The Saga of Snorri
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0Note: That is not a real quote, but rather the general impression that the works of Sturluson give the reader.
Unfortunately for Sturluson, neither the new gods nor the old ones he’d written so much about bothered to intervene on his behalf.
Despite his love of pre-Christian Norse culture, Sturluson never quite got the hang of being a viking himself, though he did try very hard. The legends of Thor and Odin, however, were just a little bit too difficult to live up to for poor Snorri. Where the gods and heroes he wrote about would have bravely faced death, perhaps even welcomed it, Sturluson died groveling in his basement. Not exactly a heroic death, but then again he wasn’t exactly a hero.
For those of you unfamiliar with the man, Stuluson is the writer of both the Prose Edda and Heimskringla and is generally attributed as the author of the Poetic Edda (though there are doubts on this point!), our primary sources for understanding much of Norse mythology and legend. Sturluson is also thought to be the writer of Egil’s Saga, but that one’s a little less clear cut. Either way, it is largely through this one man that we have come to know the stories of the Vikings as they might have told them. Archeological evidence and histories have shaped our general understanding of what the Vikings did and who they were, but Sturluson gives us tales and spirit.
Despite the rather pathetic way he died, Snorri Sturluson was a very influential figure during his life. As a native Icelander growing up in the care of a wealthy family, he often heard stories about the Old Gods and heroes. When he was young, he hoped to become a royal poet and penned a number of skaldic poems for the court but realized the art was quickly dying out. Christianity had come to Iceland two hundred years before and by the time of Sturluson, the island nation was considered a Christian one. Thankfully, it took quite some time for the old ways to fully die out. Though Snorri was, indeed, a Christian, the old stories and legends held a deep fascination for him. Unfortunately for him, the same couldn’t be said for most of his contemporaries. Skaldic poetry made many references to ancient deeds and legends, a confusing thing for Christians not familiar with the stories of their forefathers. Sturluson, knowing that prose was a more compelling choice for readers in Iceland, decided to give up his dream of becoming a royal skald and began his work on a collection of tales about the old gods and heroes he’d heard about as a boy in an attempt to familiarize his contemporaries with these near forgotten tales.
Of course, this wasn’t his only occupation. Sturluson was a lawyer and later came to power as a chief in Iceland. He even visited Norway several times and maintained connections with the king and the royal family. When he initially came into his chiefdom, he was a voice for unification with Norway and pushed his fellow Icelanders to accept the king of Norway as their own, a rather unpopular opinion. A lot of tangled history follows, too much for this blog post, but in the end, Sturluson was assassinated in a bid for power by one of his rivals. Several times, in his life, Sturluson attempted to live up to the grandeur of his heroes, writing of the need for bold and resolute action like those in the Sagas, but he never seems to have got the hang of it.
In the end, Sturluson died begging his murderers not to swing their blades. He died quite scared and alone, as many of us sadly do, but his writing has lived on. It is because of him that we have stories and not just a few deciphered rune stones or pieces of art. It is because of Snorri that the Old Gods live on. It is because of him that the Sagas continue to intrigue and inspire us today. Without him, our view of Viking culture would be entirely different.
Though he wasn’t a hero like those in his works, I like to think he was a hero of culture. So everybody (especially if you enjoy Norse myth) say thanks to Snorri Sturluson.
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Discussion (16) ¬
Well, he was a politician
I’m sure there’s some philosophical point to be made about how we’re all like this in the end.
…Nah, let’s just make fun of Snorri!
Not only was he murdered, the poor guy now finds himself saddled with what the guys who came to kill and discredit him said his last moments were like. If the Decepticons ever get Optimus Prime, Starscream is gonna be all “yeah he ran to the basement and begged for his life!” even if Prime goes down swingin and makes Megatron pee his robo-pants.
Not only was he murdered, the poor guy now finds himself saddled with what the guys who came to kill and discredit him said his last moments were like. If the Decepticons ever get Optimus Prime, Starscream is gonna be all “yeah he ran to the basement and begged for his life!” even if Prime goes down swingin and makes Megatron pee his robo-pants.
Loved the comic! An incredibly apt depiction of the contradictory nature of Snorri’s life and death.
However, I would like to put on my Obnoxious Scholar’s Helm and point out that the author (or perhaps more accurately, “compiler”) of the Poetic Edda remains unknown. The main surviving copy that we have, the Codex Regius, seems to have been written after Snorri’s death, but it’s possible that [R] was copied from an earlier manuscript. But whether or not that manuscript was composed by Snorri is hard to say, though it does seems likely that he at least had access to some form of the Poetic Edda. But nonetheless, I feel it jumps the gun a bit to claim Snorri was the author of the Poetic Edda.
So as far as current scholarship is confirmed, Snorri is only said to be the author of the Poetic Edda and Heimskringla. As for the Poetic Edda, there’s actually less evidence to support him as author than there is for Egil’s saga.
At any rate, I loved the comic. I love when the Norse gods and Norsemen crop up in your comics!
Woops! You’re right, of course. A lot of the info I’ve read considers Sturluson the author of the Poetic Edda, but it is not a certainty! Thanks for the great comment!
I’ve updated the blog post a bit, I’d forgotten to include Heimskringla entirely! Woops!
Poor Snorri. He wanted what he wasn’t. Should’ve focused more on Odin and his children and less on Thor and the wars, and would’ve been content in his writer’s life. It’s important, and well lauded, and nobody’s surprised when a writer is scared to die. Who would write the stories they didn’t have time to get out of their heads?
I think voidgazing makes an interesting point. How do we know how he died? If there was no one like Kári from Njáls saga there to kill them for making up an insulting story then how can we be sure his killers gave an accurate account?
I am not very familiar with Snorri’s death though. Were there any witnesses?
From what I know, a large group of armed men were present to assassinate him, obviously it’s hard to know for sure how things went down. What we do know is that his murder was not very popular with most people not involved in the power structure at the time. We also know that Sturluson, for all his graces, was not blessed (or cursed, depending on how you see it) with a warrior’s heart or a resolute nature. He raised armies against his enemies and ended up offering terms rather than fighting. He turned his back on a fellow commander over a dispute over the chain of command.
Seems fairly likely that he died the way most people would when faced with their own murder. Obviously I’m making a joke in the comic, but it’s pretty normal for someone to act that way in the situation.
As with other parts of his life, we can’t be 100% certain. Maybe he did find courage to face his death as a Viking would have, but it’s unlikely.
It could also be that was exactly what he said, but for different reasons than “fuuuuuu don’t wan’t to die”. If people were raising armies and then asking for terms, that points to a political climate a bit like the Koreas aren’t particularly enjoying- create a credible threat, negotiate from there. In that kind of environment, our would-be skald might have been saying “OK, OK you guys. You win this round, what do you want”. He might have been all kinds of surprised that this wasn’t business as usual. When negotiations are carried out that way and bunch of dudes show up and put you in a no-win situation, you don’t grab a sword. You prepare to listen to their “nice long hall you have here, shame if something happened to it” speech.
Well, if there were a lot of people present it is unlikely that anyone would have made up the story. From what I understand giving an inaccurate account of a story/battle, even about your enemies, was pretty much taboo in Iceland at the time.
I am just reading Edda with foreword about Snorri’s life.
Here it is written: “Gissur Torvaldson was ordered by Norway’s King Hákon to bring Snorri to him, or kill him.
On 22.9.1241 Gissur and 70 men attacked Reykjaholt and killed Snorri in his own basement without giving him any chance to negotiate.”
That’s all to it. No begging, no heroic acts. Just a murder.
Note that Tolkien really really loved the Edda, and so it had a major impact on the Lord of Rings (or at least the backstory).
Snorri’s last words were “Eigi skal höggva” which literally mean “don’t chop”.
One correction: They would’ve addressed him as Snorri or Snorri Sturluson, not just Sturluson.