Form

Summary

In Old Norse scholarship it is common to define some genres based partially on form and this is true not only of poetry, where metrical form served as a generic definer until the modern era, but also of prose and prosimetra. The þættir (short narratives) are by definition short prose narratives and the kings’ sagas and sagas of Icelanders often feature skaldic prosimetrum, whereas the legendary sagas may feature eddic prosimetrum. While translated genres and genres derived from them (hagiography, homilies, translated and indigenous courtly literature) do not make use of prosimetrum, they are characterised by stylistic features, such as alliterative pairs. In native genres, that is genres that have (at least to some extent) grown organically out of earlier traditions, one may point to formal features such as parataxis. The genres mentioned so far are distinguished by content, such as the geographical scope or time of action, or by background (indigenous or translated), or by function (religious or secular). Form is therefore only one of several possible generic markers, but since it often figures in scholarly discussions of Old Norse literature, it may be worthwhile to consider whether its relative prominence in the modern discourse corresponds to perceptions expressed in medieval sources.

This chapter analyses explicit medieval discussions of form, focusing on when they occur and how they may relate to a medieval textual taxonomy. When developing a modern taxonomy of medieval literature, it is advisable to consider whether such categorisations correspond to medieval perceptions or not. The answer to that question may provide information regarding how likely it is that authors consciously employed certain features and how they might expect the audience to react when genre conventions are subverted. In this chapter I will suggest that if we wish to reconstruct that taxonomy, the concepts of discipline and tradition may in some instances be more useful than our own perceptions of genres.

The locus classicus for the discussion of early saga form is the report in Þorgils saga ok Hafliða about the entertainment given at a wedding at Reykjahólar in 1119. There, we hear, two sagas were told and what ap pears to be their prosimetrical form is mentioned.