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Snorri Sturluson
*** Shopping-Tip: Snorri Sturluson
Image:Snorri sturluson 230903.jpg thumb|right|180px|An early 20th century painting of Snorri
'''Snorri Sturluson''' (
1178 –
September 23,
1241) was an
Icelandic historian, poet and politician. He was twice
lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the
Althing Alþingi. He was the author of the ''
Younger Edda'' or ''Prose Edda'', which is comprised of ''
Gylfaginning'' ("the fooling of Gylfe"), a narrative of
Norse Mythology Norse mythology, the ''
Skáldskaparmál'', a book of poetic language, and the ''
Háttatal'', a list of verse forms. He was also the author of the ''
Heimskringla'', a history of the Norse kings that begins, in ''
Ynglinga saga'' with the legendary history, and moves through to early medieval
Scandinavian history. He is also thought to be the author of ''
Egils Saga''.
As an historian and
mythographer, Snorri is remarkable for proposing the theory (in the Prose Edda) that mythological gods begin as human war leaders and kings whose funereal sites develop cults (see
euhemerism). As people call upon the dead war leader as they go to battle, or the dead king as they face tribal hardship, they begin to venerate the figure. Eventually, the king or warrior is remembered only as a god. He also proposed that as tribes defeat others, they explain their victory by proposing that their own gods were in battle with the gods of the others.
Snorri was raised by
Jón Loptsson in
Oddi. His marriage made him a wealthy man, and in
1206 he settled in
Reykholt, where he constructed buildings preserved to the present day. He quickly became known as a poet, but was also a successful lawyer, and from 1215 became the
lawspeaker, or president of Iceland's legislative assembly and supreme court.
Snorri sailed the summer of
1218 from Iceland to
Norway, by royal invitation. There he became well-acquainted with King
Haakon IV of Norway Hákon Hákonarson, visited
Skule of Norway Skúli jarl during the winter, and in the summer of
1219, he met his Swedish colleague, the
lawspeaker Eskil Magnusson (Bjälboätten) and his wife
Kristina Nilsdotter Blake in
Skara. They were both related to royal family and gave Snorri a nice insight into the history of
Sweden.
Snorri became involved in an unsuccessful rebellion against
Haakon IV of Norway Hákon Hákonarson, the
List of Norwegian monarchs King of Norway, which resulted in his assassination in his house at
Reykholt in 1241 by
Gissur Þorvaldsson, an agent of the king. Legend has it that Snorri's last words were: ''Eigi skal höggva!'' -- "Strike me not!".
A statue of Snorri Sturluson by Norwegian sculptor
Gustav Vigeland was erected at Reykholt in
1947.
Family
Snorri had two older brothers,
Þórður Sturluson (the oldest) and
Sighvatur Sturluson. His parents were Sturla Þórðarson and Guðný Böðvarsdóttir.
He was said to have had many love affairs, and thus many children, but only five are said to have survived to adulthood.
Note about the name
The correct Icelandic spelling of the name is ''Snorri Sturluson''. ''Snorre Sturlason'' is the modern Norwegian and Swedish spelling, whereas "Sturlusson" is a corrupt spelling, most likely stemming from a misunderstanding of Nordic/Icelandic naming conventions (a second S usually indicates a kind of possessive which is not appropriate in this case, but for other names such as "Jon" the possessive S in "Jons" renders the final result "Jonsson" rather than "Jonson"). Additionally, since Sturluson is a
patronym and not an actual
surname, Snorri Sturluson should always be referred to as either "Snorri Sturluson" or "Snorri", never as "Sturluson" only. See
Icelandic naming conventions for more on this.
Literature
Bagge, Sverre: ''Society and politics in Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla'' University of California Press ISBN 0-520-06887-4
External links
{{wikisource author}}
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Fjölbrautaskóli Versturlands: Reykholt in Snorri's times
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Faulkes, Anthony (1993). "The sources of Skáldskaparmál: Snorri's intellectual background", ''Snorri Sturluson. Kolloquium anläßlich der 750. Wiederkehr seines Todestages'', pp. 59–76. Tübingen: Narr (PDF.)
* {{gutenberg author| id=Snorri+Sturluson | name=Snorri Sturluson}}
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Snorri's Hot Tub Fortean Times on Snorri's legacy
{{NorseMythology}}
Category:1178 births
Category:1241 deaths
Category:Murdered writers
Category:Icelandic writers
Category:History of Iceland
Category:Medieval literature
Category:Nordic folklore
Category:Sagas of Iceland
Category:Sources of Norse mythology
Category:History of the Germanic peoples
Category:Lawspeakers
Category:Icelandic poets
Category:Icelandic_historical_figures
da:Snorri Sturluson
de:Snorri Sturluson
el:ΣνόÏ?Ï?ι ΣτοÏ?Ï?λουσον
es:Snorri Sturluson
fr:Snorri Sturluson
ko:스노리 스툴루�
is:Snorri Sturluson
nl:Snorri Sturluson
ja:スノッリ・ストゥルルソン
no:Snorre Sturlason
nn:Snorre Sturlason
pl:Snorri Sturluson
ru:Снорри СтурлуÑ?он
fi:Snorri Sturluson
sv:Snorre Sturlasson
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