Skáldskaparmál - 01.01.1997, Page 59

Stæri ek brag
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swimmer in the sound, and when Kjartan asks Hallfreðr whether he wishes to
compete against the stranger, the poet answers cryptically: “þat ferr fiaRÍ. þviat
þar er sa maðr er ek ætla in engum lut at iafn bioða” (1:359,14-15). In light of
subsequent events, the remark is both ironic and anticipatory. Hallfreðr offers no
furtherexplanation, butwhen Kjartan asks Bolli the same question, he too refuses.
The famous dunking contest between Kjartan and King Óláfr ensues. When
Kjartan subsequently receives a cloak from the king, the other Icelanders disap-
prove, since they consider accepting the gift a sign of submission to the king, and
implicitly to his faith (1:361,15-17). Not surprisingly, when the weather turns
nasty, this is interpreted as a sign of anger from their gods. Nonetheless, despite
their incipient conspiracy to burn King Óláfr in his hall, the Icelanders, at their
head Kjartan and Bolli, eventually are converted. Included in the group that spies
on the Christmas liturgy is Hallfreðr, but he is conspicuously absent on the second
day of Christmas when Kjartan, Bolli andother Icelanders are baptized (1:372,1-
4). We shall return to the events of Christmas.
Hallfreðr’s subsequent encounter with the king is remarkable. When Óláfr asks
who he is, and then whether he is a poet, Hallfreðr responds with a self-conscious
“kaN ek at yrkia” (1:372,11). Óláfr immediately goes on the offensive. He exhorts
Hallfreðr to become a Christian and to renounce the pagan gods because he is a
bold and brave man to whom it must be obvious that he should no longer serve
the enemy. Hallfreðr’s response throws a light on his personality at the same time
that his reaction contrasts with both his own and his father’s conduct in Iceland.
He will not let himself be baptized without getting something in return: King
Óláfr himself will have to stand as his godfather (1:372,16-18). The king agrees.
With the acceptance of baptism Hallfreðr enters into a new filial relationship.
From a theological perspective, he becomes not only the filius adoptivus, the
adopted son of God, but also King Óláfr’s filius spiritualis, his spiritual son.12
With Hallfreðr’s baptism the unbending father figure in Iceland has been replaced
with another, with the equally if not more severe paternal authority of the king
The next time the king and Hallfreðr interact occurs after Kjartan and Bolli
have once again taken the lead, so to speak. We learn that the king esteems Kjartan
above all other Icelanders because ofhis family and his accomplishments. Kjartan,
the narrator informs us, is universally liked and there is no one who envies him
at court, for everyone agrees that no other Icelander has ever come to Norway to
equal Kjartan. At this point Hallfreðr reenters the plot, as he asks the king to
listen to a poem he has composed about him. The king is not willing to do so
but Hallfreðr again insists on driving a bargain. He responds that while the king
may decide — “Þv munt þvi raða herra” (1:387,11) — he himselfcan threaten: “En
tyna man ek þa þeim fræðvm er þu hefir latið kenna mer. ef þu uill eigi hlyða
kvæðínu. þviat ecki ero þau fræði skalldligri en kvæðit” (1:387,11—13). Hallfreðr
12 Cf. “Geistliche Verwandtschaft,” Lexikon fiir Tbeologie und Kirche, 2nd rev. ed. by Josef Höfer
and Karl Rahner (Freiburg: Herder, 1960), IV:628; “Gotteskindschaft,” IV: 111 5-16; “Taufe,”
(1964) IX:1312—14.