Studia Islandica - 01.07.1966, Blaðsíða 24

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all the rest of it, so the invisible power of God controls all
visible things. The author of RauSúlfs þáttr may not have
known this particular homily, but he was clearly acquainted
with the type of symbolism found in it.
It is characteristic of the complicated symbohsm of this
kind of homiletic writing that the same symbol is often given
more than one significance. The symbolism in RauSúlfs
þáttr, too, is characterised by the same sort of complexity,
even tortuousness. Thus the flowing, golden lock(s) sjrm-
bolise both Óláfr’s renown spreading far and wide, and also
his superiority over the king represented by the breast over
which the locks fell. The aureole was an endless ring, and
his fame would be endless; it was glorious, like his reign; it
was pointed at top and bottom,1 just as his life was harsh
at its beginning and end. This exuberance of interpretation
could be compared with the symbolism of another early
Icelandic homily, the so-called “Dedication homily”.2 In
this homily all the parts of the church are made to symbolise
aspects of the Christian faith, and here also many of the
symbols are given more than one significance:
The uprights of the church symbolise the apostles and
the prophets, who are the supports of all faith . .. the up-
rights of this church symbolise faith, because on that
foundation and support we must build all good works,
that they may become the temple of God.
The entrance of the church symbolises true faith,
which leads us in to catholic Christianity. The door in
the entrance symbolises men of clear judgement who
boldly stand up against heretics ... the door in the door-
way (in this case the doors inside the church: in the pre-
vious case it was the outer door) symbolises the control
1 J. E. Turville-Petre, op. cit. (p. 9, note 1 above), p. 8, sees a contra-
diction between this and the statement that the ring was endless. But
there is no real contradiction, just the same symbol used in two dif-
ferent ways.
2 Kirkjudagsmál, in Homiliu-bók, pp. 98 ff.