Eddic Poetry for a New Era: Tradition and Innovation in Sólarljóð and Hugsvinnsmál

Abstract

This article examines the use of traditional forms and conventions of eddic wisdom poetry in Solarljoð and Hugsvinnsmal, two explicitly Christian neo-eddic compositions of the late thirteenth or early fourteenth century. I argue that these poems drew on and adapted aspects of mythological wisdom poetry, particularly within their complex narrative frames, in order to convey the authority of Christian teaching of a potentially problematic nature. This led to some poetic difficulties that may help to explain why the genre was not more successful, but these challenges also demonstrate the creativity which makes these poems so intriguing.