Hallfreðar saga

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The hallfreðar saga vandræðaskálds : (dt Title. Hallfred the Königsskalde , the story of Fred Hall, the difficult Skalden , the saga of the Hallfreð Difficult is) an Icelandic saga from the 13th century. It belongs to the oldest group of this genre of the Old-West Norse saga literature and is in the collective manuscripts Möðruvallabók ( AM 132 fol., Mid-14th century) and Flateyjarbók (GkS 1005 fol., Late 14th century) as well as in AM 61, fol. (around or after 1350) and AM 557.4 ° (before or around 1450). The surviving versions have differences in content. The saga deals with the life of the skald Hallfreðr Óttarson . It is one of the six skald biographies .

action

The main plot has different narrative threads, which are held together by the person of Hallfreðr. They arise on the one hand from Hallfreðr's experiences outside of Iceland, in which his relationship with King Ólafr Tryggvasson (d. 1000) and his change of faith form the center, but on the other hand also from his experiences in Iceland, where the relationship with Kolfinna is the link. The two main storylines are not really linked and usually do not influence each other. Only at the end of the saga, when Hallfreðr does not appear to the Holmgang against Gris and in his dying scene, there is an overlap. In terms of the overall story, King Ólafr is clearly more important to Hallfreðr than Kolfinna as a reference figure.

References to other Icelandic sagas

  • The plot of the Hallfreðar saga shows some parallels to the Kormáks saga . But while Kormákr's love affair with Steingerdr is the decisive mode of action there, Hallfreðrs' relationship with King Ólafr forms the actual focus of the action.
  • Hallfreðr also appears in the Gunnlaugr Ormstungas saga and is also a model for the character of the local skald Gunnlaugr . (However, in contrast to Hallfreðr, he comes across as a much more pleasing figure.)
  • As a loyal follower of a Norwegian king, Hallfreðr is also a counter-figure to Egill Skallagrímsson , whose fight against Norwegian kings largely determines the plot of the Egils saga .
  • There are connections to the Vatnsdœla saga and the Finnboga saga ramma , the Vatndalr is the main Icelandic setting of the three sagas and the families of Hallfreðr and Finnbogi have conflicts with the Ingimund sons, the family that the Vatnsdœla saga is about.

historicity

Hallfreðr Óttarson vandræðaskáld (died around 1007) is considered a historical figure. Lausavísur (dt. Loose stanzas), which are ascribed to him, are handed down in the Skáldskaparmál by Snorri Sturluson , in his Heimskringla he is explicitly mentioned as the skald of the Norwegian king Óláfr Tryggvason. The Erfidrápa Óláfs ​​Tryggvasonar is also passed down , the origin of which is also mentioned in the saga.

Translations

  • Hallfred the Königsskalde. In: Vier Skaldengeschichten , 1923, Vol. 9 ( Thule Collection , Old Norse Poetry and Prose, Vol. 1–24, edited by Felix Niedner and Gustav Neckel, Jena, 1912–1930).
  • The saga of Hallfred the Difficult Skald. In: F. Seewald (Ed.), Skaldensagas , Frankfurt 1981.
  • The saga of Hallfreð the Difficult / Hallfreðar saga vandræðaskálds. In: Klaus Böldl, Andreas Vollmer, Julia Zernack (eds.): The Isländersagas in 4 volumes with an accompanying volume . Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2011, ISBN 978-3-10-007629-8 . Vol. 3. pp. 7-53.

Secondary literature

  • Claudia Müller, Narrated Knowledge. The Isländersagas in Möðruvallabók (AM 132 fol.) (= Texts and studies on German and Scandinavian studies, vol. 47; also Bonn, Univ.Diss., 1999), P. Lang, Frankfurt am Main, 2001.
  • Hallfreðar saga vandræðaskálds. In: Kindlers New Literature Lexicon . Study edition. Munich, 1988. Vol. 18, pp. 695f.
  • Jónas Kristjánsson, Eddas and Sagas. Medieval literature of Iceland . Transferred from Magnús Pétursson and Astrid van Nahl, H. Buske, Hamburg, 1994, pp. 233f., Pp. 236-239.
  • Kurt Schier , saga literature . Metzler Collection, Vol. 78 Reality books for Germanists . Metzler, Stuttgart 1970.
  • Rudolf Simek , Hermann Pálsson : Lexicon of Old Norse Literature (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 490). Kröner, Stuttgart 1987, ISBN 3-520-49001-3 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Claudia Müller: Narrated knowledge. The Isländersagas in Möðruvallabók (AM 132 fol.) (= Texts and studies on German and Scandinavian studies, vol. 47; also Bonn, Univ.Diss., 1999), P. Lang, Frankfurt am Main, 2001, p. 179f.
  2. ↑ In addition to the Hallfreðar saga , the Skald biographies or Skaldensagas also include the Kormáks saga , the Bjarnar saga Hítdœlakappa and the Gunnlaugr Ormstungas saga , as well as the Egils saga and the Fóstbrœðra saga . For this designation cf. Heinrich Beck, Dieter Geuenich, Heiko Steuer (eds.): Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde , 2nd revised and greatly expanded edition, de Gruyter, New York / Berlin, 2005, Volume 28, pp. 559-562
  3. ↑ Claudia Müller: Narrated knowledge. The Isländersagas in Möðruvallabók (AM 132 fol.) (= Texts and studies on German and Scandinavian studies, vol. 47; also Bonn, Univ.Diss., 1999), P. Lang, Frankfurt am Main, 2001, p. 182ff.
  4. ↑ Claudia Müller: Narrated knowledge. The Isländersagas in Möðruvallabók (AM 132 fol.) (= Texts and studies on German and Scandinavian studies, vol. 47; also Bonn, Univ.Diss., 1999), P. Lang, Frankfurt am Main, 2001, p. 180ff.
  5. ↑ Claudia Müller: Narrated knowledge. The Isländersagas in Möðruvallabók (AM 132 fol.) (= Texts and studies on German and Scandinavian studies, vol. 47; also Bonn, Univ.Diss., 1999), P. Lang, Frankfurt am Main, 2001, p. 185ff.
  6. ↑ Kindler's New Literature Lexicon . Study edition. Munich, 1988. Vol. 18, p. 695