Elisabeth Keller

31.05.2012

The Terminology of Ruling in the Vinland Sagas

Elisabeth Keller

31.05.2012

Approach and Outline: The objective of this paper is to examine what terminology is used to describe rulers both worldly, religious and divine in the Vinland sagas Grnlendingasaga1 and Eirks saga raua2. Since my intention is not to find out about what really happened or who was who, but hopefully to gain some insight on how the writers of the Vnland Sagas related to their leaders and God and/or how they imagined their ancestors relationship to those, the factuality of the sagas contents is not an issue so much as their content is the premise for the study. In order to gain a clear overview I will start with making the appropriate statistics for both sagas. I will then be able to see which different terms and denominations are the most commonly used, in what context they can be found and if there is anything else in particular that catches the eye. I also intend to further examine each of the vocabulary-statistics by asking the same set of questions and to follow Halldrsson by also asking: [] why any particular saga may have been written.3 A short introduction of the two sagas in question seems in order, they are also made available as an attachment with the statistically relevant words highlighted. Eirks saga raua is known to us from Hauksbk or AM 544 4to from the 14th century and from Sklholtsbk or AM 577 4to from the 15th century. It is somewhat longer than Grnlendingesaga. While Grnlendingasaga is known to us from Flateyjarbk, existant only in one manuscript and described as a calfskin codex, Gks. 1005 fol., written in 1387-94 for Jn Hkonarson by the priest Jn rarson and Magnus rhallson 4 But let us take a look at the statistical material now. Initial statistics for the Vinland sagas: Old Norse herkonungr konungr Norwegian/ English/ Comments German translation Hrkonge/Heerknig Konge/king/Knig Eirks saga Grnlen raua dinga saga Chap.1: 2x Chap.1: 4x Chap.5: 7x Chap.7: 1x Chap.8: 1x Chap.12: 1x Chap.1: 1x Chap.3: Total amoun t 2x/0x 14x/0x

And derivatives (names, places)

Jarl
1 2

Jarl/

Earl/

Jarl

(spter And

1x/3x

Meaning: saga of the Greenlanders, abbreviated GS Meaning: saga of Eirik the Red, abbreviated ES 3 Halldrsson, lafur:The Vinland Sagas in: Andrew Wawn and runn Sigurardttir (ed.s): Approaches to Vnland, Reykjavk, 2001, p.39 4 Et kalveskinds codex, Gml. kgl. sml. 1005 fol., skrevet i 1387-94 for Jn Hkonarson af prsten Jn rarson og Magnus rhallson. See: http://heimskringla.no/wiki/Kildeindex#F

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31.05.2012

Herzog) ttstrr mar Hir Hirmar yvarr hfing gu rauskeggja i Kristr r fulltrann Byskup Mann av stor tt/highborn man/ von edler Herkunft Hird/court/Hof Hirdmann/retainer/Gefolgs mann des Knigs Eder/Thy/Ihr Hvding/Chief/Huptling Gud/God/Gott

derivatives (names, places) Chap.1: 1x Chap.5: 1x

3x 1x/0x 1x/0x 0x/1x 3x/0x Chap.7: 1x 1x/1x 4x/0x 1x/0x 1x/0x 1x/0x 1x/0x Chap.1: 1x Chap.9: 3x Chap.2: 1x Chap. 2:1x 3x/4x

Chap.3: 1x Chap.5: 2x Chap.8: 1x Chap.5: 1x Chap.6: 2x Chap.8: 2x Chap.8: 1x Chap.8: 1x Chap.8: 1x Chap.8: 1x Chap.14: 3x

Den rdskjeggede/the red Here bearded/der Rotbrtige synonyme for Thor Kristus/Christ/Christus Tor/Thor/Thor Min fulltro venn/ my most Another faithful friend/mein synonyme volltreuer Freund for Thor Biskop/bishop/Bischoff

munka reyni Munkers prve/ tester of monks/ Prfer der Mnche Foldar (krigs-)Herre over Jordens hallar hall/(war-)Lord over drttinn Earths hall/(Kriegs-)Herr der Erdenhalle Tab.1 Summarizing statistics: worldly Eirks saga raua 23 (22 pages) Grnlendingasaga 5 (17 pages) Tab. 2 religious 3 4 divine 8 2

0x/1x 0x/1x

Total 34 11

Elisabeth Keller

31.05.2012

1) Worldly leadership in the Vnland sagas How are worldy leaders called in Eirks saga raua? The word konungr is with its 14 appearances the most commonly used of the terms in question in ES5. However, it is not an unproblematic term for us readers. Konungr is used on a multitude of personae, and as Rgis Boyer correctly states, it has nothing to do with our idea of the word king6. These kings were not, as kings often are romanticizingly imagined, sitting in their thrones, ruling over large kingdoms. They were more like powerful travelling chieftains constantly surrounded by a larger group of their closest friends and allies, who helped them to control loosely cohesive areas of differing size, means and strategical importance7. Their only means of keeping these areas united under their rule was a constant demonstration of power and exchange of gifts for their loyalty. This was valid for all sorts of kings and the Norse would therefore give them this fellow name. The same can be said about the Norwegian jarls. In fact no obvious difference can be found in ES. In theory a jarl8 should in rank be under the king but above other vassals, but in chapter 1 of ES, we can read that orsteinn gerist herkonungr. Hann rst til lags me Siguri jarli inum rka, syni Eysteins glumru.9 suggesting that Jarl Sigurd was the more important figure of the two, otherwise one would expect the jarl riding with him. Also the jarls of Lade competed with other princely lineages for the crown of Norway, several Norwegian kings supposedly stem from their lineage. In the saga Leifr Eirksson, son of the condemned but very rich murderer and outcast Eirkr orvaldsson and grandson of the murderer and fugitive orvaldur svaldsson gets to know the Norwegian king on one of his travels and becomes part of his court. The Norwegian king lfr Tryggvason is mentioned four times and given as the source of Leifs conversion and his attempt to Christianize Greenland. Halldrsson believes this to be unlikely and proposes lfr helgi Haraldsson instead10. Leifr knows how to properly address the king and how to behave to his liking. This shows that he has knowledge of the European concept of kingship and

Add herkonungr and it appears 16 times in a history of roughly 22 pages length. Herkonungr is seemingly only a variation of the same understanding of the word, but emphasizing the aspect of military leadership. 6 Boyer, Rgis: Review: Viking empires in Annales. Histoire, Sciences Sociales, 60e Anne, No. 5 Paris, 2005, p. 1073 7 Wallace, Birgitta Linderoth: An Archaeologists Interpretation of the Vinland Sagas in: William W. Fitzhugh & Elisabeth I. Ward (ed.s): The North Atlantic Saga, Washington and London, 2000, p. 226 8 English: earl 9 http://heimskringla.no/wiki/Grnlendinga_saga meaning: Torstein made himself war-force king. He rode together with Sigurd jarl the mighty, son of Eystein Glumra - my translation 10 Halldrsson, lafur:The Vinland Sagas in: Andrew Wawn and runn Sigurardttir (ed.s): Approaches to Vnland, Reykjavk, 2001, p.46

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31.05.2012

courtly manners, despite literally coming from the farthest corner of the known world and from a not too flattering line of provenance at that, I will come back to this at a later point. Just the opposite can be said of Vfill, whom the saga attests a noble lineage, but who got taken as a captive in the west and is a thrall until freed by Aud. When Torstein Eiriks youngest son comes back with his men from their failed attempt to go to Vinland, he has to remind his father that being a good host is being like a good chieftain. Eirik quickly agrees with his son. I suspect the author wishes to ennoble this rather unusual family. How are worldy leaders called in Grnlendingasaga? GS does not tell of kings, but of jarls. More specifically of one Eirkr jarl, who hosts Bjarni Herjlfsson and takes him into his service. I find it somewhat unclear who the writer was thinking of, and will therefore elaborate a little bit on the question. Is the author entitling Eirkr raui with the title of jarl, maybe implicating Eirkr raui to be jarl of Greenland or is he talking about for instance Eirkr Hkonarson, bastard son of Hkon Sigursson11? [] pushed by competition among complex chieftainships and emergent secondary states, and fueled by growing wealth and population at home, this rapid expansion appeared destined to complete the circumpolar circuit []12 Though economically motivated exploration and expansion as McGovern and Wallace13 propose is a much more likely basis for Eirks and others emmigration from Norway/ Iceland to Greenland and further west, I find it unlikely that the writer would give him such a high title. Eventhough he is rich and the leader of the first settlement project in Greenland, he is said to be a murderer and an outcast and first his sons marriage to Gurir puts his family back on the map of the social elite14. To entitle him jarl seems a little farfetched and nothing else suggests he is of noble lineage, as most jarlfamilies would point to some mythical origin. From the little information we get from GS it is not possible to deduce which family of jarls this Eirkr belongs to, but I remembered there being a jarl mentioned in ES and hoped he might clarify the question.
11

also known as Hkon jarl inn rki meaning Jarl Hakon the mighty my translation McGovern, Thomas H.: The archaeology of the Norse North Atlantic. in Annual Reviews of Anthropology 19, Palo Alto, 1990, p. 331 13 McGovern see above and Wallace, Birgitta Linderoth: An Archaeologists Interpretation of the Vinland Sagas in: William W. Fitzhugh & Elisabeth I. Ward (ed.s): The North Atlantic Saga, Washington and London, 2000, p.226 14 Konstam, Angus: Historical Atlas of the Viking World, London, 2005, p.111
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31.05.2012

In ES we hear speak of Sigurr jarl, whom I at first thought to be of the Ladejarls 15, but then his name would be Sigurr Hkonarson, while this sagas Sigurr is said to be the son of Eysteins Glumra, and hence from a different family of jarls. A family who holds land everywhere from Mre to Oppland and Hedemark as well as the Orkneys16 the Orkneys being a logical point of contact for westward travelling seafarers of the time - anyways the coherence I was looking for was not there after all. I therefore believe that this is merely an unclearly formulated passage in the text. That it really tells of the two different persons one being Eirkr jarl, possibly of the Ladejarls, and the other one being Eirkr raui outlaw and founder of the first Norse colony on Greenland. We also find the term hfing in chapter 7, but it conveys almost no useful information for our purpose. It is said about one mikill ok vnn17 Skrling. Karlsefni therefore assumes him to be their chieftain. This is seemingly irrelevant for this assignment as he is the leader of the outsiders group. I do however believe it to be an indication of the authors own prejudices, as it can be seen in connection with the Germanic belief that chieftains and later kings have divine blood in their veins giving them special powers and enhancing their positive qualities and abilities therefore making them the best of their people. How do they compare? On the one hand ES is clearly concerned with the establishment of kingdom(s) in Norway. GS on the other hand doesnt pay any attention to this, but to a much smaller degree points to the far spread establishment of earldoms around the Norse colonies. I have therefore come to think that the authors must have had quite different agendas, and that the two sagas must have originated in different environments, be they spacial, social or both. This would effectively explain their dissimilar focus on worldly leadership. We should also consider the possibility that GS simply is not written for the purpose of anything else than the telling of the Vnland voyages, as Halldrsson proposes. Such an event seems to me too big to be told as just a good story. Though considering that they had been almost forgotten in the centuries that followed we can not dismiss the possibility completely either. So far I do believe that reducing the saga to a mere fairytale would be a mistake. Maybe looking at both their views on spiritual leadership will clarify this question somewhat?

15 16

This would have made a nice little line of the ladejarls: Sigur, Hkon and Eirkr. See: Olav den helliges saga, kapittel 96. http://heimskringla.no/wiki/Olav_den_helliges_saga 17 Meaning big and beautiful my translation, see: Grnlendingasaga, Chapter 7 http://heimskringla.no/wiki/Grnlendinga_saga

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31.05.2012

2) Spiritual leadership in the Vnland sagas How are spiritual leaders called in Eirks saga raua and Grnlendingasaga? How do they compare? Since the only kind of spiritual leader found in both sagas are bishops, I will discuss the issue as one question for both sagas. Both sagas make a point of orfinnr Karlsefni and his wife Gurr being the ancestors of three bishops. In ES they appear as follows: bishop orlk, bishop Bjarnar and bishop Brandr, while it is Brandr, orlk and Bjarnar in GS18. They also have silghtly different familiy trees. Both seem to agree that orlk is one of Snorri Karlsefnissons grandchildren, while Brandr is one of his great-grandchildren. But the sagas seem to disagree on the account of Bjarnars pedigree. In ES he is said to be bishop orlks great-grandson, while in GS he is said to be one of orfinnr Karlsefnis greatgrandchildren. Also notable is that both use Karlsefnisson as Snorres last name. This is somewhat unusual given that Karlsefni is his fathers epithet, and that the namegiving traditions where based on firstname and patronym19. As lafur Halldrsson points out Gurr is prophesized a bright future for her descendants in both sagas. He interprets this as an attempt to launch Bjrn Gilsson as Hlars first saint, an attempt that failed and was eradicated from history, when the failure became apparent20. This is certainly a possibility, but I find his evidence a bit meager. In the thirteenth century the church reformations that had taken place from the beginning of the high Middle Ages onwards initially much to the distress of the bishops themselves, who saw their power and autonomy threatened21 had successfully linked them directly to the Papal see in Rome by means their position within the churches hierarchy and their education. Therefore we must see the bishops emphasized role not as a means of showing that even in these farthest corners of the Christian world, one was at the same intellectual level as the rest of Europe and knew the European codes of conduct, but as an indicator that these forms and thoughts were already thouroughly incorporated into the intellectual cultural goods of the

18

And according to Halldrsson it is Bjarnar, orlk, Brandr in Strluboks geneology, see: Halldrsson, lafur:The Vinland Sagas in: Andrew Wawn and runn Sigurardttir (ed.s): Approaches to Vnland, Reykjavk, 2001, p.43 19 Meaning that the surname derives from the fathers first name. 20 Halldrsson Halldrsson, lafur:The Vinland Sagas in: Andrew Wawn and runn Sigurardttir (ed.s): Approaches to Vnland, Reykjavk, 2001, p.47 21 Reuter, Timothy: Introduction to the 2002 Edition in Adam of Bremens History of the Archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen, New York, 2002, p. xii and xv

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31.05.2012

Icelandic elite.22 By the time we can assume that the sagas were finally written down, they were well established within this newer more linear church structure and Christian European literary culture was not just present in Iceland, but in fact the dominant norm []23 3) Divinity in the Vnland sagas How is the Divine portrayed in Eirks saga raua? I will try to use some tools of literary analysis in order to shed some light on the vocabulary used by the two sagas on this subject. On the one hand gu is the dominant name used in ES for the Christian God, appearing a total of four times and suggesting a uniform understanding of the monotheistic concept of divinity. The Trinity of God was not a big focus in Germanic Christian writing. Especially the Northern Germanic peoples had been Christianized comparably late, and according to their lawtexts clinged to many of their old beliefs, superstitions and traditions and therefore were prone to confuse trinity with polytheism. It therefore seems only proper to emphasize Gods unity more than his Trinity. The only other name given to God is here Kristr, and it is a heathen that uses Kristr instead of gu, placing it somewhat within the frame of his attributed polytheistic understanding of divinity. This does not necessarily reflect reality but indicates how the author imagines this to be. On the other hand and in contrast to Grnlendingesaga, which I will discuss in a short while, ES mentions Thor as a representative of the Old Norse pantheon. Thor is given not one but three different names: a) rauskeggjai a common attribute given to Thor24, r and fulltrann25. The latter indicates Eirks relationship to the god. Giving Thor many names is also coherent with him being part of a multitude of Gods. Not that the Christian God does not have many names himself the 9th century Heliand brilliantly defies that notion but they are not used in the saga. If we consider the information given in the saga concerning the namegiving in Eirks family as a premise, it is reasonable to assume that Thor was his familys favourite God. This is not an unknown phenomenon, but rather the norm when we look at the families namegiving tradition in Old Norse sources.

22

Frakes, Jerold C.: Vnland and the Discourse of Eurocentrism in The Journal of English and Germanic Philology, Vol. 100, No. 2, Chicago, 2001, p. 166 23 Frakes, Jerold C.: Vnland and the Discourse of Eurocentrism in The Journal of English and Germanic Philology, Vol. 100, No. 2, Chicago, 2001, p. 161 24 Davidson, H.R. Ellis: Gods and Myths of Northern Europe, repr. Middlesex, 1990, p. 85 25 Translations given in the statistics above

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31.05.2012

Kirsten Wolf, comparing the accounts of settlement in Vnland with the immigration of Icelanders to Canada in the 1870s, finds a convincing parallel in the way people expressed themselves literally and says that there is the urge to assert unity in a time of initial conflict and, [] a type of re-engagement with the past through the nurturing of a cultural myth [...] in order to build a bridge between cultures now [] severed 26. ESs description of the divine can be understood in that way, as building a bridge between the polytheistic and heroic past and the monotheistic and chaotic state in the present of the author. Not least are the heroes mainly heathen but the ancestors of a total of three Icelandic bishops. Another reason for this could be the medieval belief that everything goes to hell literally. Many were convinced that history was continuing in a constant downwards spiral, where Man started in Paradise and is doomed to live under ever worsening conditions until Judgement day comes. How is divinity portrayed in Grnlendingasaga? In GS God only appears in a poetic little prayer said by one southern islander 27 for protection on their sea voyage, since these always were a hazardous affair. He first calls God the tester of monks indicating the constant temptations everyone but the monastic clergy in the highest possible degree were supposed to protect themselves from. That neither monks nor nuns nor other celibate clergymen were always able to resist temptation is well known throughout both the Medieval and the Early Modern world28 and can be explained among other things by the fact that a lot of them never were following any vocation, but being put in cloisters by their families, as orphans, as punishment, etc. Of course even the actually devout were not safe from getting tempted as almost everything was not only sinful but as is the nature of man so much more tempting when forbidden. We must therefore assume that the seclusion, personal poverty and strictly governed days, often marked by self-denial and penance, sometimes to the extreme, were not the idea of what life should be like for everyone submitted to these principles. God is therefore seen to constantly test the faith and obedience of his most devout servants.

26

Wolf, Kirsten: The Recovery of Vnland in Western Icelandic Literature. in: Andrew Wawn and runn Sigurardttir (ed.s): Approaches to Vnland. A Conference on the written and archaeological sources for the Norse ettlements in the North-Atlantic region and exploration of America. Reykjavk 9-11 August 1999, Reykjavk, 2001, p. 209 27 Surey being the Old Norse name for the Hebrides 28 Semmingsen, Ingrid (ed.): Frtsing, drikk og usedelighet i klostrene in Norges kulturhistorie, bind 2, Oslo, 1979, p. 41

Elisabeth Keller

31.05.2012

This could of course be the prayer of seafarers in the early days of a Christian Scandinavia, but then one might expect to find it elsewhere. After so many years of oral transmission it is also rather unlikely to be the exact wording of a potential Hebridian servant or slave on a sea voyage in the North Atlantic West. More likely it seems to me that the author himself is shining through here, or that he is making a general observation on the subject. In the next verse he calls God foldar hallar drttinn29 which is somewhat peculiar, as drttinn is not only a Germanic chieftain, but one leading a war-force of some sort, of course God leads the celestial forces of his angels. The picture of God seen as a chieftain or king is not uncommon in Germanic iconography. And even after a successful conversion the way of expressing ideas within a society would not be immediately overthrown rather than adapted to the new needs30. Which is what I believe is the case here. The author wishes to express a certain fellow-germanic cultural unity and simply uses an archaism in order to bridge the gap. How do they compare? One could argue that while the author of ES is trying to express religious unity over the stretch of time from around 1000-1200, the author of GS tries to express cultural unity across the stretch of space Hebrides/ Norway/ Iceland/ Greenlandand/ Vnland and religion Old Norse vs. Christian. Many scholars believe that the sagas are a means of procuring legitimacy for the elites claims to power and property when Iceland unstable, and sometimes they could contain genuine traditions31. Though Andersson has successfully suggested a course closer to that of Wolf, that of reconciliation in times of need.32 Conclusions: The Vinland sagas differ greatly in their emphasis on and use of terms for different kinds of rulers. Though both describe the supposedly same events33, they describe the underlying structures necessary for the westward expansion very differently, though they both seem to agree on the importance of bishops. Eirks saga raua focusses much more on King and God(s), on powerstructures in general, than does Grnlendingasaga one might say it cares for the proper form, the divine
29 30

translation given in the statistics above Grabar, Andr: Christian Iconography: a Study of its Origins, Princeton, 1968, p. xliii 31 Smith, Kevin P.: Landnm: The Settlement of Iceland in Archaeological and Historical Perspective in World Archaeology, Vol. 26, No. 3, Colonization of Islands, Oxfordshire, 1995, p. 320 and 322 32 Andersson, T. M.:Review in Speculum, Vol. 52, No. 1 Cambridge, 1977, p.164 33 Though differing greatly in more than just the vocabulary used, also the general storyline on a number of events does not match.

10

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order with God and King at the top of a descending pyramid, emphasizing the different rulers roles in the events that take place34. The Grnlendinga saga, focusses less on King and God, but more on their followers the jarls and the bishops. It uses less than 1/3 of the total amount of terms considering the ruling compared to Eirks saga raua, though it is only about 1/5 shorter. King and God are completely missing, only in a little poem I find the allegorical munka reyni and Foldar hallar drttinn. It is notable that the kings role has been substituted completely by the jarls. All in all it must be considered to much less political than Eirks saga raua.

34

Oakley, Francis: Celestial Hierarchies Revisited: Walter Ullmann's Vision of Medieval Politics in Past & Present, No. 60, Oxford, 1973, p.7-8

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Syllabus
Books and Articles: - Andersson, T. M.:Review in Speculum, Vol. 52, No. 1 Cambridge, 1977 - Arthur, Ross G.: English Old Norse Dictionary, Cambridge, Ontario, 2002 - Boyer, Rgis: Review: Viking empires in Annales. Histoire, Sciences Sociales, 60e Anne, No. 5 Paris, 2005 - Davidson, H.R. Ellis: Gods and Myths of Northern Europe, Middlesex, 1990 - Frakes, Jerold C.: Vnland and the Discourse of Eurocentrism in The Journal of English and Germanic Philology, Vol. 100, No. 2, Chicago, 2001 - Grabar, Andr: Christian Iconography: a Study of its Origins, Princeton, 1968 - Halldrsson, lafur:The Vinland Sagas in: Andrew Wawn and runn Sigurardttir (ed.s): Approaches to Vnland, Reykjavk, 2001 - Konstam, Angus: Historical Atlas of the Viking World, London, 2005 - McGovern, Thomas H.: The archaeology of the Norse North Atlantic. in Annual Reviews of Anthropology 19, Palo Alto, 1990 - Oakley, Francis: Celestial Hierarchies Revisited: Walter Ullmann's Vision of Medieval Politics in Past & Present, No. 60, Oxford, 1973 - Reuter, Timothy: Introduction to the 2002 Edition in Adam of Bremens History of the Archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen, New York, 2002 - Semmingsen, Ingrid (ed.): Frtsing, drikk og usedelighet i klostrene in Norges kulturhistorie, bind 2, Oslo, 1979 - Smith, Kevin P.: Landnm: The Settlement of Iceland in Archaeological and Historical Perspective in World Archaeology, Vol. 26, No. 3, Colonization of Islands, Oxfordshire, 1995 - Wallace, Birgitta Linderoth: An Archaeologists Interpretation of the Vinland Sagas in: William W. Fitzhugh & Elisabeth I. Ward (ed.s): The North Atlantic Saga, Washington and London, 2000 - Wolf, Kirsten: The Recovery of Vnland in Western Icelandic Literature. in: Andrew Wawn and runn Sigurardttir (ed.s): Approaches to Vnland. A Conference on the written and archaeological sources for the Norse ettlements in the North-Atlantic region and exploration of America. Reykjavk 9-11 August 1999, Reykjavk, 2001 Internet Resources: http://heimskringla.no/wiki/Eir%C3%ADks_saga_rau%C3%B0a http://heimskringla.no/wiki/Grnlendinga_saga http://heimskringla.no/wiki/Olav_den_helliges_saga http://heimskringla.no/wiki/Kildeindex#F http://www.jstor.org

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