Guta Saga: The History Of The Gotlanders

VIKING SOCIETY FOR NORTHERN RESEARCH TEXT SERIES GENERAL EDITORS Anthony Faulkes and Richard Perkins VOLUME XII GUTA SAGA THE HISTORY OF THE GOTLANDERS The first page of Guta saga in B 64 (reduced) (reproduced by permission of Kungliga Biblioteket, Stockholm) GUTA SAGA THE HISTORY OF THE GOTLANDERS Edited by Christine Peel VIKING SOCIETY FOR NORTHERN RESEARCH UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON 1999 © Christine Peel 1999 Reprinted with minor corrections 2010 ISBN: 978 0 903521 44 4 The cover illustration is from a photograph (by K. Peel) of a miniature replica in silver by Hans Helmer of a pierced disc, about two and a half inches in diameter, which was found in a woman’s grave at Ihre in Hellvi parish, in north-eastern Gotland. The disc has been dated to the eighth century; cf. Note to 2/8. The illustration shows the disc rather larger than the actual size of the original, which is held in Statens Historiska Museum, Stockholm. Printed by Short Run Press Limited, Exeter CONTENTS INTRODUCTION (i) Historical background (ii) Title (iii) Preservation (iv) Content (v) Oral and written sources (vi) Date and place of composition (vii) Authorship and circumstances of authorship (viii) Value as a source of history (ix) Language (x) Editions of Guta saga TEXT AND TRANSLATION NOTES GLOSSARY INDEX OF PROPER NAMES BIBLIOGRAPHY AND ABBREVIATIONS MAPS Gotland The Baltic Southern Scandinavia and south-eastern Europe vii ix x xiv xv xlix liii liv lvi lvii 2–3 16 61 82 85 98 99 100 PREFACE This book started life as an MPhil thesis, written under the exacting but always encouraging and enthusiastic supervision of Dr Richard Perkins. He suggested, even before I had completed it, that I approach Professor Anthony Faulkes with a view to its being published by the Viking Society. This volume is the result. I owe a debt of gratitude to Dr Perkins for his original suggestion, to Professor Faulkes for his clear and sympathetic editing, which sharpened my discipline and perception, and to Dr Alison Finlay and Dr Rory McTurk who encouraged me to pursue the project. During the writing of the thesis my husband was able to increase his familiarity with and love for London, Stockholm and Visby, and I shall always be grateful for his patience and encouragement, even when every available surface in the house seemed to be covered with my drafts. Finally, I would like to thank the staff in the libraries in London, Stockholm and Visby who helped me to satisfy the requirements for chapter and verse upon which Dr Perkins so rightly insisted. C. I. P. INTRODUCTION (i) Historical background Gotland (Gottland prior to 1923) is the largest of Sweden’s Baltic islands. It is a chalky plateau, 83 metres above sea level at its highest, with an area of approximately 3,000 square kilometres. There is evidence of habitation on the island from the Stone Age, and of an advanced Iron Age culture. In particular, the picturestone is an art-form well developed in Gotland from the fifth century. Originally independent, the island was at some uncertain date incorporated into the Swedish kingdom. During the Middle Ages Gotland’s main town, Visby, on the island’s west coast, became an important trading town in the Hanseatic league, with a Gotlandic, Swedish, Danish and German population. In 1361, however, the island was taken over by the Danish crown, after a violent invasion by Vald