Skáldskaparmál - 01.01.1997, Page 146

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The Valkyries in the Heroic Literature
The most extensive version is given by the young Sörla þáttr which forms part
of the long Ólafisaga Tryggvasonar 'm Flateyjarbók (I4th century). There are two
complications: the story that precedes the Hildr story, and the one that follows
it. The final story is about how Christianity proved to be stronger than heathen-
dom: Ivarr Ijómi, a follower of king Ólafr, helped by his master’s luck (hamingja),
managed to put an end to the battle by slaying the two main combatants, and
this before the world had come to an end! It is not difficult to eliminate this absurd
happy ending. However, it is more difficult to decide what to do with the episode
that precedes the Hildr story.
Loki steals Freyja’s necklace from her on Óðinn’s request. In order to win it
back from Óðinn, Freyja engages in the difficult task of causing a battle that will
never end.
In the main story she appears to the viking Héðinn, giving herself the name
of Göndul (“Staff-woman”, a typical valkyrie’s name). She has all the charac-
teristics of a valkyrie here. First she advises Héðinn to challenge king Högni,
because he is the only one who will prove to be Héðinn’s equal in strength. After
the two have become blood brothers, she incites Héðinn to abduct Högni’s
daughter Hildr and to lcill his wife, two abject deeds, which the valkyries in the
preceding stories would never have approved ofi
It is remarkable that, contrary to all the other texts, Hildr has become a very
meekperson. She argues with Héðinn that her fatherwould gladly havé consented
to their marriage, had he asked for her in a honourable manner. However, the
killing of her mother has made a reconciliation impossible. She does not incite
him to do battle against her father. The testimony of the other texts brings us to
the conclusion that it was originally Hildr who persuaded Héðinn to fight her
family. In this she resembled Sigrún, who was also disloyal to her own kin. And
if Hildr was originally one and the same person as Göndul, she must have been
a valkyrie with supernatural properties.
It may seem rash to suggest that this story too has something to do with
kingship. If, however, Héðinn sought to win kingship through his marriage to
Hildr, could it be possible that Högni had won it the same way through a marriage
with Hildr’s mother? If so, by killing Högni’s wife - a deed which could serve no
other practical purpose - he cut away the roots of kingship of his own bloodbrot-
her. Real brothers, too, can fight each other about kingship, as for instance Saxo
knew very well. If our interpretation of the story of Helgi Hjörvarðsson is correct,
Helgi and Héðinn did so, too. Hildr’s mother is killed in a very quaint way: the
Vikings put her on the shore in front of the keel of their ship, and then, in
departing, the ship crushes her. This looks like a sacrifice to the sea, and this motif
can probably not have been a later accretion to the story, as it would have been
completely incomprehensible then. So it may well be very old.
6. Ruta (Saxo, p. 50, pp. 55-60; F/ED pp. 54-55. 58-63. In the variant versions
of Bjarki’s life in the Hrólfs Saga kraka and the Skjöldunga saga there are no