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Archiver > GEN-MEDIEVAL > 1996-05 > 0831580488


From: Stewart Baldwin < >
Subject: Re: Erik the Victorious' wives
Date: Wed, 8 May 1996 18:34:48 GMT


Jared Olar < > wrote:

<snip>

> Snorri Sturluson obviously did not invent Sigrid the
>Haughty--though earlier sagamen could have. Between the unreliability of
>Icelandic sagas and the unreliability of Adam of Bremen, identifying the
>mother of Olaf Skotkonung if well nigh impossible. There is no reason
>that I can see to say that Sigrid the Haughty was the Icelandic
>equivalent of Adam of Bremen's Wendish wife of Erik the Victorious--they
>could be confused memories of two separate wives of Erik.

Although I agree that Adam of Bremen is not always reliable, I feel
compelled to come to his defense in this case, as I don't think that
comparing him with the sagas in this way is entirely fair. There are
several reasons why Adam of Bremen should be regarded as a much more
reliable source for early Scandinavian history than the sagas. First,
Adam wrote at an earlier time than the saga authors, and therefore was
closer in time to the relevant events. Second, Adam got some of his
information on early Scandinavian history directly from king Svend II
of Denmark, and there is no indication that any of the saga authors
got their data from an early source of the same caliber for Danish or
Swedish history, and it is Swedish history that is relevant here.
(You could make an excellent case that the saga authors were better
informed than Adam about Norwegian (and Icelandic) history, but Adam
certainly gets the edge with regard to Sweden and Denmark.) Third,
Adam of Bremen's work is a work of history, whereas the sagas contain
a layer of literature superimposed on the historical material which
dilutes their value as a historical source. Finally, if you compare
the statements of both Adam of Bremen and the sagas regarding early
Scandinavian history with that part of the history which can be
verified with good contemporary records, Adam of Bremen, even with his
errors, still comes through this test much better than the sagas do.

Having given my defense of Adam of Bremen, I should acknowledge that
it is based on items of early Scandinavian history which I have
studied which are different from the subject at hand, i.e., the wives
of Erik and mother of Olaf. Since I have never looked at this problem
in any detail, perhaps someone who has done so could outline exactly
what the early primary sources have to say on the matter of Erik's
wife/wives and Olaf's mother. In particular, are there any other
relevant sources on this matter other than Adam and the sagas?

Stewart Baldwin

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