Snorri Sturluson (1178-1241)

Edith Marold

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Vol. III. Poetry from Treatises on Poetics 7. Introduction 5. Biographies 5.1. Snorri Sturluson (1178-1241)

5.1. Snorri Sturluson (1178-1241)

Edith Marold 2017, ‘Snorri Sturluson (1178-1241)’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols [check printed volume for citation].

The main source of information about the life of Snorri Sturluson (SnSt) is the Sturlung compilation (Sturlunga saga, Stu), in particular, Sturla Þórðarson’s Íslendinga saga (Ísls), and Sturla’s Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar (Hák). Snorri was a member of one of the most powerful Icelandic families of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the Sturlungar. According to Ísls (Stu 1878, I, 229) he was born in 1178 at Hvammur in Dalir in western Iceland. His father, Hvamm-Sturla, was one of the mightiest and most ambitious men of his time, and his family had a goðorð, i. e. they appointed the goði of this region. Snorri’s mother, Guðný Bǫðvarsdóttir, was descended from Egill Skallagrímsson (Egill). Jón Loptsson from the Oddaverjar family of Oddi in southern Iceland tried to reconcile Sturla with one of his enemies, offering to foster and educate Sturla’s young son, Snorri, as part of the bargain to seal the agreement. Thus Snorri came to Oddi at the age of three and stayed with Jón Loptsson. At this time, Oddi was a centre of science and literature. When Jón died in 1197, Snorri was eighteen years old, and he continued to live at Oddi with his foster-brother Sæmundr Jónsson. Snorri’s financial situation was not good, since his mother Guðný had squandered much of his inheritance, and a favourable marriage with the wealthy Herdís Bersadóttir was arranged for him by the Oddaverjar. As a consequence he moved to Borg in Borgarfjörður upon the death of Herdís’s father, Bersi, in 1201 and later on to Reykholt in 1206. Snorri had a large stone house built at Reykholt, along with a bath which was connected by a corridor to the main building. Reykholt developed into a centre of history writing and literature. Ísls relates that several scholars and clergymen stayed there, among others Sturla Þórðarson, Snorri’s nephew, and Styrmir Kárason, who made a redaction of Landnámabók (Ldn) and wrote a version of Óláfs saga helga (see SkP I, clxi-clxii) and parts of Sverris saga (Sv).

According to Skáldatal (SnE 1848-87, III, 255-7, 264-6, 278-9, 282), Snorri himself was a skald who composed poetry in honour of several Norwegian rulers, namely, the kings Sverrir Sigurðarson (d. 1202), Ingi Bárðarson (d. 1217), Hákon Hákonarson (d. 1263) and Skúli jarl Bárðarson (d. 1240), but aside from Háttatal ‘Enumeration of Verse-forms’ (SnSt Ht), two fragments, Skúladrápa ‘Drápa about Skúli’ (SnSt Skúldr^IV) and four lines of a religious poem (SnSt Frag), only seven lausavísur (‘free-standing stanzas’; SnSt Lv 1-4^IV, 5-7) remain of his poetic oeuvre. It is likely that Snorri’s famous prose works, Snorra Edda (SnE) and Heimskringla (Hkr; on Snorri’s authorship, see Whaley in SkP I, clxviii), were written in Reykholt, but only after his first sojourn in Norway in 1218-20.

Along with the farm at Reykholt, Snorri obtained a new goðorð, embarked on extensive political activity, and began to establish connections with Norway. First he composed a poem about Jarl Hákon galinn ‘the Crazy’ Fólkviðarson, the nephew of King Sverrir Sigurðarson, who had the effective power in Norway during the reign of King Ingi Bárðarson (r. 1204-17). That poem is not preserved but is mentioned in Stu (Stu 1878, I, 269). Jarl Hákon galinn sent presents to Snorri and invited him to come to Norway, but Hákon died in 1214 before Snorri could embark on that journey (Stu 1878, I, 235-6; see also Máni Lv 4^IV). From 1215 to 1218 Snorri held the highest position in Iceland; he was lǫgsǫgumaðr ‘lawspeaker’. In 1218 he travelled to Norway for the first time, where the young king Hákon Hákonarson and his regent and later father-in-law, Skúli jarl Bárðarson, shared power (see their Biographies in SkP II, lxxxi-lxxxii, xcv). During this stay Snorri seems to have established good relations especially with Skúli jarl. He also went to Sweden to visit the former wife of Jarl Hákon galinn, Kristín Níkolássdóttir, who was then married to Áskell lǫgmaðr ‘Law-man’ Magnússon in Gautland (Götaland) and presented a poem to her called Andvaka ‘Sleeplessness’, which is not preserved (Stu 1878, I, 271). During the second winter of Snorri’s stay in Norway (1219-20) he was appointed skutilsveinn (lit. ‘dish-boy’), which was an honourable position at the court of the king. When Snorri wanted to return to Iceland, he got enmeshed in a conflict between Iceland and Norway, more specifically, between the family of the Oddaverjar and the Norwegian king. Snorri tried to settle the conflict which threatened to escalate to a war between Iceland and Norway. He succeeded and was honoured by being appointed lendr maðr ‘district chieftain’ (lit. ‘landed man’). Stu (Stu 1878, I, 278) indicates that Skúli jarl had been the driving force behind this appointment. The Norwegian magnates gave Snorri the task of persuading the Icelanders to accept the sovereignty of the Norwegian king. Not all Icelanders appreciated Snorri’s mediation. When he returned to Iceland in 1220, he tried to find allies among the powerful families in northern and western Iceland. By his calculated policy of marrying his children to members of these families, he established binding agreements and increased his wealth and political power.

From 1222 until 1231 Snorri was again lǫgsǫgumaðr. During these years his famous prose works SnE and Hkr were composed. This relatively peaceful period was terminated by hostilities within his own family. Snorri had appropriated extensive regions from his nephew Sturla Sigvatsson, but in 1236 when Sturla came back to Iceland from his pilgrimage to Rome, he attacked Snorri, took possession of Reykholt and assumed Snorri’s control in Borgarfjörður. Snorri was compelled to flee to Norway, and he stayed with Skúli jarl in Trondheim (Niðarós) until 1238 when Sturla Sigvatsson and his father, Sigvatr Sturluson, fell in the battle of Ørlygsstaðir against Snorri’s former son-in-law, Gizurr Þorvaldsson, later jarl of Iceland. After that Snorri set out for Iceland although the Norwegian king Hákon Hákonarson had forbidden all Icelanders to leave Norway. Snorri left from Trondheim, and it is said that Skúli gave Snorri the title of jarl, although this was doubted by others, according to Stu (Stu 1878, I, 384-5).

Once Snorri was back in Iceland, his enemies gathered. After a quarrel over the inheritance of Snorri’s second wife, Hallveig Ormsdóttir, his stepsons Klængr and Ormr joined Snorri’s enemies Gizurr Þorvaldsson, Kolbeinn ungi ‘the Young’ Arnórsson, another former son-in-law of Snorri, and others. Gizurr had received a letter from King Hákon Hákonarson in which the king called Snorri a traitor for leaving Norway without his permission, and he commanded Gizurr either to compel Snorri to return to Norway or to kill him. On the night of 23 September 1241, Gizurr, with a band of seventy men, attacked Snorri in Reykholt. They broke open the door to his bedroom, but Snorri was able to escape. He hid beneath the house in the corridor leading to his bath but was eventually discovered by five of Gizurr’s men. In the words of Stu (Stu 1878, I, 393): Ok gengu fimm í kjallarann: Markús Marðarson, Símon knútr, Árni beiskr, Þorsteinn Guðinason, Þórarinn Ásgrímsson. Símon bað Árna höggva hann. ‘Eigi skal höggva!’ segir Snorri. ‘Högg þú!’ segir Símon. ‘Eigi skal höggva!’ segir Snorri. Eptir þat veitti Árni hónum bana-sár; ok báðir þeir Þorsteinn unnu á hónum ‘And five went into the cellar: Markús Marðarson, Símon knútr “Knot”, Árni beiskr “the Scornful”, Þorsteinn Guðinason, Þórarinn Ásgrímsson. Símon told Árni to strike him. “Do not strike!” says Snorri. “Strike!” says Símon. “Do not strike!” says Snorri. After that, Árni dealt him his death blow, and both he and Þorsteinn attacked him’.

References

5.2. Magnús Ólafsson (c. 1573-1636)

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5.1. Snorri Sturluson (1178-1241)

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