Snorri Sturluson as a historian of religions: The credibility of the descriptions of pre-Christian cultic leadership and rituals in Hákonar saga góða Abstract
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Snorri Sturluson as a historian of religions
temple’. When Adam described the inner parts of the ‘temple’ he applied the term triclinium. In classical and mediaeval Latin, this term connotes both ‘dining-room’ and ‘room for ceremonial banquets’.³⁷ It is thus quite possible that Adam actually referred to a banqueting hall, when using the term triclinium.³⁸ Adam’s text supports this explanation further. When describing the sacrifices which took place there he used the verb libo (libare), which may be translated as ‘to pour a libation of’.³⁹ He also used the noun libatio in this context, that is, ‘a sacrificial offering, especially of drink, libation’ and the concept comissatio (‘drinking feast, bout’). Adam’s description of Uppsala thus indicates several resemblances with Snor- ri’s report. In both accounts royalties are expected to take part in sacrificial rituals, which included ceremonial meals and drinking customs, performed in cultic build- ings. Since Snorri probably did not have access to Adam’s text, these accounts must be treated as independent sources.⁴⁰Another possible independent source for these notions from the conversion period is also the tradition about King Ingi Steinkelsson, preserved in the U-version of Hervarar saga (c. 1300), where it says that the Svear removed their king from office, since he would not make sacrifices on their behalf at the assembly which probably was held at Uppsala. It is interesting to notice that the custom of sacrificing horses and eating horse-meat also is crucial in this tradition.
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38 A Vendel Period hall building has been discovered in Gamla Uppsala, see further below. It cannot be identical with Adam’s templum/triclinium, since it disappeared around AD 800. 39 Dillmann 1997. 40 Adam’s text was known in medieval Iceland. One passage of it is translated to Old Norse in AM 415 4
to (c. 1310) and in Flateyjarbók (c. 1390). But Snorri was probably not acquainted with it (cf. Las- sen 2011, pp. 122 f.).
with King Ingi, they gave him two choices. Either he would maintain the ancient law or he had to give up the kingdom. King Ingi said that he was not ready to give up that faith, which was the right one. The Svear shouted and threw stones at him and drove him off the assembly place. Sveinn, the king’s brother-in-law, remained at the thing. He told the Svear that he would make sacrifice on their behalf if they would give him the kingdom. All assented to that proposal. Sveinn was taken as king over all Svetjud. A horse was led to the meeting place, dismembered and distributed for eating, and the sacrificial tree was reddened with the blood. All Svear thus abandoned Christianity, re-introduced the sacrifice and drove Ingi off and he travelled to Västergötland. Blótsveinn was king over the Svear for three winters.’ Brought to you by | Stockholms Universitet Authenticated | 10.248.254.158 Download Date | 9/18/14 2:50 PM
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Olof Sundqvist Because of the change of style, most scholars accept that the chronicle of the Svea-kings has been added to the original version of Hervarar saga.⁴² It may be part of a lost historical source moulded by legendary and mythical elements. Some parts of this tradition are also preserved in Orkneyinga saga, which tells of the Christian King Ingi of Svetjud who fought against paganism. The farmers, however, chose another king, called Blótsveinn (the brother of the Queen) who retained sacrifices.⁴³ This tra- dition may have been transferred to Iceland by Markús Skeggjason, who was probably Ingi’s skald before being made Lawman at Þingvellir in 1084.⁴⁴ Blótsveinn’s existence has been questioned and his story has been regarded as a medieval exemplum, that is, as a homilectic story.⁴⁵ Yet Blótsveinn (in Old Swedish Blodhsven) is also men- tioned independent of Icelandic traditions in “The Legend of St Eskil” (Legenda sancti
It seems thus, according to these sources, as if the Late Viking Age cult community in Svetjud expected that the king performed or at least participated in the common sacrifice. In my opinion, there is no reason to doubt this information. Perhaps the sacrifice was only valid when the king took part in the rituals. A plausible interpreta- tion is that the king was the most important mediator between the human and the divine world during the sacrifices at this sanctuary. His ritual role in the cult was thus necessary for the society, and per se it also legitimated his high position in other social contexts.
Medieval written sources thus support the idea that pagan rulers were involved in the sacrificial feasts in eastern Scandinavia, which included ceremonial meals and drinking rituals. This idea may also be indicated in other types of sources, sources which are undoubtedly pre-Christian. Some runic stones of the Blekinge group may give information about rulers in cultic functions. They were carved not before AD 550 and perhaps not after AD 750.⁴⁷ Stentoften (DaRun 357), Gummarp (DaRun 358) and
acquainted with this tradition and mentioned Blót-Sveinn see Heimskringla (Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson 1941–51), 3, S. 263.
1991, p. 37; Foote 1993, p. 24. 45 Lönnroth 1996, pp. 150 f. 46 Scriptores rerum Suecicarum medii aevi (Fant 1818–76), 2, 1, pp. 391–399 47 On datings of these inscriptions see Runeninschriften (Krause 1966), pp. 203 ff., Moltke 1985 (1976), pp. 137–147. Brought to you by | Stockholms Universitet Authenticated | 10.248.254.158 Download Date | 9/18/14 2:50 PM
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