SCRIPTA ISLANDICA ISLÄNDSKA SÄLLSKAPETS ÅRSBOK 66/2015 REDIGERAD AV LASSE MÅRTENSSON OCH VETURLIÐI ÓSKARSSON under medverkan av Pernille Hermann (Århus) Else Mundal (Bergen) Guðrún Nordal (Reykjavík) Heimir Pálsson (Uppsala) Henrik Williams (Uppsala) UPPSALA, SWEDEN Publicerad med stöd från Vetenskapsrådet. © Författarna och Scripta Islandica 2015 ISSN 0582-3234 Sättning: Ord och sats Marco Bianchi urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-260648 http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-260648 Innehåll LISE GJEDSSØ BERTELSEN, Sigurd Fafnersbane sagnet som fortalt på Ramsundsristningen . 5 ANNE-SOFIE GRÄSLUND, Kvinnorepresentationen på de sen vikinga- tida runstenarna med utgångspunkt i Sigurdsristningarna ....... 33 TERRY GUNNELL, Pantheon? What Pantheon? Concepts of a Family of Gods in Pre-Christian Scandinavian Religions ............. 55 TOMMY KUUSELA, ”Den som rider på Freyfaxi ska dö”. Freyfaxis död och rituell nedstörtning av hästar för stup ................ 77 LARS LÖNNROTH, Sigurður Nordals brev till Nanna .............. 101 JAN ALEXANDER VAN NAHL, The Skilled Narrator. Myth and Scholar- ship in the Prose Edda .................................. 123 WILLIAM SAYERS, Generational Models for the Friendship of Egill and Arinbjǫrn (Egils saga Skallagrímssonar) ................ 143 OLOF SUNDQVIST, The Pre-Christian Cult of Dead Royalty in Old Norse Sources: Medieval Speculations or Ancient Traditions? ... 177 Recensioner LARS LÖNNROTH, rec. av Minni and Muninn: Memory in Medieval Nordic Culture, red. Pernille Herrmann, Stephen A. Mitchell & Agnes S. Arnórsdóttir . 213 OLOF SUNDQVIST, rec. av Mikael Males: Mytologi i skaldedikt, skaldedikt i prosa. En synkron analys av mytologiska referenser i medeltida norröna handskrifter .......................... 219 PER-AXEL WIKTORSSON, rec. av The Power of the Book. Medial Approaches to Medieval Nordic Legal Manuscripts, red. Lena Rohrbach ............................................ 225 KIRSTEN WOLF, rev. of Lasse Mårtensson. Skrivaren och förlagan: Norm och normbrott i Codex Upsaliensis av Snorra Edda ...... 234 Isländska sällskapet AGNETA NEY & MARCO BIANCHI, Berättelse om verksamheten under 2014 ................................................ 241 Författarna i denna årgång ................................. 243 The Pre-Christian Cult of Dead Royalty in Old Norse Sources Medieval Speculations or Ancient Traditions? OLOF SUNDQVIST As has been commonly noted by earlier scholars, there are signs in the Old Norse medieval prose that dead rulers in pre-Christian Scandinavia were honored with a common public veneration or cult at their burial places, some­times­along­with­sacrifices.­According­to­these­sources,­these­royals­ were­either­deified­or­regarded­as­some­kind­of­heroes­or­mythical­beings­ after­death,­and­expected­to­ensure­good­harvests.1 From the perspective of­comparative­religion­the­cultic­actions­described­in­these­sources­could­ be­referred­to­as­a­“hero­cult”,2­a­phenomenon­best­known­from­ancient­ Greek­religion.3­The­Old­Norse­medieval­sources­referring­to­such­cult­ 1­ See­ e.g.­ Birkeli­ 1938;­ Lid­ 1942,­ 97­ff.;­ F.­ Ström­ 1954,­ 34­ and­ the­ overview­ of­ the­ discussion­in­Nordberg­2013. 2­See­Nordberg­(2013,­280­ff.,­382)­who­emphasizes­with­good­grounds­that­a­hero­cult­ must­be­distinguished­from­more­general­ancestor­worship.­Several­earlier­scholars­refer­ to­both­of­these­phenomena­being­as­something­similar­to­Greek­hero­cult.­See­e.g.­Birkeli­ 1938,­89;­de­Vries­1956–1957,­§184. 3­ Geo­Widengren­ (1969,­ 185­f.,­ 419)­ describes­ the­ hero­ cult­ thus:­ “Die­Trennungslinie­ zwischen­ Göttern­ und­ Menchen­ wurde­ in­ der­Antike­ nicht­ sonderlich­ scharf­ gezogen.­ Zwischen­der­Gottheit­und­dem­Menschen­stand­der­theíos anér,­der­göttliche­Mensch,­der­ sich­aus­der­menschlichen­Sphäre­zur­göttlichen­erhob.­Besonders­die­Heroen­gehörten­zu­ dieser­Klasse­von­Übergangswesen,­mehr­als­Menschen,­aber­gänzlich­Götter.­Der­Heroen­ kult­war­örtlich­gebunden­und­an­die­Gräber­geknüpft,­wo­ihre­sterblichen­Überreste­ver­ wahrt­wurden­und­wo­sie­ihre­Wirkung­ausübten.­Ihr­Kult­war­sehr­volktümlich.­Zu­den­ Gräbern­der­Heroen­kan­man,­um­Hilfe­in­allerei­Angelegenheiten­zu­suchen,­vor­allem­ aber­gegen­Krank­heiten.­So­sind­die­Heroen­Heilsgestalten­geworden.­Ihnen­brachte­man­ blu­tige­Opfer,­Gewänder­und­Früchte­dar.­Typisch­für­den­Heroenkult­waren­jedoch­Mahl­ zeiten,­gefeiert­in­den­Heiligtümern­der­Heroen,­die­über­ihren­Gräbern­errichtet­waren.”­ According­to­Walter­Burkert­(1985,­203)­the­Greek­heroes­like­demi­gods­were­between­ gods­and­men.­He­also­noted­that­the­grave­was­of­central­importance­in­the­hero­cult:­“A­ hero­cult­involves­setting­apart­one­particular­grave,­known­as­a­heroon,­from­other­burials­ Sundqvist,­Olof.­2015.­The­Pre­Christian­Cult­of­Dead­Royalty­in­Old­Norse­ Sources:­Medieval­Speculations­or­Ancient­Traditions? Scripta Islandica 66:­177–212. 178 Olof Sundqvist have,­nonetheless,­been­a­matter­of­debate­in­previous­research,4 especially when­they­are­placed­in­the­context­of­the­theory­of­pre­Christian­sacral­ kingship­in­Scandinavia.5­Scholars,­who­supported­the­existence­of­such­ royal­ institution,­ felt­ that­ the­ trustworthy­ sources­ reflect­ old­ traditions­ which­had­a­historical­background,6­while­others­have­rejected­them­as­ sources­for­reconstructing­pre­Christian­matters.7 As noted above (note 4)­most­sceptical­was­Walter­Baetke­in­his­work­Yngvi und die Ynglinger (1964),­where­he­stated­that­the­living­kings­in­ancient­Scandinavia­were­ never­considered­as­divine;­and­were­never­perceived­of­as­cultic­objects­ in­life,­arguing­that­no­trustworthy­sources­indicate­that­sacrifices­were­ ever­directed­to­them.8 They could only be seen in uncertain medieval texts,­such­as­Óláfs þáttr Geirstaðaálfs in Flateyjarbók.9 Baetke’s­critical­line­of­reasoning­related­to­the­theory­of­sacral­kingship­ by­marking­off­a­special­precinct,­by­bringing­sacrifices­and­votive­gifts,­and­occasionally­ by­building­special­grave­monument.”­See­also­Burkert­1983­and­1985,­203–11.­James­ Whit­ley­(1995,­52)­defines­the­Greek­hero­thus:­“[…]­more­than­men­but­less­than­gods,­ and­that­they­were­usually­associated­with­particular­localities­and­sometimes­with­tombs.”­ For­a­more­recent­treatment­on­Greek­hero­cult­and­hero­cult­as­an­archaeological­concept,­ see­Ekroth­2002­and­Hållans­Stenholm­2012,­51­ff.­ 4­See­especially­Baetke­1964,­39­ff.­For­a­recent­treatment­of­the­sources­related­to­a­possible­ ancient­Scandinavian­hero­cult,­see­e.g.­Nordberg­2013,­280­f.­On­the­source­situation­in­ general­in­this­field,­see­Schjødt­2012,­263­ff. 5­From­the­end­of­19th­century­to­the­beginning­of­the­1960s,­there­was­a­broad­consensus­ that­ the­ ancient­ Scandinavian­ (and­ Germanic)­ kingship­ was­ “sacral”.­ Åke­ V.­ Ström­ (1959),­for­instance,­stated­thus:­“That­kingship­in­Old­Scandinavia­was­entirely­sacral,­is­ nowadays­considered­as­a­matter­of­fact.”­This­position­was­criticized­by­Baetke­(1964)­ from­a­source­critical­perspective. 6­See­for­example­F.­Ström­1954,­36;­Å.­V.­Ström­1959,­708­f.­ 7­Baetke­1964­and­Lönnroth­1986. 8­”Nun­ist­es­allerdings­unmöglich,­für­den­Kult­eines­lebenden­Königs­im­alten­Norden­ auch­nur­ein­konkretes­Beispiel­anzuführen”,­Baetke­1964,­39.­Baetke­supports­this­state­ ment­ with­ a­ quotation­ from­ Åke­ V.­ Ström:­ “The­ sources­ give­ us­ no­ examples­ of­ blót directly­to­living­kings”,­Å.V.­Ström­1959,­708.­The­adherents­of­“the­sacral­theory”­had,­ according­to­Baetke,­looked­even­desperately­for­source­evidence­supporting­such­notions:­ “In­Er­mange­lung­ihrer­führt­man­Fälle­an,­wo­toten­Königen­Opfer­dargebracht­worden­ sein­sollen.­Aber­die­Verehrung­toter­Könige­steht­auf­einem­anderen­Blatt;­sie­gehört­ins­ Gebiet­des­Toten­­und­Ahnenkultes­und­würde­für­sich­allein­nicht­berechtigen,­von­einem­ sakralen­ König­tum­ zu­ sprechen.”­ Baetke­ nonetheless­ defined­ sacral­ kingship­ in­ a­ very­ narrow­sense:­“von­sakralem­Königtum­im­eigentlichen­Sinne­kann­man­nur­dort­sprechen,­ wo­der­König­in­irgend­einer­Weise­Objekt­des­Kultes­ist,­wo­man­ihm­Opfer­darbringt­ oder­andere­göttliche­Ehren­erweist”,­Baetke­1964,­39. 9­Baetke­1964,­39–51.­Baetke­also­discusses­a­passage­in­Hervarar saga­(see­below)­and­the­ ecclesiastic­text­Vita Anskarii,­which­he­assumed­to­have­been­influenced­by­hagiographic­ literature.­Cf.­Sundqvist­2002,­289­ff. The Pre-Christian Cult of Dead Royalty in Old Norse Sources 179 gained­support­from­many­philologists­and­historians­of­literature,10 even though­scholars­taking­a­comparative­or­phenomenological­perspective­ continued­ to­ support­ the­ idea­ of­ sacral­ kingship­ in­ pre­Christian­ Scandinavia.11­From­the­1960s­to­the­1980s­the­sacral­kingship­theory­ nonetheless­ faded­ out­ of­ research­ into­ ruler­ ideology­ in­ Scandinavia.­ During the last decades however this discussion has been resumed and also­renewed.12 The­ intention­ of­ present­ study­ is­ to­ return­ to­ the­ information­ about­ the­cult­of­a­dead­king­presented­in­Óláfs þáttr Geirstaðaálfs, comparing it­with­information­from­other­types­of­sources,­such­as­skaldic­poetry,­ ecclesiastic narratives, archaeological materials, medieval laws and mythic traditions.­It­will­be­argued­that­even­though­the­narrative­about­King­Óláfr­ Guð­røðarson­contained­in­this­þáttr cannot be regarded as a historical source­ in­ a­ general­ sense­ (since­ it­ is­ partly­ affected­ by­ anachronistic­ Christian ideas, and includes other aspects which must be considered as rather­fantastic),­it­nonetheless­contains­memories­of­ancient­customs­and­