Skaldic Toponymics in the Knútsdrápur
Russian State University for the Humanities
For citation: Matyushina, Inna G. Skaldic Toponymics in the Knútsdrápur // Graphosphaera. 2026. Vol. 6. № 1. P. 14–45. URL: http://writing.igh.ru/index.php?id=2026-6-1-14-45
DOI: 10.32608/2782-5272-2026-6-1-14-45
Abstract: The article shows that the primary function of toponyms in the Knútsdrápur by Þórarinn loftunga, Óttarr svarti and Hallvarðr Háreksblesi is panegyrical: in Þórarinn’s Tøgdrápa, the use of toponyms (oronyms and hydronyms) creates the impression of Norway’s complete submission to Knút the Conquerer; in Óttarr’s Knútsdrápa, they serve to legitimise Knút’s conquests of the British Isles; in Hallvarðr’s Knútsdrápa, they highlight the vastness of Knút’s domain, which includes Denmark, Norway, and England. Toponyms in Sigvatr’s Knútsdrápa are multifunctional: on the one hand, they characterise the king (who exiled and killed the sons of his foe), who is likened to another Scandinavian chieftain from Jórvík who inflicted an atrociously cruel death on his enemy, on the other, they mark the boundaries of his territory, which appears limited to a small region of Denmark (Jutland). In Sigvatr’s Knútsdrápa, any praise of Knút is not directly supported by references to his deeds and is explicitly expressed only in the klofastef (split refrain), semantically unrelated to the content of the stanzas, between which the parts of the refrain are divided. The technique of the split refrain enables the skald to spread his praise across multiple stanzas, and thus desemanticise it, addressing it to another ruler (the Norwegian king Óláfr Haraldsson). Most of the toponyms (Skáney, Sjælland, Nið, Denmark) in Sigvatr’s drápa are concentrated in the stanzas about Knút’s opponent Óláfr Haraldsson, who invaded Denmark. Sigvatr places his toponyms (including those mentioned by Þórarinn in connection with Knút) within the context of Óláfr Haraldsson’s deeds and tones down the laudatory style of his Knútsdrápa. The final stanzas of Sigvatr’s drápa about Knút’s journey to Rome contain not a doxology, but a skaldic topos based on a comparison of an earthly ruler to the Heavenly King, which forms the basis of the surviving lines of Þórarinn’s Hǫfuðlausn. Þórarinn’s Tøgdrápa may have preceded Sigvatr’s Knútsdrápa and served as its object of thematic, semantic and metrical tra-vesty.
Key words: skaldic poetry, toponyms, Óláfr Haraldsson, Knút the Great, Þórarinn loftunga, Óttarr svarti, Hallvarðr Háreksblesi, Sigvatr Þórðarson, Knútsdrápa, Hǫfuðlausn, Tøgdrápa, Vestrfararvísur
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Поступила в редакцию / Received: 30.11.2025
Поступила после рецензирования / Revised: 10.12.2025
Принята к публикации / Accepted: 19.12.2025
