Heroic elegy

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Under the name Heroic Elegy is in the Old Norse literature a small group of late Edda songs : summarized Guðrúnarkviða , III, Gudrunarhvöt, I, II Helreið Brynhildar , Oddrúnargrátr . Heroic in this case means that the songs are about famous heroic figures of the Germanic saga. The main characters in these Edda songs are women. They are called elegies because the heroines complain about life or a section of it. The Sigurdarkviða in scamma also belongs to the circle of the Heroic Elegies . Central to the heroic elegies is the feminine perspective and the element of lament. The main emphasis is on the representation of feelings. The predominant themes are love and suffering. The lament is always triggered by the loss of loved ones, especially the loved one.

literature

  • Ulrike Sprenger: The Old Norse Heroic Elegy, Berlin [u. a.] 1992, (Supplementary volumes to the Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde; 6) ISBN 3-11-013254-0