Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.1999, Page 75

IV “Normal science” - after Grimm
55
Thus in the middle of the 19th century there is a kind of unanimity
among Old Norse scholars that - apart from a few exceptions that prove
the rule - Eddie poetry is older than skaldic poetry, its classical period
being anterior to 900. This priority was established mainly by virtue of
two “extemal” arguments: the anonymous quoting of Eddie stanzas in
Gylfaginning, on the one hånd, and, on the other hånd, references in
skaldic poetry to myths and legends of Eddie type, presupposing an
older poetic corpus transmitting this knowledge. Once the relative prior-
ity of Eddie and skaldic poetry was established, it was fairly obvious
that the contrasts in language and style would be interpreted as the result
of historical development. In spite of wamings from an authority like
Muller, who pointed out that not only had old skalds like Porbjpm
hornklofi and Eyvindr skaldaspillir successfully composed in the simple
and forceful manner of Eddie poetry, but also that there are examples of
similar Eddie poems in the Christian period and far later,16 it soon be-
came an established doctrine that the relatively simple Eddie style is a
criterion of great age; the simpler, in other words, the older. Poems
showing some affinity to skaldic style are thus taken as representing a
younger stage of development. (Cf. Edda 1818 [Thorlacius]: xvi.)
At the outset this priority was not taken for granted, however; from
Rudbeck’s time the complexity of skaldic style had on the contrary been
taken as a mark of their antiquity. In accordance with the view of Olafr
hvitaskåld (cf. p. 11 above) Mallet explained it by the Asian origin of
skaldic poetry: “At first natives of Asia, they brought from there this
16 “[...] deres Mening er urigtig, som paastaae at ingen Skald selv fra Harald Haarfagers
Tid, og end mindre senere, skulde have været i Stand til at digte i denne Smag. Baade
Homkloves Sang over Slaget ved Hafursfiord, og Eyvind Skaldespilders Drape over Kong
Adelsteen [...] kunne i Simpelhed og Kraft sættes ved Siden af de eddiske Sange. Sagaer-
ne give flere Exempler paa, at heller ikke i senere Tider Smagen var saa forvendt, at jo en-
kelte skulde have fundet Behag i Oldtidens simplere Digtart. Samlingen af de eddiske San-
ge selv fremviser i Solarliod en afgiort kristelig Sang, der i sin Form meget godt svarer til
de øvrige. I Brynhildarqvida I røber et af de Raad, Brynhilde giver Sigurd Str. XXXIV [i.e.
Sd. st. 34], kristelige Forestillinger. Det tredie Gudrunarqvæde er [...] neppe ældre end det
tolvte Aarhundrede. At endeligen langt senere Digtere have kunnet med Held sætte sig ind
i Oldtidens Maneer viser Gunnarsslag, der er bleven digtet i det foregaaende Aarhundrede,
og af de største Kiendere af den eddiske Poesie antoges for ægte. [Note:] Atlemal inn
grænlenzko kunde og forekomme mistænkelig formedelst Str. 101, der synes at antyde kri-
stelige Begravelses Skikke” (Muller 1818: 126-28, cf. p. 22). - Sigrdrifumål st. 34 be-
longs to the lacuna in Codex Regius, and it is thus known only from paper manuscripts, cf.
Bugge 1867: 234-36.