Note to Sturl Hákkv 6II
[8] lið Grýtlinga ‘the force of the Grýtlingar [= the Ribbungar]’: Grýtlingar (lit. ‘Gravelings’) is a hap. leg. derived from grjót ‘stone, gravel, rock’. It is used here to designate the Ribbungar, most likely in the sense of ‘people who stay among cliffs and rocks or live in caves’ (i.e. ‘outlaws’). See also Note to Sturl Hákfl 5/8. The Ribbungar (lit. ‘robbers, rabble’), a political faction that arose in Norway around 1220, were the adherents of the royal pretender Sigurðr ribbungr. Sigurðr was the son of Erlingr steinveggr ‘Stonewall’ (d. 1207), who claimed to be the son of King Magnús Erlingsson. For Erlingr and his life, see Bǫgl 1988, II. See also Note to st. 1/8 above.
References
- Bibliography
- Bǫgl 1988 = Magerøy, Hallvard, ed. 1988. Soga om Birkibeinar og Baglar: Boglunga sǫgur. Norsk historisk kjeldeskrift-institutt norrøne tekster 5. Oslo: Solum forlag and Kjeldeskriftfondet.
- Internal references
- Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Sturla Þórðarson, Hákonarflokkr 5’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 749-50.