the theme of the Trojan origin built? These are the questions I will try to answer in the following chapter.

38 Copeland 1995 39 Burns 1980, 125

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2 The Icelandic Troy: a construction of a prehistory

2.1 The process of Acculturation in Iceland

During the Middle Ages, the story of Troy and its descendants was strongly vibrant, and its tradition was huge. We can find this theme in very different literary genres, from the historical one to the chivalric poems. In many lands, Troy itself represented an originating land where their ancestors lived, as the case of the Franks and the Liber Francorum or for the Brits and the Historia Regum Britanniae. Moreover, both these countries were both in direct contact with the Roman Empire, and in particular, the Frankish Kingdom was considered the legitimate heir of the Roman Empire with the coronation of Charlemagne in 800 A.D., December 25th. We could not say the same for Iceland, because it is a very young settlement and, because of that, this island has no direct contact with the Roman Empire. The settlers’ arrival on the island is attested around 870, and they came from the mainland Scandinavia and the previous settlements in the British Isles. However, contacts between the people of the mainland and the Latin-Roman culture are attested. During the last part of the Empire, the Romans themselves met the German people, which had the same culture as the Scandinavians, and Tacitus, in particular, wrote about the Germans in De Germania. More important and direct encounters with the Roman culture are attested during the Late Antiquity and the first part of the Middle Ages. For example, by the bersekers’ presence at the court of the Emperor of Constantinople, or by some Frankish documents which attested the presence of one legation to the court of Charlemagne; and last but not least, the acquisition of Normandy by Duke Rollo in 911 AD. In particular, for the story of Iceland, an important step was the raids on the English territory, from the first attack to the Lindisfarne’s monastery at 793 and the following settlements on England. All these facts demonstrate the presence of contacts between the Christian-Latin world and the Norse population, but, despite this, the first settlers of Iceland were still linked to the old traditions of the mainland Scandinavia and, in particular, to the old pagan religion40. The conversion is the key to the process of acculturation, which brings to the production of the Icelandic literature. Icelanders met the Christian religion, and, as a

40 “The Icelanders must have known something about Christianity since the beginning of their story. A considerable number of the settlers had been baptized before they came to Iceland, and had lived among Christians in the British Isles. Their descendant lapsed into paganism, and there were none but pagans in Iceland for about a hundreds years”. (Turville, 1953, p. 48)

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consequence, the Latin-Christian culture, since the end of the 10th century and the beginning of the 11th century41. The official conversion of the country took place during the Alþing between 999 and 1000, due to the will of king Óláfr Tryggvason, as also happened in . In Iceland, the acceptance of the new religion was not violent. The official assumption of the new religion was discussed during the Þing as all the other dispute: in fact, the lawman, Þorgeirr Þorkelsson, proposed the case, which was accepted, so all people should become Christians, even if the old laws permitted to make sacrifices to the ancient gods or to eat the horse’s meat. Only a few years later, these ancient practices were prohibited with other heathen customs. So, the conversion was not an act of faith, but a pacific political act, because of that, the process of full acceptance of the new religion was long. The idea of a long period of conversion is typical of the Christianism in general. Orri Vésteinsson assumes that the conversion was only a political decision. The scholar does not believe that long Icelandic acquaints to the Christianism is real, because “this explanation is contradicted by the archaeological evidence which suggests that in the tenth century burial practices at least were thoroughly heathen.”42 Moreover, the settlements nature and its language made the process longer. At that time, Iceland had a very small population that was dispersed all around the island. So, it was necessary to have a few selected priests who were able to move around the country. Also, these priests had to have an education suitable for the diffusion of the Christian word. So, the Church and the clergy had to accept the fact that the preaching of the Christianism should be in vernacular and not in Latin because the common people did not understand it. So, after Christianism’s affirmation, the first step was to educate the clergy. The same happened in the other . The interest of the Roman Church for the new part of Christianity was important and attested. During the centuries, and in particular during the 11th and the 12th century, the relation with the Roman Church and the Nordic countries were quite important. In 1079 pope Gregory VII asked the king to send to the Curia the highborn Danish young ones to be educated in the “divine laws”. While in Iceland, only the Mosfell family was able to understand the importance of the education of the clergy. From the establishment of the Christianism in Iceland, this family had a significant role inside the ecclesiastical institution. One of its members, Ísleifr, in 1056 became the first bishop of Iceland (1056-180). Before his consecration, he had

41 On the history of conversion, see GrØnliw 2017, Vésteinsson 2000, Winroth 2012 42 (Vésteinsson 2000, 19)

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studied at Herford in Saxony and so his son Gizurr, who was also bishop (1082-1118) after his father. During the bishopric of this last one, the country was divided into two sees, Skálholt and Hólar, of which the first bishop was Jón Ǫgmundarson, who built the first cathedral, and also the first cathedral-school. However, he did more: he brought two foreign tutors as teachers when he came back from his consecration journey. A contemporary of him was Sæmundr Sigfússon of Oddi, and he was also educated abroad, in France. These examples demonstrate that the Icelanders needed to be educated about the Latin and Christian texts and traditions abroad because they did not have the necessary knowledge and preparation. Thanks to the works of these prominent figures, a clerical education could also be offered in Iceland. At that time the most important centres of culture were the episcopal sees of Skálholt and Hólar, but also the farms of Oddi and Haukadalur. The culture became a sign of power. So, the sons of the chieftains began to study the Latin texts, which the Icelandic clergy was able to teach. No king ruled over Iceland, so the power was in the hand of a very powerful aristocracy, which understood from the beginning the importance of the clergy. Now the aristocrats tried to control not only the role of chieftains but also the high position of the clergy. Because of that, these private financed both the cultural centre and trips to study abroad. Many chieftains and good men, as Ari himself said, sent their children to these centres of culture, because they understood the importance of having a good education, and to be linked with the clergy: to have a kinsman in the clergy was necessary for the political power in Iceland. During the years, the education of the seculars, in particular chieftains, lawmen, and also the clergy, became the same, and the centres of culture were no longer only the episcopal sees or the monasteries, but also the farmer of the chieftains and important men. Thanks to the works of the Icelandic clergy, the process of textualization could start. The presence of liturgical works and educational books at the episcopal seats is attested during the 11th century, but we do not have any of these books, because they are now lost, we have only the fragments of the liturgical works from the 10th and the 11th centuries. Probably all these texts were not the work of local people, but they were manuscripts from abroad, which were imported for the education of the clergy and the aristocracy. There was a problem: the Latin language is too difficult for a country like Iceland, and Scandinavia in general. From the middle of the 12th century, the Latin writings were translated into vernacular to complete the conversion’s process. Sian GrØnlie assumes that the link between the conversion and the translation is essential to complete this process, and he underlines that: “It may be relevant that the Norse verb for ‘to convert’ is

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snúa, which can also mean ‘to translate’; conversion and translation are closely connected as creative and literary acts.”43 Because of these figures’ work and these texts presence, the complete knowledge of theology, and so the Latin culture, was achieved around 1200. “During this period (1200-1350)44 all the Nordic countries, except , may be considered part of the western Christendom, not only in the sense that people had been converted to Christianity, but also in the sense that the ecclesiastical organization was becoming relatively developed” (Bagge, 1984, p.5) The new Latin culture and language were introduced within a strong old tradition of legends. These two different cultures started to influence each other, and in this way, a process of acculturation could start. The conversion and the work of acculturation operated by the Christian Church permitted a great goal: the transition from the orality to the vernacular literature since the 11th century. Guðvarður Már Gunnlaugsson assumed that “writing in the vernacular with Latin script began in these countries in the course of the 11th century, even though there is no reliable documentation before the 1117 to prove this” (Guðvarður Már, 2005). Actually, before the advent of the Christian Church in Iceland, the culture, the law and the traditions were only transmitted orally45. Before the introduction of the Latin alphabet, the Icelanders knew and used the runic alphabet, but it was suitable only for short sentences, but not for transmission of long texts. Furthermore, the books’ culture was introduced only with the Christianism, which is known as the religion of the Book. After the conversion, the Icelanders adopted the new alphabet and, at the beginning, they tried to translate the Latin texts, and later on to write their sagas, but they met some difficulties. In the 12th century, it became necessary to write a grammatical treatise to try to settle the new use: this was the First Grammatical Treaties. This text is a significant source because not only it presents a precise regulation of the language and the use of the letters, but also proves that, before the 12th century, there were attempts of the redaction of texts in vernacular, in particular, the treatise reports what genre of texts were written:

43 GrØnliw 2017, 125 44 I also want to add the fact that, from this period ,the presence of Nordic students was attested in all the most prestigious Universities of the Middle Ages, Bologna, Paris and Oxford. All these students are for the major part from and Norway, Icelandic students were not attested, probably there are no documents about them, or they did not stay for the entire period of study. The source for this is Sverre Bagge, Nordic Students at foreign Universities until 1600, in Scandinavian Journal of History, 1984. 45 On the process from orality to literacy (Quinn 2000)

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“laws and genealogies, or interpretations of sacred writings, or also that historical lore that Ari Þorgilsson has recorded in books with such reasonable understanding”46. So, the conversion permitted to achieve the phenomenon of the acculturation of Iceland, as also Orri Vésteinsson assumes: “the Church is also the most obvious channel through which ideas were transmitted to Iceland” (Vésteinsson, 2000, p. 1). So, it is possible to assume that this phenomenon of acculturation could not be neutral, and all the following redactions of texts and sagas, of all genres, were influenced by this channel. I think it is important to underline that this is not only typical of Iceland, but all the ancient cultures and traditions were influenced by the time and by the Christian religion, as happened to the texts of Vergil and Ovid, and of other authors of the Latinity, as I will explain in chapter 3. The same happened in Iceland and its sagas. Judy Quinn claims that: “The effect of the Christian ideology on all aspects of Scandinavian culture was profound and in relation to writing practise the conversion effected more than a simple change-over of scripts” (Quinn, 2000). One of the first influences of the new skills and the conversion was the redaction of the laws. Before, they had only been repeated orally by the lögsögumaðr, the law-speaker. After they had written them, the codex of the Gragas of 1117 being one of them, the role of the law-speaker lost its power. Moreover, if in a dispute, there were some discordances between the texts, the ecclesiastical copy’s version was the winner and the one to be followed. This fact demonstrates how the introduction of the clergy changed completely the structure of society. In the beginning, many law-speakers were not able to read, so the clergy was the officer of the transcription and the reading of the laws. If the influence of the Church was active in the redaction of the codes of Law47, for sure, it was really crucial in the literature too, in particular about the texts which the Christianity had imported, which means biblical text, commentaries and theological writings48. Some of the first imported texts were, for example, the Physiolugus, a bestiary, and of course the Bible and

46 “Lög ok áttvísi eða þýðingar helgar eða svá þau hin spaklegu fræði er Ari Þorgilsson hefir á bækr sett af skynsamlegu viti” cf. The First Grammatical Treatise, 208-209 47 I want to add the fact that the Church influence also the travel: many Icelanders and Nordic people are attested in “Christian Voyages” as the pilgrimage to Rome or Jerusalem, which are both narrated in Sagas as the Knytlinga saga. One example is the case of the Danish king Eiríkr, who made pious progress across Europe and died in Cyprus in 1103 before reaching the Holy land. Also, some of them took part in the crusades in the Holy land, as the young Norwegian king Sigurðr, who helped King Baldwin of Jerusalem in the siege of Sidon in 1110. 48 About the religious text, see Óskarsson 2005 and Gunnar 1995

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other doctrinal writings. Many Icelandic monasteries were Benedictine, and this explains the presence of the translated version of the rule of Saint Benedict. Moreover, for the work of conversion, it was essential to explain the theology through sermons and homilies, because of that they wrote down the Icelandic Homily book, which is a collection of more than 50 homilies with some additional material, written in the 12th century. The study of texts as the Physiologus is attested by fragments of sermons, as the AM237 fol. The redaction of exempla was popular in Iceland, one example of this was the Dialogues of Gregory the Great or the Vitae Patrum, which was translated into probably around 1300. Attestations of the translation of the Old Testament is found in the Stjorn, which was composed in three parts, of which the second one is the eldest, and contains only the translation of some parts of the Bible, while the others presented more comments than translations. We have no clear attestations of translations of biblical texts in the first part of the conversion, but as I said, during the preaching the priest had to quote passes of the Sacred Scriptures in vernacular, so that the common people could understand the meaning of these words. A source for this phenomenon is represented by the Life of the Saints, in which these preachings are narrated in vernacular. There are also attested proofs of moral treatises, as the translation of Alcuin’s De Virtutibus et Vitiis in the Norwegian Homily book before 1300. The education of the people and the literate men, occurred through the Church’s channel, for example, Ari Froði was educated at the school of the priest Teiter. This monopoly of the written culture had influenced the redactions of the sagas. As I said, the vehicle of writing was the Latin alphabet and, moreover, the Icelanders learned to write thanks to the Latin texts, and not only the religious ones. The 12th and in particular the 13th centuries are considered the Renaissance of the literature in the Nordic countries. The Scandinavian erudite people of this time had absorbed the literature from the south of Europe, as the Roman tradition, but they did non neglect their native traditions and used the new alphabet and culture to write about them and their origin, as we could see in the next subchapter. Theodore Anderson49, for example, assumes that the description of Brynhild Völsunga saga reminds Virgil’s characterization of Dido in the Aeneid. Saxo himself used some Virgilian reminiscences and other Roman echoes in the Gesta Danorum. He also wrote in Latin. From this time on, going to study in Europe or Norway was quite common, and the Saga of the Bishops attested this practice, despite the reform

49 Andersson 1980, 241

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movement. So, influences from European culture were stronger than before, in particular during the Kingdom of Hákon Hákonasor. The courtly style was affirmed on the line of the chivalric and courtly culture of France and the European continent in general. For example, this is the period of the redaction of the Riddarasögur50, which is the chivalric romance. This genre of texts is strictly linked with the theme of the translation. During this period, different Latin works were translated in Old Icelandic. It is essential to underline the fact that, these translations of the pseudo-historical texts are not always precise: quoting Cicero, they were translated “non verbum pro verbo”, but they are a sort of a personal reworking of the author, in fact sometimes the writer, as we will see in the analysis of the Trójumanna saga. The Ancient Sagas 51are another example of the translated text. Stephanie Würth considers this type of saga as pseudo-histories52. These sagas are five, and they are about the Matter of Rome, which is strictly linked with the Trojan one. The scope of this saga was to give information about the past. One of the first examples is the Rómverja saga, which was translated around 1180. It is a combination of three different texts: two of Sallust, the Bellum Iugurthinum and the Coniuratio Catilinae, and one of Lucan, the Pharsalia or the Bellum civile. The first two talk about the Roman republican period, while the last one is about the early phase of the Empire of Rome. During the Middle Ages, the interest for the Roman Republic was not so popular, but the Icelanders probably appreciated the image of a land without a king, because during this first phase they were independent, and they did not have one, at least until 1263, when Iceland became part of the Kingdom of Norway. In fact, between 930 and 1262, the historians talk about the period of the Free State or the Commonwealth period. In this view, it is possible to understand the interest in texts as the Sallust’s ones or Lucan’s. Another example is the Gyðinga saga, which is about Jewish history from the death of Alexander the Great until the death of Pontius Pilate, in particular between 333 BC and 50 AD. The sources of this saga are the first of the two Apocryphal Books of the Maccabees for the first part, supplemented by the Historia Scholastica of Peter Comestor, which is the primary source for the second part. This saga is not so popular as the other ancient one, only a few attestations of it are known. Moreover, the Alexanders saga was

50 About the romance and the Riddarasögur, see Glauser 2005 and Barnes 2000 51 About the Veraldar saga, see (S. Würth, Der "Antikenroman" in der Islandischen Literatur des Mittlalters 1998) (Würth, Historiography and Pseudo-History 2005) 52 Würth, Der "Antikenroman" in der Islandischen Literatur des Mittlalters 1998.

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written in this period, and it narrates about the story of Alexander the Great, in particular, represents the translation of the Latin text of Walter of Châtillon’s Alexandreis written in 1180. This saga is a free reinterpretation of the Latin verses translated into Old Norse prose, because it was addressed to an audience which was interested in history and political facts, and did not have a strong knowledge of the classical history. Two other examples of the translation of the Latin Texts are the Trójumanna saga and the Breta Sögur53. Like the other ones, these are not simple translations. Moreover, they are somewhat different. They could be enumerated with the Fornaldarsögur, namely the sagas of the pre-history of Iceland because, in a certain way, they were a sort of narration of the pre-history of the Icelandic settlers.

2.2 The construction of the origin: the myth of Troy

With the introduction of the Latin alphabet, the Icelanders started to write sagas and reported their ancient traditions. Furthermore, the Norse literature and the Icelandic one, in particular, have an extraordinary place inside the Medieval European literature, because they were varied, extensive and original, as Margaret Clunies Ross reported (Clunies Ross, 2000). In particular, it is interesting to find such a significant number of productions of manuscripts and texts in Iceland, if we think about how the society was composed mostly of a small farming population on an island which is far from the continent’s town and centres of culture. From the beginning, the Icelanders were considered as great historians, because of their excellent knowledge of the past and the past of their Norwegian ancestors. “Indeed, the Icelanders have cultivated their own history with a vigour out of proportion to their resources and population size”54. One of the most important sources for the historiographical works in the Middle Ages Scandinavia was the skaldic poetry, which was often quoted in order to give a sort of historical value to their stories. In particular, “they wrote about their own history in the past and the present, and equally readily about Norwegian kings, the hero of prehistory and the history of foreign countries” (Clunies Ross, 2000, p. 11). The fame of great historians was known and recognised by the others and in particular at the court of the Norwegian kings, where the Icelanders found a proper place as poets, historians and good storytellers. When King Sverrir of Norway wanted to write his biography, he asked the

53 About the Trójumanna saga, see chapter 3. About the Breta sögur, see chapters 1 and 3. 54 Whaley 2000, 161

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Icelandic abbot Karl Jónsson, from the monastery of Þingeyrar, to write the first part of the text. Also, King Magnus Lawmender asked Sturla Þórðarson to write a saga about his kingdom and the ruling of his father, Hákon Hákonarson. Because of this, it is possible to assume, as Clunies Ross does, that “Icelanders were professionals, a kind of literary Swiss Guard, which was called upon when it became necessary to relate history in poetry or in writing” (Clunies Ross, 2000, p. 13). However, why were they so interested in historical literature? Their patrimony of oral traditions was great, and they also received strong influences from the European culture. Furthermore, they firmly believed that the literature could give immortality to the deeds and the protagonists. This is the reason why they developed the idea of a “useful past” (Whaley, 2000). The historical texts had two main scopes: prodesse et delecatare, namely to teach and to enjoy the narration of the past. In particular, since the ancient times, there was the idea “To later generations the lives commemorated are source of moral or political education, furnishing examples of the good deeds of good men to emulate, and the bad to avoid” (Whaley, 2000, p. 176), which is similar to the idea of Cicero of “Historia magistra vitae” (Cicero, De Oratore 2, 9). However, this strong attention to history and to traditions is very peculiar. They had a problem because they knew that the settlement on the island represented a great cesura in their history. They felt the necessity to understand what was their past and their role inside the European history. They found an answer in the Ancient sagas and in particular in the Trojan matter. This influence came from England and in particular from the tradition of migration of the people from Troy. Faulkes55 claims that the construction of genealogies of this type and in particular linked to the Gods are typical of the Anglo-Saxon literature. On the base of this influence, the Icelandic author created their mythological past. This construction from Asia was already found in France and Britain, and it had origin in Rome56. Furthermore, it is essential also to report this fact: the Scandinavians, and in particular the Norwegians, believed that their kings were in a certain way linked to the British kings, because one of their first kings, Hákon son of Haraldr Finehair, had been fostered at the court of the English king Æthelstan. Moreover, the Icelanders considered themselves heirs of the Norwegian kings. So, if they were the heirs of the English kings, who were descendants of the Trojans, then also the ancestors of the Icelanders came from

55 (Faulkes 1978-79) 56 See chapter 1

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Troy. This story is also perfect for them because it is a tale of migration, as their past was the migration from Scandinavia to Iceland. This elaborate creation of genealogical inheritance and the migration of Aeneas and his was perfect for the construction of the pre-history of the Icelanders, which could give the possibility to introduce them inside the world History, and to make this past their own. Furthermore, this creation is comprehensible in a world strongly influenced by the Latin and Christian world view. Because of that, they created genealogies, which presented this derivation from the Asia of their Gods, the Æsir. Snorri himself used the similarity between the to create a connection and a source. Furthermore, they adopted the theory of the translatio studii, when they claimed their language and poetic arts were brought there by Oðin from Asia57. To demonstrate this, I consider important to illustrate some texts which presented this idea. Ari Frodi in his Íslendigabók quoted it, but also Snorri in the Edda and the Heimskringla, and The Third Grammatical Treatise report this idea of derivation from East (Troy).

2.2.1 Ari inn Froði Þorgilsson and the Íslendigabók Ari is one of the most prominent authors of the Norse Literature. It is possible to assume that he was the first historian of the Icelandic literature because he was the only one mentioned by name in the First Grammatical Treaties. In this text, he is described as inn froði, which means the Knowledgeable. This was a of great honour, and it was a sign of great respect, in particular, this “” was used for the erudite people of that time. “Many of the greatest intellectuals of the Icelandic þjóðveldi (‘commonwealth’) were distinguished by the nickname inn fróði, ‘the wise, learned’ or the near-synonymous inn vitri, and people referred to as (sann-)fróðir, vitrir, ecc.” (Whaley, 2000, p. 162). He lived during the 11th century, and his masterpiece was the Íslendigabók, which is one of the most essential works of the historical tradition of the Icelandic and Norse culture. Clunies Ross assumes: “Íslendigabók is a pioneering work in which Ari marks out the main lines of a history that were never subsequently altered, selects the most important events, and establishes a chronology” (Clunies Ross, 2000, p. 15).

57 Whaley 2000, 178-179

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He probably wrote other texts as well, but only the Íslendigabók survived. We know that in the past there was for sure another version because, in the prologue of the Hemskringla, Snorri quoted part of Ari’s work, which is not found in the text we have today. Snorri had probably read the first version of the text, in which the history of the kings of Norway, Denmark and England are narrated, but we do not know. Ari is considered a historian because of his style and his purpose to write only about real historical events, using a very incisive style and without the additions of the ornamentations. He lived during the 11th century, during the first part of his life he lived at Haukadal with his cousin - the famous priest, and future bishop - Teitir, son of the bishop Ísleir. With him, Ari studied and learned to write and to read the Latin language and the vernacular, the Old Icelandic. He was the first historian to write an entire text in his vernacular using the Latin alphabet. He wrote the text between 1123 and 1133, and his primary source was the oral tradition, in particular, the narration of his grandfather and his cousin, the priest Teitir. Because of his education, two bishops asked him to write the Íslendigabók, Thorlakr and Ketill, and they checked his final work with the help of the priest Sæmundr, as it is said in the prologue of the text. This book was created inside the clerical world and due to the desire of two prominent figures of the society of that time. In particular, they were interested in the narration of the settlement and the conversion of Iceland. So Ari did it: at the beginning of the text, he wrote about the first settlers, about the first legislation, the institution of the Alþing, about the dating of the years, the division of the lands in districts, the colonization of Greenland, the advent of Christianity in Iceland, the conversion of the foreign bishops and, in the end, he wrote about the life of the bishop Ísleir and the bishop Gizurr. So, Ari gave the Icelanders an identity and a history, but he did more. In fact, after the narration of these events, in a sort of appendix, the Íslendigabók presents two genealogies: one is about the bloodlines of the Icelandic bishops, while the second is about the ancestors of the Ynglingar and of the inhabitants of Breidafjord. In this second one, it is possible to read that: the first ancestor is “Yngvi Tyrkia konungr” (Halldór, 1930, 72), which means “Yngvi the king of the Turks”, so it is possible to notice that Ari believe that one of the first ancestors of the Icelanders came and lived in Turkey so, this way, the theory of the offspring of the kings of , of Norway and in the end of the Icelanders, from the Turks is demonstrated. In fact, after the name of Yngvi, it is possible to read “II Njörðr Svía konungr” (Halldór, 1930, 72), namely Njordr king of Sweden. The third of the genealogy is Freyr, which is the same name of the God, and at number 32 it is possible

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to read: “XXXII Óleifr feilan, sá er fyrstr bygði þeira á Íslandi” (Halldór, 1930, 72), which means Oleif Feilan who was the first who settled in Iceland. Ari presented the Icelanders as the descendants of the Kings of Norway and Sweden but in particular as the Turks’ descendants. The first ancestor was Yngvi, the king of the Turks, and it is possible to assume that it was based on the influence of the medieval legend of Troy. Faulkes assumes that: “he may also have chosen the Turks because in pseudo-Fredegar both Franks and Turks are said to have been descended from survivors of Troy, and the Turks to have settled near the Danube in the Thracian area.”58 This supposition links the oriental origin’s idea with the Franks’ one59. Furthermore, in this appendix, a second Yngvi was quoted, as number 14, while Frey is the 3rd. In the old tradition, this idea of an original Yngvi king of the Turks is not found: only the fusion of Frey and him can be found, as they are only one person. This is an unicum of Ari. So, It is crucial to consider this appendix, because: “There is no accompanying narrative that survives but evidently Ari had in mind some idea of a migration of euhemerised gods from the Black Sea area to Scandinavia, perhaps in imitation of other European legends of the foundation of nations by survivors of the Trojan war, though it is impossible to know exactly what Ari meant to imply by the word Tyrkir.”60

2.2.2 Snorri Sturluson (1179-1241) The attestation of this offspring from Asia did not end with Ari. It is possible to find it attested in two of Snorri’s texts, the Snorra Edda and the Heimskringla. Snorri was one of the most important figures of medieval Iceland, and he belonged to a potent family of Icelandic chieftains. His foster-father John Loftson educated him at Odda, an important centre of culture. He was the son of Saemund the Wise, who was a famous learned priest with a remarkable knowledge of the history of Iceland and Norway. Here Snorri was educated, and he learned to write and read, he studied Latin, poetry and law. During his life he also lived in Norway, at the court of King Hákon, so he could get in touch and know all the new influences from Europe. Because of that, he became a famous historian. Two of his works are crucial for this essay: the Snorra Edda and the

58 Faulkes 1978-79, 114 59 Remember the Fredegard’s Chronicle, see chapter 1. 60 Faulkes 1978-79, 98

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Hemskringla, the Lives of the Norse King, in particular, the first saga of these the Ynglinga Saga The Prose Edda, or Snorra Edda, is one of the most famous works of the Norse literature and the most extensive source for the Norse mythology. It is a sort of handbook, a manual, in which it is possible to find the narration of the creation of the Universe, the descriptions of the Gods, and many myths, like the prophecy of the Ragnarök and the legends of brave warriors. All of them are “stories which incorporate shards of ancient memory” (Byock, 2005, p. IV). In this text, Snorri has incorporated - in many ways - both the Eddic and the skaldic verses, and he had transformed them into prose, creating a unique masterpiece. The Edda was written during the 13th century, on the base of the oral tradition of the ancient mythology and legends about the Viking era (800-1100). This work is not only for erudite people, but Snorri wrote this text thinking about the possibility of reading it aloud for an audience of both literate and not. When this text was written, the conversion to the new religion was complete. The Icelanders often wrote about their past, and these legends and myths were an essential part of it because they were considered a cultural heritage and not a creed. This explains why, during this century, it is possible to find texts like this one and the . Snorri aimed to write a sort of handbook for all those who wanted to become . He did not want to recreate the rituals or bring back to life the old beliefs: he only wanted to preserve and to pass on ancient legends and poetry. In particular, he seemed to fight against the influence of the new poetic genre coming from Europe and Scandinavia, even if these influences are present in the text, as we will see. The Edda is composed of three parts: the Prologue, the Gylfafinning and the Skaldskaparmal. The second part is the real core of the text, and it is the story of the delusion of Gylfi. The illusional meeting between the Swedish king Gylfi and the Æsir is here narrated, when Odin told the king the story and the legends of the old beliefs. The third and last part of the Edda is the real manual for the skalds. The most interesting part is the Prologue because it is quite different from the other parts, because of the construction of the sentences and the narration. In this part of the text, the influences of the Greco-Roman tradition and the idea of a derivation from the East are strong61. He aims to “to elevate the status of Edda by equating Norse stories with those from the Greco-Roman tradition” (Byock, 2005, p.XIV), but also to report the traditional idea of this original derivation of the Æsir from Troy. The first chapter is full of

61 Faulkes, The sources of Skáldskaparmál : Snorri's intellectual background 1993

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reminiscences from the biblical texts, as the creation of Adam and Eve, the Universal Flood and Noah’s flood. He also talked about the nature of the word and the division of the people. In the second chapter, the world’s division in three parts is described: one of these is Europe, which “is also called Enea”62, as the name of the protagonist of the Aeneid, the Trojan hero Aeneas, the ancestor of all the great Empires, like Rome. Furthermore, it is said that “this is the north region, it begins in the west and continues northward towards the sea. Also, its northern regions are so cold that no grass grows and no one can subsist there”63 (Byock, 2005, p. 5). Asia, which includes the eastern continent to the south, it was described as really beautiful and stately, and full of gold and gemstones. In that region “the people there are most endowed with blessings: wisdom and strength, beauty, and every kind of skills”64. The description of Asia is peculiar because it is described as the most beautiful region and also with the loveliest people. The explanation of this choice lays in chapter 3, where Snorri said that in this region there was a magnificent and big city, Troy, and it is found in the region called Turkey. This place was terrific, and there were 12 kingdoms, and in each one, there were 12 chieftains, who were superior to the others chieftains all over the world. The detail of the number 12 is linked to the historical presence of 12 local things in Iceland (later 16), or it could be linked to the number of the apostles. If the first theory is correct, in this way, Snorri inserted an Icelandic custom in the story of their ancestors to prove the first offspring from Asia. Regarding the text, Tror, whom they called Thor, was born here: he was the grandson of the . His father was Munon or Mennon and his mother Troan, the daughter of the great king. Here it is possible to notice and underline - as Snorri reported it - the idea of the offspring of the Norse in Troy. The chapter continues with the story of the movement of Thor in Thracia, with the duke Loricus. When he was 12 years old, he received the weapons of his father, and he acquired his full strength. Then, he killed Loricus and his wife and became the king of the Thracia, which is called by the Norse Thrudheim. After his coronation, he travelled a lot, meeting dragons, giants and dwarves, and in the end, he met the prophetess Sibyl, who is called Sif by the Icelanders. He married Sibyl, as the God Thor married the Goddess Sif. After

62 “Er sá kallaðr Európá eða Énéá”. (p.4) 63 “inn nyrði hluti er þar svá kaldr, at eigi vex gras áok eigi má byggja” (p.4) 64 “ok mannfólkit þar mest tígnat af öllum giptunum, spekinni ok aflinu, fegrðinni ok alls konar kunnustu” (p.4)

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this part, follows a long list of their descendants, and the last one of them is Voden, who is Odin “an excellent man because his wisdom and because he had every kind of accomplishment. His wife, named Figida, we call Frigg”65 (Byock, 2005, p. 6). Odin is not destined to stay in Thracia: in chapter 4 the prophecy about the fact that “his name would become renowned in the northern part of the world and honoured more than other kings”66 (Byock, 2005, p. 6) is narrated. He then moved from Turkey, and a multitude of people followed him. Wherever they went, beautiful stories were told, “making them seem more like gods than men”67 (Byock, p. 6). They travelled without stopping until their arrival in Saxland, where Odin settled down for a long time. He had three sons, and each of them guarded a different land: Vitrgils had the East Saxland; Beldegg, Baldr for the Icelanders, ruled over the Westphalia; in the end, Brand and his descendants ruled over France, and from them came the family of the Volsung. In the 5th and last chapter of the prologue, Snorri talked about Odin’s next journey towards North and the settlement of the Æsir here. First, he arrived in Jutland, and there he settled as a ruler his son Skjold. Then, he went to Sweden, and there they stayed here for a long time. The common people thought that the prosperity of this time was possible because of the Æsir, so they considered themselves different from the others. Odin chose a town, Sigtun, and here he appointed leaders as it was the custom of Troy, so he chose 12 men to administer the law on the land: here we can notice the return of this ancient custom. Then he continued his journey to the north, and he and his people arrived in Norway. As he had done before, he gave his son - Saeming - the power to rule: he was the king of Norway and from him descended all the kings of Norway and the jarls. His son Yngvi became the king of Sweden, and his descendants are called Ynglings. The chapter and the prologue end with a statement on the derivation of the language from the eastern lands “and people think they can deduce from the records of the names of their ancestors that those names belonged to this language, and that the Æsir brought the language not to this part of the world, to Norway and to Sweden, to Denmark and to Saxony

65 “hann átti þann son, er nefndr er Vóden, þann köllum vér Óðin; hann var ágætr maðr af speki ok allri atgervi. Kona hans hét Frígíðá, er vér köllum Frigg” (p.6) 66 “Óðinn hafði spádóm ok svá kona hans, ok af þeim vísendum fann hann þat, at nafn hans myndi uppi vera haft í norðrhálfu heims ok tignat um fram alla konunga” (p.6) 67 “svá at þeir þóttu líkari goðum en mönnum” (p.6)

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and in England there are ancient names for regions and place which one can tell come from a different language from this one”68 (Faulkes, 1995, p. 5). In this text of Snorri, it is possible to find the presence of the theory of translatio studii from Troy to the north. “In the so-called epilogue in Skáldskaparmál there is a longer passage (also lacking in the Uppsala manuscript), again stating that Norse myths are allegories of events in the Troy story.138 Here more knowledge of the story is shown: the killing of by , of Achilles by Alexander, and of Priam by Pyrrhus, and the burning of Troy are all mentioned. This information could all have come from Trójumanna saga.”69 In the Skaldskaparmal, at chapters 8 and 9, Snorri decided to narrate the episode of the war of Troy in a very particular way. In this part, he was explaining what the young poets had to know. He said that the deeds, which he has narrated in the Gylfaginning, were only ancient beliefs of the heathens because the Christians do not believe in that. He did not claim only this, as it possible to read: “Yet Christian people must not believe in heathens gods, nor in the truth of this account in any other way than that in which it is presented at the beginning of this book, where it is told what happened when mankind went astray of Asia, known as Æsir, distorted the accounts of the events that took place in Troy so that the people of the country would believe that they were gods”70 (Faulkes, 1995, 65) Snorri himself said what the heathens believed to be gods, but in reality, they were only human beings, who had distorted the events. To demonstrate this, Snorri used the episode of the war of Troy as an example, which the heathens believe to be the Ragnarök. In the text, it is possible to notice that Hector was described as Thor when he tried to kill the giant serpent Miðgarðsormr. He was killing the great heroes Volucrontes, but Achilles saved the hero, so Hector, like Thor, could not kill him. Snorri described other facts of

68 “ok þat þykkjask menn skynja mega af því, at rituð eru langfeðganönf þeira, at þau nöfn hafa fylgt þessi tungu ok þeir æsir hafa haft tunguna norðr hingat í heim, í Nóreg ok í Svíþjóð, í Danmörk ok í Saxland. Ok í Englandi eru forn landsheiti eða staðaheiti, þau er skilja má, at af annarri tungu eru gefin en þessi” (Magnús Finnbogason, p. 8) 69 (Faulkes 1978-79, 122) 70 “en eigi skulo kristnir menn trua aheiþin goð ok eigin asannundi þesa sagna anna veg en sva sem her finnz iuþafi bokar. Er sagt er fra atburþum þeim er mannfolkit viltiz fra retti tru. Ok þa næst fra Tyrkjum hvernig Asia menn þeir er æsir eru kallaþir faulsuþu frasagnir þær fra þeim tiþin dum er gerþuz i Troio til þes at landfolkit skyldi trua þa guð vera” (Finnur Jónsson, 1930, 86)

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the war, and in the end, he talked about the killing of Hector by the hand of Achilles. To this, he added that the Æsir did not want to narrate their hero’s death by the hand of one man, so they invented the story of the serpent. After the death of the great hero Hector, also Achilles was destined to die on the same battlefield. He was killed by , a Trojan brother of Hector, and Snorri said that he was called Ali by the Æsir. He would be the only one who survived the death of all the gods, as Helenus did after the end of the destruction of Troy. Snorri continued the narration with the event of the murder of Priam by the Pyrrhus’ hand, who is described by the pagans as the wolf Fenrir. In the narration of the Ragnarök, we find that Odin, which is the heathens’ version of Priam, was killed by the wolf. It is possible to assume that this construction and this point of view of Snorri, is really fascinating and peculiar because he narrated the beliefs of his ancestors dissociating himself from them. Furthermore, it is possible to notice how he transformed the event of the Trojan war in something which is a part of the Norse culture. This example demonstrates how this story became part of the culture of the Icelanders and Scandinavians. The Heimskringla is another important source to demonstrate the strong presence of the idea of translation imperii et studii from the East. In this text, the lives of the Norse kings are narrated, precisely from the mythical origin until the kingdom of Magnus Erlingson (1156-1184). The primary source was the Íslendigabók of Ari, as I said, in the prologue of the opera, Snorri quoted him. The main focus of this analysis will be on the first saga, the Ynglinga saga, which could be considered as the saga of the origin of the Norse kings. This text is crucial for this theme because it talks about the journey of the Æsir from Troy to the north. The first ten chapters are about Odin’s journey to the north, and the deeds of his descendant. In chapter 10, the end of the kingdom of Freyr, a descendant of the king of the Æsir, is narrated. He also had another name, Yngvi, and after him, all his kinsmen would be defined as Ynglings, as we will see. It is essential to analyse this first ten chapters in depth. Chapter 1, the Edda talks about the division of the world in three regions, together with their description. The most important aspect to be underlined is the fact that also here, Europe is defined as Enea, “Európá, en sumir Énéa” (Finnur, 1966, p. 4). Because of this, it is possible to assume that Snorri, and so the other erudite, knew the story about Aeneas and his descendants. It is possible to assume that: in this time Europe is identified as the land of Aeneas and his offspring by the Icelanders.

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However, one of the most important chapters is the 2nd: it is fundamental in the explanation of the eastern origin of the Aesir. Snorri said that: “The land in Asia to the east of Tanakvisl was called Asaland or Asaheim and the chief town in the land was called Asagarth (or Asagard)”71. The name of Troy is not reported, while it was in the Edda. In this saga, it seems that Snorri only wanted to underline the eastern offspring of the Æsir, and thus, the origin of the Norse Kings, without any particular indication of geographical and historical places. In fact, he referred to this region with the name of the Nordic tradition, Asagard or Asaland, which was the name of the land of the Æsir in the old belief: it seems that he wanted to play with names to demonstrate this heritage, Asaland and Æsir are really similar to Asia, as a sort of philological derivation. As Margaret Clunies Ross assumes: “In his Edda and Heimskringla, Snorri Sturluson supplements this idea with an etymology, which links the term áss for the Scandinavian gods with the world Ásia, ‘Asia’.” (Clunies Ross, 2000, 17). In this case, Troy was never nominated, even if the saga’s structure and the theme are similar to the prologue of the Edda. In the text, it is reported that the chieftain of this city is Odin and that he was a great warrior, and that following the custom of the place, 12 priests were elected to judge and to worship the temple. The reference to a division of power between 12 figures is also found in the prologue of the Edda, and it could be linked to the presence of 12 local things of Iceland, or it could be linked to the number of the apostles. The chapters and the saga continue with the descriptions of the deeds of Odin. In particular, Snorri made a complete description of the abilities of the chief, and in his opinion, because Odin won every battle, all the men started to believe he was invincible, and if they asked his blessing, or fight with or for him, they will be the winner as well. This way, Snorri could explain why, in the past, the Æsir and Odin himself were described as Gods to be worshipped. In chapter 3, the war between the Vanes and the Æsir is narrated, but it is described as a war between two people and not between two divine bloodlines. The Vanes are also described as a population of Russia. All the “divine bloodlines” of the old religion are represented as a population of the eastern part of the world. This will also happen in the Trójumanna saga. Another significant detail is found in chapter 5, where Snorri dated the events, saying that, these deeds happened when in

71 “Fyrir austan Tanakvísl í Ásíá var kallat Ásaland eða Ásaheimr, en hǫfuðborgin, er var í landinu, kǫlluðu þeir Ásgarð”

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Europe there was the Roman Empire. Furthermore, from this chapter on, the Odin’s long journey to the north began. As in the prologue of the Edda, thanks to a prophecy, he found out that he and his offspring would have fame and power in the north, so he started his long journey. From here, until chapter 10, the Odin’s deeds and the settlement in Sweden are described, followed by the kingdom of his sons. In this narration, Thor is one of his sons and not his father, as it is said in the prologue of the Edda. In the end, in chapter 10, Snorri said that Frey became the king of Sweden and he was the grandson of Odin, but he was also called with another name, Yngvi. Because of this, all his kin, the Swedish kings and later, with Ingjald, the Norwegian kings, were part of the Ynglings bloodline. The source of both texts is Ari: on the genealogy of the Ynglings of the Íslendigabók’s appendix, the line of the offspring of the kings of Sweden, Norway and, in the end, of the Icelanders, came from Asia. However, Snorri changed some details, since the first ancestor is not Yngvi, as in Ari, but in Edda is Priam, while in the Ynglinga saga is Odin himself. This demonstrates that Snorri, in the Ynglinga saga, had omitted Troy, and he only talks about Asia in general. Ari did not mention the Gods, the only one is Frey, which is found as the 3rd king, as in the saga of Snorri, but while this last one said he was also called Yngvi, Ari did not, because for him Yngvi was the 14th in the genealogy. The original myth is reported in quite a similar way by both authors. This demonstrates the popularity of this idea and the historical value of the myth.

2.2.3 The Third Grammatical Treatise As the name suggests, this text is a treatise concerning some questions of the language. It has particular attention on rhetoric and to those aspects that make a language beautiful. This text was composed during the 13th century by Óláfr Þórðarson Hvítaskáld, the nephew of Snorri Sturluson himself. He is known to be a priesthood’s teacher, and he has probably written this text as a sort of manual for his students. The text is found in the Codex Wormianus, which is deeply linked to the European influences and standards, as the Treatise itself. In fact, Óláfr used two Latin grammar texts as primary sources: for the first part, he used Priscianus, where he talks about the fundamental parts of the speech; while for the second part, which is called Málskrúsfrœði (literally “the art of linguistic ornamentation”), he used Donatus as a source, and there he talks about the linguistic faults and the linguistic devices that enhance the beauty of ideas and their presentation. Moreover, the author usually used the Latin rhetorical and the linguistic terms, and sometimes he used the vernacular terms, but all the examples are made with Icelandic

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references. Furthermore, he explains all the rhetorical devices in Icelandic, because he wants “to put the Latin scholarly tradition within the reach of Icelanders and to show them how it could be used to explain, categorize and appreciate Icelandic poetry” (Þórir, 2005, p. 357). The idea is peculiar, and he explains his theory about the derivation of the language and the poetry at the beginning of the second section of the text: “in this book it may be clearly understood that everything is the one art: the poetry which Roman orators learnt in Ancient Greece and then turned into Latin language; and the song-metre or poetry which Óðinn and other men of Asia brought north into the northern half of the world, and taught men this kind of art in their own language, just they had arranged and learnt it in Asia itself, where beauty and power and knowledge were the greatest in all the world.” (Wills, p. 280)72 The idea that the Æsir and the culture came from Asia can also be found here. In fact, as Snorri and Ari before, the author reports this belief about the first offspring from Asia. According to the writer, this can also be seen in language and poetry. Furthermore, he also underlines the fact that there was also a transmission of the knowledge from Athens to Rome, and the same thing happens in the Norse countries when Odin and his fellows came to the north and brought the knowledge of Asia with them, which was considered the most beautiful and powerful land. The two main sources of the treatise are Priscianus and Donatus, but Wills assumes there are also Latin references in this text, as Sedulius and the Aeneid of Vergil. Wills makes a fascinating analysis of this aspect. In particular, in his essay73, he has identified almost 28 examples, which show a correspondence with the Aeneid, as Óláfr quotes. Furthermore, he finds other 37 quotations which have a correspondence with the Latin poem in the Latin source, as Sedulius and Donatus, who referred many times to the Aeneid in their work. Then, Wills underlines the fact that many examples of the Norse literature have a correspondence with the Latin poem. So, he can demonstrate a similarity of the content between the Norse literature and the Virgilian text, which, as we will see, was widespread and studied during all the Middle Ages in all of Europe.

72 “Í þessi bók (Donatus, Ars Maior I) má gerla skilja, at ôll er ein istin skáldskapr sá, er rómverskir námu í Athenisborg á Griklandi ok sneru síðan í látínu-mal, ok sá ljóða-háttr eða skáldskapr, er Óðinn ok aðrir Ásia-menn fluttu norðr higat í norðrhálfu heimsins ok kendu mônnun á sína tungu þess konar list, svá sem þeir hôfðu skipat ok numit í sjálfu Ásíalandi, þar sem mest var fegrð ok ríkdómr ok fróðleikr veraldarinnar” (Wills, p. 280) 73 Tarrin Wills, 2017

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This text it is worthwhile and useful for this essay, in fact, in it is possible to find not only the theory of derivation of the Scandinavian people and culture from Troy, but it is also possible to notice the strong influence from Europe and the popularity that a text as the Aeneid could have had in this world and at this time in all Europe.

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3. The Hauksbók’s Trójumanna saga

The highest representation of the Trojan theme in Icelandic literature is offered by the Trójumanna saga, which literally means the saga of the Troy-men. This saga "is the retelling of the Matter of Troy, that is the legends of the Trojan War that pervade medieval literature in many vernaculars" (Eldevik, 1993, p. 658). The saga's focus is the story of Troy and its citizens, with a particular focus on the disputes between them and the Greeks. Indeed, the core is the great war of twelve years, the final victory of the Achaeans and the consequent destruction of the city. However, the saga starts with a prologue on the background of the great war, which is Jason's journey with the Argonauts to find the Golden-Fleece. In the story, Jason and his men stopped in Troy during the ruling of Laomedon, father of Priam. Laomedon was afraid of a possible attack from the forces of the Argonauts. Therefore, he asked them to leave his land, which they did and continued their journey to gain the Golden-Fleece. After successfully concluding their expedition, Jason came back to his homeland, but Hercules, one of the Argonauts, did not. Unlike his companions, he decided to come back to Troy to avenge the previous insult. During this attack, Telamon, one of Hercules expedition's, kidnapped Hesione, the daughter of Laomedon and Priam's sister. This episode is the actual explanation of what led to causes the feud, together with the fact that the first ones refused to return the Trojan princess. The saga continues with the narration of the kidnapping of Helen and the war. It is important to underline how this saga ends: the story closes with the account of Aeneas' journey out of Troy with his father and son. This passage represents the key of the future and the construction of the ideology of the translatio imperii, since a prophecy said that His descendant would build empires and kingdoms, and one of these would be Brutus, the first king of Britain, as it is said in the Breta sögur, which usually follows the Trójumanna saga in many manuscripts. “All the extant manuscripts of this version (β) date from the fourteenth century, and in all these manuscripts Trójumanna saga is combined with Breta sögur, the Icelandic translation of Geoffrey of Monmouths’s Historia Regum Britannie.”74

74 Würth 2006, 297

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3.1 Traditions

Regarding the tradition of this saga, it is essential to notice that the story is not an original Icelandic creation, but it was written following the Latin text of Dares Phrygius, De Excidio Trojae Historia. In particular, Eldevik and Louis-Jensen75assert that, initially, there was a lost archetype, which was written possibly at the beginning of the 13th century, and which could be the real translation of the Dares’ text in Old Icelandic. Today, this text can only be found in three vellum manuscripts, the AM573 4to, the Hauksbók and in the Orms Bók Snorrasonar, which is now lost. Furthermore, it is possible to find the saga in two vellum fragments, the AM 598 4to II α and β. Jonna Louis-Jensen identifies two different descendant lines of this text from the original archetype: the Alpha and the Beta. Eldevik adds another one to these two, the Hauksbók version76, while Louis-Jensen and Würth77 place it under the β. All these versions hold many similarities. Besides, they share the same title at the beginning, namely Trójumanna saga. Stephanie Würth assumes that: “Version α is closer to the original translation from the beginning of the thirteenth century, but it preserved only in post-medieval manuscripts. Version β is a younger, revised and interpolated version of Trójumanna saga”78. Regarding the different lines79, it is possible to assert that the Alpha redaction can be dated around the 13th century, close to the dating of the original archetype, and can be found in the vellum fragment AM 598 4toα (and in a later paper manuscript AM 176a fol., AM 176b fol., IB 184 4to). This redaction is the most faithful to the Dares' text because it starts and ends at the same points of the Latin source, and only a few references to other Latin text were added, for instance, the Aeneid of Virgil and Ovid’s texts. There is another difference between them, the dramatic speeches of various characters and the descriptions of the fights. These are more similar to the classic Icelandic literary tradition.

75 Eldevik 1993. Louis-Jensen is the only one who had made an edition of both the version α and β of the saga (Louis-Jensen 1963; Louis-Jensen 1981). I did not use this edition to make the comparison and the analysis, but the edition of the Hauksbók of Finnur Jónsson (Hauksbók: udgiven efter de Arnamagnæanske håndskrifter no. 371 1892-1896) 76 Eldevik 1993 77 Louis-Jensen 1963 and Würth 1998 78 Würth 2006, 297 79 This information is possible to find in the two editions of Louis-Jensen (1963 and 1981) of the text and also in the Medieval Scandinavia: an Encyclopaedia of Philip Pulsiano (Eldevik 1993). Another relevant text is the book of Stephanie Würth (Würth 1998). The scholar analyses the Ancient roman’s saga, as the Rómverja saga, Alexander saga, Trójumanna saga, Breta sögur and Gydinga saga.

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Furthermore, these seem to be unique of the Icelandic context. Moreover, this version “represents a more verbose redaction of the TMS than the other MSS" (Louis-Jensen 1963). Because all of these characteristics, the α tradition of the text is considered the most "original"; furthermore, the title is very indicative of this since it is the "Dares Phrygius version” of Trójumanna saga. On the other hand, the Beta redaction is datable to the second part of the 14th century, and it can be taken as a terminus ad quem 1350. Indeed, this version can be found in the middle of the 14th-century vellum manuscript AM 573 4to and in the vellum fragment AM598 4to IIβ and the Swedish paper copy of the Orms Bók Snorrasonar, which is dated around the 14th century too. The redaction of the Hauksbók is dated at the beginning of the 14th century. The style is less creative than the Alpha tradition, but these texts present a freer and more varied use of the different Latin sources80. They represent a support to the Dares' version: it is possible to notice an intensive use of other Latin sources, which are: the Aeneid of Virgil, the Ilias Latina, the Heroides and the Metamorphoses of Ovid. One of the most particular cases is the Hauksbók's version, because the author uniquely wrote this saga, as it is possible to notice in the analysis in the next subchapter. In the Beta tradition another end was added: in the classic conclusion of the Dares' ending, the story of Troy's wooden horse was not narrated, while this episode is found in the second book of the Aeneid. Furthermore, there is a sort of sequel which tells about the reconquest of Troy by the sons of Hector. This part cannot be found in any classical text, so it could probably come from the French tradition of the Roman de Troye81.

80 “Version β of Trójumanna saga differs from version α mainly by using additional Latin sources. But additions and interpolations as well as verbal correspondences and omissions common to both versions prove that they are based on the same translation of Dares’ text” Würth 2006, 302 81 I have only analysed the Latin sources, and I made a comparison only between them and the saga, the Roman de Troye is not studied in this present essay.

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3.2 The Latin Sources

A description of the classical sources in the European Middle Ages is necessary to understand the context in which Haukr wrote. In particular, the attention is on their fortune and the interpretation given about them in the Medieval time

3.2.1. De Excidio Troiae Historia of Dares Phrygius

The primary source of the saga is the Latin text De Excidio Troiae Historia of Dares Phrygius. The text is short narrative prose about the war of Troy. It is a problematic text, and we can only find one edition of it, made by Ferdinand Meister in 1873. He has omitted many manuscripts from his analysis, because of that, the study of the text is still difficult. While Meister has used only ten manuscripts for his edition, in 2006 Louis Faiver d'Arcier has written a catalogue of around two hundred of them which contains this text, and he says that this catalogue must be considered "provisoire et susceptible d’accroissement” (Faiver d'Arcier 2006, 19)82This situation represents a problem, because, for example, Louis-Jensen affirms that, the version Alpha of the Trójumanna saga could be written under the influence of an English manuscript of the 13th century of Dares' text, but this particular manuscript was not included in the Meister's edition. So, it is not easy to make a comparison between them. Furthermore, the nature of the text itself is problematic and challenging to define, because this is an extraordinary version of the story of the war of Troy. Indeed, this Historia does not narrate only the war, but he adds a sort of prologue, an Archaelogia, about what happened before the war: Jason's expedition for the Golden- Fleece and the kidnapping of Hesione by Telamon. Moreover, the divine elements and the miraculous event are entirely omitted, and only the human deeds are narrated. The author wants to write a work of historiography and not a poem or a fiction. In the last chapter, the author himself defines his work as an acta diurna83, which is a sort of documentation and not a diary or a chronicle, as Nicoletta Canzio assumes in his analysis of the text84, because of that, the author probably wanted to eliminate details that were not human, not really. Furthermore, Lentano assumes that the desire of writing a work of historiography is demonstrated by choice of the "noble fathers", Cornelius Nepos and

82 "temporary and susceptible of increase." 83 (Canali e Canzio 2014, 68) 84 Ibid. 134

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Sallust.85 This is entirely different from the Iliad of Homer, which is full of supernatural happenings86. In the past the erudite defined Dares as an Anti-Homer, especially because Dares was felt a historical figure: Homer himself mentioned the Phrygian in the Iliad, at the beginning of the book V, as a priest of . He and his sons fought for the Trojan side. In the past, this detail brought many erudite to think that this is the first text about Troy's war, and moreover many thought that it could be a source of Homer himself: for example, Claudius Eliano mentions an Iliad written by Dares Phrygius before Homer. Modern scholars do not entirely agree with this theory. Lentano, in his essay about the Latin text, assumes that the Historia is a brief Latin version, an epitome, of an original Greek text87. Even if the dating is still tricky: Luca Canali88, in the introduction of the translation of the text, talks about this difficulty. He arrives to assumes different options on the base of the nature of the text and the sources. The complete absence of divine elements brings many of them to date the original Greek text, not before Homer's Iliad, but later during the Alexandrine period, in particular during the I century B.C., but any original Greek text of Dares is not found. It is safe enough to think that it existed, but we are not sure about that. In the beginning, the text, which we can read today, presents a letter of Cornelius Nepos to his "friend" Sallust, "Cornelius Nepos Sallustio Crispo suo salutem”89. In this letter, Cornelius narrates how, in Athens, he has found the text of Dares "ipsius manu scriptam ut titulus indicat”90. After the discovery, he decided to translate it in Latin and to send it to his friend. Canali considers this letter as a literary expedient, because the genre of the text, and because there is no attestation of a historical relationship between Sallust and Cornelius Nepos. About the dating of the Latin text, if the letter is

85 Lentano 2016, 16: “Chi ha scritto il testo, sia nella sua versione originale che in quella voltata in latino, ha inteso dare al suo lavoro i tratti della storiografia: a cominciare dai “padri nobili” sotto la cui egida viene posto il Darete a noi noto, Sallustio e Cornelio Nepote” 86 (Lentano, Come si (Ri)scrive la Storia. Darete Frigio e il Mito Troiano 2014) Lentano does not entirely agree with this definition, because the Gods are present in the text, but they are worshipped, or they are present in the prophecy and in the dreams, but they do not take part to the event. (Lentano, Come si (Ri)scrive la Storia. Darete Frigio e il Mito Troiano 2014) 87 Lentano, Come si (Ri)scrive la Storia. Darete Frigio e il Mito Troiano 2014, 3: “Personalmente, avrei pochi dubbi sul fatto che l’Historia abbia alle proprie spalle un originale greco, ad onta delle ritornanti prese di posizione in senso contrario: il poligrafo di età antonina Claudio Eliano menziona espressamente una Iliade composta «prima di Omero» da un Darete Frigio che solo immetodicamente può essere distinto dall’autore del testo di cui la Historia rappresenta la (abbreviata) versione latina”. 88 Canali; Canzio 2014 89 Canali; Canzio 2014, 41: “Cornelius Nepos sends greetings to his Sallustius Crispus” 90 Ibid. 41: “As its title indicates, written by his own hands."

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authentic, probably the text was written during the I century A.D., but if we analyse the style, it is possible to date the text around the V/VI century A.D. This text availed a vast fortune during the Middle ages because the Historia of Dares represented a significant source of the History of the Trojan war. It was so crucial that even Isidore of Seville wrote about Dares and his text91. Indeed, he collocated the Phrygian as one of the most distinguished historians of the past, whit Moses and Herodotus. In fact, in a section of his Etymologiae, the book I, chapter 42, entitled “De primis auctoribus Historiam” Isidore speaks about these three authors in that way: historiam autem apud nos primus Moyses de initio mundi conscripsit. Apud gentiles uero pimus Dare Phyrgius de Graecis et Troianis historiam edidit, quam in foliis palmarum ab eo conscriptam esse ferunt. Post Daretem autem in Graecia Herodutus Historiam primus habitus est92. This fact demonstrates that Dares was a significant figure in the Middle ages because he was considered as one of the founders of the Historiography genre in the Judeo-Christian tradition. Furthermore, the significant number of manuscripts which contain the Dares' Historia attested the popularity of this text during all the Middle Ages. Marco Scafai, while he is talking about the manuscript tradition of the Ilias Latina93, assumes that before 1000 the poem was copied together with the Dares' text because they have in common the Trojan theme. Later these two texts followed two different ways: the Ilias was written down in the Libri Catoniani, while the Historia in the Libri Manuales. This fact explains why many authors used Dares as a source for the creation of tales on the Trojan matter, an essential example of that being the Roman de Troye, written in 1160 by Benoit de Saint Maure.

91 Lentano makes an exact analysis of the text of Isidore (Lentano, Note critiche ed esegetiche al De Excidio Troiae di Darete Frigio 2016, 1013-1016) 92 “Among us Christians Moses was the first to write a history, on creation. However, among the pagans, Dares the Phrygian was first to publish a history, on the Greeks and Trojans, which they say he wrote on palm leaves. After Dares, Herodotus is held as the first to write History in Greece." (Isidore of Seville, I, 42) 93 Scafai 1997, 31-32

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3.2.2. The Ilias Latina94

Another relevant text is the Ilias Latina, which accidentally, during the first part of the Middle Ages, was written in a manuscript together with the text of Dares. This text is peculiar because it is an epitome of the Homeric Iliad. It is the example of a text created in a scholastic culture, without the desire to be handed down to the posterity; indeed, during the Middle Ages and later, the life of this text was possible thanks to its small dimension and the Virgilian influence. It is essential to underline that, during the Late Antiquity, the Greek text was mute, so the Ilias Latina represented the only source of the original Homeric text for a public who did not know the language. Würth, talking about the sources of the Trójumanna saga, assumes that: “(Ilias Latina) in the Middle Ages was considered a text of classical antiquity and belonged to the canon school literature”95. During the IX century, the first manuscript with Ilias' text appeared, and it was written together with the text of Dares. After some time, when the diffusion of both texts became more critical, the Ilias took different way instead of the Phrygian text. Later the Latin Ilias appeared in the Libri Catoniani, which are a miscellany of poetic text of lectures, used by non-expert classic poets. Around the X century, the text was written with the auctores maiores as Virgil, and they were joined with religious text in the Libri Auctorum octo moralium. So, in the 975 Gualterio of Spires taught the Latin Homerus, Virgil and Horace to his students at the cathedral-school of Spires. All of that could explain the long life and the importance of this text during the Middle Ages.

3.2.3. Aeneid of Virgil96

Another source is the Aeneid of Virgil. Publius Vergilius Maro is a Latin poet of the I century B.C. (Mantua, 70 - Brindisi 19 BC.). He wrote at the court of Gaius Cilnius Maecenas and Octavian Augustus. The literary result of this relationship was the epic poem Aeneid, in which the vicissitudes of Aeneas are narrated. This text is not a simple literary work, but it is the basis for the creation of an ideological story to support the new political system, introduced by Augustus. As Paolo Chiesa assumes97, he is the most

94 For the analysis of the opera and the comparison with the Icelandic text in the next subchapter, I have referred to the edition of Marco Scafai (Scafai 1997) 95 Würth 2006, 302 96 About the medieval interpretation and fortune of Virgil: (Ziolkowski e Putnam 2008); (Ottaviano 2009); (Conte 2016) 97 Chiesa 2019

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famous and vital classical author, and his tradition is pervasive. Over a hundred manuscripts of his text are recorded between the Late Antiquity and the humanistic age98. The work of Virgil had a formative function during the centuries. In particular, during the Middle ages, his texts dominated the culture of the . In the Carolingian era, there were many copies of the Aeneid and in the same places at the same time: it was not typical for that period. The poet was a central figure of the literary studies during all the Middle Ages and after. Indeed, the Aeneid was not only the greatest poem of the Latinity, but it was also accepted by the Christian culture, thanks to the 4th Bucolic, where Virgil prophesized the advent of an era of peace and the advent of a puer who would bring peace. That brought up to think that he was a sort of prophet of the advent of Christ – even the puer was in Virgil's mind Octavian August. Because of that, the essential intermediary of Virgil's masterpieces was the teaching and the scholastic environment, which consecrated the pedagogical and the educational value of the Virgilian poem. This fact allowed the copying and the distribution of Virgil's whole poems during the Middle Ages. On the other hand, the same historical personality of the poet assumed mystical and magical values, so it is possible to find in the Middle Ages an image of Virgil as poet and prophet, as wise and magician, and this image was created in the religious culture. This idea of the author brought to create the fictional and encyclopaedic literature (as the Image du monde, Roman des sept Sages, Cleomadis, Renart le Contrefait, Virgilio Mantovano, and others) and in the same cultural climate the Roman d'Eneas, written in the 11th century, which proposed once more the myth into chivalrous and courteous forms. In this way, Virgil satisfied the new taste of the nascent Romance art. So, during the Middle Ages, he represented one of the main threads of the culture and the spirituality of the Western World.

3.2.4. Metamorphoses and Heroides of Ovid99

The last two sources for the edition of the Trójumanna saga are the Metamorphoses and the Heroides of Ovid. He was a Latin poet, who lived in the I century B.C. He was the author of very famous masterpieces. One of them is the Metamorphoses. This work is the poet's most famous and beloved of all. It is a great epic poem of 15 books, in which Ovid recounts an enormous number of myths about transformations (Metamorphosis) which

98 Ibid. p. 117 99 About the medieval interpretation and fortune of Ovid: Dimmick 2002; Fyler 2013; Hexter 2002

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together constitute an incredibly original story of the Universe, which goes from the creation of the world to the time of Augustus. "Ovid became the central classical influence on literature and, later, the visual arts"100. There are many medieval manuscripts of his texts, and he and Virgil were the two most read and imitated authors from the Carolingian era, not surprisingly, it is possible to find them associated. Indeed, as I have already said, in Ovid's texts, as in the Viriglians, it was possible to find premonitions of Christian values. For examples in the Metamorphoses, it is possible to identify the acknowledgement of the only one creator God, which is said in the first book. Consequently, this last version had particular attention, because it was read as the genesis of a pagan bible, as it is said by the Spanish king Alfonso X the Wise himself. In particular, from the 12th century, Ovid became the primary classical influence in the medieval western literature and the arts too. In this period, many comments of his works started to appear, and the most important is the Vulgata. During this period, the focus was on love and transformations, well represented by the Heroides and the Metamorphoses. The first text is a collection of fifteen epistolary poems presented as though written by a selection of aggrieved heroines of Greek and Roman mythology in the address to their heroic lovers who have in some way mistreated, neglected, or abandoned them. In the Middle Ages, this text represented a sort of book about the psychology of women. His most important text is the Metamorphoses, and so, it is possible to understand the significant role played by Ovid and his works during the Middle Ages. As it is possible to understand, all of these sources were famous and read during the Middle Ages, and they represented the core of the classical literary culture of the Western world. So, it is not strange that the Icelandic scribes knew and used these sources.

3.3. The Hauksbók and Haukr Erlendsson

I decided to concentrate my research on Hauksbók’s version because it is peculiar and unique. The Trójumanna saga version, contained in the Hauksbók’s M.S., is different from classical translations of the Latin text; indeed, it represents a sort of personal re- elaboration of the Dares' Historia made by Haukr Erlendsson. The manuscript itself takes

100 Fyler 2013, 411

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the name after its author, Haukr himself, who was an Icelandic lögmaðr101, a lawman, who worked and found fortune at the Norwegian royal court of Hákon Magnússon (1299- 1319). He was Icelandic by the origin and worked in Iceland at the beginning of his career. This is possible to say because he appeared for the first time in 1294 as a lawman in Iceland, in the same year his father was made knight by the Norwegian king Erik Magnússon, the older brother of Hákon Magnússon. After a few years, he moved to Norway, where he lived all his life, except for the years between 1302 and 1310, when he was sent to Iceland. Firstly, he worked as a magistrate in Oslo, and later in the region of Gulaþing, near Bergen, in the western coast of Norway. The Hauksbók is a great vellum manuscript, and it was written between 1265 and 1334. Today it is dived in three parts, the AM 371 4to, the AM 544 4to102 and the AM 675 4to. The first one is in Iceland at the Árni Magnússon Institute, while the last two are in Copenhagen at the Arnamagnaean Institute. Two hundred ten leaves have initially composed the Hauksbók, now only 141 folia are survived, we have lost a significant part of the AM 371 4to, one of these was the page with the name of Haukr, which was lost during the XVII century. Furthermore, for the identification of one of the hands of this manuscript, in particular, the hand of Haukr, we have letters from 28 January 1302 and 14 October 1310 written by Haukr Erlendsson himself103. Indeed, the script in the letters is similar to the first hand in Hauksbók. The 15 hands, which wrote the manuscript, have been identified, and the Hand 7 is identified as the Haukr's one. This fact is not common in the Icelandic manuscripts. Elizabeth Asham Rowe assumes that this manuscript "is an unusual book for three reasons", and the first one is that the "writer is known with certainty”104 Indeed, this is the oldest Icelandic medieval manuscript of which we knew the author. He is one of the scribes and the mind of this book, but he is not the only scribes of the manuscript. It is possible to identify more hands which have worked on it. For sure, the AM 371 4to was composed by him; instead, the other two are alternated with the hands of other scribes, probably people at his service. Concerning the dating of the work, for sure the AM 371 4to and the AM 544 4to (fol. 22-59 and 60-107) were written between the 1306 and 1308, when Haukr was on a mission in Iceland for the Norwegian crown.

101 For a precise biography of Haukr Erlendsson: Gunnar, Littérature et Spiritualité en Scandinavie Médiévale - La Traduction Norroise du de Arrha Animae de Hugues de Saint-Victor 1995 102 handrit.is 2009-2019 103 (handrit.is 2009-2019) 104 (Ashman Rowe 2008, 51)

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Gunnar Harðarson and Stefán Karlsson present this manuscript's dare in their definition of the Hauksbók in the Medieval Scandinavia: An Encyclopaedia (Gunnar e Stefan 1993, 271), and this is accepted by Asham Rowe, who reported the information (Ashman Rowe 2008, 59). The manuscript presents a different type of texts. Indeed, it contains Historical and semi-historical texts, as the Trójumanna saga is, but there are also mathematical treatises and philosophical and theological dialogues, a collection of tracts and excerpts on geographical, chronological and theological subjects. It also contains a map of Jerusalem, the Vǫluspá and the Elucidarius105. The nature of the manuscript is unique because of its heterogeneity of texts. The scholars have argued about the model which he could have taken inspiration. They have tried to define the nature of this book. Gunnar Harðarson and Stefán Karlsson (1993) defined the Hauksbok "from its inception… an entire private library” 106. However, others do not agree with them because it can be a simple library, and they prefer to underline the non- Icelandic aspect of the text. The nature and the content of the text are not completely Icelandic, because of that, two years later, Gunnar Harðarson107 (1995) underlined the fact that Haukr was a magistrate at the court of Bergen in Norway. Following this idea, Helgi Þorláksson108 (2004) emphasises the political aspect of the manuscript: he thinks that Haukr has written this book in this way to demonstrate not only to have a complete knowledge of the Icelandic questions but also to demonstrate to have knowledge on the North Atlantic Area in general, which means Norway, Greenland and Vinland, to the king and the court. Another possibility could be that he wanted to present his lineage to prove his elitist origin. His belonging to the élite is not to so difficult to demonstrate. If we only look at the content of the text and not to the author, the text could be a work of an ecclesiastic or a powerful man. Haukr was a man of law, and his father was a knight. In Iceland it was quite reasonable that the men of power, clerical or chieftain, had a similar education, because they did not have a single centre of culture, but the education, the authorial work and the copying of text were done in different places, as the farmhouse of the chieftains, the monasteries and the episcopal centre109. So, the nature of the

105 For a complete list and analysis of the Hauksbók’s text read the article of Ashman Rowe (Ashman Rowe 2008, 52-63) 106 Gunnar and Stefan, Hauksbók 1993, 271 107 Gunnar, Littérature et Spiritualité en Scandinavie Médiévale - La Traduction Norroise du de Arrha Animae de Hugues de Saint-Victor 1995 108 Helgi, Why did Haukr Redact the Book of Settlements? 2004 109 About the education and the Icelandic cultural centre see chapter 2 of the present thesis.

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manuscript is quite problematic. Stephanie Würth110 defines the Hauksbók as a sort of an encyclopaedic work or as a sort of schoolbook. The Encyclopaedic literature “presented the arts and the sciences that the Greeks considered essential to liberal education in a form acceptable to the Christian Church. It was not arranged alphabetically as modern encyclopaedias are, to act as a repertory of information on all branches of knowledge, but concentrate on presenting a digest of all the artes”111 . As it is possible to see, the definition described the case of the Hauksbók perfectly. “Taken together, the texts of the Hauksbók constitute an encyclopaedia focusing on history. all four parts of an encyclopedia are represented: the cosmos, history, science and ethics.”112 During the XII century, the two most crucial encyclopaedists were Isidore of Seville and Bede. Indeed, many parts of the Etymologiae of Isidore were in the manuscript. Furthermore, the encyclopaedic literature could be found in very different contexts, and it had links with very different types of knowledge, from the lapidary to the biblical comments. Many texts of this genre could be found in Iceland, and they were a model for many authors113. Sverrir Jakobsson assumes the Hauksbók represents a world view of the élite society of Iceland between the 1100 and 1400, and I believe he is right. Indeed, I think the Icelandic encyclopaedic literature and the Hauksbók itself could be seen as a “collective product of Icelandic culture dispersed in space and time”114. Also, I believe that this encyclopaedic manuscript could be seen as a library, in which is found the knowledge and the “scholastic” texts of this élite, as Würth assumes: “the character of an encyclopaedia is reflected in the conception of the Hauksbók as a substitute for a library: it combines the contents of many books containing a large spectrum of knowledge”115. One does not exclude the other: a library is the base of the culture of a person, and it could be the representation of the knowledge of a society. If we only think about Virgil, or Isidore of Seville, or the biblical comments, they were texts which all the erudite knew

110 Würth 2006 111 Clunies Ross and Simek 1993, 164 112 Würth 2006, 303 113 The scholars discuss the model of the manuscript. Sverrir Jakobsson (Sverrir, Við og veröldin: Heimsmynd Íslendinga 1100-1400, 2005) proposed the Memebrana Reseniana 6 as a possible model, while Rudolf Simek (Simek 1990) assumes that the Liber Floridus could be the model of the Hauksbók. To know more about the debate is useful to read the article of Ashman Rowe, 2008, 66-71. 114 Sverrir 2007, 24 115 Würth 2006, 303

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and used in their works, and this represents a sort of wold view, a culture of all the medieval Europe, and this culture is based on the study of texts which are present in a library. The Hauksbók itself and its History's idea are deeply linked with the necessity to demonstrate the common origin of the Norse people with the rest of the European country, and in particular to demonstrate their role in the world history. One of the first steps of this common History is the text of the Trójumanna saga itself.

3.4. The version of the Hauksbók's Trójumanna saga

The text of the saga is located in the AM 544 4to, from fol. 23r to fol. 33v. The scribe of this part was identified as the Hand of Haukr Erlendsson himself, and it is defined as Hand 7. The script is the Gothic book. For all these reasons, Stefán Karlsson (Stefán 1964) dated the redaction of the saga between 1302 and 1310, when Haukr was in Iceland in a mission for the Norwegian court.

3.4.1. “Her hefr Troio manna sogu”

The text opens by the Rubric "Her hefr Troio manna sogu" (Finnur Jónson, 1892-1896, p.193)116, which means "here you have the saga of the Troy-men". This is a common characteristic of all the Icelandic Trojan sagas, so this is not a particularity of this text. However, the uniqueness of this version is that: despite having this title, the text does not start with Troy's story and its citizens, but Haukr elaborates a very original prologue about Crete's story many years before the war of Troy. The first chapter starts during "a dogum Iosue er hofdingi var Iorsala landi yfir Gyþinga lyð eftir Moyises" (p. 193), which means during the kingdom of Joshua, who ruled in the kingdom of Jordan after Moses. Joshua was a Jew warrior and a conqueror, and, according to the biblical text, he led the conquest of Palestine around the 13th century BC. The choice of a biblical figure for the dating is standard in the Middle Ages: starting from the Constantinian era, the scholars and the writers tried to draw a universal chronology, which had to contemplate the historical biblical tradition together with the Greek and the Roman ones. However, I find the choice of this dating interesting, and I believe that it is not accidental. As I have already said, Moses himself was considered one of the first essential

116 Finnur Jónsson makes the only one edition of this text of 1892-96 (Hauksbók: udgiven efter de Arnamagnæanske håndskrifter no. 371 1892-1896), so I use his edition for the present comparison and the references. I have translated the quotation in English.

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historians in the Middle Ages and, of course, a historical figure. So, it is possible to justify the choice of the scribe, regarding the dating during the kingdom of Joshua, as follow: first, Joshua was perceived as a remote and distant historical figure, as a figure of the Old Testament could be, and because of that his kingdom is perfect to collocate these ancient events. Second, in my opinion, he chose Joshua because he was the king after Moses, who was considered as a historian during the Middle Ages. So, if Moses did not talk about these events, it is because they happened after him and, probably, they thought Dares lived after Moses. The set of the first part of the saga is Crete and the protagonists are the ancient pagan gods, which now have lost their divine nature, and are presented as historical human beings, in particular as kings of the island and of the other pagan kingdoms, except the Jewish kingdom, which is not contemplated as a part of it. So, the saga begins at the time of the kingdom of Joshua in Crete. Indeed, it is possible to read "i ey þeiri i Iorsala hafi er Krit heitir", which means "in that island of the Jerusalem's sea, which is called Crete". Geographically the scribe collocated the island of Crete in the sea of Jerusalem, but it is not close to Jerusalem, in fact, it is located in the south-east of the Peloponnesus, and it is a Greek island. In the 14th century, the island was a Venetian dominion, and before the 4th crusade (1204) the island was a part of the Emperor of Constantinople. It is difficult to understand why the scribe located the island in the sea of Jerusalem and not simply in the Mediterranean. I suppose because it was felt as a dominion of the Holy Land and crusades' wold, or the scribe had confused Cyprus with Crete. The first island is more geographically close to the city of Jerusalem and its sea, but this is only a supposition. One of the protagonists of the first chapter is Saturnus, which is also "ver kollum Frey", meaning the Icelanders identified him with their god Frey. In this way it is possible to notice how the Roman-Greeks culture is elaborated to be understood and to be interiorized by the Icelanders, and in the same way, the scribe tries to demonstrate they are a part of this world culture, because they believed in the same "pagan gods", and the only difference is the names they used to identify them. Frey is one of the most important Gods of the Norse pantheon, he is a bearer of peace and as Snorri says he is the noblest of all.117 This transformation of the Roman gods in German

117 "Freyr er hinn ágætasti af ásum. Hann ræðr fyrir regni ok skini sólar, ok þar með ávexti jarðar, ok á hann er gott at heita til árs ok friðar. Hann ræðr ok fésælu manna." (Snorri, Gylfaginnin, XXIV) (Frey is the most splendid of the gods. He controls the rain and the shining of the sun, and

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gods is typical of the Icelandic literature. Saturnus is an ancient Latin God, later identified with the Greek Cronus. He represents the Golden Age of humanity. He is one of the most ancient deities of the pagan world. Under this light, it is possible to notice similarities between them. The source for this part of the chapter is Virgil, who said about Saturnus in the Aeneid: "haec nemora indigenae Fauni Nymphaeque tenebant/ gensque virum truncis et duro robore nata,/ quis neque mos neque cultus erat, nec iungere tauros/ aut componere opes Morant aut parcere parto,/ sed rami atque asper victu venatus alebat./ primus ab aetherio venit Saturnus Olympo/ arma Iovis fugiens et regnis exsul ademptis./ is genus indocile ac dispersum montibus altis/ composuit legesque dedit, Latiumque vocari/ maluit, his quoniam latuisset tutus in oris./ aurea quae perhibent illo sub rege fuere/ saecula: sic placida populos in pace regebat,/ deterior donec paulatim ac decolor aetas/ et belli rabies et amor successit habendi." (Aeneid, VIII, vv. 314-327)118 Also, Ovid in the Metamorphoses said that Saturnus is the god of the Golden Age, during which there were no laws and violence, no judges and no armies, men ate the food which nature gave them spontaneously, but this era is destined to end when Jupiter sent away Saturnus. In the saga, the scribe wrote this story, but it is not as a simple translation of these texts; indeed, he made some changes. The era of Saturnus is presented exactly like the Golden Age described by the Latin authors. In the beginning, he was not rich nor powerful, but Saturnus was a clever man, and he finds the way to learn how to work gold. He found out that Jews have good in this skill and every day they worked gold in the Tabernacle of God. So, he decided to steal this skill and to bring it back to his kingdom. In this way, he became a mighty man, many cities were built in his land, and he became the king of the kingdoms. The beginning of the Golden Age is represented by "hann let gullpening ganga un eyna" (p.193), that is that “he let circulate a Golden-Coins”

though them the bounty of the earth. It is good to invoke him for peace and abundance. (Byock, 2005, p.35)) 118 "These woodland places/ once were home of local fauns and nymphs/ together with a race of men that came/from tree trunks, from hard oak: they had no way/ of settled life, no arts of life, no skill/ at yoking oxen, gathering provisions,/ practising husbandry, but got their food/ from oaken boughs and wild game hunted down./ In that first time, out of Olympian heaven, Saturn came here in flight from Jove in arms,/ an exile from a kingdom lost; he brought/ these unschooled men together from the hills/ where they were scattered, gave them laws, and chose/ the name of Latium, from his latency/ or safe concealment in this countryside./ In his reign were the golden centuries/ men tell of still, so peacefully he ruled, / till gradually a meaner, tarnished age/ came on with fever of war and lust of gain." (Fitzgerald, 1983)

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(gullpening). Because of that, "kolludu heiðnir men þat gullheim, er hann reð fyri" (p.193), meaning that the pagans called it the golden kingdom. Furthermore, the text says he was great, and there is no notice about kin before him, so the heathens called him creator (upphaf) and god (guð). As I said before, the Metamorphoses were felt as the prophecy of the advent of God, because Ovid at the beginning of his opera talks about one creator God who have created everything, this god here is associated with Saturnus, because before him there was no one. In this way it is possible to assume that Haukr read the Metamorphoses and the Aeneid, and on the basis of them, he decided to make this story real; indeed, it looks like he was talking about a real event, because he has completely omitted the divine elements, and he explained the supernatural parts as pagan beliefs. Furthermore, he adds the story of the stealing of the Jewish skills about the gold, as he wants to set the story during the biblical time, while the Latin sources do not talk about the Jews. The story goes on saying that Saturnus has three sons, Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto, but the favourite one is Jupiter. From now, the scribe starts to strongly underline the theme of the Trinity and the number 3. Indeed, in the classical mythology, Saturnus had many children, Juno, the wife of Jupiter, for example, was a daughter of Saturnus too, but here he remembered only three of them, and, furthermore, they are represented as the trinity of the sky, himna þrenníng (p.194). After Saturnus became a powerful king and obtained the control of the Heaven and the Hell, heyrt hafði hann ok getið halvitisi ok eignadði hann þat ok sva himin (p.194), his sons asked him to have one of these kingdoms for each. He really loved his sons, so he decided to divide the power in this way: Jupiter obtained the Heaven and the power of the fire, the thunderbolt, and he always sent them three for time as the sign of the Trinity, as it is possible to read "lat fara iamnan sva at þat megi allir sia marking þrenningar rikir þins" (p.194); Neptune obtained the control over the drying land, þersum heimi (p.194), and Saturnus gave him a Trident as the mark of the Trinity as a gift; in the end, Pluto obtained the ruling of Hell and as a gift and a sign of the trinity he received a watch-dog, varðhund (p.194), which had three heads and is called Cerberus. As it is possible to see, the recurrence of the number 3 and the theme of the Trinity is very strong. I suppose that he wanted to put all the story under a Christian perspective, with a creator god and the trinity of the sons. It is possible to notice that: in both the Latin sources, Jupiter is defined as the most powerful god, the king of the Gods, and his weapon is the thunderbolt. Neptune is identified as his brother, and he has control over the sea and waves. Indeed, in the Aeneid, he is presented as a powerful god, and he had the power over the sea, in many times he tried to save

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Aeneas and, from the beginning of the Book I, Neptune is presented with his trident (levat ipse tridenti”119 Book I, v.145). Last, there was Pluto, who is the Latin god of the Underworld, he was represented as the king of Hell, and he possessed a watchdog ("ingens ianitor… latrans"120, Aenid, VI, v. 400), Cerberus121, which had three heads ("tria Cerberus extulit ora"122; Metamorphoses IV, v. 450). In none of these sources, the division of the kingdoms is explicated. One reference to this division can be found before the tales of the rape of Proserpine, in the Metamorphoses: asked his son Cupid to use his weapon, the arrow of love, to demonstrate their power over all the three great worlds; indeed, it is said: "illa, quibus superas omnes, cape tela, Cupido,/ inque dei pectus celeres molire sagittas,/ cui triplicis cessit fortuna novissima regni./ tu superos ipsumque Iovem, tu numina ponti/ victa domas ipsumque, regit qui numina ponti:/ Tartara quid cessant? cur non matrisque tuumque/ imperium profers? agitur pars tertia mundi,/ et tamen in caelo, quae iam patientia nostra est,/ spernimur, ac mecum vires minuuntur Amoris."123 (Metamorphoses, V, vv. 366-374). I suppose that the scribe takes inspiration for the division of the kingdoms from these passages of Virgil and Ovid, as it is possible to underline this is a personal re-elaboration of the story by the scribe himself. This fact demonstrates that this Old Icelandic version is not a simple translation, because there is not a complete correspondence between the Latin texts and the saga version. Some changes or ways to make the text new are very peculiar as we can see. Another one, fascinating, is the description of the passages from the Golden Age of Saturnus to the Silver Age of Jupiter. The story of the fight against the

119 "he raises his trident" 120 "the huge guardian … dog" 121 Another description of the watch-dog is in Aeneid, VI, vv. 416- 423: "Cerberus haec ingens latratu regna trifauci/ personat aduerso recubans immanis in antro./ cui uates horrere uidens iam colla colubris/ melle soporatam et medicatis frugibus offam/ obicit. ille fame rabida tria guttura pandens/ corripit obiectam, atque immania terga resoluit/ fusus humi totoque ingens extenditur antro." ("Cerberus barking with his triple throat/ makes all that the shoreline ring, as he lies huge/ in a fencing cave. Seeing his neck begin/ to come alive with snakes, the prophetess/ tossed him a lump of honey and drugged meal/ to make him drowse./ Three ravenous gullets gaped/, and he snapped up the stop. Then his great bulk/ subsided and lay down through all the cave.") 122 "Cerberus lifted the three mouths" 123"My son, you who are arms and hands to me, and all my power, take those all-conquering darts, my Cupid, and shoot your swift arrows into the heart of the god to whose lot fell the last of the three kingdoms. You have conquered the divinities of the upper air, including Jupiter himself, and hold them in subjection; yes, and the gods of the sea, also not excepting their overlord. Why is Tartarus left alone? Why not extend your mother's domain, and your own? A third part of the world is at stake, while we display such tolerance that we are being scorned in heaven."

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father can be found in the Latin sources too, as I said when I had introduced the Era of Saturnus, so the saga tells that Jupiter wanted the power of his father, and he and his brothers decided to attack him. They were close to winning, and so they proposed two choices, to go away or to fight. Saturnus, who was good, accepted to set his sons free and went away on exile. This is said in both the Latin sources, but in the Aeneid, it is specified that Jupiter sent away Saturnus and he went to Italy, like in the saga, "Saturnus segir ofsialfreða sunu sina verit hafa ok ofmikit len þeim gefit. Stockr hann undan hingat i Italiam" (p.194). This let the era of the war begin. Indeed, the first act sees the three sons of Saturnus fighting the father with the weapons. Also, here it is possible to find the very fascinating detail which is the symbol of this change: the shift of the material of the coins. Indeed, Jupiter withdrew the golden coins, and he let a silver coin circulate, "hann tekr af gullþenning (golden coin) en lætr ganga silfr þenning (silver coin)" (p. 194). Now the only king is Jupiter, the most powerful of them all. From this moment, the saga talks only about Jupiter, while Neptune and Pluto disappear from the story. After Jupiter became king, he had to fight against the sons of Titan, the brother of Saturnus. They had great power, and they went harrying and making evil things. They were so strong that they had built a great stronghold, “þeir fa sva mikinn styrk at þeir gera ser eina sterka borg” (p.194), where the sons of Titan lived and from there, they went to bring destruction. Jupiter decided to banish them, so he collected his troops, and he moved the war to them, “konungr samnar her i moti” (p.194). They surrendered him, and Jupiter let them free, and they set themselves on the Mount Etna where they were left to die starving by him, as it is possible to read: “Iupiter soekir at ok lettir eigi not fyr en þeir gefa sig upp. Hann lætr þa handtaka ok setia i fiallit Etna ok let þa þar svellta til heliar” (p.195). The fight between Jupiter and the sons of the Titans are narrated both in Ovid and in Virgil. In the beginning of Metamorphoses’ first book it is possible to read: "Neve foret terris securior arduus aether,/ adfectasse ferunt regnum caeleste gigantas/ altaque congestos struxisse ad sideera montis./ tum pater omnipotens misso perfregit Olympum/ fulmine et excussit subiecto Pelion Ossae./ obruta mole sua cum corpora dira iacerent,/ perfusam multo natorum sanguine Terram/ immaduisse ferunt calidumque animasse cruorem/ et, ne nulla suae stirpis

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monimenta manerent,/ in faciem vertisse hominum. "124(Metamorphoses, I, vv. 151- 160) Ovid talks about giants and not about the descendant of the Titans. However, it is possible to find the reference in Virgil when he writes about Aeneas' journey in the Underworld, in the Tartarus. ("tum Tartarus ipse/ (…) hic genus antiquum Terrae, Titania pubes,/ fulmine deiecti fundo voluuntur in imo."125 Aeneid, VI, vv. 577-581). The Tartarus is one of the places of the underworld of the pagan mythology. During the Middle Ages, the Tartarus was seen as Hell, and Pluto sometimes as the representation of the devil. When Aeneas went down in the Underworld, he was in Italy, in Cuma. I do not know why the scribe says the descendants of Titan went to the Mount Etna, he only says that they went there and because the nature of the Mount, which is a volcano, the heathens considered and called that place Hell, “ok þvi truðu heiðnir men at hann sendi þa til helvitis þvi ar iarðelldr er i fialli þvi” (p.195). Probably the scribe associates the Tartarus and Hell, and in particular, he believes that hell is constituted by fire, so, he thinks it could be like a volcano, and because of that he believes that the pagans considered the Etna and the Tartarus as the same thing. After the war with the Titan's descendant, Jupiter decided to build an excellent ship for himself, and, on the prow, he put the head of a bull. With this ship, he does every military expedition, and because of that the pagan thinks he should move as bull's body above the vast sea, “þvi trudu heiðnir men at hann foeri i griðungs liki yfir stor hof “(p.195). Jupiter was also useful in witchcraft and, so, he could change his aspect in the bull's one, “enda hafði hann ok fiolkyngi til at hann matti griðungr synaz” (p.195). This identification of Jupiter with the bull is unusual; also, the identification as the place of his kingdom in Crete is quite peculiar. Because of that, I suspect that Haukr has decided to unite god's figure with the figure of the mythological king Minos. Indeed, Crete is Minos' kingdom, and he is famous for the minotaur, which is the mythological beast with the body of a man and the head of a bull. The similarity with the description of the ship of Jupiter and the pagan beliefs of this figure is noticeable. Furthermore, in Metamorphose VIII, vv. 99-

124 "And the ether was not safer than the lands. They say that the Giants sought a kingdom in heaven. Also, they built mountains piled up to the high stars. Then the all-powerful father broke through Olympus with a cast-down. Lightning bolt and shook Pelion out from under Ossa. Just as the frightful bodies of the Giants were laying hidden by the large rock. They say that the Earth, covered with the blood of her sons, was soaked, so she brought the warm blood to life. Also, so that she would not lack any reminders of her lineage, she changed the blood into the face of men." 125 "then the Tartarus itself (…) here is Earth's ancient race, the brood of Titans, Hurled by the lightning down to roll forever in the abyss"

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100, Minos himself said about Crete and his kingdom as "Iovis incunabula, Creten,/ qui meus est orbis", which means literally "the cradle of Jupiter, Crete, which is mine kingdom". Moreover, in the book VIII, it is also said that Minos usually offers one hundred bulls to Jupiter as a sacrifice. So, I think it is possible to assume this hypothesis about the fusion of these two figures, and furthermore, this explains also why the scribe chooses Crete as the kingdom of Jupiter. The text continues with the description of Mercury as the son of Jupiter and his concubine Maia, and it is said that he was great in the sports and he is wise, "hann atti sun er Merkurius het. Hans modðir het Maia, hon var frilla hans. Merkurius var mikill i þrotta maðr ok vitr" (p. 195). In Metamorphoses II, vv.685-686, it is said about Mercury, that he "videt has Atlantide Maia/ natus et arte sua silvis occultat abactas"126, so he was identified as the son of Maia, and he is good in the art of the thieves, he is fast and smart. Chapter 2 talks about the story of Io and Jupiter. She was the daughter of a powerful man in Greece, Inachus. She was famous for her beauty. Also, when the news of her beauty came to Jupiter, he wanted to see her, so he left his kingdom and went to Inachus' land. Here he saw the beauty of Io, so, he fell in love with her, and he wanted to have her. Inachus called him to a meeting, and during that meeting, they discussed the honour of Jupiter and about his request to obtain Io as a wife. Inachus did not want to give him his daughter, so Jupiter affirmed that he could obtain her against his will and so he left. Jupiter came back with a little ship so that no one could see his arrival. After that he arrived in a wood, where he met some slaves and poor people, he asked them where the king was and about the news in the land. They answered the king was upset because Crete-Thor127 has come in his land for his daughter. He asked them to bring him Io in the wood, and in exchange, he would give them the silver. They accepted, so they kidnapped Io and brought her to Jupiter. After that, he went back to his kingdom with the girl, in Crete. Here, she met the wrath of the wife of Jupiter, Juno, who did not like this girl, and because of that, she transformed the princess into a young heifer. She was put under the control of Argus, who was a servant with a hundred eyes: because of that, he could control her day and night. To save her, Jupiter sends his son Mercury, who lulled to sleep Argus, and after that, Mercury killed him. Io was now liberated, and after that, she gave birth to

126 "the son of Maia Atlantean espied them, and by his cunning drove them off and hid them in the woods 127 It is interesting the use of the name Crete-Thor, this is typical of the Icelandic literature: sometimes the deities assume a name made by their name and an object, land or an adjective.

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Hercules. Juno hated this boy and wanted to kill him, so she sent him two snakes, but he was already powerful, so he killed the snakes. This is the synopsis of the chapter. I think it is interesting to underline only a few things. First of all the name of the Gods are not presented only with the Latin version: at the beginning Jupiter is called with his name, but when he is in the forest with the slaves, they talk about him calling him Crete-Thor, as it is possible to read at page 195, "þeira segia konung sitia i goðum friði en ecki er her tiðara at tala en um Krita-Þór hversu sneypilega hann for". Furthermore, the name Thor appears a few sentences again later, when the scribe says that Thor sent Mercury to save her ("Þór sendi til Merkurium", p.196). Jupiter is not the only one to change the name; also his wife, in the beginning, is called with her roman name, Juno, but during the tale, she is called Sif, as the Nordic Goddess wife of Thor ("sva er sagt at Sif kona Þors", p.196). It is the same thing which happens in chapter 1 about Saturnus-Frey. Jupiter is the god of thunder, so the scribe identified him with Thor, and in consequence of that, Juno became Sif, the wife of Thor. Another important difference is that the story narrated in the Metamorphoses, which is the source of this tale, is quite different. Inachus is not a king, he is a demi-god, and he cries because he has lost his daughter Io, who is not a princess but a nymph. Probably following the influence of Snorri and the others author, the writer transforms the characters in human being to make the story real, but, as it is possible to notice, the magical deeds, as the transformation of Io in a heifer, or the figure of Argus, spoil the intention. The Latin source continues with that Jupiter sees the great beauty of the girl, but he does not ask her as a wife. He meets her in the wood, and he promises her to protect her, but she runs away afraid. He follows her and the Latin text reports that Jupiter rapes her. After that, Juno wants to find his unfaithful husband, and he sees him in the Argolis. Jupiter, knowing his wife, decides to transform the young Io in a heifer to protect her from his wife. On Juno's request, he gives her the heifer as a gift, and then she gives the heifer to Argus because she does not trust her husband and she is worried about the possibility that he could try to steal the heifer. Argus is described in the same way as in the saga; indeed, he has hundred eyes which only two at time rest. To save the girl, Jupiter sends Mercury. He runs to her, and he makes Argus sleep with a tale, and he kills him. Juno is not happy, but Jupiter asks her to forgive the girl and let her free, promising that it will never happen again. So, the girl is free. The third different detail of the story is that the scribe omitted the meeting with her father when the girl is still a heifer, probably because he does not consider this detail important. The last big difference is that at the end of the story, Ovid tells the girl gives birth to a son, but he is not Hercules. As

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for Minos-Jupiter, here we can see another fusion of two mythological figures. Io gives birth to Epaphus, and he is a demigod as Hercules and as Io, his mother. However, unlike Hercules, Epaphus did not kill the two snakes when he was still a child. Probably this is another simplification of the story. Chapter 3 is dedicated to the story of . In this case, it is possible to notice the complete adherence to the Latin text of the Metamorphoses. As before, this is not a pure translation, but it is a resume of the tale of Lycaon. It is narrated the trick, which he wants to play Jupiter and the consequent transformation into a wolf. Indeed, Jupiter has heard about the tyrant Lycaon, and he wants to go to him to see the truth. In the Icelandic version, it is said that Lycaon is a cannibal or a troll, and Jupiter wants to know if it is true. He came to his house and because of that Lycaon wanted to do the trick to Jupiter, serving him the flesh of a human for dinner ("ok hit fysta kvelld ser hann at þar var mannaslatr i katli ok nu grunar bondan hverr gastrin man vera ok vill nu svikia hann", p.196). In the Icelandic version, Jupiter sent men to his house to kill him, while in the Latin text Jupiter made the house fall down and while Lycaon is running away, he is transformed into a wolf. So, it is possible to say that the scribe tells the story as a historical event and the transformation is defined as a belief of the pagan, as in the other cases, with the classical form: "þvi truðu heiðnir menn at"128. Last note to this chapter: in the Metamorphoses, this episode is collocated after Titians' war, while in the saga it is postponed. In chapter 4, the story of Europa and her brother Cadmus is narrated. The story is similar to the Inachus' one; indeed Agenor, a great rich king, was afraid that the same could happen to him. Indeed, he had two children, a daughter who is called Europa and a son who is called Cadmus. Europa was magnificent, and Agenor was worried about the possibility that Jupiter tried to kidnap her, so he asked Cadmus to protect her, or he would never receive the kingdom after his death. Cadmus is described as a great wise man, so great that he has invented the Greek alphabet. As in the other case, Jupiter learned about her, and he decided to have her. So, he left the city and swam to the seashore where the daughter of the king was walking. He turned himself into a bull and waited for her. When she saw him, she went to him and started to pet him. After that, he, like a bull, sprang up and brought the girl to his kingdom. King Agenor was sad because of that, and he exiled his son until he should find his sister and bring her back. So, Cadmus went to Jupiter for

128 "because of that the heathens believed…"

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a meeting, and they discussed the situation. In the end, they came to term: Jupiter married Europa and Cadmus obtained the third part of the kingdom. From this union, was born; he was the God of the sun. Jupiter changed the name again and became Thor, and he found out that Apollo is good in witchcraft and in to create monsters, so he sent his men to grants him the dawn ("gerir at hann ellding", p.197). The story about the kidnapping of Europa is quite the same to the Metamorphoses' text: the episode of the bull is notably similar, except for the description, of which the Icelandic one is more detailed than the Latin one. Furthermore, in the Ovidian script the name of the girl does not appear at the beginning of the story, neither the name of the brother Cadmus, who appears only in the following book, the third one. Cadmus is sent away from his father after the rape of Europa. After the exile, he finds another kingdom for himself, but he never meets his sister, neither he comes to term with Jupiter, Cadmus finds a new kingdom, Thebe. Another difference in the Trójumanna saga is the fact that Europa gives birth to Apollo, while in the Latin tradition the mother of Apollo is . In the Latin tradition, and in particular in Ovid's text, Europa marries the king of Crete Asterius, and he adopts her children, one of these being Minos, king of Crete. I believe it possible that Haukr decides to make a fusion between the king Asterius and Jupiter because in the Trójumanna saga it is said that she marries the king of Crete and this also happens in the Latin text, but they are two different figures. Apollo appears at the end of the tale in the Metamorphoses, but only as a god who helps Cadmus to find the new kingdom, which will be the city of Thebe. So, it is possible to notice the revision, what Haukr does about every tales of the Metamorphoses and the Aeneid is real and peculiar. Chapter 5 is the last chapter of this extended prologue, and it is about the fight between Salomon and Jupiter. I suppose it represents the defeat of Jupiter-Thor against Salomon and Christianity. Indeed, this first prologue ends with the death of Jupiter by the hand of Salomon's troops; indeed, the text says: "ok þar af þa dó hann ok mikill luti folks hans ok syndiz Þor hanum þat maklig script" (p.197). This part cannot be found in any of the classical sources, neither Ovid nor Virgil. Probably it is a construction of Haukr himself to explain the end of the kingdom of Jupiter and the end of the heathen time. There is one text in the Old English tradition about a dialogue between Salomon and Saturnus129, probably he took inspiration by this text, but for the moment I am not sure about this.

129 Lendinara 1994

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With chapter 5 this first prologue about the kingdom of Jupiter-Thor.

3.4.2. "Fra Edelon"

After this first section, a new one begins, which has the following title, "Fra Edelon" (p.197). For the moment I do not know what the translation of this term, Edelon, can be, because it does not appear in any of the Latin sources. Chapter 6 talks about another transformation of Jupiter, the last one of the saga, even if in the previous chapter, he is dead. The feminine protagonist is Alkonia Amphitrion, daughter of Edelon. As always, Jupiter wanted her, so he went to her, and when she sat on her lady's bower, then a golden rain (gulldropum) started to fall over her knees, so she went out, and she finished under a great shower of rain, which is in reality Jupiter. He grabbed her and brought her to his ship. Unlike the other time, her father did not send anyone to find her because Edelon knew who took her. The scribe of the saga, here, makes a big mistake probably because he did not understand the text of Ovid, or because the manuscript he has read130. Indeed, the episode of the golden rain happens to Danae and not to Alkonia Amphitiorn, who probably is Alcmena wife of Amphitrion. Indeed, in Metamorphoses Book VI, vv. 112-114, it is possible to read: Amphitryon fuerit, cum te, Tirynthia, cepit,/ aureus ut Danaen.131 I think the nearness of the name Amphitrion and aures is probably the reason for this misunderstanding. From chapter 7 the Trójumanna Saga begins, because from now on the scribe writes the saga following Dares' text. Indeed, in the "prologue" the scribe had only used the Aeneid and the Metamorphoses as sources, but from now on, he starts referring to the De Excidio Troiae Historia of Dares Phrygius in particular. So, from chapter 7, the two texts start to follow the same timeline, and they both talk about the journey of Jason to find the Golden- Fleece. As always, the Old Icelandic version presents some differences with the source. Furthermore, details from the other Latin texts, from the Metamorphoses and, in particular, from the Heroides of Ovid can be found. Chapter 7 starts with the presentation of the king of the Peloponnese Pelias as an excellent and rich man. He had a brother, Aeson, who had a son, Jason. He was very popular in the kingdom, more than his uncle,

130 I could not see the manuscripts used and read by Haukr, and for now I do not know what they could be. 131 "assumed the likeness of Amphitrion when he embraced the lady of Tiryns: how he tricked Danae by changing into a shower of gold."

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who was very jealous of him and was worried about a possible usurpation by his nephew, so he plotted a plan to eliminate him. Indeed, Pelias knew about the pride of Jason so he proposed him to find the Golden Fleece, which represented a great trial, hoping Jason could die during this travel because it was known that no one had ever returned from it. The story is the same, but there are several differences between the original version of Dares and the Hauksbók's one, as the description of the characters, which can be found only in the Icelandic text. The Latin text is shorter than the Icelandic version, mainly because it does not present the dialogues between Jason and his uncle Pelias, it says only: "Pelias rex ut vidit Iasonem tam acceptum esse omni homini, veritus est, ne sibi iniuras faceret et se regno eiceret. Dicit Iasoni Colchis pellem inauratam arietis esse Dignam eius virtute: ut eam inde auferret omnia se ei daturum pollicerut."132 (chapter I), Instead of a long speech, which is found in the Icelandic version. This is ascribable to the different nature of the two versions: Dares presents a very short report of the story, because he wrote an acta diurna, as he said in the last chapter of his text, so a documentary text, instead, the purpose of the Trójumanna saga is "prodesse et delectare", which means to teach and to amuse, because it is a saga, which means a tale, a story was written to be read by a public. Another exciting thing is the different use of words to define the Golden Fleece, indeed in the Latin text Dares prefers to use the term "Colchis pellem inauratam arietis" which means the fleece of a ram overlaid with gold, while the Old Icelandic version presents the world gullspunni, which is its precise translation. Probably the scribe prefers to refer to the more classic terms of the myth than to the technical terms of Dares, who choose to use this form because he wanted to eliminate the magical parts from his narration, to make the story more real. Indeed, he decided to write about the expedition of Jason only because he wanted to write a sort of "Archaelogia" of the events of the Trojan War, and he had to write about this expedition for what will follow, but he eliminated every magical part from the narration. Haukr does not do this, and he mixes all the versions to create the complete text of the story. Indeed, he presents the list of the Argonauts,

132 "When king Pelias saw that Jason was popular with everyone, he feared that he might do some harm or drive him off the kingdom. Accordingly, he told Jason there was something worthy of his prowess at Colchis: the golden fleece of a ram. If Jason brought it back, he would give him complete control of the kingdom."

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"þessir menn rèðust til ferðar með Jason: hinn mikli Erkúles, sun Þórs; Kastor ok Pollox af Sparta, brœðr Eline, er venst var allra kvenna í Girklandi, hana átti , ok Klitemestre. Er átti ; með honum fór ok hinn spaki or Piló, ok Telamon af Salómína ok Peleus af Figía; eigi eru fleiri menn nefndir"133 (p. 198) Also, he started to introduce other characters as Helen and Menelaus, Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, while Dares does not, he says that: “Demostrare eos qui cum Iasone profecti sunt non videtur nostrum esse: sed qui volunt eos cognoscere, Argonautas legant”134 (chapter 1). Indeed, Haukr recreates the list thanks to chapter III of the Dares' text, which narrates the punitive expedition of some of them against Laomedon king, as we can see later. The story continues with the arrival of the Argonauts to the land of Laomedon king, father of Priam. In the Icelandic version, when Laomedon is presented as a king, the scribe reports the list of the family of Priam, Laomedon's son, fyri því ríki rèð þá Lamedon, hans sun var Príamus, en dóttir Hesíóna; kona Príamí hèt Hekúba, þeirra synir voru þeir, hinn ágæti Ektor ok hinn fagri Alexandr, er Paris hèt öðru nafni, Deiphebus, Helenus ok Tróilus; dœtr þeirra þær Kasandra ok Pólixena ok Tróan; átti Príamus ok laungetna sunu.135 (pp. 198-199) basing on chapter IV of Dares Hoc ubi Priam nuntiatum est patrem occisum … Ilium petit cum uxore et liberis Hectore Alexandro Deiphobo Heleno Troilo Andromacha , nam errant ei etiam alii filii ex concubunis nati.136 The scribe probably considers essential to report the name of the main characters at the beginning of the story, in particular, the Trojans. After the presentation of the family of Priam, the chapter deviates from the Historia; indeed, the scribe decides to put two myths

133 "Those men were settled for the journey with Jason, the great Hercules, son of Thor, Castor and Pollux from Sparta, brothers of Elena, who was the most beautiful of all the women in Greece, Menelaus married her, and Agamemnon married Clytemnestra. With him also went Nestor the wise from Pylos and Telamon of Salamis and Peleus of Pythia. Not more men are named." 134 "It is not our business to tell about those who set forth with Jason. If anyone wishes to know about them, he should read the Argonautica". 135 "Laomedon ruled on this kingdom. His son was Priam and his daughter Hesione. The wife of Priam was called Hecuba. Their sons were they, the excellent Hector and the fair (beautiful) Alexander, whom Paris is called in another name, , Helenus and Troilus, and their daughters were Cassandra and Polyxena and Troan. 136 "Here this is said to Priam that his father was killed … he returned to Troy, along with his wife, Hecuba, and his children, Hector, Alexander, Deiphobus, Helenus Troilus, , Cassandra and Polyxena. Actually, with him came also other children who were born from concubines".

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in the story, which are not found in Dares' version, probably because of the presence of numerous supernatural events. These two myths are: the dream of Hecuba about the destiny of Paris as the cause of the destruction of Troy; and the myth of the marriage of and Peleus. Both the tales come from Ovid, the first is narrated in Heroides XVI, which is the letter sent by Paris to Helen; while the second is from the Metamorphoses, even if, I think he makes a mistake about this episode, because it is Peleus the husband of Thetis, instead of Paris, while Haukr writes the contrary. My opinion is that: he takes inspiration the Heroides, even if also in the Metamorphoses the episode is narrated. Würth affirms the same, when she talks about the episode of the Judgement137. In particular, he takes inspiration from the letter V, which the nymph Eson sent to Paris after he left her for Helen. This letter narrates about their marriage and their love before he met the beautiful Helen. Here, the episode of the golden apple and the quarrel-beauty is narrated: both the episode are linked traditionally to the wedding of Thetis and Peleus. The chapter ends with a race between the bulls and the coronation of Paris by Thor. Chapter 8 is not found in the Dares' text; indeed, in this chapter Judgement of Paris is narrated on the line of the letter XVI of the Ovid's Heroides. The story is entirely the same, the three goddesses were conducted, in this case by Saturnus and not by Mercury, to Paris on the mount Ida. Here, after the recognition of his father (Heroides V), the prince judged the goddess, who, respectively, promised him a gift: Minerva the wisdom, Juno the power and the strength, and Venus promised him the love of the most beautiful Greek woman, Helen. He chose Venus, because of that Sif will be an enemy of the Trojans. The only significant difference between the two texts is the name of the goddess: the scribe uses the name of Nordic goddesses, Sif (Juno), Freya (Venus) and Frigg (Minerva). Chapter 9 starts with the arrival of the Argonauts to Laomedon's land. The king, worried about a possible attack, asked them to go away. This fact made Hercules angry, and he planned to take revenge one day. So, the journey of the Argonauts went on, so they arrived in Colchis, and they met the king, who is called Medius in the Icelandic saga, while in the Classical tradition he is called Eeta. This part of the story is entirely omitted by Dares, who did not want to talk about the supernatural events, so he only says that: "Colchos profecti sunt, pellem abstulerunt, domum reverse sunt"138(De Excidio Troiae, II), a sort of veni, vidi, vici, indeed he says that they arrived in Colchis, they obtained the Fleece

137“This passage (the competition among Sif, Freya, and Frigg) in Hauksbók is tied not to Dares’ text, but to Ovid’s Heroides and other, unknown sources” (Würth 2006, 306) 138 And set out for Colchis, and stole the fleece, and returned to their homeland".

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and then they came back home. Indeed, chapter 9 and chapter 10 of the Trójumanna saga tell the story of the deeds of Jason to obtain the Golden-Fleece, thanks to the help of Medea. The tales of this fact entirely inspire the story in the Metamorphoses of Ovid, book VII. Indeed, the narration is quite the same, there are only a few differences, probably because of the re-arrangement of the text operated by Haukr, for example as I said, the name of the king is different. Furthermore, the king himself describes the attempts of Jason to dissuade him from trying, while in the Metamorphose is Medea who talks about that, when she discovered that she is in love with the hero. She asked his sister to call the Greek hero for a meeting, and they met in the wood, and they fell in love, while in the classic version Medea fell in love with him from the beginning, and she decided to help him because of that, even if she had to betray his father and people. The attempts are quite the same, but the sequence of them is different: in the Icelandic version, he made sleep the bulls and the dragon at the beginning, and not at the end, as in the Latin text. Furthermore, in the Metamorphoses' version, all the attempts are public, while in the Old Icelandic one, Medea and Jason exceeded the challenge without no one seeing them. The result is the same: Jason wins and takes the Golden-Fleece, and after the victory, he and his men destroyed the city, while Medea took the gold and the treasure of his father. After this, all of them left the Colchis and started their journey back home. One night they stopped on an island, and they spent there the night, but the day after all the men left the island, abandoning Medea. When she woke up, she found out that all left, so she cursed Jason. Chapter 10 ends with Jason returning home, who will become a great king after Pelias. Chapter 11 of the Trójumanna saga is similar to the chapter III of the De Excidio Troiae, in fact, the story and the events are the same, the only difference is how the Icelandic scribe writes the story, because it is an elaboration and not a translation of the Latin text, but in both it is narrated how Hercules reunites his friends and troops, and they take revenge against Laomedon for the úvirðíng (p.202), when they came for the first time to his kingdom during the Golden-Fleece's expedition. The chapter ended with the city's destruction and Laomedon's killing and the kidnapping of Hesione by Telamon. This fact is represented as one of the causes of the war of Troy. This is the first part of the prologue of the Trojan war. As it is possible to notice, the timeline of the two versions, the Latin and the Icelandic ones, is the same, but the author of the saga decides to add more details, and he takes inspiration by the other sources, as the Ovid's text. Moreover, this adding of

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stories and details is more evident in the following subchapter, where Haukr adds a new part to the Dares' story, and he narrates the deeds of Hercules.

3.4.3. "Fra Erkules"

As I said, in this part, Haukr deviates from the text of Dares, and he adds a new part about Hercules ("Fra Erkules", p.203): in chapters 12 and 13 he narrates the deeds of the hero. The primary source, in this case, is the Heroides, IX, which is the letter of Deianira to Hercules after he left her for another woman. In chapter 12, the text says that, after the defeat of Laomedon and the return to his homeland, Hercules left his home to do great deeds. After that, the scribe resumes the most important part, as the killing of the lion of Nemea, even if the text talks only about a great lion killed by his hand ("hann drap með höndum sèr einn mikinn leo", p.203). In the list are also found: the killing of the Idra ("ormr með mörgum höfðum, ok ef eitt var af honum höggvit, þá komu ij í staðinn", p.203); the theft of the golden apples; the killing of Geryon. The chapter tells about the time when Atlas sustained the Vault of the Sky while he shored up the Earth ("ok gerði þar mikla stólpa til marks víðförli sinnar", p.203). Furthermore, it talks about his journey to the Strait of Gibraltar and he names it with the Icelandic name, Norvasund. He mentions the killing of Cacus and the killing of the Centaurus and the Harpies ("hann drap ok þar þá fugla, er ágætastir hafa verit, er Arpíne hètu" p.203). At the end of chapter 12, it is said that the heathens believed that he is born in Heaven and he becomes a star. This is a clear reference to Hercules'Ascension in the Book IX of the Metamorphoses: here is described how the hero ascends to the sky after his death. He became a part of the sky itself, so he becomes a star. In chapter 13, the episode of the betray of Deianira is presented. She was the first wife of Hercules, and he left her for another woman, so she plotted a plan to kill him. In this chapter, there is a long speech of Deianira herself. She explained the reason for her sorrow, and it is possible to find another list of the deeds of Hercules. In reality, this speech is a sort of letter she sends to Hercules with a tunic soaked with her blood, which will be the weapon which kills the hero. She committed suicide. These two chapters, 12 and 13, represent a sort of arrangement of the Ovidian texts, in particular, the Book IX of the Metamorphoses and the Letter IX of the Heroides, in particular, the speech of Deianira in the Trójumanna saga. Indeed, in this text, it is possible to find many references to the text of the Heroides.

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3.4.4. “Er Troo var eflð annan tima”

After this part, the text follows the same timeline of Dares' text. Indeed, a new part of the story begins, and it is possible to understand this by the title “Er Troo var eflð annan tima” (p.204), it means “when Troy was reinforced another time”. Chapter 14 starts after the destruction of the city made by Hercules and Telamon. During this fight, he was not in the city, but he was away so that he could save himself. When he learned about the destruction of the city, he went there with all his family and property. This part corresponds to the chapter IV of the Historia, and it is quite similar, the only significant difference is the fact that here Dares made the list of the relatives of Priam, while Haukr had anticipated this list in chapter 7, as I have already said. Furthermore, in this chapter, it is told about the reconstruction of the city of Troy, which is made stronger and more prominent, so in case of war, they could defend themselves inside the walls. This part is also found in Dares' text, but he also describes the name of the city's doors and the construction of a Temple dedicated to Jupiter. In the Old Icelandic version, the description of the city is quite different. First of all, the names of city's doors are omitted: the text talks only about the protection of Apollo and Neptune, which is linked to the text of the Metamorphoses, Book XI, vv. 194-204, where Ovid narrated Ultus abit Tmolo liquidumque per aera Vectus/ angustum citra pontum Nepheleidos Helles/ Laomedonteis Latoius adstitit arvis./ dextera Sigei, Rhoetei laeva profundi/ ara Panomphaeo vetus est sacrata Tonanti:/ inde novae primum moliri moenia Troiae/ Laomedonta videt susceptaque magna labore/ crescere difficili nec opes exposcere parvas/ cumque tridentigero tumidi genitore profundi/ mortalem induitur formam Phrygiaeque tyranno/ aedificat muros pactus pro moenibus aurum.139 So, the scribe of the Trójumanna saga changes the story, in fact, in the Ovidian text the construction of the high walls is collocated during the kingdom of Laomedon and not during the kingdom of Priam. In the Icelandic version we can read this: en eigi varð hon

139 “Apollo, when he had taken his revenge, left Tmolus and journeyed through the clear air, but stopped short of the narrow strait of Helle, Nephele's daughter, and alighted on the plains of Troy. There, on the right of the Sigean promontory, and to the left of the Rhotean, an ancient altar, sacred to the Thunderer of Panomphe, stood. From there, the god saw Laomedon, beginning to raise the walls of his new city, Troy. He saw, too, that the great task the king had undertaken demanded no small resources, and that it was proceeding with much toil and difficulty. So, along with the god who bears the trident, the father of the swelling seas, Apollo disguised himself as a mortal and, on receiving a promise of gold in return for the city's defences, built the walls of Troy for the Phrygian tyrant.”

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fyrr allger, svâ sem þeir vildu, fyrr en Neptúnus ok Apolló sólarguð gerðu hana (p.204)140. Furthermore, the castle is collocated above all city'sdistricts, and it was built as a temple, dedicated to Thor. From now the names of the gods will always be in the Norse version, as the scribe wants to say that, the Trojans now are the ancestors of the Icelandic and Norse people, and this is understandable if we think to the texts of Snorri, or Ari or the Third Grammatical Treatise, which I have analysed in chapter 2141. In this chapter, it is told that, after the city's construction, Priam sent a messenger to the Greeks, who were guilty of the previous attack, to ask the return of his sister Hesione. This is found in both texts, but the Trójumanna saga omits Antenor's name, which appears only after the answer of the Greeks. Furthermore, only one speech with Telamon is reported, while in Dares' text, Antenor went to all of the Greeks guilty of the destruction of the city. Furthermore, the scribe seems confused, because at the beginning Antenor met Peleus, but the answer was given by Telamon, who said he was not guilty and he never gave back what now is his own without fighting, but we know he was the king who has taken Hesione home with him. By Dares and Haukr, this is presented as one of the first causes of the Trojan War. Antenor after the answer came back to Priam and referred to the answers and the mocking: Hann fór þegar brott, ok lètti eigi fyrr en hann kom heim til Príamó ok sagði honum alla sína ferð, ok sagðist fundit hafa alla þá menn, er honum áttu sakir at bœta, ok sagði fyri sakbœtr koma spott ok heitun.(p.205)142 In the first part of chapter 15, chapters VI, VII, VIII and IX of the De Excidio Troiae of Dares are resumed. It is said that, after the return of Agenor, Priam decided to call all his sons in assembly to decide to move war against the Greeks. Here the debate between the sons of Priam about the decision to go on war started. Hector, the eldest son, agrees about the war, but he tries to explain that they do not have enough strength to move war because they do not have so many ships and the enemies in Greece are many. Later on, Alexander spoke and, as in Dares, he agreed on the war and he wanted to be the leader of this expedition because the events on the Mount Ida, which are represented by the judgement

140 “He set already the material to the city and the city grew stronger than before, and Neptune and Apollo, god of sun, granted her.” 141 I believe essential to underline the connection with the Icelandic texts which I have analysed in chapter 2, Ari, Snorri and the Third Grammatical Treatise. The Trojans are considered Scandinavians' ancestors, because of that, they built a temple to worhipThor and not Jupiter. 142 “He went immediately away, and he left, not before he came home to Priam, and he told him the whole journey, and he declared to have met all that men who had to repair to him for the sake, and he said to come about, mocked and mot for damages."

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and the promise of Venus-Freyja to give him the most beautiful woman (Eftir þat sagði Alexandr draum sinn, þann er hann hafði dreymt í Íða skógi, p. 205), but in this chapter it is not represents as an actual fact, but as a dream, as in Dares' text. In the Historia, Paris' Judgement is presented as a dream because the author wants to eliminate all the supernatural details. However, in the Trójumanna saga, this is weird because, in chapter 8, the judgement is presented as a real fact. Deiphobus supported the idea of the expedition. Later on, Helenus spoke, and he did not wholly agree with the expedition, because he feared its consequences. In Dares, he is not only the youngest, but he is famous as a prophet and, during the assembly, he said it is dangerous for the city and the family if they bring back a woman from the Greeks, because they would come to fight. At last, Troilus, the youngest spoke, and he agreed on the war. After that, Priam announced that he would levy the troops and go, and he stated that Alexander would be the leader of this expedition. After this one man, Pandus, son of Eyporbus, opposed himself to the expedition and he asked his father to say that, if Alexander should bring back a woman from Greece, so death and destruction would come to them (ef Alexandr næmi konu af Girklandi, at þar af mundu vèr fá údæmi ok aldrtila, p. 205), so it is better to live inactively than to die (ok kallaði hann ner sínu skapi vera at lifa í atferðarleysi en deyja hæðilega í forsjóleysi ok heimsku með ofkappi, pp. 205-206). These are the same word of the Latin version; so, it is possible to read: dicere coepit si Alexander uxorem de Graecia adduxisset, Troianis extremum exitium futurum, sed pulchrius esse in otio vitam degere, quam in tumulto libertatem amittere et in periculu inire143. (chapter 8) Then, Priam insulted this man and defined him as a woman. Also, Cassandra, Priam's daughter, advised them about the following of this expedition, but no one listened to his prophecy, so the expedition started. In Dares there is also a description of how they prepare the ships for the journey, using wood from the mount Ida, but not in the Icelandic version, there they only start the journey. After that, Alexander finally arrives in Greece: before he met Menelaus, and, after their meeting, he moved to Cythera, where Helen was. She was famous for her beauty, and Alexander and his companions were curious to see her. The original version is not so different, the only difference is the fact that Dares wants to underline Helen's loneliness, so it could be easier to kidnap her.

143 “If Alexander brought home a wife from Greece, Troy would utterly fall. It was much better, he said, to spend one’s life in peace than to risk the loss of liberty in war.”

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In chapter 16, the kidnapping of Helen is described. The two versions are quite different, even if the story is the same. In Dares' text it is narrated in chapter X: Alexander and Helen see each other only one time before the kidnapping, and they fall in love during this only one meeting, they do not talk, she feels sad and guilty for this love, Alexander becomes mad, and he decides to kidnap her and to bring her to Troy with him, so he orders his men to be ready with the ship. During the night, he goes to Helen and takes her with other women to his ship. There is a fight with the men of Menelaus, who do not want to let go of their queen, but Alexander wins and leaves Cythera. Before the arrival in Troy, he stops on the island of Tenedon, and there he and Helen consume their love. After that, the report of this event comes to Menelaus, who asks to help his brother Agamemnon. The Icelandic version is quite different, because Helen and Paris meet in the temple and they have the possibility to talk and promise love to each other, in particular, thanks to a trick Paris makes Helen swear she will be her woman, so, while they are in the temple, he gives her a golden apple, where these words are carved: ek sver þess við goðin, at ek skal Alexandr giftast, ok vera hans drottníng hèðan af (p. 206), which means she is swearing to be his queen. He does this because he knows that every oath made in front of the gods are holy, and no one can go against them. Because of that, Helen is worried. Probably this is a creation of the author himself because I could not find any reference in the classic texts. After this episode, he leaves the temple and comes back to his ships. During the night he kidnaps Helen and other women. There is a fight between the citizens of Cythera and Alexander's men, but the victory is Paris', so he can come back to Troy with Helen. Priam is happy for that because he hopes the Greeks will now send back Hesione. So, he organises the wedding between Alexander and Helen, everybody is happy, except for Cassandra, who knows the danger of this act, so when she meets Helen, she tells her that Helen will bring them all the plagues. Priam becomes angry with his daughter and asks her to close her mouth. This last part of chapter 16 corresponds to the beginning of chapter XI of the De Excidio Troiae. Also, in this way, the prologue ends, and the war could start.

3.4.5. “Fra hefred til Troio” Here the war of Troy starts, as it is said by the subtitle “Fra hefred til Troio" (p.207), which means "about the military expedition to Troy". The extended prologue to the great war ends with the arrival of Helen in Troy. Now, the chapter directly starts the war, from the preparation to the end of the Trojans.

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Chapter 17 opens the war of Troy, and it corresponds to the chapters from XI to XVI of the Dares' text. It is a resume about the preparation of the war of the two sides. Menelaus begged his brother for help. They met together and decided to reunite all the Greeks for a war expedition against Troy. As Dares writes, both Greeks and Trojans send men to Delphi, to enquiry the future. The first sent were Achilles and , to them Apollo prophesied the victory of their side, but he also said that the duration of the war would be ten years, while, to Calchans, who was sent by the Trojans, it is said that he had to ally with the Greeks. Also, this happened, Calchans came back with Achilles and Patroclus to the Greeks side, and he fought alongside them. In this way, no response came back to Priam, the king. Furthermore, it is said that the Greeks started their expedition from the harbour of Athens and their fleet was composed by 1310 ships (höfðu þeir iij skip hins xj tigar hins xij hundraðs, p.207), while in Dares they are about 1070 plus 30, furthermore in the Latin text the list is complete, which means the author reports a complete list of the number of the ships offered by the commanders. Their arrival on the land of Tenedon and the action which they do there (robbery and killing, ok ræntu þar fè ok drápu men p.207) is then narrated. The chapter ends with a shortlist of the most famous Greek characters, Agamemnon var konúngr yfir her Girkja, en þessir voru ágætastir menn með honum: Menelaus, bróðir hans, Akilles ok Patroklus, fóstbróðir hans; Palamídes, Díómedes, Ajax, Telepus; Úlixes ok Nestor voru spekíngar mestir í her þeirra.144 (p.207) and with the denial of Priam to give back Helen. The structure and the narration are the same of the Dares' text, the only difference is the length of the Old Icelandic version: Haukr resumes all these events in one chapter, while Dares uses 5 chapters, and he also offers a description of the protagonists of the war, the complete list of the Greek participants and the first attacks made by Achilles to the allies of Troy. As it is possible to understand, a list of ships could be considered boring for a saga, and furthermore, the scribe presents a resume of the text of Dares, as he did in other parts. In chapter 18, the narration is not based on the previous sources, Ovid, Virgil or Dares, but in this case, the scribe reports an episode of the Ilias Latina. He talks about the episode of Criseus, a priest of Apollo, and his daughter. The king Agamemnon has taken

144 “Agamemnon was the king over the Greeks troops, and these men with him were excellent, Menelaus, his brother, Achille, Patroclus, his stepbrother, , , Ajax Telephus. Ulysses and Nestor were the wisest in their army.”

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Criseides, the priest's daughter, because of that he was sorrowful and asked the god to help him and to punish his enemy. Because of that, Apollo sent a plague against them and many of the Greeks died ("ok því kom drepsótt í lið Girkja ok yfir allar þeirra herbúðir, ok varð svâ mikit mannfall af þessu drepi, at iij mílur voru þat á alla vega, er eldar einir voru, þeir er menn brendu líkami dauðra manna, sem þá var siðr.” p.208)145. After that, they enquired the god, and they understood what they had to do. So, Agamemnon sent her back to her father. As I said, this episode is not found in Dares, probably because he does not report supernatural events. After that, the war could begin: in fact, the declaration of war by Priam is here described, when he says no to the offer of the Greeks to give back Helen and the treasure. Agamemnon asked his men to be ready to attack the city. In Dares, in chapter XVIII the Trojan forces are described, this detail, as for the list of the Greeks troops, is omitted in the Icelandic text. After this, the battle is described, and it seems that the scribe has translated into Old Icelandic the Dares text because the words are quite the same when he narrates this: fought very hard, and many of the Trojans ran away or die. After that Hector came to fight against Protesilaus and he killed him. Then the help from the Greeks troops came, so Hector ran back in the city, even if the battle continued when Achilles and his men arrived, and they made many trojans run away. After this, "ok sleit þá nótt bariodagann", which means the night falls on the battle, which is the Icelandic translation of the Latin "nox proelium dirimit”. This sentence is used in both texts to conclude every battle. In chapter 19, the Greeks camp's construction in front of the wall of Troy is presented. Because of that, the Achaeans could understand the difficulties to conquer the city. This part is found in Dares, who says "Agamemnon exercitum totum in terram educit, castra facit”146, however, he does not say anything about the wall and the type of camp, as it is said in the Icelandic text, "Eftir um morgininn kom Agamemnon konúngr með allan herinn, ok setti herbúðir sínar á völlunum hjá borginni, ok lèt gera virki um ok grafa díki um; sá þeir þá at Trója var svâ sterk, at engi von var at hon mundi unnin verða”147 (p. 208). The following part is very similar in both versions, both talk about the arrival of

145 “and because of that, a plague-strike fell on the Greeks and over their entire camp. Also, from this pestilence, a so great loss of life happened, that was 3 miles of the entire road, that they were one single fire, in which they burned the body of the dead men, as their custom was.” 146 “Agamemnon led forth all of his armies onto the land and set up camp”. 147 “After during the morning, king Agamemnon came with all the army and set his camp on the ground near the city, and he placed to do the work about, and he set to dig dyke around. They saw then that Troy was so strong that there was no hope that the city would be won."

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both sides, and the fight between Memnon and Hector, but in the Icelandic text, the death of Patroclus is wholly omitted, which will be narrated in chapter 23 of the Trójumanna saga. The death of Protesilaus is also omitted, because, I think, he is not one of the most important characters and the scribe does not consider relevant to write about him. Another difference is the description of Hector, while he is going to war, so in the Icelandic version it is possible to read: “Hektor gekk fram rösklega ok drap menn á báðar hendr" (p.208), which means that he appears gallantly while he goes to the battle and he kills his enemy by both hands. This description is not found in the Latin text of Dares, and I think this is typical of the romance or the saga literature. The chapter ends with the meeting in battle of Hector and Ajax: while they were fighting, they found out that they were kinsmen, so they stopped to fight and recognized their friendship ("ok gáfust þeir frændr gjöfum ok mæltu til vináttu” p. 208148). After this, there are two years of peace: its duration is the same in the Latin and the Icelandic text, but Dares uses "proelium post biennium”, instead Haukr uses the winters to date, “griða um ij vetr” (p. 208). Chapter 20 is the translation of the Historia and corresponds to chapters XX and XXI. It is said about the discussion for the power between Agamemnon and Palamedes, but the first one remains the leader of the Greeks force. Another hard battle follows, and the text could be defined as a precise translation of the Latin text in Old Icelandic. After this battle, there was the assembly of the Greeks troops in which Agamemnon incited the men to fight harder and to try to kill Hector, the very protector of the city. During this assembly, Menelaus declared that he wanted to fight in a single battle with Paris to decide the result of the war. The assembly accepted this idea, but Paris refused this duel because Helen dissuaded him. This part, about Menelaus' proposal, cannot be found in Dares, probably because it is a construction of Haukr himself, because it is also not found in the Ilias Latina. After more days of battle and death follow, with long periods of peace. From chapter 21, which corresponds in part to chapter XXIII of Dares, Haukr starts introducing a variation of the Dares Text, and as we have seen, this is not new. The first part of the chapter is quite similar to the Latin one: both talk about other periods of fights and peace, and Haukr makes a resume of Dares' chapter, while in the previous one he makes a proper translation of the Latin text. After this, in the Icelandic text, an extraordinary battle is presented: this time Menelaus and Paris met each other in the battlefield. The Achaean challenged to fight the Trojan, who is persuaded by his brother

148 “And they provided good friendship with gifts and said to friendship.”

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Hector to accept it. The single combat started, and it is predictable, the victory seemed to be gained by Menelaus, but the Goddess Freya saved Paris and brought him to Helen. After that, shot Menelaus, who was brought to his camp to heal his wounds, while the battle resumed more vehemently. This part is not found in the Historia, the scribe uses as source the Ilias Latina: if we take the verses from 252 to 358, it is possible to notice that two texts are entirely the same, he omitted only the part about the pact, which establishes that the war will be won with this fight between the two men and no other man could act against them this duel. Chapter 22 represents a sort of prologue to the death of Patroclus. Also, this chapter is absent in the Dares' text, which presents the death of the hero as a common consequence of the war and not as the most important event to bring back to war Achilles. This chapter is open by the image of Achilles, who was playing his stringed instrument to the men. This image is entirely taken by the Ilias Latin, in particular from verse 585 and 586. While he is in his camp, the battle raged harder between the two sides. Because there are a lot of dead ones, in an assembly the Trojans decided to give back Helen and all the booty stolen from Paris to Menelaus to conclude the war, but this offer received a high no from Menelaus himself, who said that he would fight until the destruction of the city. This also is not found in Dares. I suppose it is a resume of the verses from 636 to 640 of the Ilias. After another battle, the Greek commanders tried to persuade Achilles to come back to fight, because they were losing the war, in exchange for his return, they would give back Briseidam and many treasures. Before this meeting, Agamemnon had taken this girl from him, after the renounce of the daughter of Criseus: properly the taking of Briseidam was the reason why Achilles retired from battle. His honour was compromised because of that, and he refused this offer. This narration can not be found in the text of Dares; in fact, the scribe takes inspiration for this part from the Ilias, verses 688-695. The Icelandic story continues with another great battle, in which Hector was hit by a rock, cast by Ajax, son of Telamon and Hesione. This image, so peculiar, is taken from the verses 779-781, which says: Hector ubique ferus violento pectore saevit, quem saxo ingenti percussum maximus Aiax depulit et toto prostratum corpore fudit149 (p.159). The war continued until Agamemnon went back to his ship with his troops (ad classe Agamemnon alae, v.795 the army of Agamemnon to the ships). With the conclusion, the chapter ends.

149 “Wherever Hector ferociously rages with a violent heart, but Ajax hits him with a big stone, and he shot him down with all his body”

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In chapter 23, one of the most famous episodes of the Iliadic tradition is narrated: the death of Patroclus and the consequent wrath of Achilles. The episode is entirely absent in the Historia, in fact, Dares dedicates only one line to the death of Patroclus in chapter XIX, when he says "Hector Patroclum occidit et spoliare parat”150. while in the Trójumanna saga, the death of the young hero has an epic tone, which is typical of the world of the Ilias and the saga too. It is possible to notice that the scribe has adapted these verses from 805 to 838 in Old Icelandic, from the moment in which Patroclus declared war, to Ajax, who saved his armour and body. After the death of the young Greek, the news arrived to Achilles, and he fell crying and he lied down in a mound and tears off his clothes and kissed the dead body, saying that he would go to take revenge against Hector, as it possible to read, "þú hinn mikli ok hinn máttugi Ektor, er vegr ok prýði er alls Frigíalands! svâ sem nú erttu glaðr af sigrinum ok lofaðr af öllum Tyrkjum, þá skalttu skjótt fá þess nekkíng!”151 (pp. 212-213). This speech corresponds to the verses “non impune mei laetabere caede sodalis/ Hector – ait – magnoque meo, violente, dolori/ persolves poenas atque istis victor in armis,/ in quibus exsultas, fuso morire cruore”152 (vv. 850-853). After that, Haukr presents a sort of resume of the following Illias' verses, omitting the part about the weapons procured by Thetis, the mother of Achilles. In fact, after the speech, the hero went to the battle and started fighting against Aeneas. He could save himself because he was under the protection of the gods, "ef Eneas hefði eigi undan snúit", so from him Empires will be built, "þá hefði eigi tróversk ætt upp hafizt, ok eigi sjálfir keisararnir sínar ættir átt til hans at telja”. This part is present in the Ilias too, even if it is explicated how he got help: it is represented by the action of the god Neptune, who saves him properly because he will be the ancestor of great leaders, in particular, Octavian Augustus, "quem nisi servasset magnarum rector aquatum, ut profugus laetis Troia repararet in arvis Augustumque genus Claris sunmitteret astris, non clarae gentis nobis manisset origo" (vv. 899-902). After this, all the Trojans ran back to the city, and the battle ended. With chapter 24, the scribe returns to the Dares' text, and he does more because he cites the name of the Latin writer, "Svâ segir meistari Dares” (p. 213). So, it is possible to

150 “Hector slew Patroclus and he was trying to strip off his armour” 151 “you the great and the mighty Hector, who only also is the adornment and the valour of all the Phrygia, so as now you are glad of victory and praised of all the Trojans, then shall you quickly grasp this” 152 “not with impunity you will bring joy to yourself, Hector, but you, violent, will pay the price for my great grief and, shed your blood, you will die in this armour of your victory”

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understand that the primary source is properly the De Excidio Troiae Historia. This chapter is the complete translation and re-elaboration of chapter XXIV of the Phrygian's text. The text tells about the dream of Andromache, which is a prophecy of Hector's death, and the consequent absence of Hector at the beginning of the battle. This part is very similar to the Latin text. Both present the narration of the dream, the concern of Andromache, the attempt of Priam to Hector from going to the battle. There are only a few differences: for example, in the Icelandic text the episode in which Andromache asks Hector to not go to the battle showing him their son is not mentioned, or the understandable anger of the hero, in the Icelandic text he accepted the order of Priam. The battle started again, and the Greeks were winning, but when Hector heard the sounds of the battle and found out that many Trojans were dying, he took his weapon and went fighting, here he met his destiny, whose name was Achilles. The description of the duel between Achilles and Hector is taken from the Ilias and not from Dares, who only says “Hector Achillis femur sauciavit. Achilles dolore accepto magis eum persequi copit nec destitit, nisi eum occideret.”153 (chapter XXIV), while the Icelandic text presents a description of a very long fight between them, as it is mentioned in the Ilias, in the verses from 935 to 1003. After a long battle Achilles won and injured the body of the Trojan prince tying the body to his carriage and dragging him three times around the city. In Dares, as it is possible to notice, this part is absent. Even chapter 25 is not found in the Latin text, because Dares wholly omitted the fact that Achilles does not give back the body of Hector after the battle, but he kept it; meanwhile, the Icelandic text does. The chapter talks about Priam's arrival to Achilles' tent to beg the body of his son back. The speech is very intense, as it is possible to read in the Ilias too, “nunc sis mittisimus oro et patris afflicti genibus miserere precantis donaque quae porto miseri pro corpore nati accipias, si nec precibus nec flecteris auro, in senis extremis tua dextera saeviat annis: salre saeva pater comitabor funera nati!”154 (vv. 1031-1036) which correspond to the Old Icelandic “En ef þú vilt eigi mýkja reiði þína fyri bœn mína, ok eigi fyri fègjafar, þá herð þína hœgri hönd ok lát mik fylgja hinum ágæta Ektori syni

153 “Hector wounded Achilles’ leg. Buy Achilles, though pained, pressed on all the harder and kept pressing on until he had won” 154 “Now, I pray you to be most merciful and to have mercy of a father praying on his knee, and you accept the gift, which I bring for the dead body of my unfortunate son. If prays and the gold does not move you, so your right hand hit me on my ultimate old age: at last, I, father, will accompany my son in the obsequies."

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mínum til helvíta”155 (p.215). I will never be tired to repeat that, the scribe makes a personal re-elaboration of the story, as we can see in every chapter. In chapter 26, the Dares' text and the Icelandic one share again the same timeline. This chapter corresponds to the XXV, XXVI, XXVII and XXVIII of the Historia. In both, more episodes of the war are narrated and, in particular, the change of the leader. At the beginning of the chapter, Palamedes obtained the title of the leader of the troops, even if Achilles disliked it, but he had to accept it. This chapter is also important because it tells about the love of the hero for Polyxena, the daughter of Priam. He was so in love with her that he could not leave the bed, so he sent a messenger to Hecuba, the wife of Priam, to obtain the hand of the princess, promising that he and his men would leave the war if he can have the girl. The queen delivered the message to Priam, who refused: he would give him his daughter only if all the Greeks left his land. When Achilles heard this, he asked the commanders to leave the land and to finish this long war. He said that it was insane to fight for the sake of a woman, but the commanders denied, and after that, Palamedes conducted the men to battle, while Achilles refused to fight. During the battle many men felt down, one of this was Palamedes himself, killed by Alexander. So, the Greeks ran back to their camp and to their ships, and then ok sleit þá nótt bardagann (p.216), the night felt down on the battle. As I said, this chapter is the same as the Latin text, sometimes, there is not a complete adherence between them, because Haukr does not do a translation, but a resume of the Historia. At the beginning of chapter 27, the beginning of the chapter XXIX of Dares is resumed. This chapter tells how Agamemnon becomes the chieftain of the Greek troops again. The following part is the resume of chapter XXIX, XXX and XXXI of the Historia, in fact, it narrated about the battles and the same period of peace, and the return of Achilles in war after the killing of his men, the Myrmidons, by Troilus is reported, “Tróilus gekk fast á hendr Girkjum, ok öngum meirr en riddurum Akilles, er Mirmídóne voru kallaðir […] ok er Akilles sá úför sinna manna, þá ljóp hann upp ok þreif vâpn sín, ok fór til bardaga með mikilli eggjan.”156 (p. 217) After that, Achilles kills Troilus. The chapter ends with the death of Memnon by the hand of Achilles after days of fighting. The chapter is similar

155 “and if you want not to smooth your anger in front my petition and not for gifts, then clench your right hand and let me accompany the excellent Hector, my son, to the hell” 156 “Troilus went fast to the Greeks hands and straited more than Achilles' horsemen who is called Mirmidons, (…) Also, when Achilles saw the defeat of his men, then he jumped up and touched his weapon and went to the battle with a great goading.”

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to the Latin text, and the only variation is the meeting between Achilles and Agamemnon, who in the Icelandic version is with Nestor, while in the Latin one only the king goes to talk with the hero. Chapter 28, as the previous one, is a resume of chapter XXXIV, XXXV and XXXVI of the Historia. The events described are the same; the only difference is the fact that Haukr resumes these passages. As I said, this is the shorter version of the Icelandic saga, even if, in the beginning, he presents a unique prologue, which is not part of the original Trójumanna saga. In this chapter, the death of Achilles by the hand of Paris is narrated. Hecuba was sad for the death of her two sons by the hands of the Greek hero, so she decided to kill him organizing a fraud. She and her son Paris sent a message to Achilles, promising he will marry Polyxena at the temple of Apollo, but after that, he and his men should leave the land. The temple was outside the city, and there Paris and his men waited for Achilles while hiding themselves. The Greek hero accepted to go, very happy, and Antelocus, son of Nestor, came with him. Here they were both killed and the bodies, thanks to the intercession of Helenus, Paris' brother, were sent back to the Greek camp. The description of the two Greeks heroes' arrival and their deaths are similar in both the version, as Haukr has translated from the original one. After the death of Achilles, Agamemnon sent messengers to Pyrrhus, son of the dead hero, asking to come here and to revenge his father. At the end of the chapter, the death of Alexander and Ajax are narrated: they killed each other. The chapter ends with the crying of Helen on the body of her lover and the moving of the Greek troops under the city's walls, "Annan dag gekk Agamemnon konúngr með Girkja her allt at borginni, ok eggjaði þá útgöngu til orrostu, en engi maðr gekk út, ok bjoggust þeir þá enn við í borginni eftir föngum”157 (p.218). the end of the war is near.

3.4.6. “Svikin Trója”

Here the end of Troy begins, and the scribe indicates this moment with the subtitle “Svikin Trója”, which means the fraud of Troy, in fact, the war is won thanks to trick and not in a battle, as we will read. Another important thing is the fact that the author reports two versions of the defeat of Troy.

157 “Another day Agamemnon went with the entire Greek army to the city, and they made themselves ready about the city after the fight.”

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Chapters 29 and 30 narrate the final fights and the fraud of some Trojans, Aeneas, Antenor, Polydamos Delon, who let the Greeks into the city. Chapter 29 starts with the arrival of Penthesilea to help king Priam against the Greeks. She is the queen of the Amazons and a great warrior. After that, the battle could start: for many days they fought. In the end, the queen of the Amazons was killed by Neoptolemus. After that, the Trojans had an assembly: they discussed if it is wiser to surrender themselves to the Greeks or to continue to fight. Aeneas and the others thought it was better to give up and to give back Helen and the treasures because Paris was dead, but Priam had not agreed, so he decided to continue the war. Knowing that a few men would agree with the capitulation, concerned the king, who thought it would be a possible betrayal by the hand of these, so, he talked about this with his son Amphimacus. His fears were real: of course, Aeneas, Antenor, Polydamos Delon and other commander planned to give the victory to the Greeks, opening the door of the city during the night. So, they sent a messenger to Agamemnon king, who accepted their offer to help in exchange for the immunity of them and their kin. The Greek king sent Sinon to come to terms with the Trojans and to receive the plan. So, that happened: during the night the doors were opened. The Greeks entered into the city, killing and destroying. Neoptolemus killed King Priam in front of the altar of Frigg, while Aeneas hid Polyxena following the order of the queen Hecuba. This is the end of Troy. This two chapters, 29 and 30, are similar to the Latin version and they are a resume of the chapters XXXVIII, XXXIX, XL and XLI. Chapter 31 of the saga narrates the day after the battle. Agamemnon thanked the gods and the troops for the victory. Then peace was given to the kin of Priam, who were Helenus, Cassandra and Andromache and Hecuba. The Greeks divided the booty, and they were ready to go when Neoptolemus remembers about Polyxena, and he wanted to find her and to kill her. No one could find her because Aeneas had hidden her very well. Agamemnon asked Antenor for help, so he went to Aeneas, but he refused to help. In the end, they found Polyxena, and they gave her to Pyrrhus, who cut her head on the tomb of his father Achilles because he believed she was the cause of the death of the hero. Agamemnon was angry with Aeneas because the hiding of the girl, so he sent him on an exile. Menelaus obtained his wife back and all the treasure stolen by Paris. Antenor stayed with 2 thousand and five hundred men, while Helenus, Hecuba, Cassandra and Andromache went to the Cheronese with thousand men and 200. This is the end of the war of Troy, written by Dares. In fact, in the following chapter 32, the scribe reports the fighters' count and the count of the dead men. The chapter begins with the information about the duration of the

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war, "the Greeks stayed in Troy 10 winters, six months and 12 days, as is said by the scholar Dares” (svâ segir meistari Dares, at Girkir sæti um Tróju x vetr ok vj mánuði ok xij daga, p.221). Furthermore the number of the dead ones for both parts is reported: 886 thousand Greeks (Af Girkjum fèllu DCCC þúsunda ok átte tigir þúsunda, ok vj þúsundir, p.221) and 676 thousand Trojans without the number of the dead in the city, because they are too many (en af Trójumönnum fèllu, áðr en borg væri unnin, DC þúsunda, ok vij tigir þúsunda, ok vj þúsundir, en þat veit engi töl á, hvat Girkir drápu um nóttina, þá er þeir unnu borgina ,p.221). The number corresponds to the Latin source. All the numerical information is the same in both versions. The only difference is the list of the dead heroes made by Haukr and the corresponding killer. The chapter ends with the prophecy about the Aeneas’ descendant, who will be emperors and chief all over the world (keisararnir, er höfuðsmenn eru allrar veraldarinnar158P.222). Chapters 33, 34 and 35, are based on another source and present a different version of the end of the saga, which is not present in Dares' text. This fact is interesting, because the author of the saga, in this case, acts as a real historian because he reports two different versions of the same event quoting the sources. In this case, the source is the Aeneid of Virgil, called here the saga Rumeria (p. 222), the saga of the Romans. The story comes back to the murder of Achilles. After that, Agamemnon brought together the leaders of the Greeks, and they discussed the war because now it seemed hard to gain the victory. No one wanted to give up, and Ulysses, after a few days of thinking, found out a plan: they had to build a giant wooden horse, and they had to hide inside parts of the troops, while the other part of the army pretended to leave the land and to come back home. So they did it. Ulysses and part of the army were hidden inside the wooden horse outside the wall of the city, while the other went to a neighbouring island, waiting for the night. When the Trojans saw the empty camp of the Greeks, they rejoiced, but they were surprised when they saw the horse. After that, one man arrived running from the beach: he was Sinon, a Greek warrior fastened and marked as he was ready to be sacrificed. They interrogated him, and he said that the Greeks had left the land to come back home because they were tired for the long years of war. They left here a wooden horse to pray the Gods for a safe return and as a gift for them. He was left there because he did not agree with Ulysses and with the plan to leave the war. So, he was chosen for sacrifice; this is the reason why he is fastened and marked. The Greeks and Ulysses were sure the Trojans

158 “emperor which are chief all over the world.”

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would kill him, but this did not happen. They believed in his version, despite the words of Cassandra and of a heathen priest, whose name is not reported, but in the classical tradition, he is Laocoon, the priest of Neptune. He was against the idea to bring the horse inside of the city, but two snakes came out from the sea and killed him and his two sons. This was read as a sign: the Trojans decided to bring in the city the horse and their destruction. The horse was too big to pass under the door, so they had to destroy part of the walls. When the night came, and all of them were sleeping, the Greeks arrived in the city and killed many citizens. Priam himself was killed in front of the altar of Thor. Only Aeneas could save himself, his father and his son, running away from the city following the prophecy to go to Italy. All these events are narrated in the Book II of the Aeneid when Aeneas tells the story of Troy's fall to queen Dido. At the end of chapter 34, the author tells us that the story, after the destruction, is the same as the Dares' one. The last two chapters of the Trójumanna saga, 35 and 36, are dedicated to the events following the war. Pyrrhus came back to Epirus with Andromache and Helenus, where he married the Trojan, but after a few years, he wanted to leave the woman to marry Hermione, the daughter of Menelaus and Helen, but they refused to give her to him because she was promised to Orestes, son of Agamemnon. Orestes killed Neoptolemus, so Helenus married Andromache and together ruled over Epirus, and there they built a great city in honour of Troy. The last chapter continues the story with the gesta of the son of Andromache and Hector, who came back to Troy to rebuild the city. This part is not found in any Latin source, because of that Eldevik159 reports that this addition may be inspired by the French source, as the Roman de Troye of Benoit de Saint Maure. The saga ends with the declaration of the end of the story, and here Haukr anticipates that after this saga, the saga about Aeneas and his descendants who have settled England will follow, which means the Breta sögur: Ok er nú yfir farit þá sögu er ágætust hefir verit í veröldunni í heiðni, at allra manna virðíngu, þeirra er vitrir eru, ok flestar frásagnir eru kunnar, en hèr eftir hefr sögu frá Enea, ok þeim er Bretland bygðu160. (p. 226)

159 Eldevik 1993 160 “So now the story is gone above then, which the glory has been in the world in the Heathen country, that the reputation of all their wise men and most the act of relating are known, and hereafter, you have the saga about Aeneas and them, who settled England”.

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Conclusions The present thesis demonstrates the prominence and the vitality of the Trojan matter during the centuries. This theme's permanence is fascinating, and it reveals that the cultural heritage of Europe is the same, and it has the same root. Faulkes himself161 underline this fact: all these European Trojan texts are linked, and they influence each other. For example, the Chronicle of Fredegar influenced Ari’s Íslendigabók. Moreover, this Frankish chronicle influences Geoffrey of Monmouth and his Historia Regum Britanniae. Desdemond162 assumes that there is a sort of genealogy of this theme, which starts from Virgil and arrives in medieval England. So, Virgil’s Aeneid is the starting point. Isidore of Seville163 theorizes the idea of „imitatio imperi“, which means that all the rulers have to take inspiration from the Roman Empire to become powerful and wealthy. I assume that the medieval Kingdoms had taken this advice seriously. So, when they had to create propaganda, they referred to Rome and its culture. This model includes Troy and the idea of the transaltio imperii et studii. This last definition theorizes a power‘s movement of the centre from the Eastern world to the Western. If this transfert is real, this explains enterly the research of the first offspring in Troy, an eastern city. I want to underline the link between the power and the culture. All these new kingdoms used the Trojan origin in the construction of propaganda: to have an origin in Troy is the symbol of nobility. These kingdoms, like Iceland and Scandinavia, did not know what their root was. They have the same necessity to find a first offspring, a place where their ancestors lived. Rome and Virgil gave them the answer. If the Roman Empire, the model of all them all, had its origin in Troy, they had to have the same root. So, in the Merovingian era, two chronicles, the Fredegar’s one and the Historia Liber Francorum, narrated about Francio and his Trojan ancestors, who ran away from the city’s destruction. Goffredo da Viterbo claimed that Charlemagne was the meeting point of the Roman heritage and the Trojan one. The English kings did the same: they find their origin in Troy, in particular in Brutus, a descendant of Aeneas164. This necessity to emulate the Franks started when England and Normandy had the same ruler. So, when the English king was a king but also a subject of the King of France. In this way, the English propaganda used the same weapon of the Franks, the idea of transaltio imperii from Troy.

161 (Faulkes, Descent from the Gods, 1978-79) 162 (Desmond, 2016) 163 See page 12 164 About these texts see the subchapter 1.3

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This background is essential to understand the context of the Trójumanna specific case. Because the process of Christianisation and acculturation, Iceland came in touch with the Latin culture and with this theory of translatio imperii et studii. This is attested by text as the Ari’s Íslendigabók or the Snorra Edda. Iceland is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, and it is a young settlement. In front of the others, Icelanders felt more the necessity to be part of world history. They created a “useful past”165, and they took inspiration by the matter of Troy because they noticed the popularity of this theme and its crucial political role. “By asserting Trojan descent, Icelanders joined not only the ancient Roman but also Normans, Britons and Saxons and Franks in staking a claim to a place at the heart of the world, not its margins”166. The Trójumanna saga is the product of this necessity. This saga is not an original creation but is the re-elaboration of a Latin text, the De excidio Troiae Historia of Dares Phrygius. However, the analysis of the Haukbók‘s version has demonstrated that Haukr had taken inspiration by other Latin sources: the Metamorphoses and the Heroides of Ovid, the Ilias Latina, and the Aeneid of Virgil. The text is peculiar and demonstrates Haukr‘s knowledge of the Latin text. The author creates a sort of „patchwork“: the core is Dares‘ text, but Haukr adds different episodes, descriptions and a completely new prologue. Moreover, the writer changes the Latin sources: he never translates „verbum pro verbo“ but he adds information. In the prologue, Haukr narrates of Saturnus‘ kingdom and its golden age, the advent of Jupiter and the silver era. This last period is characterized by war. Moreover, in the prologue he narrates the Jupiter-Thor deeds, using as sources the Ovidian texts, Metamorphoses and Heorides, and the Aeneid. This free use of the Latin sources demonstrates that Haukr has a perfect knowledge of the interpretaions of Ovid and Virgil, and he has read these texts. The author makes many changes to the original version. The Haukr‘s public and the context are the reason for these changes and additions. For example, he sets the event during the kingdom of Joshua, who rules over the Jews after Moses. He uses this information to date the events because he wants to wirte a historical text to teach something. So, he uses biblical information to date. Another significant change is that: the name of the „ancient gods“ (Saturnus, Jupiter, Juno) turn in the Norse one (Frey, Thor, Sif) after a few chapters. This is not weird in the Icelandic literature.

165 (Whaley, 2000) 166 (Whaley, 2000, p. 178)

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Snorri himself changes the name of the Trojan heroes with the Norse gods‘ name. Furthemore, in the prologue, Haukr precises that all these gods are in real human being, even if the heathens belives that they are gods. These few notes demonstrate the intention of Haukr to write a historical saga about the deeds of the Scandinavian ancestors. Furthemore, when he starts to narrate the reconstruction of the city and when he narrates the death of Priam, he talks only about temple and altar dedicated to the Norse gods. The changes of the name, the explanation of the heathens‘ beliefs, and the Trojan worship of the Norse Gods are the complete demonstration of this intent: he is talking about the Norse ancestors‘ past. Also, in the end, he does not only narrates the Dares‘ version of the city‘s fall, but he reports the wooden horse‘s episode. As a historian, he wants to precise that there are two versions about the Acheans‘ victory: the Dares‘ version which tells the Aeneas‘ betray and the Aeneid‘s version of the wooden horse. Another demonstration of this „historical“ intent is that: Haukr reports the dead‘s number of both sides, like Dares. He uses the Phrygian text to do that. All this annotation demonstrate the intent to create a Historia, and not only a text of plesure. Even if Haukr wants to write a historical text for an encyclopedic codex, the Hauksbók, it is possible te fact that the Trojan hero could seem nobler than the Greeks. For example, Hector is described as a chivalric character when „gallantly“ he goes to fight (Hektor gekk fram rösklega chapter 19). The choice of this adverb is also linked to the chivalric literature, which is popular in that period. Furthermore, the Greeks could win because of treachery: in Dares’ version some Trojan betray the city and let enter the enemies; in the Aeneid, Ulysses invents the trick of the wooden horse. On this point of view, I assume that this text is strictly linked to the idea of translatio because, in the end, Hauk says that the Breta Sögur, which is the saga of the descendant of Troy, follows. So, the Trójumanna saga is the prologue of the real story of the translatio of the Norse ancestor from Troy to Iceland. This conclusive affirmation permits to collocate this text under the great tradition of the Translatio imperii et studii. In conclusion, I assume that this text is crucial to understand how the process of acculturation works. Haukr could be used as a model of this process because the elaboration of this saga has inside aspects of both the culture, the chivalric theme, the use of a foreign tradition to create a new mythological past. Also, the study of this saga has permit to underline the “world of view”167 of the Scandinavian and its élite. The references to these classical sources and the biblical passages demonstrate the education and the

167 (Sverrir, Hauksbók and the Construction of an Icelandic World view, 2007)

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knowledge of this élite. At last, this thesis has demonstrated the unique heritage of the European culture and the idea of an oriental origin. In the end, it is fascinating and exciting to think that we are all the descendants of Troy.

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