Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson (1179 – 23 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, knight, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of the Prose Edda, which is a major source for what is today known about Norse mythology and alliterative verse, and Heimskringla, a history of the Norse kings that begins with legendary material in Ynglinga saga and moves through to early medieval Scandinavian history. For stylistic and methodological reasons, Snorri is often taken to be the author of Egil's Saga. He was assassinated in 1241 by men claiming to be agents of the King of Norway.
Quotes about Snorri Sturluson
[edit]- Snorri's Edda is a unique and original work. It is the only comprehensive account of Norse mythology from the Middle Ages, and the only independent analysis of Norse poetic diction and metre. Though there were precedents for a treatise on each of these topics, Snorri took at most the idea for writing about them from his predecessors (who were mostly concerned with Latin literature); his work is in no way derivative. It is also notable for its detached and scholarly treatment both of religion and poetry, and the way in which sources and illustrations are extensively quoted and carefully attributed. Though it is clear that Snorri cared deeply about his material, he treats it with impartiality and humour, often mentioning two or more explanations of something without deciding between them. Especially interesting is the fact that in his discussions of both poetry and religion, he sees them in terms of an evolutionary process, contrasting the beliefs and practices of earlier times with those of his own. He even sees the development of language in historical terms, and speaks of languages ‘branching’ from each other. Though like most writers on such topics in the Middle Ages, he believes in the authority of established writers, he also allows extensive use of ‘licence’ and innovation, provided that such use is in accordance with nature and probability. In the first part of the prologue to Gylfaginning where, as elsewhere in the work, he shows acquaintance with medieval Latin writings and the teachings of the medieval church, he also displays a remarkable capacity for independent rational thought and an inclination towards philosophical analysis, and his account of the kenning is a masterly piece of description. There are certainly inconsistencies and illogicalities in his work, but they arise from the complexity of his material rather than from the primitiveness of the author's mind.
- Anthony Faulkes, 'Introduction', in Snorri Sturluson, Edda (1987), p. xviii-xix
