Skáldskaparmál - 01.01.1997, Page 141

Riti Kroesen
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about that extremely difficult problem at this moment is that there must be a link
between the gods and the king, who is at least the centre of religious celebrations.
Most scholars probably would agree on a sacral kingship with some limitations
when it is compared with the god-kingships of kingdoms in the South/‘\ It is
unknown whether any of these Scandinavian kings ever suffered sacrificial death,
— and the controversy on this point is very great46 — but at Ieast some reminiscences
of an older usage could have lingered on.
In the Helgi Lays we meet Sigrún, the daughter of a king named Högni. She
is also a valkyrie, who comes striding through the air with light shining upon her,
to meet Helgi, chosen by her as her lover.
Sigrún wants Helgi to fight against Höðbroddr, her unwelcome suitor, to
whom her father has promised her. The tragic outcome of this fight is that, besides
Höðbroddr, her father and all her brothers except Dagr, the youngest, are also
slain. Nevertheless, the first Lay ends on a note of triumph, as Sigrún gladly offers
both herself and her lands and other possessions to the victor (Helgakviða I, 15,
Edda p. 132):
Ok þér, buðlungr, samir bæði vel
rauðir baugar ok in ríkja mær;
heill skaltu, buðlungr, bæði njóta
Högna dóttir ok Hringsstaða,
sigrs ok landa; þá er sókn lokit.
The second Lay tells how Dagr, the surviving brother, had to swear oaths of
loyalty to Helgi, but how the urge to take blood revenge became too strong for
him after a while. He rebelled against the king, and having borrowed Óðinn’s
spear, killed him in Fjöturlundr. While Helgi departed to Valhöll, Sigrún stayed
behind, sorrowing. One night Helgi was allowed to go back to his wife, and the
poem ends with the famous episode of their sleeping together in the grave. Soon
after Helgi’s second departure Sigrún died of sorrow.
Here we have a very touching story about a “prepatriarchal” woman (Heinrichs,
1986), who makes the choice of her mate for herself and against her own clan.
Moreover, she sticks to that choice despite the tragic death of her father and
brothers. She has gone over to the clan of her husband unconditionally and she
stays by him until the end. However, there are still other aspects to consider.
By his victory Helgi not only obtains the person of Sigrún but also her lands:
she makes him into a king indeed. If he is the successor of her father, we might
say that here the matrilinear principle of succession prevailed over the patrilinear
principle. Yet the latter was restored when Sigrún’s youngest brother killed Helgi.
45 See McTurk (1975-76 and 1994) The younger article defines the sacral king very tentatively
as “one who is marked off from his fellow men by an aura of specialness which has its origins
in more or less direct associations with the supernatural.”
4® See for instance Lönnroth (1986).