Skáldskaparmál - 01.01.1997, Qupperneq 69

Stari ek brag
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he should reward him now by taking him to the king, so that he can thank him
for the royal hospitality. At this point the narrator interjects: “þa kom þat fram
sem mælt er at huerr aa ser vin með v vinum. Voro þeir menn þar er við kannaðuz
at Hallf(reðr) hafði til goðs við gort” (1:392,14-16). This very episode at Óláfr’s
court generated Hallfreðr’s mission to maim Þorleifr inn spaki, and Hallfreðr’s
mercy toward the pagan in turn is now the reason for Hallfreðr’s escape from
execution at Eirík’s court.
Hallfreðar saga concludes in a minor strain. Never again was Hallfreðr to be
happy, neither in Iceland nor Norway, because King Óláfr’s death affected him
so deeply (2:311,17-19). In Óláfi saga Tryggvasonar en mesta — but not in
Möðruvallabók - Hallfreðr dies entrusting himself to the heavenly Father in his
final poetic effort. Bjarni Einarsson’s suggestion that Hallfreðr’s last stanza is the
creation of the compiler of Óláfi saga Trygguasonar en mesta is well taken, for the
poem rounds off the gradually escalating pattern of protest and submission that
marks Hallfreðr’s life in this redaction.30
Ek munda nv andaz.
vngr var ek harðr itungu.
senn ef salv minni.
sorg laust vissa ek borgit.
veit ek at vætki of sytig.
valldi guþ hvar alldri.
dauðr verðr huerr nema hræðumz.
heluiti skal slita. (2:313,9-16)
Hallfreðr’s “valldi guþ” marks not only the poet’s ultimate conversion but also his
maturation. Peter Hallberg noted that the poem conveys “inte bara ett stoiskt
lugn inför döden utan ocksá en fromhet och en mánhet om sjálens frálsning, some
borde ha kunnat gládja hans gudfader.”31 Furthermore, the last stanza suggests
the fulfillment ofhis father’s prophetic remark when he ordered him to go abroad:
“En þu skalt fara vtan frændi ok leita þer þar meiri sæmdar ok heilla” (1:343,10).
In retrospect the father’s words prove ironic for the poet not only eariied honor
but also attained the salvation of his soul, to judge by his dying words. Bjarni
Einarsson concludes his article on “The last hour of Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld” by
remarking that Hallfreðr’s last stanza “conveys the impression that Hallfireðarsaga
is essentially the story of the hero’s conversion to Christianity, whereas the last
verse of M[öðruvallabók\ lays the stress on a different theme: Hallfreðr’s tragic
love for Kolfinna” (p. 220). The last stanza suggests even more, however, if read
in the context of the poet’s entire life. Hallfreðr’s dying words confirm that the
30 See Bjarni Einarsson, “The last hour of Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld as described in Hallfreiarsagað
Proceedings of the Eighth Viking Congress. Árhus 24—31 August 1977, ed. Hans Bekker-Nielsen,
Peter Foote, and Olaf Olsen (Odense: Odense Univ. Pres, 1981), p. 220.
31 Peter Hallberg, Den fomisliindska poesien, 2nd ed. (Stockholm: Bonniers, 1965), p. 150.