Studia Maritima


ISSN: 0137-3587     eISSN: 2353-303X    OAI    DOI: 10.18276/sm.2020.33-02
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Issue archive / Vol. 33 2020
A skald in royal service – the case Þórarinn loftunga. Part 1: Ideological contexts of Hofuðlausn

Authors: Jakub Morawiec ORCID
Uniwersytet Śląski w Katowicach
Keywords: skaldic poetry Christian doctrine royal ideology
Data publikacji całości:2020
Page range:20 (33-52)
Cited-by (Crossref) ?:

Abstract

The first half of the 11th century was marked by serious challenges for the skaldic art. An advent of Christianity in the North in general and the baptism of numerous rulers in par- ticular, made skalds make efforts to implement symbolism of the new faith into their art. This trend is clearly reflected in the poetry of Þórarinn loftunga, an Icelandic poet, who is known for his compositions for Knútr inn ríki, the king of England, Denmark and Norway. The article investigates preserved lines of one of Þórarinn’s poems, Hǫfuðlausn (Head-ran- som). Special attention is paid to its sophisticated stylistic features, namely references to Byzantium (Gríklands) and the Heavenly Kingdom (himinríki) and a kenning “defender of Byzantium” (gætir Gríklands). The article argues that the presence of these features, juvenile in the skaldic art, in Þórarinn’s poem, was an effect of skald’s both ability and willingness to adopt certain elements of Christian doctrine and royal ideology present at Knútr’s English court as a response to particular expectations of the king towards his skalds and their poetry.
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