The Measure of Greatness
Egil's Celebration of Heroism
This post will focus on Egil’s poetry in Egil’s Saga. It will reference three long sections of verse as presented in the Penguin Classics edition of Egil’s Saga, translanded by Bernard Scudder and edited by Svanhildur Oskarsdottir. The passages appear on pp. 128-132, pp. 171-176, and pp. 177-183. These three sections each honor one or more warriors, so this post will examine what these sections of verse may reveal about Egil’s notions of the good, heroic, or admirable in these figures. What, for Egil, is the measure of greatness? What traits about these figures does Egil choose to immortalize in his verse?
In the first section, Egil presents a poem to honor King Eirik in an attempt to diffuse a difficult situation. The poem is filled with colorful references to battle, which are often presented as ways in which King Eirik had fed various animals on the men that had fallen in battle with him. Eirik had “fed the wolves” and provided “eagle’s food” and so forth (Óskarsdóttir and Scudder 130). This is one thing, but this post is looking for something more edifying in a tribute than a tally of victories. Was the man a victor over himself? Was he virtuous?
This is answered in stanza 16, when Egil, after recounting the bloody battles, states “Yet more I desire / that man realize / his generous nature” (Óskarsdóttir and Scudder 131). Egil adds in stanza 17 that “By the fistful he gives / the fire of the arm” (Óskarsdóttir and Scudder 131), which the text’s sidenote interprets as “gold” (Óskarsdóttir and Scudder 131). So for this poem, there is an answer. Even more than victory, Egil values generosity.
The next section has been titled “The Loss of My Sons” by Egil (Óskarsdóttir and Scudder 177). There, Egil laments the death of Bodvar and Gunnar through statements such as “Always he prized / father’s words / highest of all” (Óskarsdóttir and Scudder 173), adding that
“he shored me up, /
defended me, /
lent my strength /
the most support” (Óskarsdóttir and Scudder 174).
As a reader, I interpret this as an acknowledgement of the importance of loyalty.
In the third section of verse, Egil presents a poem “in Arinbjorn’s praise” (Óskarsdóttir and Scudder 177). Here, Egil lauds his fellow warrior with these lines in stanza 10:
“By my side, better /
than every other /
spreader of treasure /
Stood my loyal friend /
Whom I truly trusted” (Óskarsdóttir and Scudder 179-180)
This sounds to this reader like loyalty, generosity, and one more thing: trustworthiness. Egil later adds “how generous / he always seemed” (Óskarsdóttir and Scudder 181). It may even be worth noting that near the end, in stanza 23, Egil states:
“The acre /
of his ample life /
was much sown /
with the seeds of peace” (Óskarsdóttir and Scudder 182)
Here peace is celebrated over the din of battle, and is shown to be the result of the virtues celebrated. Regardless of Egil’s actual actions, his verse reveals a particular philosophy. For Egil the poet, a great man, one to be celebrated in verse, brings peace to the world through generosity, loyalty, and trustworthiness. For Egil, these are the virtues of a true and heroic warrior.
Works Cited
Óskarsdóttir, Svanhildur, editor. Egil’s Saga. Translated by Bernard Scudder,
Penguin, 2004.
This was a very interesting read- noting how Egils' poetry is unique and reflects on his character. Such a violent man but really beautiful and deep words he shared. It's almost like we didn't expect such a man to have such words.
This was a great read I hadn't thought about the comparison of loyalty between those two poems and how the two individuals Egil was citing these narratives about were very much alike. Thanks for pointing that out!