Skáldskaparmál - 01.01.1997, Síða 204

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Arni Einarsson
seems reasonable to suggest that Rauðúlfr was representing an old sun, belonging
to the past, and was being replaced by the new sun, i.e. King Olaf as an
embodiment of Christ. Rauðúlfr may have represented a setting sun, or perhaps
more likely, the sun at winter solstice, taken over by a new-born sun of the new
year. Christ was the year (e.g. Elucidarius III 7).
Although the author of Rauðúlfs þáttr was a master of punning we must be
very careful when reading meaning into his narrative. The name of Rauðúlfr’s son
Sigurðr, however, gives some grounds for speculation. Sigurðr knew all the
movements of the heavenly bodies so that he would know the time even when
the heavenly bodies were out of sight. This is clearly no ordinary skill. The prefix
“sigur” is i.a. associated with “turning” and tirne reckoning.68 Perhaps he repre-
sents the Time. It would seem appropriate that the Sun had two sons: Time and
Day, - and that in the end they would join the retinue of King Olaf, the new
sun.69
Barbara Bronder (1972) described the ring and the cross, orbis quadratus, as
symbols of the creation (the circle) and re-creation (the cross) of the world. This
symbol is inherent in the ground plan of the dream house, - the circular outer
wall and the division into four quadrants. The idea is that the death of Christ on
the cross signified the redemption of humankind, hence a re-creation of the
world70 In this context six brothers as the six days of creation and six ages of the
world,71 may be in the right place. Also, the composition of the crucified
dream-figure as a future lineage of kings of Norway then makes full sense: King
Olaf was a new Adam, the forefather of a new line of Christian kings.72
The general conclusion of this paper is that King Olaf was associated with the
sun. There are three main lines of evidence for this:
1) Direct references to the sun, like the use of the legendary sunstone and the
connection between the sun and the turning of the house/bed;
2) Symbols in the house. Within the cosmological framework defined by the
dome, the symbols have a numerical and geometrical connection with the sun
and a solar calendar;
68 The word sigur-nagli means “a pivot” and sigur-verk is “a clockwork”. The term sigurheimar sjö
(seven revolving worlds?) occurs in Sólarljóð (52) in a context which suggests the seven celestial
spheres (cf. Njörður P. Njarðvík ed. 1991, p. 81).
69 Alternatively Rauðúlfr, Dagr and Sigurðr may represent the Holy Trinity. Christ was the “True
Day” (= Dagr) and the Holy Spirit was the World Soul, the source of motion, and hence time,
in the Universe (= Sigurðr). That leaves Rauðúlfr as God the Father. (The correspondence
between the Holy Spirit and the World Soul is i.a. given by William Conches Philosophia mundi
1.15, tr. Maurach 1974). See also Hill (1995) about the colour red as a symbol of charity.
70 See also Lurker (1972).
71 Cf. Elucidarius I 100. The dream figure in the Book of Daniel 2, the obvious model for St.
Olafs dream figure, was traditionally taken to represent the six ages of the world (von Euw
1975).
72 Hugh of Saint-Victor De Arca Noe Morali 10 compared the body of Christ with the history of
the world.