Ágrip

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Page from the Ágrip manuscript

The Ágrip ( arrangement "overview, short version, floor plan") or Ágrip af Nóregs konunga sögum ("outline of the history of the kings of Norway ") is the oldest surviving overview work on the history of Norway in the Old Norse language. It is only preserved in an incomplete Icelandic copy from the beginning of the 13th century, which is in the Arnamagnaean Institute in Copenhagen (AM 325 II 4to).

content

The traditional work gives a comprehensive overview of the history of the kings by Harald Hårfagre up to the fifties of the 12th century. But originally it covered the period from his father Halvdan Svarte to 1177. It was written during the reign of King Sverre in Trøndelag. According to the prevailing opinion, the author was Norwegian.

The text is based on a few models and is otherwise based on oral tradition. The work of Theodoricus Monachus " Historia de antiquitate regum Norwagiensium " in Latin can be identified as a written source . The “ Historia Norwegiæ ” from around 1210, found in Scotland in 1849, shows a clear similarity in many places. This is possibly due to the fact that both drew from a lost Latin source further back in time. Because the author of the Historia Norwegiae did not know the Ágrip. In addition, the Ágrip draws on a special tradition in the story of Håkon the Good .

author

Like the Historia Norwegiae and Thodricus Monachus, the author was in the tradition of a continental European view of history, based primarily on Augustine . The author also had a particular interest in legislation. He also attached great importance to precise timing. He sided with the Norwegian kings vis-à-vis abroad. With this and with his chronological interest he stood in the tradition of Icelandic and other European historiography. While Theodricus Monachus was guided by a religious view of history, the author of Ágrip was profane . It is the beginning of a profane historiography, which then comes to full bloom in the Heimskringla . It is about the opposition between royalty and aristocracy. Both the authors of Ágrip and Thedricus Monachus, however, have the same literary design: the kings are dramatically set up against one another or against the Goden and Jarle. In addition, both categorize the rulers into good and bad, into righteous kings and tyrants. The introduction of Christianity is the main theme of both. The events are determined by the king and his ethical attitude, with Theodorus Monachus sometimes by God's intervention.

Origin of the work

It is controversial whether the Ágrip was written at the request of King Sverre. This is important for the description of Harald Gilles' sons . Sigurd Munn , Sverre's father, and his brother Øystein are sharply criticized and labeled as opstopamaður (opstopi = superbia = arrogance). This is the usual attribute of the tyrannical ruler. Inge Krogrygg is endowed with the qualities of a "good king". This indicates an anti-criminal tendency and makes an order from the king unlikely.

Both the Fagrskinna and the Heimskringla have used the Ágrip as a source. The Morkinskinna contains a number of interpolations from the Ágrip.

literature

  • Gustav Indrebø: Aagrip . In: Edda 17, 1922, 18-65.
  • Gudrun Lange: The beginnings of Icelandic-Norwegian historiography. Reykjavík 1989.
  • Torfinn Tobiassen: Àgrip af Náregs konunga søgum. In: Kulturhistorisk leksikon for nordisk middelalder. Vol. 1. Copenhagen 1956.

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