Skáldskaparmál - 01.01.1997, Side 138

Skáldskaparmál - 01.01.1997, Side 138
136 The Valkyries in the Heroic Literature the god of heaven. Valkyries can also travel through the air on horseback or put on the disguise of a crow, but these traits must be seen as a result of their relation to Óðinn. The above-mentioned theory also explains why the swan maidens of the Vólundarkviða — an international Wandergeschichte, that came to Scandinavia from the south — developed into valkyries and left their lovers to go and occupy themselves with war (Edda, pp. 116-7). They looked like valkyries, they behaved like valkyries and so they became valkyries in Scandinavia. Referring to the lessons in runic lore that Sigrdrífa gives to Sigurðr in the Sigrdrífumál (Edda, p. 190-92) Miiller comes to the conclusion that valkyries also mastered the craft of healing.3- This conclusion, based as it is on a single poem, seems far from conclusive, but if he is right, this trait must be seen in connection with the dís component in their personality. Dísir were prayed to for food, health and well-being. 5. In Grímnismál 14,4—6 (Edda, p. 60, paraphrased in the Snorra-Edda on p. 29) a connection is made between Freyja and the slain warriors: . . . hálfan val hon kýss hverjan dag, enn hálfan Óðinn á. From this text the conclusion might be drawn that Freyja can be a valkyrie, too. And indeed, in the Sörla páttr (FAN I, pp. 365—382) we meet her in the person of the valkyrie Göndul. However, the disguise she adopts in thatpáttrwas probably a younger invention meant to link two originally independent texts together (see below). On the other hand we know that a chthonic goddess can occasionally be a death goddess. Yet there is little reason to think of Freyja as a valkyrie. She is her own mistress who receives the dead in her own realms and she is no servant of Óðinn. Nor does she linger on the battlefield. Therefore we will leave her out of the discussion, despite the opinion of Damico, who takes this quotation at face-value, without having defined beforehand what precisely a valkyrie is.36 6. Now the valkyries are on their way to becoming the noble friends and guides of the warriors; nonetheless they are still awe-inspiring. The Haraldskvaði by Þorbjörn hornklofi (Skjald. B I, pp. 22—25) is a dialogue between a raven and a valkyrie, reporting on the great deeds of Haraldr hárfagridurlng the decisive battle in the Hardangerfjord. A sublime piece of poetry is the Hákonarmál, the memorial poem about Hákon the Good by his friend and staunch supporter Eyvindr skáldaspillir (Skjald. B I, pp. 57—60). Here Óðinn sends two of his 35 Miiller (1976). He suggests a connection between these stanzas and what is said of Hildr (and also of Skuld) in the Hrólfi Saga kraka, namely that she can revive the dead. 36 Damico (1984) passim.
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