Snorri Sturluson is an Icelandic novelist, historian and politician

Snorri Sturluson is a famous Icelandic poet, prose writer, historiographer and statesman. He is known for collecting ancient Scandinavian sagas, his works are still actively studied in historical science as the most valuable monument in the ancient history of the northern countries.

early years

Snorri Sturluson was born in 1178 in Iceland. He belonged to a family of influential landowners. Snorri was brought up in a noble family of a relative of the Norwegian king, where he received a good education. The future famous writer studied law, poetry, literature, but most importantly, became familiar with the ancient sagas, which later formed the basis of his famous works. The scientist very soon gained fame as a talented poet and lawyer.

He profitedly married in 1199, and from his wife received a good dowry. In general, he was famous for his ability to get himself strong patrons and with the help of marriages of his relatives to acquire influential patrons. Snorri Sturluson enjoyed fame in his homeland as a talented public figure, as evidenced by the fact that he was elected as a jailor - a position that was considered the most prestigious at the time. However, later his political career changed dramatically.

In Norway

Snorri Sturluson left his homeland in 1218 and moved to the service of the Norwegian king. He was still very young, and with him the regent was Jarl Skuli. Icelandic writer became close to him and became his supporter, and meanwhile the latter sought to strengthen his power, using the youth of the ruler. The poet enjoyed the patronage of the Norwegian court and all his influence, apparently, was used to join his country with Norway. Of course, such a political position spoiled his reputation in his homeland, where many prominent political figures believed that he could not hold the high post of a law-maker. Snorri Sturluson, whose biography is interesting with numerous political upheavals, however, is better known as a scientist and collector of Scandinavian antiquities.

The textbook of skaldic poetry

The Icelandic author was famous for having collected and summarized in his works the most ancient sources on the mythology of the northern countries. Indicative is the fact that just at the time when these works were published, this mythological tradition has already gone into the past. But the more valuable these writings of the writer, who very reverently approached the collection of literary rarities. Snorri Sturluson, "Edda" ("The Younger Edda") of which is perhaps one of the most famous of his works, was fond of ancient legends and folklore. On their basis, in the 1220s, he created his famous work on skaldic poetry, in which he set out to acquaint the reader with the ancient techniques of poetic creativity. But this work is interesting and original historical concept, in which mythology and legend are closely intertwined, so that disputes about the content and significance of this work still cause controversy among scientists.

Structure

The main source for the poet was the saga. Snorri Sturluson created his works on the basis of this kind of folklore genre. The content of the "Younger Edda" is interesting, in which the author presented his vision of the world and its history. The work opens with a prologue in which the historian talks about how the Scandinavian warriors left Troy and settled in Northern Europe, where local peoples recognized their power. The second part is called "The Vision of Gulvi". In it, the author narrates how the king went on a journey for knowledge and in the learning process learns about the structure of the world and the principles of its functioning. Such a composition was the most convenient for describing Scandinavian mythological ideas about nature, cosmos and stories about legendary and semi-legendary heroes.

The third part is devoted to the basics of versification. In them, Snorri retells the basic principles of Scandinavian poetry, focusing on techniques such as the replacement of names and various lexical designations. And, finally, the final part is a whole series of poetic works by the author himself, who on their example demonstrates various variants of the Scandinavian stanzas. Here it should be noted that during his lifetime the writer's poems were not popular - on the contrary, they were often criticized for the ornate syllable and the complexity in depicting thoughts and ideas. At the present time, literary scholars consider his lyrical experiments as an interesting monument to imitate the ancient Scandinavian poets.

Collection of sagas

One of the most famous collectors of antiquities was Snorri Sturluson. "The Circle of the Earth" is a unique work that contains a huge amount of historical material not only in the Nordic countries, but also in such major states as Ancient Rus, Byzantium, England. The author wrote his work on the basis of both written and oral sources. But the basis of his work primarily lay Skaldic poetry, as he himself says in his prologue. He quoted many famous poets, but at the same time he was somewhat free to use their material, often coming up with many plot lines.

Sources

The writer actively used written information, primarily various sagas about Norwegian kings. He also attracted tales, ancient heroic legends. Thus, in his new work can be identified several cultural layers. The work itself was not preserved in the original. Only lists, separate editions, translations have reached us, which makes it even more difficult to identify the original, original, original text. Also in his work he mentioned Snorri Sturluson about the Slavs. So, he writes about the country, which was located to the north of the Black Sea. He calls the Don River (although, in his composition, he gives it another name). In his opinion, these territories, where the Ancient Rus was then located, were on the edge of the earth, and there were inhabited by unknown peoples.

Other works

In the 1220s-1240s the scientist wrote "The Saga of Egil". This time he turned to the history of his homeland and told in mythological form the history of Icelandic births, beginning with the 9th and ending with the 11th century. In the center of the narrative is the story of Egil's skald, which is presented as an extremely controversial figure. His family does not obey the kings, but at the same time does not openly oppose them. Snorri talks about his travels to the northern countries, leads his poems. In his new work, he narrates about the life of several generations, which allows him to develop a wide panorama of the life of the Icelandic people in the early days. The mythological form somewhat complicates the isolation of the actual historical facts, but at the present time the saga is perceived as a source according to the ancient history of Iceland.

Another famous work of the historian is "A Separate Saga of Olav the Sacred." This Norwegian king lived and ruled in the 11th century and became the first Christianizer of his country. He died in 1030, but the following year he was canonized. Snorri in his work tells of his exploits outside his country, his struggle with the Swedish king, his flight to Russia and the subsequent return to his homeland for the return of power and his canonization.

Last years

The political career of the writer developed rapidly and rapidly, but ended very tragically. Above it was said that he supported the Jarl Skuli, who was the regent of the young Norwegian king. In addition, he supported the idea of uniting Iceland and Norway. With such a position, naturally, he had many enemies. Having entered into his rights, the king, of course, could not approve the political position of the historiographer. Opponents in their homeland also actively advocated for depriving him of power. This tangle of contradictions led to a tragic ending: the writer was brutally murdered in 1241, and this terrible story was reflected in one of the sagas, thanks to which every Scandinavian knows about the sad fate of a famous scientist. Snorri Sturluson, whose books are the most valuable source of ancient history, made a significant contribution to literature and historiography.