Prize song

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In Germanic poetry , the term price song refers to a single song that was performed by singers at the prince's court in alternating chants . In the award song, an emphatic and idealizing homage was paid to a noble person who either died shortly afterwards or who is present.

Price songs are handed down in the Old Norse literatures of the skalds . Whether the Old High German Ludwigslied is to be included in the price song or in the prince price is assessed contrary in research. The oldest form, or more precisely, a pre-form of the price song, is considered to be the message of Tacitus, who at the end of the 1st century reported songs of the Germanic peoples about Arminius , who was presumably transfigured as a hero .

Scaldry

The Scaldic genres flokkr and drápa are known as the “price song”. These are poems that were written for and about a ruler. They paid homage to him either directly, for example in a description of his military successes, his human and political merits, or by describing an object that is closely related to the ruler. Bragi Boddason's Ragnarsdrápa is such a prize poem in the latter category, in the form of a shield seal .

According to the Skaldic poetry, the praises themselves are very stereotypical, which in extreme cases can lead to the fact that without historically specific details (for example a certain battle or location data) it can hardly be seen which ruler is the object of homage.

Drápa

The drápa (the etymology is not certain, the term was previously associated with Old Norse dráp - "battle") is an elaborate prize poem. It is usually in the dróttkvætt meter. There are three parts:

  • the introduction ( upphaf )
  • the middle part with refrains ( stefjubálkr )
  • the end ( slœmr )

As the most elaborate form of the Skaldic price poetry, the drápa is the right genre, especially for higher nobility and, above all, kings.

A special type of this price seal is the erfidrápa , which refers to a prince who has already died. In German-speaking countries it is sometimes also called "Erblied". Hallfreðr Vandræðaskáld wrote two drápur on Olaf Tryggvason. Of these, the second prize song, the Erfidrápa Ólafs Tryggvasonar , falls into the Hereditary Song category.

Flokkr

The flokkr ("Schar", "Haufen"), which also appears under the name visur ("stanzas"), is a prize poem in the form of a rather loose string of stanzas without further structural decorations.

From a social point of view, the flokkr represents a kind of price poetry that was appropriate for a lowly prince. For a high ruler, or even a king, such a work was viewed as an insult. A corresponding episode can be found in the Heimskringla , where King Knut, who is given a flokkr by the skald Þórarinn loftunga , threatens the latter's death for the next day if the poet has not written a drápa on him by then. Had Þórarinn not managed this (and in a very efficient way - he did not compose a completely new poem, but only added the refrains missing from the drápa), he would have died - hanged, as Knut said, "for his insolence".

Social aspect of the Skaldic price poetry

In the episode just mentioned, a social function of price poetry - as far as one can trust the realism of saga reports formed by the author - clearly emerges: the public appreciation (in front of the entourage) and the importance of formal criteria far ahead of substantive subtleties. Precisely this is also one of the characteristics of the Skaldik, which sees itself not as naturalistic, but ornamental.

King Knut's artistic understanding may seem a bit dubious, since the ruler is satisfied with the aforementioned, almost minimal changes. On the other hand, scaldic price poetry at princely courts generally had little to do with today's, or even romantic, concept of art, but was part of court ceremonies. And it was expected from this that it did not send the wrong signals - which inevitably would have meant the "appreciation" of a ruler with a work appropriate to the lower classes.

In addition to its artistic function, the Scaldic award poem also fulfills an important political and social function in medieval society in Northern Europe.

See also

literature