<i>Old Norse Women's Poetry: The Voices of Female Skalds</i> (review)

Abstract

* Sandra Ballif Straubhaar. Old Norse Women's Poetry: The Voices of Female Skalds. Translated from Old Norse. Library of Medieval Women. Cambridge: D.S. Brewer, 2011 Pp. i-xI + 146. It a pleasure to welcome this handsome volume, first Old Norse contribution to series of Medieval Women. In Foreword Sandra Straubhaar states that her book intended to give voice to the real and early Nordic whose exploits, poetic or otherwise, were considered memorable enough to record in Middle Ages, and who deserve to be considered equally memorable today (vii) and she assures reader that she has gathered together as many as she could find (viii). Nonetheless, in Introduction she states that her goal to provide a of notable Old Norse ... poetry in which voice of speaking poet (skald, Icelandic skald) (1), and later on same page she claims that her book represents first published collection ... of all poetry attributed to Old Norse skalds. Further on she justifies that when she has not included women-centered Eddic poems from Codex Regius (with one exception) it is entirely a matter of space, thematic balance, and author's caprice (6). If these pronouncements leave uncertainty about scope and size of her corpus, she seems to prefer poetry articulated by named skalds found within a prose narrative. The word skald in title recalls skaldic poetry, a genre in which men excelled by reciting poems in praise of kings or chieftains at their courts in difficult meter of drottkvott. More than 300 skalds are known by name, including a few poetesses, but poetry has not been preserved from all. A few mastered skaldic meter, but fortunately skalds could use other less demanding meters. In other words, a 'skald' was simply a word for a poet, and Straubhaar's title therefore justified; she offers a selection of skalds or poets (but not all), of whom a few compose in drottkvott but most in easier meters. The author well known from several articles concerning women's poetry in Old Norse corpus; most used undoubtedly her entry on Skaldkonur in Medieval Scandinavia: An Encyclopedia, 1993 (594-6). It somewhat disconcerting, however, to discover that pages 2-3 of brief introduction in her book taken verbatim (without reference) from this article, in particular because structure described in article and repeated in introduction does not fit content of her book. In article she operated with four groups of poetesses, whereas in book she uses six, because she subdivides fourth group of shield-maidens, witches, and troll-women into its constituent parts, thus obtaining a group of legendary heroines, of prophetesses, and alien maidens, and of trollwomen. Furthermore, in sequencing she moves women from second to third group. Among minor differences introduction repeats from article that first group contains eight skaldkonur whereas it actually has nine, and eight visionary from Sturlunga saga are reduced to seven. A brief footnote (2, n. 4) attempts to guide reader. These problems probably arise from fact that in her initial culling of female poets from Finnur Jonsson's and Ernst Albin Kock's editions of skaldic poetry she divided her harvest into four groups. Nonetheless, it would seem that an introduction should fit content of book and not history of author's research. In first section she treats nine poets calling chapter People, Real Poetry, in second she has collected from family sagas eleven poetesses she qualifies as Quasi-Historical People and Poetry; in third she has located seven from Sturlunga saga known for their visions; in fourth she concentrates on three who recited poetry; in fifth she collects almost a dozen magic-workers, prophetesses, and alien maidens; and in final chapter she introduces a dozen female trolls in various disguises. …