Subtitle:

Acta Poloniae Historica T. 122 (2020)

Institutional creator:

Polska Akademia Nauk. Komitet Nauk Historycznych ; Polska Akademia Nauk, Instytut Historii im. Tadeusza Manteuffla

Contributor:

Institute of History of the Polish Academy of Sciences

Publisher:

Instytut Historii PAN

Place of publishing:

Warszawa

Description:

p. 165-179

Abstract:

The article presents a critique of a research method whereby historical sources could not have possibly lied as they were targeted at the addressees who knew the actual course of the events described or referred to. This attitude toward the sources has its antecedence in Snorri Sturluson’s argument on the reliability of skaldic poetry. To his mind, the poems were biased but still valuable, in a way, as they were declaimed before the rulers who would have perceived an untrue account “as a mockery, rather than a praise”. The question arises, what kind of a situation Snorri tried to preclude: one where a mean warrior would have been shown as a great hero? Or, perhaps, one where a defector would have been portrayed as a warrior bravely marching in the first rank? The story of Giffard from the Morkinskinna saga seems to offer the answer. Giffard fled from the battlefield but had a praise poem dedicated to him, which the (real) character aptly deciphered as derision aimed at him.

References:

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Relation:

Acta Poloniae Historica ; Acta Poloniae Historica

Volume:

122

Start page:

165

End page:

179

Detailed Resource Type:

Article : original article

Format:

application/octet-stream

Resource Identifier:

oai:rcin.org.pl:159936 ; 0001-6829 ; 2450-8462 ; 10.12775/APH.2020.122.07

Source:

IH PAN, sygn. A.295/122 Podr. ; IH PAN, sygn. A.296/122 ; click here to follow the link

Language:

eng

Rights:

Creative Commons Attribution BY-ND 4.0 license

Terms of use:

Copyright-protected material. [CC BY-ND 4.0] May be used within the scope specified in Creative Commons Attribution BY-ND 4.0 license, full text available at: ; -

Digitizing institution:

Institute of History of the Polish Academy of Sciences

Original in:

Library of the Institute of History PAS

Projects co-financed by:

National Programme for the Development of the Humanities

Access:

Open