Skáldskaparmál - 01.01.1997, Page 155

Riti Kroesen
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woman, for instance by a priestess or a princess, or possibly by the statue of a
goddess. Then, after a certain period, kingship had to pass on to another and
younger person, and the old king was ritually slain.
In the story of Helgi Hundingsbani memories of such an ancient ritual seem
to be present, but it has been transformed into a war story. Sigrún is a supernatural
heroine, but she is even more than that. Through her Helgi becomes a king (HHb
I, str. 56) : “ . . . heill, skaltu, buðlungr, bæði njóta/ Högna dóttur ok Hrings-
staða . . .” Yet after some time, Helgi is slain in a way that is at least reminiscent
of a sacrifice. The Lay of Helgi Hjörvarðsson seems to be about a struggle for
kingship (through the possession of the valkyrie). Both Helgis are warrior-kings.
Now we must turn again to Þorgerðr Holgabrúðr, who developed from a
fertility goddess into a valkyrie. In his interpretation of the magnificent poem
Hákonardrápa by Hallfreðr Óttarson, Ström explained the erotic imagery of this
poem as an expression of the idea that the Hlaðajarl (in this case Hákon) was
married to his country, and that the ceremony in which the wedding took place
was a hierosgamos. ' We can guess that the bride’s name was Þorgerðr Holgabrúðr,
the bride of the people of Hálogaland.
The idea that the ruler of the land was married to the land or its goddess seems
therefore not to be entirely alien to at least part of the North. This goddess could
also be a goddess ofwar. In the case ofHelgi Hundingsbani we come upon another
aspect of the same idea: he married a woman who gave him the right to be king.
The kingship passed from her family to his. Yet after his death, we may guess,
kingship returned to the original family once more, in the person of Sigrún’s
brother Dagr.
Helgi’s story could be explained as expressing the rivalry between the principles
of matrilineal and patrilineal succession. This observation is in harmony with the
findings of H.M. Chadwick and Phillpotts: the texts offer us the idea of
matriarchal succession occurring beside patriarchal succession, and the struggle
between the two principles.
We have to be careful. It is beyond doubt that at Hlaðir, at least in historical
times, patrilineal succession was firmly established, as can be seen in the genea-
logical poem Háleygjatal by Eyvindr skáldaspillir. This is a langfeðgatal about a
line of rulers who succeed each other in the male line. Yet from the Hákonardrápa
we get the idea, that it was the marriage to a goddess that made the jarl into a
ruler. This could be a remnant of an older tradition.
Although Sigrún and Sváva are no goddesses, their husbands also become kings
through them. Some of the other valkyries also have connections with kingship.
Skuld and Ulvilda wanted their husbands to become kings. The same can
probably be said of Hildr. Perhaps also Sigmundr wanted to become king of the
country ruled by the father of Hjördís. On the other hand, Regnerus did at least
succeed his father, but before this happened, his stepmother claimed the throne
74 Ström (1983).