Conclusion/Termination of a Marriage Contract as a Means of Resolving a Conflict or a Reason for it: Scandinavian History through the Eyes of the Authors of the Icelandic Kings’ Sagas

This paper is based on the Icelandic kings’ sagas of the first half of the thirteenth century describing the history of Norwegian kings Óláfr Tryggvason and Óláfr Haraldsson (both separate sagas and parts of the compendia Fagrskinna and Heimskringla by Snorri Sturluson) and the history of Danish rulers (Jómsvíkinga saga and Knýtlinga saga). The kings’ sagas are sometimes considered “historical” and “reliable”, as compared to the sagas of Icelanders and with the sagas of ancient times. And yet this is not so – the authors of these sagas had their own vision of history, their own idea of the driving forces of historical processes, which is fully reflected in their texts. This article examines the events of about a quarter of a century – from the end of the tenth to the third decade of the eleventh century. The characters are the rulers of Norway, Denmark and Sweden, Old Rus’, the Baltic Slavs and the legendary Jómsborg. The reality of not all of them can be reliably established, but all of them are connected in one way or another in the saga narrative through marriages. A proposal for a possible marriage, the conclusion and the breakdown of a marriage agreement – these are the serious reasons and incentives for the development of the plots of the sagas considered in the paper. The first group of plots is the marriage contract of Óláfr Tryggvason with the legendary Swedish queen Sigríðr en Stórráða; the breakdown of the contract due to her unwillingness to be baptized and renounce the faith of her ancestors; her subsequent marriage to the Danish king Sveinn tjuguskegg, whose sister Þyri is forcibly given to the ruler of Vindland Búrizláfr from whom she flees and becomes the wife of Óláfr Tryggvason; the instigation of two women, Sigríðr en Stórráða who had been offended by Óláfr and Þyri who wanted to get her property left by Búrizláfr – this whole tangle of personal connections leads to the battle of Óláfr Tryggvason against the coalition of the rulers of three countries connected by affinity, his death and the division of Norway among them. The second group of plots is the attempt of Óláfr Haraldsson to restore the borders of the country, to improve relations with his neighbour, Óláfr sœnski; the proposal of marriage to his daughter Ingigerðr; the consent and then refusal of the Swedish ruler; the marriage of Ingigerðr to “konungr” Jarizleifr; the restoration of peace through the marriage of Óláfr Haraldsson and Óláfr sœnski’s illegitimate daughter Ástríðr.