A Vision of the Skald: Seeking the Ideal in the Probable Works of Snorri Sturluson (original) (raw)

It is well known that Snorra Edda seeks to preserve and promote skaldic verse, heavily focusing on what is required to compose and understand such verse. Kevin Wanner, in his book Snorri Sturluson and the Edda, has argued that Snorri wrote Edda with an eye to preserving the relevancy of such verse to Norwegian court life and its ability to gain rewards from kings and chieftains, and thus also promoting a demand for the skilled craftsmen who produced it: skalds. Promoting such a figure necessarily requires that Snorri had some ideal in mind to communicate. Furthermore, it may be reasonably expected that such a project would not be limited to Edda, but would also be manifested in his other works. Therefore, this study seeks to reveal the vision of the skald that may be underlying the three works which are most often attributed to Snorri Sturluson with varying degrees of confidence: Edda, Heimskringla, and Egils saga Skalla-Grímssonar. As these works are diverse in style, content, and audience, I seek as comprehensive a picture as possible. This includes the skald's role, how he views his craft, and much more-nearly everything revealed about the skald in these works except the rules of versification. Looking at whether and how the works may promote a demand for skalds and a desire to be a skald is a major tool in my analysis. A close reading of the skald-related mythology in Edda also figures prominently. I find that a vision of the skald may indeed be derived from these works. It is a multi-faceted vision that orients the skald with respect to the gods, the past, myth, poetry itself, training, duties, relations to others, and more. It is one that indeed promotes a demand for skalds and a desire to be a skald, and it makes an affirmative contribution to the case for Snorri's authorship.