Skáldskaparmál - 01.01.1997, Page 195

Saint Olafs Dream House
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hence the centre of the house, where Olaf was situated, probably corresponds to
the head. This links him with Christ, who was the Head according to St. Paul
{Eph. 4:15, Eph. l:22f., also St. Augustine City ofGodYSÁll 18). Rauðúlfr
indicated that the head also signified heaven and heavenly glory, so we must also
see the central platform as an image of heaven. This is logical ifwe keep in mind
the theocentric cosmos painted on the ceiling.
Rauðúlfr explains the head of the crucified figure: “. . . as the head appeared
to be made of red gold, and it was luminous like the carbuncle used to be, so will
your dignity appear, superior to that of all other men in this country, even as red
gold is more precious than any other metal.” Later Rauðúlfr adds: “It seemed to
you that down from the head a golden lock spread onto your shoulders. This
betokens that your renown will be greatly celebrated in this land and far abroad.”
Although the head signified heaven, the luminous and long-haired sun seems to
be the model.38 Evidently King Olaf is equated with the sun and heavenly glory,
i.e. he is a spiritualsun. This becomes clearer when turning to the description of
the lower parts of the crucifix. The heavenly bodies, including the sun, were
inscribed on the breast and arms of the figure. King Olaf, the centre of the house
and the head of the crucifix all together seem to represent a spiritual or divine
sun, whose prototype is the physical sun, which is also present.39
The Icelandic Homily Book has additional information which sheds light on
the correspondence between the house and the crucified figure as well as eluci-
dating the correspondence between King Olaf and heavenly glory. Expounding
the significance of the crucifixion:
Christ’s head signifies his divinity, but the feet his human nature (manndómur), for the
head pointed to heaven but the feet down to earth, just as divinity came from heaven
and became a human on earth. (p. 52.)40
38 “. .. og sem þér þótti höfuðið af rauðu gulli gert og þar lýsti af sem forðum af lýsigulli, þar mun
birtast tign þín umfram alla menn aðra á þessu landi svo sem rautt gull er dýrra hverjum málmi
. . . Þér sýndist sem ofan úr höfðinu greiddist gulligur lokkur allt á axlir ofan. Þar mun það í
merkja að yður vegsemd mun mest prýdd í þessu landi og víða annars staðar.” (Johnsen and
Helgason, p. 673 I. 7; p. 674 1. 17-675, 1. 4) Cf. Macrobius Satumalia 1.17.47: “The name
“Golden-haired” is given to Apollo on account of the brightness of the sun’s rays, which are
commonly called its “golden locks”; and for this reason the god is also styled “Unshorn”, because
the sun’s rays can never be severed from the source of the light.” (tr. Davis 1969). Alan of Lille
(The Plaint ofNature, Prose 1) has the carbuncle representing the sun (see also Loomis 1962,
( pp. 75-77).
39 Alan of Lille (Anticlaudianus, book 6) presents a lucid description of the spiritual sun. Located
at the empyrean pole, it is eternal and never sets. There is also the palace of the King of the Pole,
the eternal king where “there is . . . only the eternal, the heavenly, the permanent, the
immovable, the fixed.” From The Plaint ofNature by Alan (prose 3) it seems Iikely that the real
sun was located at the heart of the crucifix.
40 The same text appears in the Norwegian Homily Book of similar age (ed. Unger 1864, p. 140).
The view of man as a link between God and Earth was a commonplace, cf. Eriugena Homilia
in prologum Sancti Evangeli secundum Johannem 19: “Binding together the body of this world
and the soul of the other world, the human being - humanity - creates a single cosmos”(tr.
Bamford 1990). Cf. also Kurdzialek (1971).