Gripla - 01.01.2001, Page 67

LIST OG TVÍSÆI f SNORRA EDDU
65
að sama skapi kímnigáfu hans og þrotlausan áhuga á sögunni endalausu um
valdabaráttuna í þessum heimi. Það á ekki að lesa verk hans sem listræna heild
þar sem hver hlutur fellur á sinn rétta stað. Hið listræna þjónar hér fræðslunni.
En það er ekki hægt að skilja Snorra Eddu nema gefa náinn gaum að því
hvernig Snorri beitir frásagnarlist sinni.
SUMMARY
Scholars have long debated about the correct understanding of Snorra Edda, and what
the original text was like. Some of the discussion has concemed the inner consistency of
the ideas in the text, and it has often been claimed that there are various inconsistencies
between the ideas in the Prologue and those of Gylfaginning which make it unlikely
that the Prologue was composed by Snorri. It has also been claimed that some passages
in Gylfaginning or Skáldskaparmáí contradict the main part of the text and are thus
likely to be additions to Snorri’s text. This article deals briefly with Snorri and his world
views, considering how his social background and education might have motivated him
for writing his Edda. The main purpose of the article is to point out that not all parts of
Snorra Edda are subject to the same rules, that they are not all in the same literary
mode, and that this fact can explain some apparent inconsistencies. Snorri’s primary
aim was to educate, and for this reason both the Prologue and various passages in the
main parts of the work itself are in a didactic mode. In these main parts we also find two
kinds of narrative that serve the didactic purpose but are written in different modes. The
frame surrounding Gylfaginning and Skáldskaparmál is Snorri’s fiction written in a
fantastic mode, and there are reasons to believe that this was meant to be obvious, at
least to well-informed readers. Within this frame we find traditional lore: poetry, tales,
and information about the mythical universe. This old lore is of course not truth, and yet
it is important because it illustrates the world view of the forefathers, who believed in it,
and provides a key to their poetry. The article also discusses the role of irony in the
work and points to some examples, for instance in ch. 3 of Gylfaginning, the so called
‘Odin-theology’, which is a part of the invented fantastic tale and mediates between the
ideas of the Prologue and the fictional framework of Gylfaginning.
We tend to overestimate Snorri’s leaming and the consistency of his ideas about
religion, but at the same time we do not fully appreciate his sense of humor and his
passionate interest in the neverending story about the struggle for power in this world.
His work is not to be read as an artistic composition where all parts fall into place. The
artistic is subordinated to the didactic. But the work cannot be properly understood or
evaluated unless we pay full attention to the use Snorri makes of his narrative genius.
Vésteinn Ólason
Stofnun Arna Magnússonar á Islandi
Arnagarði við Suðurgötu
101 Reykjavík
vesteinn@am.hi.is