Six Sagas of Adventure (35 page)

[36]
   This is a twist on the motif of the hero finding the only weapon that will kill the monster in the monster’s own lair (K818.2, “Giantess killed with the spear she herself has given hero”, in Thompson,
Motif-Index of Folk Literature
, vol. 4, p. 342). See note 17 to
Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar.

[37]
   As discussed in the Introduction, the Hundings (“dog people”) are probably derived from medieval European traditions concerning the monstrous races at the far ends of the world, dating back to the Cynocephali of the Roman author Pliny the Elder but possibly also drawing on an independent northern European tradition.

[38]
   As discussed in the Introduction, Bjarmaland is the land on the shores of the White Sea; There are historical accounts of Norse voyages to Bjarmaland, but in the legendary sagas, Bjarmaland is always a place of sorcery, monsters, and exotic treasures. This episode may be compared with the Bjarmaland temple in
Bósa saga ok Herrauds
(ch. 8), which also holds amazing treasures and monstrous guardians.

[39]
   Zitzelberger suggests that both the Hundings and the temple are borrowed from Adam of Bremen’s
History of the Archbishops of Hamburg–Bremen
, which mentions both the Hundings (Cynocephali) living on the north Baltic coast, and the pagan temple at Uppsala. (
The Two Versions of
Sturlaugs saga starfsama, p. 307)

[40]
   This scene references a scene in
Völsunga saga
(ch. 8), in which Sigmund and Sinfjotli are imprisoned in a barrow with stone-walled chambers. Unlike
Völsunga saga
and a similar scene in
Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar
(ch. 29), a friendly woman does not smuggle food and weapons into the hero’s prison. However, Sturlaug is like Sigmund in that he saws through the stone with his weapon. Since
Völsunga saga
is thought to have reached its present form around 1300, this places a limit on the date of
Sturlaugs saga
(Zitzelberger,
The Two Versions of
Sturlaugs saga starfsama, pp. 5-6).

[41]
   A common way of asking for help from a helper in folktales and legendary sagas; see Einar Ólafur Sveinsson,
The Folk-Stories of Iceland
, p. 257)

[42]
   The god
Freyr
, also known as
Yngvi
and
Yngvi-Freyr
, was said to be the founder of the Yngling dynasty that ruled Sweden in legendary times (
Ynglinga saga
ch. 10, trans. Hollander,
Heimskringla
, pp. 13-14). Presumably this is who is meant here, although the saga author gives no sign that he understood Ingvi-Frey to be a deity.

[43]
   Another Rondolf from Bjarmaland appears in
Göngu-Hrolfs saga
(ch. 30); this Rondolf is part giant, prone to battle-frenzy, and armed with a huge club.

[44]
  
Sturlaugs rímur
, a retelling of the saga, concludes with this victory over the Hundings (transl. Zitzelberger,
The Two Version of
Sturlaugs saga starfsama, pp. 412-40), as does the later “version B” of the saga. Both the
rímur
and version B of the saga may be derived from an earlier version of the saga that lacked the story of the Yule oaths. (Sanders, “
Sturlaugs saga starfsama
”, p. 2)

[45]
   Oaths sworn at Yule feasts seem to have been especially binding and significant; they appear in several
fornaldarsögur
(e.g.
Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks
ch. 2;
Ketils saga hængs
ch. 4) and other sources (e.g.
Harðar saga ok Hólmverja
ch. 14;
Helgakvíða Hjörvarðssonar
in the
Poetic Edda
).

[46]
   This is a
heitstrenging
or “oath contest” in which each man must swear an oath no less worthy than those that have already been sworn. This particular episode may be based on the story of the Jómsvíkings’ oaths (
Jómsvíkinga saga
ch. 26, transl. Blake,
The Saga of the Jomsvikings
, pp. 28-29;
Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar
ch. 35, trans. Hollander,
Heimskringla
, pp. 175-176). But similar oaths to accomplish great feats—including oaths to get into bed with unattainable women—are also found in medieval romances and in a number of Icelandic
riddarasögur
. See Schlauch,
Romance in Iceland
, pp. 102-103.

[47]
   This could be an ordinary message, but other sagas mention rune-inscribed objects used as magical charms to affect a woman’s mind or emotions (e.g.
Egils saga
chs. 73, 77;
History of the Danes
III.79, p. 77). Rune-carved sticks have been excavated and dated to the 13
th
and 14
th
centuries; they include both mundane letters and apparent love charms (Liestol, “Runes of Bergen”).

[48]
   The texts
Hversu Nóregr byggðist
[How Norway Was Settled] and
Fundinn Nóregr
[The Finding of Norway; usually included as the opening chapters of
Orkneyinga saga
] give the genealogy of the legendary King Snær the Old, “Snow”, who lived in the far north. His daughters are Fönn, “Snowdrift”; Drífa, “Snowfall”; and Mjöll, “Snow Powder”. Drífa was said to have married Vanlandi, the Yngling king of Sweden (
Ynglinga saga
ch. 13,
Heimskringla
, trans. Hollander, pp. 16-17). In
Bárðar saga snæfellsáss
(ch. 1), Mjöll is said to have been abducted by the giant king Dumbr and become the mother of the legendary Icelander Bard Snæfellsass.

[49]
   In the sagas,
Gestr
—“guest” in Old Norse—or a variant of the name, is a common pseudonym used by wanderers who are seeking lodging. (e.g. this saga ch. 25;
Norna-Gests þáttr
ch. 1;
Hervarar saga
ch. 10)

[50]
   Sanders (“
Sturlaugs saga starfsama
” p. 6) suggests that the substitution of Frosti for Sturlaug on the wedding night might be yet another takeoff on
Völsunga saga
—this time on the episode in which Sigurd wins Brynhild while disguised as Gunnar (ch. 29, trans. Byock, pp. 80-82).

[51]
   “To turn toward” (
snúast at
) someone is a common euphemism for sexual intercourse (Jochens,
Women in Old Norse Society
, pp. 72-73); we should probably assume that Frosti and Mjoll are
in copula
as the conversation is going on.

[52]
   Several legendary sagas mention cows or bulls that have been turned monstrous and savage by being worshipped (
Ragnars saga loðbrókar
chs. 8-9, 12;
Hjálmþés saga ok Ölvis
ch. 10;
Þorsteins þáttr uxafóts
ch. 13).
Ynglinga saga
(ch. 26;
Heimskringla
, trans. Hollander, p. 30) mentions that King Egil Aunsson was killed by a bull which had turned savage while being kept for sacrifice.

[53]
   Guðni Jónsson’s text based on AM 173 has
þat mun hneppa mik á kaf undir sik ok halda niðri
,
“it will hold me in the sea under itself and keep [me] down,” which seems odd. I’ve emended the text using manuscript AM 335 4to, which has
briota dyrit i kaf undir sig ok hallda nidri
, “[he] will force it into the sea under himself and hold it down.” (Zitzelberger,
The Two Versions of
Sturlaugs saga starfsama, pp. 25.46-26.1) Also noteworthy is that in AM 173, Godrid speaks of herself in the third person as the auroch’s killer; in AM 335, she says that someone named Geirreydr will kill the aurochs. Assuming that
Geirreydr
is the same name as the normalized form
Geirrö
ðr
, then Geirreydr would presumably be male, since a male giant by that name is attested elsewhere in Norse myth.

[54]
   Saxo’s
History of the Danes
mentions other instances of supernatural women associated with cows or cow-like beasts from the sea: one killed by Hadding (I.29-30; transl. Ellis-Davidson and Fisher, pp. 29-30) and one that kills Frothi (V.171-172, transl. Ellis-Davidson and Fisher, pp. 157-158). There is also the uncanny four-horned bull who is the son of a supernatural woman in
Laxdæla saga
ch. 31. The saga does not parallel Saxo’s accounts closely, but it may be referring to (or parodying) these or similar tales. Thompson lists a folk motif from the Baltic that the Devil’s cows have only one horn (A2286.2.3;
Motif-Index of Folk Literature
, vol. 1, p. 282).

[55]
   Several other sagas make it clear that women from the Finnic peoples of the far North have powerful magic and are dangerous to take as wives. Examples include Snæfrid in
Haralds saga hárfagra
(ch. 25, trans. Hollander,
Heimskringla
, pp. 80-81), Drífa in
Ynglinga saga
(ch. 13, trans. Hollander, p. 16), and Gunnhild in
Egils saga
and several others.

[56]
   Guðni Jónsson’s text based on AM 173 says that they go
vestr til Gautlands
, “westward to Götland,” which makes no sense; I’ve emended the text from AM 335, which has
austr til Gardalandz
, “eastward to Russia.” (Zitzelberger,
The Two Versions of
Sturlaugs saga starfsama, p. 26.26)

[57]
   Norse
Aldeigjuborg
, the present-day Staraya Ladoga.

[58]
   Several historical sagas list female healers who treat wounds and illness, and Ellis-Davidson (
Roles of the Northern Goddess
, p. 161-163) suggests that the Norse may have seen women as especially gifted in healing. But the gentle princess who heals anyone in need probably derives from the
riddarasögur
; compare Ingigerd with Ísodd
in
Tristrams saga
(ch. 29; trans. Schach, pp. 46-47), or with princesses in the native
riddarasögur
such as Cecilia in
Mírmanns
saga
(chs. 14-15; trans. O’Connor,
Icelandic Histories
, pp. 268-269) or Nítíða and Sýjalín in
Nítíða saga
(chs. 1, 5; transl. McDonald, “
Nítíða saga
,” pp. 124-127, 142-143), or with healer-princesses in several other romances (Schlauch,
Romance in Iceland
, p. 153)

[59]
   Although she is not depicted as a ruler, Ingigerd resembles the “maiden king” (
meykongr
) figures of Icelandic romances; however, the typical
meykongr
disdains the very idea of marriage and sends her suitors packing with harsh words and mockery. (Kalinké,
Bridal-Quest Romance
, pp. 99-100) Framar’s failed attempts to woo her may be parodies of “maiden king” episodes in other sagas.

[60]
  
Snækollr
means “snow-peak” or “snow-head”. If the name means that Framar is old, or pretending to be old, this episode may be a parody of the old king who courts a young bride, seen in
Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar
chs. 1-2 and
Völsunga saga
ch. 11 (see this book, p. XX). Oddly enough, a Viking named Snækollr appears in the saga later and seemingly turns out to be one of King Ingvar’s allies; this seems rather awkwardly tacked on.

[61]
   The Old Norse word translated “sorcerers” is
seiðmenn
, i.e. men who practice
seiðr
.
Seiðr
is a type of magic, sometimes used to foretell the future or to protect someone in battle, but often used to create illusions and confuse enemies. According to Snorri Sturluson (
Ynglinga saga
ch. 7;
Heimskringla
, trans. Hollander, p. 11), its use was considered unmanly. There are instances in historical sagas of kings putting
seiðmenn
to death (e.g.
Haralds saga
hárfagra
ch. 34;
Heimskringla
, trans. Hollander, pp. 88-89).

[62]
   Persons who magically shape-shift may be recognized by their eyes; see, for example,
Kormaks saga
ch. 18, or the legendary
Ketils saga hængs
ch. 3; or
Ála flekks saga
ch. 10 (transl. Bachmann and Erlingson,
Six Old Icelandic Sagas
, p. 51).

[63]
   This is probably a parody of episodes in other sagas in which a wounded man has to keep his internal organs from falling out, such as Bolli in
Laxdæla saga
(ch. 60), Starkad the Old in
Sögubrót
(ch. 9), and Hromund Gripsson in
Hrómundar saga Gripssonar
(ch. 7).

[64]
   The author evidently forgot to explain who Hvitserk is. The name (“White Shirt”) is fairly common in legendary sagas for princes of foreign lands, so presumably he is Ingvar’s son or kinsman.

[65]
   Heinrek and Ingolf aren’t mentioned in other
fornaldarsögur.
Göngu-Hrólfs saga
lists four sons of Sturlaug and Asa: Rögnvaldr, Fraðmarr, Eirekr, and the saga’s protagonist Hrólfr (ch. 4). Presumably this version of
Sturlaugs saga
pre-dates
Göngu-Hrólfs saga
(Zitzelberger,
The Two Version of
Sturlaugs saga starfsama, p. 6)
.

[66]
   Peace-Frodi (
Frið-Fróði
) is mentioned in the
Poetic Edda
(
Gróttasöngr
, Introductory Prose, transl. Orchard,
The Elder Edda
, p. 257), the
Skjöldunga saga
(trans. Miller, “Fragments of Danish History”, ch. 3, p. 10), and Saxo’s
Danish History
(V.170, transl. Ellis-Davidson and Fisher, pp. 156-157) as a legendary king of Denmark, whose reign was marked by surpassing peace and fruitfulness. Christian writers thought of him as living at the time of Christ, dying some time after the Crucifixion.