Gripla - 20.12.2009, Blaðsíða 257
j. HARRIS
PHILoLoGy, eLeGy,
AnD CuLtuRAL CHAnGe
philology’s concern with minutiae – one rune, one line, an individual
poem, at most a group of similar poems, a genre – seems to occupy the
opposite end of a spectrum from the grand form of historical generaliza
tion known as civilizational analysis.1 yet in the hands of a master of both
ends of the spectrum, such as Sigurður nordal, philology’s small steps have
sometimes led to cultural panoramas that can contribute at the highest level
of the study of comparative civilizations, for the bold sweep of Íslenzk
menn ing relies on intense case studies such as nordal’s seminal investiga
tion of the religion of egill SkallaGrímsson.2 Without attempting to
emulate Nordal, my paper will implicitly argue a continuity from the
building blocks of the particular (philology) through the controlled gener
alization of genre (elegy) to a limited window on an aspect of cultural
dynamic; along the way we make a brief pause where genre leads in to lit
erary interpretation. At every point, however, the philologist in me will
cling as closely as possible to texts and for the most part to a ninthcentury
Swedish runic inscription, the Rök stone. My text and free translation
stand as an appendix to this article, and I refer throughout to that text.3
Philology
My understanding of the Rök inscription as a whole is heavily indebted to
Lars Lönnroth’s article of 1977, the first effort in this realm by a modern
literary historian and literary critic.4 The whole inscription consists of an
1 See the historical contributions to this volume, especially the essay of jóhann Páll Árna
son.
2 Sigurður nordal 1942/1990. Cf. the reception of Íslenzk menning in the contributions of
jóhann Páll Árnason.
3 the Rök text and translation here and much of the discussion in this article depend on:
Harris 2006b, 2009, and forthcoming.
4 Harris 2006b, especially 45–55; for his part, Lönnroth 1977 owes much to Wessén 1958.
Gripla XX (2009): 257–280.