chihiro ma thesis - skemman
TRANSCRIPT
Háskóli Íslands
Hugvísindasvið
Íslenskmiðaldafræði
Whatdidtheysoundlike?
ReconstructingthemusicoftheVikingAge
Ritgerð til MA-prófs í íslenskum miðaldafræðum
ChihiroTsukamoto
Kt.:250493-3209
Leiðbeinandi:ÞórirJónssonHraundal
Janúar2017
ii
Abstract
There has been much scholarship over the years regarding Scandinavian
cultureduringtheVikingAge(c.793–1066CE).However,oftenmissingfromthese
discussions is thestudyofmusic.Thispaperattemptsto fill thatgapbyofferinga
reconstructionofVikingAgeScandinavianmusic.Archaeologicalevidence, literary
records, and medieval music theories were used as the basis of this study.
Archaeology indicates that Scandinavians played wind, string, and percussion
instruments,whilelaterOldNorseliteraryaccountsdetailthemanycircumstances
whereinmusicwasperformed,andsuggestthelikelyexistenceofdifferentmusical
genres. I have consulted Arabic, Greek, and Latin accounts for contemporary
sources,astheScandinavianpeopledidnothaveawrittencultureduringthistime.
Markingadeparturefromtypicalhistoricalanalyses,Ihavealsoconductedacross-
cultural comparison of medieval Arabic, Greek, and Western European music
theoriesinordertorecognizewhatScandinavianmusiccouldnothaveresembled.
Bycombiningarchaeological,literary,andmusicalevidence,itispossibletopropose
a highly educated hypothesis on how Viking Age Scandinavian music may have
sounded.
Ágrip
MikiðhefurveriðrættogritaðígegnumárinumSkandinavískamenninguá
Víkingaöld(um793–1066e.Kr.).Hinsvegarer tónlistviðfangsefni semoftvirðist
vanta í þessar umræður. Þessi ritgerð mun reyna að fylla það skarð með því að
leggja fram tilgátu um endurgerð Skandinavískrar tónlistar frá Víkingaöld.
Fornleifar, bókmenntir og kenningar um miðaldatónlist voru notaðar sem
grundvöllurfyrirþessarannsókn.FornleifafræðibendirtilþessaðNorðurlandabúar
hafi leikið á blásturs-, strengja- og slagverkshljóðfæri. Einnig lýsa norrænar
bókmenntirmörgumtilvikum,þarsemtónlistvarspiluð,ogbenda tilþessaðþað
voru sennilega margar tónlistarstefnur. Ég leitaði einnig til arabískra, grískra og
latneskra textaeftir samtímaheimildum,þarsemSkandínavarhöfðuekki skriflega
iii
menningu á þessum tíma. Ólíkt venjulegum sögulegum greiningum, hef ég gert
menningarsamanburð á kennningum um arabíska, gríska, og Vestur-Evrópska
tónlist til að bera kennsli á hvernig Skandinavísk tónlist hefði ekki geta hljómað.
Meðþvíaðsameinaheimildirumfornleifar,bókmenntirtónlistar,erhægtaðleggja
framtilgátuumhvernigSkandinavísktónlistkannaðhafahljómaðáVíkingaöld.
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Acknowledgements
First,Iamgratefultomyadvisor,ÞórirJónssonHraundal,forhiskindnessandtruly
wonderfulconversations.Iamindebtedtohishelpandopen-mindedness.Igivemy
thanks to the lovely faculty and staff of the University of Iceland, in particular to
Haraldur Bernharðsson, Torfi Tulinius, and Geir Þórarinn Þórarinsson, whose
supportandteachingswereatremendoushelp.
IowemygratitudetotheLeifurEiríkssonFoundation,whosefellowshipgenerously
fundedthisresearch.ThanksalsotoSigurðurGunnarMagnússon, formakingsure
thatmymodernIcelandicisnotstuckinthe13thcentury.
Finally,Imustthankmyfamilyandfriends,whosenamesaretoonumeroustolist
here.Specialthankstomyparents,HironoriandAkikoTsukamoto,withoutwhomI
would have no idea what microtones are, and to my sister, Kay Tsukamoto, for
raiding and pillaging every library in the Greater Boston area for any book on
Scandinavianmusic.Yourherculeaneffortsweretrulyappreciated.
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TableofContentsListofFigures…………………………………………………………………………………………………….vi
ANoteonSpelling…………………………………………………………………………………………......vii
1.Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………………12.MusicinVikingAgeArchaeology……………………………………………………..……………….4
2.1 WindInstruments 42.2 Stringinstruments 112.3 Percussioninstruments 15
3.ExternalAccountsofVikingAgeMusic……………………………………………………………18
3.1 Arabicaccounts 193.2 Greeksources 213.3 Latinsources 24
4.MusicintheOldNorseWrittenRecord…………………………………………………………...32
4.1 Runes 334.2 TheEddas 344.3 Sagas 36
5.ReconstructingMusicintheVikingAge…………………………………………………………..45
5.1 EarlyMelodies 465.2 MedievalBallads&theGymel 485.3 FolkSongs 495.4 IcelandicRímurandTvísöngur 535.5 ReconstructingVikingAgemusic 54
6.Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………………….59
Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………………………..61
vi
ListofFigures
1. BronzeAgelurhorn………………………………………………………………………………….7
2. Modernlurhornmadefrombirch……………………………………………………………..7
3. ReconstructionofacowhornfoundinVästerby,Sweden……………….................8
4. BoneflutefoundinBirka,Sweden……………………………………………………………..9
5. PanpipesfoundintheCoppergateexcavationinYork,UK………………………...10
6. FragmentsofalyrefromtheshipburialatSuttonHoo………………………….....12
7. SuttonHooHarpreplica………………………………..………………………………………...12
8. IllustrationfromMSJunius11ofJubalplayingalapharp…………………………13
9. Stonesculptureofamanplayingabowedstringinstrument…………………....14
10. OneoffiverattlesfoundintheOsebergship…………………………………………….16
11. MusicalnotationsintheCodexRunicus…………………………………………………….33
12. WoodcarvingofGunnarplayingaharpwithhistoes……………………………….37
13. Exampleofamusicalstavenotation……………………………………………………......45
14. Modernstaffnotationof“Drømtemigendrøminat”……………………………….46
15. “Nobilis,humilis”onCodex233…………………………………………………………….....47
16. Modernstaffnotationof“Nobilis,humilis”……………………………………….……...47
17. Völuspásong,asrecordedbydelaBordein1790…………………………………….51
18. SongofHaraldrhardráði,asrecordedbydelaBorde………………………….......52
19. Thesong“Lilja”,asrecordedbydelaBorde……………………………………………..53
vii
ANoteonSpelling
Thispapercontainsnumerousnon-Englishwordsandnames,namelyArabic,
Greek, Latin, and Old Icelandic/Old Norse. I have endeavored to keep the
transliterationsystems foreach languageasconsistentandascloseaspossible to
the original language,with exceptions to names that are overwhelmingly used in
theirAnglicizedforms(e.g.ConstantineVIIinsteadofKonstantinosVII).Withthisin
mind,Ihavechosentousetheoriginalaccentmarkingswhenapplicable.Inregards
tospellingGreekandArabicwords,IhaveusedtheAmericanLibraryAssociation–
LibraryofCongress systemsof transliteration.AllByzantineGreekpresent in this
paperhasbeentransliterated likeAncientGreek,andnotModernGreek.WithOld
Icelandic, I have kept “ð” and “þ” instead of using theRomanized “d” or “th.” For
languages that do not use the Latin alphabet, I have included only their English
translationsforblockquotations.
Unlessotherwisespecified,alltranslationsinthispaperaremyown.
1
Chapter1
Introduction
TheVikingswerenotthedirty,violentraidersthattheyaresooftendepicted
as being. Not only were most so-called “Vikings” farmers who went trading––or
raiding––during the summers, but the archaeological record indicates that they
were highly artistic. Intricately carved swords, captivating runestones, and highly
decorateddailyartifacts,suchascombs,tools,andthelike,haveallbeenunearthed
overthepastfewdecades.Forsuchanartisticallyinclinedpeople,thereisonegenre
thatisnoticeablyabsentfromdiscussionsconcerningtheVikingAge:music.
It has often been said that where there is man, there is music. Indeed, it
wouldbequitethechallengetonameasinglemajorcivilizationorpeoplewithout
some form of music. Yet, music has often been missing from discussions about
VikingAgeScandinavians.Partofthereasonforthisisnodoubtduetotherelatively
lownumberofinstrumentsthathavebeendiscovered,butperhapsnosmallpartis
alsoduetothenatureofmusicitself.Music,moresothananyotherartform(except
perhapsdance),isephemeral,makingitexceedinglyhardtorecreateorcapturein
words.
Whatismusic?
At firstglance, theremayseemtobe littleneedtodefine the term“music.”
Music is suchagivenandsoubiquitous inourmodernconsciousness that it feels
oddtoevenquestionitsnature.Yet,“music”ismuchmoreelusivethanitmayfirst
appear.TheOxfordDictionary definesmusic as “Vocal or instrumental sounds (or
both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and
expression of emotion.”1This is a vague definition. Words such as “beauty” are
clearly subjective, and what might be considered beautiful in one culture might
soundhideoustoanother.Asitstands,whilethereislittlequestionthattheNorse
1OxfordDictionaryofEnglish.3rded.(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,2010)1168.
2
peoplehadmusicintheirsocieties,thematteriscomplicatedbythefactthatthere
appearstohavebeennostrictcategoryofmusicforitsownsake.Musicwasnotthe
most important art form in Norse culture––that throne was reserved for poetry.
Poetrywastheartisticmediumofchoice fortheNorsepeople,oftenbeingrecited
aloudtoanaudience,andtherebybeingaperformingart.Oralpoetryhasacadence
andrhythmofitsownthatisnotunlikemusic,andtheincorporationofmusicinto
anotherartformmayhaverelegatedittothesidelines.Thisnon-primarystatusof
musicinVikingAgeScandinaviancultureisreflectedbythefactthat,unlikeinmany
societies, theNorsepeopledidnothaveadesignateddeity formusic.There isno
Æsir or Vanir equivalent of Apollo; instead, the major deity Óðinn presided on
poetry. This preoccupation with poetry and its crossover into a theater-esque
performingart furtherblurs the linebetweenmusic, chants, andpoetry.Tomake
matters more difficult, music without a notation system––such as Scandinavian
music during the time––is far more vulnerable to extinction than poetry, which
enjoyed a rather better survival rate due to the existence ofwritten records. It is
thus understandable that the combination of ambiguity and lack of abundant
materialsonmusic, incontrasttotherelativeplethoraofmaterialsforpoetry,has
led to a proliferation of scholarship on Old Norse poetry, with far less attention
beingpaidtoOldNorsemusic.Inresponse,itisthepurposeofthisthesistobring
much-neededattentiontothelatter.
MusicoftheGermanicScandinavians
TheNorsepeople had curious relations tomusic.Despite holdingmusic in
highregard,theydidnotseemtohaveheldthisviewformusicians.Whileitisnot
unheard of formusicians to be considered servants of kings and aristocrats (this
wasindeedthecaseformostBaroqueandClassicalcomposersandmusiciansinthe
1600sand1700s)itisratherunusualforthemtoberegardedwithoutrightdisdain,
as they seem to have been in Old Norse-speaking societies. As Nils Grinde
speculates, thismay have been because instrument players had virtually no legal
3
rightsinlawstatutebooks.2Musicianstendedtobean“internationalgroupwhose
jobitwastoentertainatcelebrationsofvariouskinds”3forvariousaudiences,and
wereoftengrouped togetherwith jestersandother “low” formsofentertainment.
As they frequently traveled fromplace toplace, theymayhavebeen lookedupon
withsuspicion.Furthermore,musicianswereoftenforeignersatthelocationwhere
theywereperforming,whichcertainlydidnothelptheircase.
BeforedelvingintoadiscussionofNorsemusic,itwouldbeprudenttofirst
definethepeopleaboutwhomIamspeaking.Regardingterminology,Iwillreferto
theGermanicScandinavianswhenwritingNorsepeople,asopposedtotheSaamior
Finno-Ugric peoples. Despite using the term “Norse people”, it is always kept in
mindthattheywerenotamonolithicblock,andIamsimplyalludingtothosewho
spokesomevarietyofOldWestorOldEastNorse.IwillonlyusethetermVikingsto
refertotheOldNorse-speakingpeoplewhowentabroad. Inthecaseof theRus’, I
meanonlytorefertotheGermanicScandinavianswhowenttoByzantiumortothe
East, asopposed toSlavicpeoples,or those inSlavic settlementswhoseancestors
were Scandinavian. Imay use the termRus’ orVarangian interchangeably in this
paper,butIrecognizethatviewsofthesewordslikelydifferaccordingtotheschool
ofthoughtthataparticularscholarsubscribesto,andthatthereison-goingdebate
regarding thedefinition of these terms.Definingmusic is likewise a difficult task,
but here I shall be following the lead ofTheOxfordDictionary, andwill consider
vocaland/orinstrumentalsinging,chanting,andplayingasmusicforthepurposes
ofthispaper.
2NilsGrinde,AHistoryofNorwegianMusic. (Lincoln:UniversityofNebraskaPress,1991)12.3Ibid.
4
Chapter2
MusicinVikingAgeArchaeology
The matter of writing a Stand der Forschung for Viking Age music is
complicated by the fact that the number of excavated instruments is few and the
scholarshiprelativelylacking.Forallthementionsofsinging,chanting,andmusicin
OldNorseliterature,thearchaeologicalrecordofferslesssupport.Nevertheless,the
varietyofinstrumentsfoundinarchaeologydoilluminateafewtantalizinghints.In
general, the instruments that have been found in excavations can be categorized
intowind,string,andpercussioninstruments.
WindInstruments
By far themost common type of instruments that have been excavated is
wind instruments. A wind instrument is any musical instrument that creates a
soundbythevibrationofair.Suchinstrumentstypicallyincludeamouthpieceanda
resonator.Theplayerblowsairintooroverthemouthpiece,whichmovesintothe
resonator,whichisoftensomesortoftube.Thepitchisdeterminedbythelengthof
theresonatorand/orbymanuallymodifyingthecolumnofairbypressingkeysor
covering holes. Wind instruments are further classified into the woodwind and
brassfamilies.CallingsomeoftheVikingAgeinstruments“woodwinds”and“brass”
mightseemabitofamisnomer,asmanyofthemaremadeofboneorsomeother
material not suggested by the name of their categorization. In actuality, the
classification of wind instruments is dependent not upon the material of its
composition,butbyhowthesound isproduced. Inotherwords,woodwindsneed
not bemadeofwood, nor brass instrumentsmadeof brass.Historically, thiswas
often the case (and hence their names), but what determines whether a wind
instrument iswoodwindorbrass iswhatvibrates inorder to cause the sound. In
woodwinds,theairvibratesbecausetheplayercausesareedtovibrate(e.g.modern
clarinet, oboe,bassoon, etc.), blowsagainst a fipplemouthpiece (e.g. recorder), or
5
blowsacrosstheedgeofahole(e.g.flute).Forbrassinstruments, it istheplayer’s
ownlipsthatvibrate,whichcausestheairtovibrateinturn.4
Lurhorns
Hornsofvarioustypeshavebeenfoundinexcavations,yetperhapsthemost
famousofthesearethe lurhorns.Theretendstobesomeconfusionregarding lur
horns, as the same name applies to both the bronze horns that date to the
ScandinavianBronzeAge(c.1500–500BCE)andtothewooden,trumpet-likehorns
fromtheMiddleAges(c.400–1400CE).
BronzeAgelurhornsdatefromc.1000BCE.5Itisratherironicthattheolder
bronzelursaremorefamousthanthewoodenones,astheformerwerenamedafter
their more recent cousins. Cast in bronze, Bronze Age lurs are remarkably well
crafted,consistingofadecoratedbell,preciselyfittingresonator,andamouthpiece
thatisstartlinglysimilartothatofthemoderntrombone(seefig.1).Thebellatone
end of the instrument is an ornamented platewith six to ten round depressions,
withtheaveragebeingeight.6Thesedepressionsdonotserveanacousticpurpose
andissolelyfordecoration.Somelursalsohavesmallrattlingplatesattachedtothe
bellorthemouthpieces,alsofordecoration.Thebodyoftheinstrumentismadeup
of cylindricalpieces thatcreate theresonator.Eachpieceof the tubular resonator
hasbeenconstructedtofitexactlysothattheycannotslidewhenfittogether.The
mouthpiece greatly resembles that of modern brass instruments and is well
designed for good tone production. It tapers from the blowing end,which curves
outward, to the narrower, cylindrical end that inserts into the resonator piece.
Bronze Age lursmost closely resemble a modern tenor trombone in pitch and4AnthonyBaines,MusicalInstrumentsThroughtheAges(Baltimore:PenguinBooks,1961).5“The lurs of the Bronze Age,” National Museum of Denmark, accessed July 15,2016, http://en.natmus.dk/historical-knowledge/ denmark/prehistoric-period-until-1050-ad/the-bronze-age/the-lurs-of-the-bronze-age/.6“Thelursandtheirmusic,”NationalMuseumofDenmark,accessedJuly15,2016,http://en.natmus.dk/historical-knowledge/denmark/prehistoric-period-until-1050-ad/the-bronze-age/the-lurs-of-the-bronze-age/the-lurs-and-their-music/.
6
timbre.Modernplayingtechniquesallowtheinstrumenttoproduceeighttotenof
the first partial tones, in some rare cases even going up to the twelfth.7It is
unknownwhetherancientplayerswereabletoproducesucharange,butthehighly
sophisticatedacousticdesignof themouthpiece indicates that theywerecertainly
skilled and competent. Bronze Age lurs are often curved, likely for purposes of
easier carrying, much like the modern sousaphone.8Some have carrying chain
attachments just for this purpose. They often come in pairs, and almost certainly
hadreligiousfunctions,asnearlyallwerefoundinbogsasofferings.Imagesoflurs
are found in rock carvings depicting religious scenes in Tanum, Sweden, further
indicatingareligiousfunction.9
IncontrasttoBronzeAge lurs, thoseoftheVikingAge(Anglo-centricdates:
793–1066CE)andtheHighMiddleAges(c.1001–1300CE)arelargelycomposedof
wood,particularlybirch(seefig.2).Theearliestwrittenmentionsoflurhornsarein
theIcelandicsagas,wheretheyaresaidtohavehadmilitaryfunctions,beingusedin
battles to marshal troops and to intimidate opponents. These wooden lurs are
straight in shape, and aside from times ofwar,were used formundane purposes
suchasshepherdingandsignalingcattle.Onesuchlurmayhavebeenfoundduring
theOsebergexcavation.Datingbetween834–850CE,theOsebergluriswoodenand
nearly a meter long. It is straight in form, and has many similarities to modern
herdinglurs,thoughunlikethelatter,theyarenotcoveredinbirchbarkoranything
ofthekind.10Aninstrumentveryclosetothewooden lur isthebirchtrumpet, the
oldest of which dates to the 10th century and which were used in Scandinavian
societies(particularlyinNorwayandSweden)untilasrecentlyasthe19thcentury.7A partial tone for a brass instrument is one of the series of notes that can beproducedgivenasettingofslides,valves,orholes.8A sousaphone is a type of tuba thatwasdesigned to be in a ring shape that theplayermayhoistontooneshoulder.Thisallowsthemtobeusedinmarchingbandsintheplaceofthemoreunwieldyconcerttuba.9"VitlyckeRockCarvings,Tanumshede,"TanumMuseum&TanumWorldHeritage,accessed December 30, 2016, http://www.vastsverige.com/en/tanum/b/49992/Vitlycke-Rock-Carvings-Tanumshede.10NilsGrinde,AHistoryofNorwegianMusic(Lincoln:UniversityofNebraskaPress,1991)11.
7
Fig.1 BronzeAgelurhorn.(Photo:NationalMuseumofDenmark.Copenhagen.)
Fig.2 Modernlurhornmadefrombirch.Thisstyleisfarclosertothelurhornsof
theVikingAgeandMedievalEra.(Photo:Thuen,“Neverlur,”July24,2006.)
8
Cowhornrecorder Various types of recorders carved from cow horn have been found. An
excavation inVästerby,Sweden,hasrecoveredonesuch instrument.TheVästerby
recorderhasamouthpieceat thesmallendof thehorn,andhas foursmall finger
holes(seefig.3).AsimilarhornrecorderwasdiscoveredinKonsterud,Värmland,
Sweden, but with five finger holes and measuring around 27 cm. Other types of
recordershavebeen foundwhere themouthpiece is at thewide endof thehorn;
such horns have a wooden stopper that plugs the space around themouthpiece.
Calledthegemshorn,itisuncertainwhetherthesehornswereknowntotheVikings,
astheearliestextantrecordofoneisfrom1511,wellaftertheVikingAge.
Anothertypeofhornedinstrumentisworthmentioninginthissection.This
is the two Golden Horns of Gallehus (c. 400 CE) that were found in Gallehus,
Southern Jutland,Denmark.However, as theGallehushornsdate to theGermanic
IronAge,centuriesbeforetheVikingAge,theywillonlyreceiveapassingmention
here. Composed of pieces cast in double sheet gold, the horns were stolen and
melteddownin1802.11DespitetheearlydatingoftheGallehushorns,usinghorns
fordrinkingandmusicisnotuniquetothemalone.RudolfSimekobservedthatthe
Germanic people have a long history of using horns for aesthetic purposes, and
speculatedthat theymayhavekeptsacredhornssolely forreligioususesince the
earlyGermanicIronAge(400–800CE).12
Fig.3 ReconstructionofacowhornfoundinVästerby,Sweden.(Photo:Mogens
Friis,"Kopiaf“Västerbyhornet,"LevendeMusikhistorie.)
11RI.Page,Runes.(Berkeley,CA:UniversityofCaliforniaPress,1987).12RudolfSimek.DictionaryofNorthernMythology. (Cambridge:D.S.Brewer,2007)110–111.
9
Boneflutes
BonefluteshavebeenfoundthroughoutScandinavia,variouslydating from
the800stothe1200sCE.Typicallycarvedfromthebonesofcows,deer,largebirds,
or branches of the easily hollowed elder tree, these flutes range from a simple
whistletoa longerflutewithmultiplefingerholes.Alloftheflutesthathavebeen
foundthusfarproducesoundviaawoodenfippleoraninertbonewhenblowninto.
They are quite short in length, usually having around three finger holes, butmay
have become longer and more elaborate over time. Those found in the Swedish
tradingcityofBirka,datingc.800–900CE,havetwoholes(seefig.4),whilealater
flutefoundinAarhus,Denmarkdatingtothe13thcenturycontainssevenholes.The
smallnumberofholesisundoubtedlyexplainedbythesmallsizeofthebones(often
sheepbone)outofwhichtheflutesweremade.Longerflutes,naturally,tendtohave
morefingerholes,andcanthereforeproducemorenotes.
Fig.4 Bone flute found in Birka, Sweden. (Photo: Swedish History Museum,
Stockholm.)
Panpipes
Acurious instrument found in theCoppergateexcavations inYork,UK, isa
setofpanpipes.Madeoutofboxwood,itresemblesaslabofthin,rectangularwood
thathashadfiveholesdrilledintoitalongsideitsverticallength,followingthegrain
of the wood (see fig. 5). Only one set of this instrument has been found in
Coppergate, andhas beendated to the10th century. Theplayer’s lips rest upon a
10
slightlybeveledholecarvedatthetopoftheinstrument,andthevariousdepthsof
theholesboredintothewoodcreatedifferentpitches.Alsocalledasyrinx,eachhole
ofthepanpipesproducesonenote,fromAtoE.
Fig.5 PanpipesfoundintheCoppergateexcavationinYork,UK,datingtothe10th
centuryCE.(Photo:“PanPipes.”JorvikArtefactGallery,YorkArchaeologicalTrust,York.)
Falsterpipe
AfragmentofawindinstrumentwasfoundduringanexcavationatFribrødr
river in Falster,Denmark. This so-called “Falster pipe” is awoodwind instrument
that dates from the latter half of the 11th century.13The recovered section is a
wooden tube with finger holes, and may once have been part of a bagpipe-like
instrument;however,thistheoryisunconfirmed.Amodernreconstructionattached
a wooden mouthpiece and a bell-like piece at either end, creating a kind of
hornpipe.14
13“Falster-pibe,”TheVikingNetwork,lastmodifiedFebruary21,2001,http://www.viking.no/e/life/music/instruments/e-falsterpibe.html.14Ibid.
11
StringInstruments
Stringinstrumentsareamajorcategoryofmusicalinstrumentsthatproduce
sound via vibrating strings, which may be bowed or plucked. Modern examples
includetheviolin,harp,guitar,anddulcimer,tonameafew.Tochangethepitch,the
player manipulates the length, tension, and linear density of the string. Various
types of string instruments have been excavated from Germanic settlements,
includingbothpluckedandbowedinstruments.
Harps&Lyres
ThereareseveralstringinstrumentsthatarefeaturedinNorseliterature.Of
these, theharpand the lyreareundoubtedly themostubiquitous, indicating their
solidpresenceinNorseculture.However,despitethisfact,fewhavesurvivedinthe
archaeologicalrecord.OnefamousearlyinstrumentthathassurvivedistheSutton
Hoo round lyre (see fig. 6). Archaeologistswere able to reassemble the damaged
fragments and numerous reconstructions have since been created. A rather thin
plank ofwoodwith rounded corners, there is an oblong hole in themiddle, over
whichsixstringsarestretched.Thestringsare loopedthroughholesat the topof
theinstrumentandtapertowardstheotherend,wheretheyaregathered(seefig.
7). Although the SuttonHoo instrument isAnglo-Saxon, its shapematches that of
otherlyresthatwereoutsideEnglandandincontinentalEuropeatthetime.
Mostlyresthathavesurvivedarefromlaterperiods,suchastheKraviklyre,
dating to the 13th century. Found in northwest Oslo, the part that has been
recovered is incomplete, and is somewhat different from the other depictions of
lyres fromtheera,butappear tobea related typeof instrument. It evidentlyhad
sevenstringsthatwereplayedbyplucking.Therehasbeennodiscoverytodateofa
three-corneredharp(e.g. likemodernharps) fromtheVikingAge,but this typeof
harphas been in use inNorway fromat least the LateMiddleAges until the 19th
century,andalthough theoldestextantoneonlydates to the1600s, it isbelieved
thatthismodelfollowedpreviousmodelsfromearliertimes.
12
Fig.6&7SuttonHoolyre(left)alongsideareplica(right).(Photofig.6:“Fragments
ofaLyrefromtheShipBurialatSuttonHoo.”TheBritishMuseum,London.Photo fig. 7: “Sutton Hoo, Harp Replica.” Sutton Hoo. Furman University,Greenville.)
Thoughmostoftheinstrumentsthemselvesmaynothavesurvived,thereare
quiteafewdepictionsofharpsandlyresonmanuscripts(seefig.8)andfromother
archaeological sources. The harp is the most frequently depicted instrument in
stone carvings, almost all of which depict the famous scene from Vǫlsunga saga
whereGunnar tames thesnakes in thesnakepit.Despite the fact that thewritten
sourcenamesaharp,manyof these illustrationsshowa lyre-like instrumentwith
arms that extend outward from the sound box instead of the typical corners that
harpshave.This is the case for thewoodencarvingofGunnaron theUvdal stave
church in Norway, which was originally built around 1168 CE,15and the wood
carvingontheHyllestadstavechurch,alsoinNorway,fromc.1200.
15Aspartsofthechurchweretorndownandrebuiltinlatercenturies,however,thisdoesnotmeanthatthisparticularcarvingwasmadein1168.
13
Fig.8 IllustrationfromMSJunius11ofJubalofGenesisplayingalapharp,c.1000CE.Thisis likelytheoldestdepictionofatriangularclosedframeharpinEngland.(Photo:MSJunius11,folio54.Artstor,BodleianLibrary,Oxford.)
Fiddle&Gigje
ThesetwoinstrumentsarementionedtogethersoofteninOldNorsesources
that it is hard to write about one without mentioning the other. Both the fiðla
(fiddle) and thegigjeweremost certainly foreign imports, and not indigenous to
Scandinavia.16Unfortunately,itisnotknownwhatthegigjelookedlike,asthereare
nonethathavebeendiscoveredfromtheVikingAgeperiod.Ithasbeenspeculated
thatafiddlehadastraighterback(muchlikethemodernviolin)whileagigjehada
domedback(liketheNeapolitanorround-backedmandolin),butitisimpossibleto
knowforcertain.17Althoughnofiddles fromtheVikingAgehavebeenfound, they
16The Hardingfele, or Hardanger fiddle, on the other hand, was unique to theScandinavian region for having sympathetic strings (understrings) that resonateundertheotherstrings,unlikeviolinsandcontinentalfiddles.However,theearliestknownonedatesto1651,wellaftertheVikingAge.17Grinde,AHistoryofNorwegianMusic.12–14.
14
presumably resembled the fiddles that were in use in continental Europe during
thattime.18
Miscellaneousstringinstruments
Despitenothavinganextantstringinstrument,thereisastonesculptureon
the Nidaros cathedral (built from 1070–1300 CE) in Trondheim, Norway, of a
musician playing a stringed instrument (see fig. 9). The stringed instrument
depictedhere resembles awoodenplankwith three strings that theperformer is
bowing. Some scholars have theorized that thismight be a type of jouhikantele, a
bowedharporiginating inFinland, yet this is all pure speculation.19Finlandhasa
rich musical heritage, including its famous string instrument, the kantele (Sami:
harppu)––apluckedstringinstrumentbelongingtothezithercategory.20However,
there is littleevidence tosuggest that theGermanicScandinaviansplayedsuchan
instrument.Theclosestmightbea typeofzithercalleda langeleik inNorway,yet
theoldestoneknownisinscribedwiththeyear1524.21
Fig.9 StonesculptureofamanplayingabowedstringinstrumentontheNidaros
cathedralinTrodheim,Norway.(Photo:AHistoryofNorwegianMusic,p.14.)18Asnoarchaeologicalevidenceof fiddlesandgigjesareknownatthistime,IwilldiscussthemfurtherintheOldNorseliteraturesectioninchapter4.19Grinde,AHistoryofNorwegianMusic.14.20A category of stringed instruments that consist of a thin, flat body over whichstringsarestretchedandarethenplucked.21“Instruments,”DarkAgesRe-CreationCompany.December4,2007.AccessedJuly15,2016.http://www.darkcompany.ca/articles/NorseMusicBInstruments.php.
15
PercussionInstruments
Undertheumbrellaofthepercussionfamilyareallinstrumentsthatproduce
sound by being struck or scraped. Aside from the human voice, percussion
instruments are likely to be the oldest type of instruments in human history.
Broadly speaking, there are two types of percussion instruments: pitched and
unpitched percussion. As their names imply, the former produce an identifiable
pitch(e.g.marimbas,xylophones,timpani,etc.),whilethelatterdoesnot(e.g.snare
drum,cymbals,cowbells,etc.).
Rattle
Archaeological excavations of the Oseberg ship in Norway have found five
rattlesburiedamongthemanyartifacts.Severaltheoriesexistastotheirpurpose:
theymay have been items used during religious rituals, used as sleigh “bells”, or
simplyplayedasmusical instruments.The firstof these isaparticularlyelaborate
theory:supposedly,theladyofhighrankburiedintheOsebergship22wasavǫlva23
whomayhaveusedthemetalrattle(seefig,10)insomeformofritual.Themetal
rattle in questionwas attached to a post of the ship thatwas toppedby a carved
animalheadandcoveredwithintricateknotwork.24Additionally,severalrattle-like
instruments have been found elsewhere in Norway, including in Stövernhaugen
(dating800–1000CE)andAkershus(dating800–900CE).Theseconsistofaseries
ofironringsthathavebeenlinkedontoalargeovalring,withtheformerattached
toalongstaveandthelatterpossiblycreatedtoaccompanyahorse-drawnsleighor
22TheOsebergexcavationfoundtheremainsoftwowomenburiedintheship,oneaged between 60–70 while the younger was around 50–55. See Per Holck, “TheOseberg Ship Burial, Norway: New Thoughts On the Skeletons From the GraveMound,” European Journal of Archaeology 9, no. 2-3 (August 2006):,doi:10.1177/1461957107086123.23Aseeress.24"VikingShipCannabisConundrum."TheNorwegianAmerican.January27,2016.AccessedJuly15,2016.http://www.norwegianamerican.com/heritage/viking-ship-cannabis-conundrum/.
16
sledge.25However,thepurposeoftheseironringsisstillopentointerpretationand
it isunknown if theywere indeedusedas sleighbells; if theywere,whether that
wouldqualifyasmusic,perse,wouldbeopentodebate.
Fig.10OneoffiverattlesfoundintheOsebergshipdiscoveredinVestfold,Norway.
(Photo:Thorguds,“Osebergmetalrattle.”2008Oslo.)
Drum
Thought to be one of the oldest sources of sound production, surely few
instruments are as universal as the drum. Norse people during the Viking Age
almost certainly knew of the instrument, as their neighboring peoples had a
plethora of drums, including the Celtic bodhrán frame drum, the northern Saami
goavddisbowl drum, and the southern Saamigievrie frame drum, to name a few.
Thus,itappearsquitestrangethattherehavebeennodrumsfoundbelongingtothe
GermanicScandinavians.ThereissomeevidencetosuggestthatVikingsmayhave
usedtheirshieldsasdrumsubstitutesduringcertainrituals,as is indicated in Ibn
Fadlan’s account. His report in the Risala (“Epistle”) is a shockingly graphic
25"Instruments,"DarkAgesRe-CreationCompany.
17
descriptionofafuneraryritualwhereinaslavegirl iskilledtobeburnedwithher
master. During the moments of her death, at the height of her agony, the
“Northmen”aresaidtobeattheirshieldsinordertocoverupherscreams:
Atthismomentthemenbegantobeatupontheirshields,inordertodrownoutthenoiseofhercries,whichmightdeterothergirls fromseekingdeathwiththeirmastersinthefuture.26It goes without saying that banging on shields to cover up screams is the
farthestpossible thing frommusic; that said, it isnot impossible that shieldsmay
havebeenstrucklikedrumsduringpre-battleritualsorduringotheroccasionsthat
merited sound. If suchwas the case, itmay partly account for the lack of drums
foundinexcavations.Otherreasonsfortheirlackofsurvivalmaybedueinpartto
theirnaturalcomposition;thinpiecesofwoodandanimalhides––themostfrequent
and important materials for drums––easily decompose. Of course, other wooden
instrumentshavealsoundoubtedlysufferedthesamefate(and,indeed,maybepart
of the reason why archaeologists have found so few wooden instruments in
general).Literaryreferencestodrums,ontheotherhand,aremoreplentiful,which
willbeaddressedinthenexttwochapters.
Conclusion
Whilemusichasoftbeenoverlookedasafruitfulsub-categoryofVikingAge
studiesduetoaperceivedlackofinformation,theactualamountofevidenceoffered
by the archaeological record is far from nothing. Granted, the number of
instruments found in excavations may not be prodigious, but those that have
survived demonstrate a variety that cannot be easily dismissed. Fromwoodwind
andbrasswindinstrumentstostringsandpercussion,thesheerdiversityofmusical
instruments demonstrates that the Scandinavians during the Viking Age lived
amongamyriadofsounds.WemaysafelysaythattheNorsepeopleplayedmusical
instruments.26AḥmadibnFadlān,“MissiontotheVolga,”inTwoArabicTravelBooks,translatedbyJamesE.Montgomery(NewYorkandLondon:NewYorkUniversityPress,2014),85.
18
Chapter3
ExternalAccountsofVikingAgeMusic
Although Scandinavians had runes as a form of writing, during the Viking
Age, they did not yet have thewriting culture that would later proliferate in the
regionafterthearrivalofChristianity.Duetothisratherunfortunatehistoricalfact,
we must turn to the writings of non-Scandinavian peoples for contemporary
sources. Obviously, this presents several problems. The first, and perhaps most
significant, is the lack of cultural awareness and detail; foreigners who are not
intimatelyacquaintedwiththepeoplesaboutwhomtheyarewritingareinevitably
notabletowritewithasmuchknowledgeasaninsiderwhohadbeenraisedinthat
culturalenvironment.Thesecondistheproblemwithbias.Itmaybethathistoryis
writtenby thevictor,butonly theempoweredcanwriteat all, and thiswaseven
more true in the distant past,where thosewhowrote about other cultureswere
generally well-educated people from more powerful social groups, kingdoms, or
empires. As such,manywriters of early history had the unfortunate tendency to
regardothersocieties,particularlythosethatwerelesspoliticallyunified,ashaving
beeninferior.ThiswascertainlythecasewithScandinavia,whichwasfirstviewed
as a troublesome ‘fringe’ society by the Roman Empire, and also later by the
emergingChristendom.Ofcourse,writerswithintheculturehavetheirownbiasas
well; this is obvious in cases of propaganda or self–laudatory writings where an
insider seeks topromotehisorherownsociety. In the ideal scenario, then, there
wouldbedetailedsourcesfrombothwithinandoutsidethecultureunderstudyin
order to attain themost even-handedwhole picture.Unfortunately for historians,
thisscenarioisnotalwayspossible.
Writers from diverse cultural backgrounds have written about the Norse
people,particularlyaboutthefar-traveled(andinfamous)VikingsandRus’.Among
this number were those from three distinct empires: the Roman and Byzantine
Empires,andtheAbbasidCaliphate.Tobesure,thesethreewerenottheonlyones
whowrote about Scandinavians: the Vikings andRus’ arementioned in the Irish
19
AnnalsofUlster(AnnálaUladh)andthePrimaryChronicle(Повѣстьвремѧньныхъ
лѣтъ),forexample.However,hereIwillfocusonArabic,Greek,andLatinsources,
asthesethreearetheonlyonesthatmentionanythingnoteworthyaboutGermanic
music.EachofthethreehasdistincthistorieswithGermanicpeoples.Arabicwriters
wereoften travelersormerchants (or, in thecaseof some laterwriters, armchair
historians)whowereoutsideobserversofGermaniccultureinGermanicterritory.
ArabicsourceshavebeenhistoricallyunderutilizedinScandinavianandVikingAge
studies, no doubt due to linguistic and perceived cultural barriers. Greek sources
have faredbetter, but tended tobe at themercyof outdated translations and the
availability of Byzantine texts. The number of Greek accounts is not great, and of
these, almost all of them (with the possible exception of Strabo) concern the
Scandinavianswhoareonthewriter’sown,Greeksoil,asopposedtoArabwriters,
who occasionally wrote about Scandinavians in Scandinavian lands. While
seemingly minor, such nuances matter, for there is a significant demographic
difference(mostnotably ingenderandage)betweentheScandinavianswhowent
seafaring abroad versus thosewho did not. This significantly changes the kind of
peoplewithwhomthewriterswouldhavegottenintocontact,andthereforewritten
about. Latin sources are themost numerous, andwhile it is certainly possible to
classify them inmultipleways, chronologically speaking, they fall into two broad
categories: polytheist or Christian. Unfortunately, despite the number of sources
available,mostof themgivenoclear indicationas towhat ‘Viking’musicsounded
like,andiftheydo,itisoverwhelminglylikelytohavebeenanunfavorablestringof
insultsbecausethewriterfounditrepulsive.
ArabicSources
InChapter1,Imentionedtheelusivenessofwhatmaybeconsideredmusic
whendiscussing its definition.Nowhere is thismore evident than in at-Tartushi’s
descriptionsofGermanicmusicinwhatisnowDenmark.The10thcenturytraveler
andmerchant Ibrahim ibnYa’qub at-Tartushi (also knownby the nameAbraham
benJacob),hadthistosayaboutthemusicoftheNorthmenwhomheencountered
intheDanishtradingcenterofHedebyaroundtheyear950:
20
I have not heard an uglier singing than Shalshaweeq people [people fromSchleswig].Itisahummingcomingfromtheirthroatsthat’sworsethandogsbarking.27At-TartushiwasoriginallyfromtheAndalusiancityofTortosa,Spain(hence
hisname“at-Tartushi”, i.e. “fromTortosa”).Andalusiawastheregionwheremany
Near and Middle-Eastern instruments were carried into Europe, including such
recognizableonesastherebec(ancestoroftheviolin),guitar,andbassdrum.Asthe
cityofTortosaitselfwasatthecruxofmultiplecivilizations,at-Tartushiwouldhave
been exposed to a wide variety of music, among them Moorish, Roman Catholic
(from the Christian minority in the north), and Jewish (as Jewish culture was
surprisingly thriving during this time in the Iberian Peninsula). Thus, given this
assumption,hisdescriptionofthemusicatHedebytohavebeentheugliesthehad
ever heard is not just an unfortunate opinion, but is also revealing, as it suggests
that it was unlike any he had ever come across before in the very cosmopolitan
cities of Iberia. This point becomes relevant when reconstructing Norse music,
whichwillbediscussedlater.
ThereisanotherArabwriterfromthe10thcenturywhowasnoticeablyless
opinionated inhisdescriptions.Ahmad ibnFadlān, anambassadorof theAbbasid
CaliphatefromBaghdad,alsomentionssingingandmusicinhisfamousaccountofa
funeralforaVikingchieftaininthelate900’s:
…theyconsume[intoxicatingdrink]inthecourseoftendays,unitingsexuallywithwomenandplayingmusical instruments.After that, thegroupofmenwhohavecohabitatedwiththeslavegirlmakeoftheirhandsasortofpavedway whereby the girl…mounts onto the ship…She was given a cup ofintoxicatingdrink; shesangat taking it anddrank.The interpreter toldmethatsheinthisfashionbadefarewelltoallhergirlcompanions.Thenshewasgivenanothercup;shetookitandsangforalongtimewhiletheoldwomanincitedhertodrinkupandgointothepavilionwherehermasterlay.28
27 Translation provided by Rawia Azzahrawi, Professor of Arabic Language,University of Manitoba in Noel Braucher, Throat Singing in Old Norse Culture?(UniversityofManitoba.March1,2016).28AhmadibnFaḍlān,“MissiontotheVolga,”inTwoArabicTravelBooks,translatedbyJamesE.Montgomery.(NewYorkandLondon:NewYorkUniversityPress,2014).
21
Compared to at-Tartushi’s scathing report of Danish songs, Ibn Fadlān’s
accountistamer,andisthemoresubjectiveofthetwo;hiswritingismoredetached
reportthanopinion.Yetironically,at-Tartushi’sisthemorehelpfulofthetwowhen
reconstructingNorsemusicbecauseheprovidesadescriptionofthesinging,rather
thanjustageneralstatementthatsongsweresung.Obviously,thisisnottosuggest
thatthesongsinHedebymusthaveliterallysoundedlikecanines.Still,asurprising
amountofinformationcanbegatheredfromhisunfavorablenotes.Wecangather,
for instance, from his description of “humming”, that the sound was probably
guttural and produced from the back of the throat; from “their throats” it can be
guessed that perhaps more than one person could have been singing at once,
although this is speculation. Finally, the adjective “barking” suggests that the
melody–ormelodies if thereweremultiplesingers–wasnotofaharmonythat the
far-traveledat-Tartushiwasfamiliarwith.ThisScandinavianstyleofsingingwas,in
fact, probably closer to throat-singing, or what western listeners might associate
with Saami or Native American chanting, rather than themelodic type of singing
thatismorecommonlyheardtoday.Furtheranalysisofwhatat-Tartushimayhave
heard ispossiblebycomparingScandinavianoralpoetrytothemusicandstyleof
IslamicchantspopularduringtheAbbasidCaliphate,whichwillbe thepurposeof
chapterfive.
GreekSources
ThereareanumberofGreeksourcesdetailingtheNorsepeopleoftheViking
Age.Thesewritersvariouslyreferredtothelatterasthe“Rus”(Ρως),29“Varangians”
(Βάραγγοι),30or those from “Thule.”31However, not all such accounts will be
referenced here. Many commonly referenced Greek writers, such as Patriarch
29PhotiusI,TheHomiliesofPhotius,PatriarchofConstantinople,translatedbyCyrilMango(Cambridge,MA:HarvardUniversityPress,1958),HomiliesIII&IV.30MichaelPsellusChronographia,translatedbyE.R.A.Sewter(NewHaven:YaleUniversityPress,1953).31AnnaKomnene,Alexiad,ch.9.Thulewasanoftenused,vaguetermforanorthernorScandinaviancountry.
22
Photios(c.810–893)andMichaelPsellos(1017/8–ca.1078),wereonthereceiving
endofVikingattacksand,ratherunderstandably,theirwritingsreflectaless-than-
stellarviewoftheirScandinavianinvaders.Suchchroniclersdidnotmentionmusic
as they were unlikely to have known their attackers closely enough to have
observedtheirmusicalcustomsand,assuch, theirwritingsarenothelpful for the
purposesofthisthesis.
One of the earliest Greek descriptions of the Germanic peoples and their
soundisfromtheGreekhistorianStrabo(64/63BCE–c.24CE),farbeforethetime
oftheVikings.Hehintsthatthelatterhadatypeofdrum,“ἐνδὲτοῖςἀγῶσινἔτυπτον
τὰς βύρσας τὰς περιτεταμένας τοῖς γέρροις τῶν ἁρμαμαξῶν, ὥστ᾽ ἀποτελεῖσθαι
ψόφονἐξαίσιον.”32(“Andduringthebattles,theywouldbeatonthehidesthatwere
stretched all around the wicker-bodies of the wagons, and in this way produce
noise.”) As was stated in the previous chapter, despite the lack of extant
archaeologicalevidence, it is likely that theNorsepeoplehadsome typeofdrum-
like instrument composed of stretched animal hides. Although theymaynot have
hadwickerwagonsoftheaforementionedtypeduringtheVikingAge,itisentirely
possiblethattheyhadstretchedanimalhidesoverotherwickerframeswithwhich
theyproducedabeat.
AnotherearlyGreekwriterwhomentionsmusicisPriscus,aByzantinewho
visitedthecourtofAtillain448.Althoughhisaccountdescribesafeastgivenbythe
Huns,whowereanAltaicpeople,thepoetryrecitedthereinmayhavebeensimilar
incharactertoGermanicones.AccordingtoPriscus,atAttila'sfeastweretwoskalds
whorecitedtheexploitsofthosewhowerepresent.Theirsongswereapparentlyso
movingthatlistenersburstintotears.
When evening fell torcheswere lit, and two barbarians coming forward infront ofAttila sang songs theyhad composed, celebratinghis victories anddeedsofvalorinwar.Andoftheguests,astheylookedatthesingers,somewerepleasedwiththeverses,othersremindedofwarswereexcitedintheirsouls,whileyetothers,whosebodieswerefeeblewithageandtheirspiritscompelledtorest,shedtears.33
32Strabo.Geographica.EditedbyAugustMeineke.(Leipzig:Teubner,1877).VII.2.3.33R.C.Blockley,TheFragmentaryClassicisingHistoriansoftheLaterRomanEmpire.
23
The feast-time ritual celebration depicted here was probably similar to those
performed during Scandinavian celebrations. During Norse blót (sacrifice-
celebration) it was customary to drink aminni (a toast of remembrance). At the
beginningofthesetoasts,storiesofwarriors’exploitsanddeedsweretypicallytold
in theirhonor.Priscus’accountparallels themanydescriptionsof feastsandblóts
thatareillustratedinBeowulfandinlaterIcelandicsagas.
AmongtheGreeksourcesfromtheVikingperiodisDeCeremoniis.Writtenby
Emperor Konstantinos Porphyrogennetos (Constantine VII, 905–959), De
CeremoniisaulaeByzantinae(Greek:Ἔκθεσιςτῆςβασιλείουτάξεως,Explanationof
theOrderofthePalace)describesceremonialprotocolsattheByzantinecourtandis
invaluable for its descriptions, as they illuminate the existence of Scandinavian
culture among the Varangians. Here, the Scandinavians who composed the
VarangianGuardarereferredto(ratheroddly)asΓοθικἁ(“Gothika”).34Membersof
theVarangianGuardaresaidtohaveperformed“Gothicdances”anddancedinwolf
skins.35Such depictions are strongly reminiscent of berserkers, who are typically
glorified inOldNorse literatureasbeing fearless inbattleand immune topainor
injury, andwhowereknown todance inwolforbear skins.36The combinationof
fearlessnessandaffinityforwolf-skinritualsisparticularlyevocativeofberserkers,
and it is intriguing that the termConstantineuses todescribe their ritual isμἐλος
(“song”,“melody”),37whichsuggestssometypeofmusicalaccompaniment.
Another source for Vikings in the east is The Alexiad (Ἀλεξιάς), which is
uniqueequallyforitsdetaileddescriptionsoftheVarangianGuardasitisforbeinga
historical workwritten by awoman.Written by Princess Anna Komnene around
1148CEduring theKomnenid dynasty of theByzantine Empire (1081–1185CE),
TheAlexiaddescribesthepoliticalandmilitaryconditionsoftheByzantineEmpire
Vol.II.Liverpool:FrancisCairnsPublications,1981,286.34ConstantineVII,DeCeremoniis,BookI,ch.83.35Ibid.,BookI,ch.83;BookII,ch.52.36HildaR.EllisDavidson,PaganScandinavia.NewYork:F.A.Praeger,1967,100.37HenryGeorgeLiddellandRobertScott.AnIntermediateGreek-EnglishLexicon.Oxford:ClarendonPress,1889.
24
under the reign of her father, Emperor Alexios I Komnenos (c. 1056–1118 CE).
Although it is a fairly late document and describes events that occurred slightly
before1148––pastthestandardAnglo-centricdatesfortheVikingAge(793–1066)–
–TheAlexiad isoneof the fewsources thatgivescluesregardingthereputationof
ScandinavianswhowerewellestablishedinConstantinople.WhileAnnaKomnene
does not write about music in particular, she does write that the Varangians
adhered strongly to tradition and handed down their customs. “The Varangians,”
she writes, “regarded their loyalty to the Emperors and their protection of the
imperialpersonsasapledgeandancestral tradition,handeddown from father to
son,whichtheykeepinviolate.”38Clearly,handingdowntraditionwasimportantto
theseNorthmen. If suchwas the case, it isnotunreasonable to suppose that they
mayhavepasseddowntheirmusicaltraditionsaswell.
LatinSources
TheextantLatinsourcesontheScandinavianstendtobeevenlesspositive
thantheArabicaccounts,asasubstantialnumberofLatinaccountswerewrittenby
Christianswhoeitherexperiencedthehorrorsof theirownmonasteriesandcities
burning by Norse hands, or were Church clergy debating ‘how to deal with the
pagan problem.’ Such accounts tend to be variations on the theme of how the
northernbarbariansshriekedwhile theyraidedvillagesandsackedcities––hardly
usefulinformationforunderstandingScandinavianmusic.
Someof theearliest, non-ChristianLatinwritingswehaveof theGermanic
peoples and their customs is from Cornelius Tacitus (c. 56–c. 117 CE). Although
TacituslivedfarbeforetheVikingAge,wecansurmisefromlaterliteraturethatthe
Germaniccustomofsingingaboutbattlesandheroicdeedsisalongone,extending
tofarbeforetheVikings:
FuisseapudeosetHerculemmemorant,primumqueomniumvirorumfortiumituri in proelia canunt. Sunt illis haec quoque carmina, quorum relatu, quembarditum vocant, accendunt animos futuraeque pugnae fortunam ipso cantuaugurantur. Terrent enim trepidantve, prout sonuit acies, nec tam vocis ille
38AnnaKomnene,Alexiad,ch.9.
25
quamvirtutisconcentusvidetur.Adfectaturpraecipueasperitassonietfractummurmur, obiectis ad os scutis, quo plenior et gravior vox repercussuintumescat.39TheysaythatHerculesalsovisitedthem;theysingofhim,firstofallmeninstrength,whengoing tobattle.Theyhave, too, those songsof theirs–whichtheycall "baritus”–by therecitalofwhich theyrouse their spiritsand fromtheir song, augur the fortune of the approaching fight. For they inspireconfusionorfearastheirlineshouts;itisnotsomuchanarticulatesound,asa general cry of valor. They aimprincipally at a harsh note and shatteringroar, putting their shields to theirmouth so that, by reverberation, itmayswellintoafulleranddeepersound.
Although Tacitus writes in the interpretatio romana that was common for
Romansinhistime––translatingGermanictermstotheirclosestRomanequivalents
andturningwhatwasprobablyÞórrintoHercules––theheroicsubjectmatterofthe
singingisclear.AlsointerestingishismentionoftheGermanicpeople’spracticeof
puttingshieldsaroundtheirmouthstoamplifytheirvoices.40ThattheScandinavian
Vikings and Rus’ used their shields to produce sound is also attested to in later
writingssuchasthoseofAbboofSt.GermainandIbnFadlān.
Twocenturieslater,whentheGothsattackedtheRomanEmpirearound375
CE,theRomansoldierandhistorianAmmianusMarcellinus(325-330–post-391CE)
wrotethattheGothssangsongsoftheirforebears:
39 Tacitus, Cornelius. de Origine et Situ Germanorum Liber. Edited by HenryFurneaux.(Oxford:ClarendonPress,1900),III:1-2.40It would be interesting if any helmet or mask had changed the sound of thewearer’svoiceoramplifiedthesound,muchlikethetheatermasksdidinClassicalAthens, which projected the voices of the actors. It is not inconceivable, asarchaeologistshavefoundmanysophisticatedhelmetswithextrafeatures,suchasthe famous Sutton Hoo helmet that causes the wearer to look as if he had oneglittering eye, mimicking Óðinn. There has been speculation that another SuttonHoo-era helmet, that of King Raedwald of East Anglia, amplified the voice of thewearer.Asitstands,however,itappearsthattheeffectwasmorepsychologicalthancausedby thehelmet itself–the impressivehelmet causes thewearer to feelmorepowerful and thereforeuse a louder voice. SeeNeil Price andPaulMortimer. "AnEye for Odin? Divine Role-Playing in the Age of SuttonHoo."European JournalofArchaeology17,no.3(2014):517-38.
26
Et Romani quidem voce undique Martia concinentes, a minore solita admaioremprotolli,quamgentilitateappellantbarritum,viresvalidaserigebant.Barbariveromaiorumlaudesclamoribusstridebantinconditis,interquevariossermonisdissonistrepitus,levioraproeliatemptabantur.41And theRomans inunison sangofMars [battle-cry], asusual rising fromalower to a louder tone, ofwhich the national name is barritus, and raisedthemselves tomightystrength.But thebarbarianspraised their forefatherswith harsh disorderly shrieks, and amid this dissonant clash of differentlanguages,skirmisheswerefirsttried.
In fact, singing of their ancestors appears to have been a common theme
throughoutGermania.Inthe6thcentury,theRomanbureaucratJordanesmentions
music of the Gothic tribe several times in his well-known work, De origine
actibusqueGetarum,orGetica(c.551CE).Themajorityofthesereferenceshighlight
thehistoriccontentofthesesongs:
Ex hac igitur Scandza insula quasi officina gentium aut certe velut vaginanationum cum rege suo nomine Berig Gothi quondam memoranturegressi…Quemadmodum et in priscis eorum carminibus pene storicu ritu incommunerecolitur.42Then from the island of Scandza, as from a hive of races or as awomb ofnations,withtheirking,namedBerig,theGothsaresaidtohavewentforthlongago...Andinthismanner[thestory]isgenerallyrecalledintheirancientsongsinanalmosthistoricfashion.reliquam vero gentem capillatos dicere iussit, quod nomen Gothi promagnosuscipientesadhucodiesuiscantionibusreminiscent.43
buthebadethemcall therestof theirraceCapillati,whichnametheGothsaccepted[andprized]greatly,andtheystillrecallittothisdayintheirsongs.
Elsewhere inGetica, hementions that these songswere accompanied by a
cithara––astringinstrumentrelatedtotheguitar:
Ante quos etiam cantu maiorum facta modulationibus citharique canebant,Eterpamara, Hanale, Fridigerni, Vidigoiae et aliorum, quorum in hac gente
41AmmianusMarcellinus.RerumGestarum.EditedbyJohnC.Rolfe.(Cambridge:HarvardUniversityPress,1935-40)XXXI.7.11.42Jordanes.DeorigineactibusqueGetarum,IV:25,28.43Ibid.,XI:71-72.
27
magnaopinioest,qualesvixheroasfuisseMirandaiactatantiquitas.44
Inearliesttimestheysangofthedeedsoftheir forebearsinstrainsofsongaccompanied by the cithara; chanting of Eterpamara, Hanala, Fritigern,Vidigoia and others whose fame among them is great; such heroes asadmiringantiquityscarceproclaimsitsowntobe.
FromJordanes’writings,wearetoldthattheGothssangabouttheirancestorsand
history.Thisisnotafar-fetchednotion,asthissamethemeispresentinthepoetry
and stories of Germanic people elsewhere––in Germany, Norway, and Iceland in
particular––centuries later during the High Middle Ages, well after the region’s
conversiontoChristianity.
Later accounts in Latin from the Viking Age are from the Christian
perspective. In 797 CE, Alcuin, an advisor to the Frankish Emperor Charlemagne,
wrotea letter toSperatus, theBishopofLindisfarne.His letterwarnedagainsthis
priestssingingsongsinthevernacularorconductingpagan-ishactivities:
Verba Dei legantur in sacerdotali convivio. Ibi decet lectorem audiri, noncitharistam; sermones patrum, non carmina gentilium. Quid Hinieldus cumChristo?Angustaestdomus:utrosquetenerenonpoterit.Nonvultrexcaelestiscumpaganisetperditisnominetenusregibuscommunionemhabere.45
Let theWord of God be heardwhen the priests eat together. They shouldlistentothelector,notthecithara;tosermonsofthe(Church)Fathers,nottosongs in the vernacular.What has Ingeld to dowith Christ?Narrow is thehouse:itisnotwideenoughtoholdboth.Thekingofheavenwantsnothingtodowithdamnedpagansholdingthetitleofking.
Meanwhile, Paulus Diaconus (Paul the Deacon) wrote about the heroic
content of Germanic songs once again in hisHistoriaLangobardorum (c. 700 CE).
The Langobards were a Germanic people residing in large swaths of the Italian
Peninsulashortlybefore theVikingAge(c.568–744CE).TheHistoria relateshow
theLangobardickingAlboin(c.500CE)becameincludedinthehistoricalsongs:
Alboinveroitapraeclarumlongelatequenomenpercrebuit,uthactenusetiamtam apud Baioariorum gentem quamque et Saxonum, sed et alios eiusdem
44Ibid.,V:42.45 Alcuin. Epistolae. Edited by Ernst Dümmler. 2nd ed. Vol. 4. (MonumentaGermaniaeHistorica.Berlin:Weidmann,1895)p.183.
28
linguae homines eius liberalitas et gloria bellorumque felicitas et virtus ineorumcarminibuscelebretur.46
Alboin,meanwhile,wonsuchreputationandwasknownsowidelyinname,that still today the Baioares aswell as the Saxons, and other folkwith thesamelanguage,celebratehisgenerosityandglory,andhissuccessinwarandhonorintheirsongs.
AmongthemostreferencedLatinaccountsofthetraditionsoftheGermanic
Scandinavians is that of Adam of Bremen’s Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae
pontificum (c. 1073–1076CE).He tells of how theheathens sungmany “obscene”
songsduringceremoniesinhisdescriptionofaheathentempleatUppsala,Sweden:
“Ceterum neniae, quae in eiusmodi ritu libationis fieri solent, multiplices et
inhonestae,ideoquemeliusreticendae.”47(“Furthermore,ofthedirges,itissaidthat
thoseusuallysunginthismannerduringthelibationritesarecruel,numerous,and
shameful,andsoitisbettertosaynothingaboutthem.”)Itisimportanttonotethat
AdamofBremenhimselfneverwenttoUppsala,andwaswritingthisaccountfrom
his native Germany. All of his writings are compilations of (mostly Christian)
accountshehadgottenelsewhere,whichinevitablyaffectsaccuracy.
Two of the earliest chronicles written by Scandinavian authors are the
DanishChroniconRoskildense (theRoskildeChronicle,c.1138–1140CE)andGesta
Danorum(HistoryoftheDanes,c.1200).Thesetwoarenotableforbothbeingearly
Scandinaviansourceswrittensomewhat close to theVikingAge,butas theywere
writtenfirmlywithintheChristiantraditionandinLatin,cannotbecategorizedas
OldNorsesources.Botharewrittenwithasolidlyeuhemeralperspective.Thepriest
and historian Saxo Grammaticus (c. 1150–1220 CE)wrote the latterwhile in the
service of the archbishop Absalon. In Gesta Danorum, Saxo writes that ringing,
jinglingobjectscalledcrepitacula(sometypeofbellorrattle)accompaniedfertility
ritesinUppsaladuringheathentimes:
Sueonumfinesingreditur.UbicumfiliisFrøseptennioferiatusabhistandemadHaconem Daniae tyrannum se contulit, quod apud Upsalam sacrificiorum
46 Paulus Diaconus. Pauli Historia Langobardorum. Edited by Georg, Waltz.(Hannover:ImpensisBibliopoliHahniani,1878)I:27.47AdamofBremen,GestaHammaburgensisecclesiaepontificum,IV:27.
29
tempore constitutus effeminatos corporum motus scaenicosque mimorumplaususacmollianolarumcrepitaculafastidiret.Undepatet,quamremotumalascivia animum habuerit, qui ne eius quidem spectator esse sustinuit. Adeovirtusluxuiresistit.48
HewentintothelandoftheSwedes.WiththesonsofFreyrhelivedatleisurefor seven years; at last he left them and conferred himself to Hakon, thetyrantofDenmark,aswhenstationedatUppsalaatthetimeofthesacrifices,hewasdisgustedbytheeffeminategesturesandtheclappingof themimesonthestage,andbytheunmanlyclatterofthebells.Henceitisclearhowfarhekepthissoulfromlasciviousness,notevenenduringtolookuponit.Thusdoesvirtueresistdebauchery.
Most curiously, Saxo also writes at length of an incident wherein a lyre-
playerwhoplayedforKingErikEjegodinducesmadnessinthelatter:
Cuius prima specie praesentes veluti maestitia ac stupore complevit. Quipostmodumadpetulantioremmentis statumvegetioribus lyrae sonisadducti,iocabundiscorporummotibusgestiendodoloremplausupermutarecoeperunt.Postremo ad rabiem et temeritatem usquemodis acrioribus incitati, captumamentia spiritum clamoribus prodiderunt. Ita animorum habitus modorumvarietas inflectebat. Igitur qui in atriomelodiae expertes constiterant, regemcum admissis dementire cognoscunt irruptaque aede furentem complexicomprehensum continere nequibant. Quippe nimio captu furoris instinctuseorumsevalidecomplexibuseruebat;naturaesiquidemeiusviresetiamrabiescumulabat. Victo itaque colluctantium robore, procursum nactus, convulsisregiae foribus arreptoque ense, quattuor militum continendi eius gratiapropius accedentium necem peregit. Ad ultimum pulvinarium mole, quaeundique a satellitibus congerebantur, obrutus, magno cum omnium periculocomprehenditur. Ubi vero mente constitit, laesae primum militiae iustapersolvit.49
Firstheperformedvariouspiecessothateveryonewasfilledwithgriefandstupor.Andafterwardsthesoundofthelyreforcedthemtoanimpudentandlivelystateofmind,[then]jestingtunesthatmadethemeagertomovetheirbodies and they commenced to exchange anguish for applause. Finally itincited them tomadnessand rashness; seizedbymadness, theygavegreatcriesinutterfury.Thusthestateoftheirmindswaschangedvariously;theysawthatthekingwasdriventomadnessandragewhenthemusicinthehallcame to an end, so that theywere unable to restrain him. Thus theywereseizedbyexcessivemadnessandpowerfullyoverthrownbyfury;according
48SaxoGrammaticus.GestaDanorum.EditedbyJørgenOlrikandHansRæder.(Copenhagen:DetKongeligeBibliotek,1931)VI.5.10.49Ibid.,XII.6.2.
30
to their natures the men's madness increased. And so overcome by thestrength of the struggle, the king broke their hold and darted forward,wrenchedopenthedoorandseizedaswordandkilledfourofhiswarriors,andnonecouldcomenearenough torestrainhim.At theendhiscourtierstookcushionsandfromeverysideapproached,throwingthemoverhimuntilatgreatdangertheyallwereabletoseizehim.Whenheregainedhiswits,hepaidthejustweregildforthewarriors'injuries.
Ofalltheaccountsseenthusfar,thislastoneisuniqueinitsdepictionofthe
effectsofmusic.Nowhereelse ismusic said to induce suchanotableBacchic-like
frenzyinthelistener.50
Conclusion
In this chapter, I have focused on Arabic, Greek, and Latin accounts that
mention Germanic music or sound. Each has distinct relations with Germanic
peoples. In general, Arabic accounts contemporary to the Viking Age are about
Scandinavians living in their own settlements, exemplified by Ibn Fadlān and at-
Tartushi writing as travelers. This increased the likelihood of them encountering
non-militarysongs,andthereisfargreaterchancethatsomeofthe“ugly”songsthat
at-Tartushihadheardweredomesticinnature,ashewasobservingregularpeople
inHedebylivingeverydaylife;itwouldbestrangeindeedifthemajorityofsongshe
hadheardat a trading citywerewar songs. In contrast,with theexceptionof the
ambassadorPriscus,Greekauthorswerewriting fromtheir landsaboutGermanic
expatriates. As themajority of Scandinavians abroad were young tomiddle-aged
men, this skewed the demographic that thesewriters encountered. Expatriates of
the‘warriorclass’werenaturallymorelikelytoperformritualsconcernedwithwar
andbattleasopposedto thepeacefulweavingsongsofwomen, lullabies,orother
domestic songs of the like, and the extant Greek sources reflect this with their
descriptions of battle-related customs. Finally, the remaining accounts are all in
Latin,which can be divided into polytheist or Christian accounts. The former are
from pre-Viking Age times and describe Germanic people out of military and50Theremay be a possible exception in depictions ofberserkers, butmusic is notsaidtohavebeenamandatorycomponentininducingtheirbattlefrenzy(óðr).
31
political interest, while the latter have a significantly religious bent. With the
exceptionoftheDanishSaxoGrammaticus,bothtypesofaccountsgenerallyregard
Germanic tribesandcustomsasbeing lesscivilizedthantheauthor’sownsociety.
Themajorityof theseaccountsofferdisappointingly little inthewayofdescribing
whatGermanicmusicactuallysoundedlike;however,asurprisingamountmaystill
nevertheless be gleaned from these relatively anemic descriptions, as will be
demonstratedlaterinchapterfive.
32
Chapter4
MusicintheOldNorseWrittenRecord
ThepreviouschapterexaminedsourcesthatdescribeOldNorsemusicwith
languagesandperspectives fromoutsideof the tradition. In contrast, this chapter
will discuss sources from within the Old Norse cultural tradition, describing Old
Norse music in its own language. There are several types of Old Norse written
sources.Theonesthatwillbefocusedherewillbe:runicwriting,skaldicandEddic
poetry,andsagas.RunesareaScandinavianalphabetsystemwithadebatedorigin,
butmostlikelyborrowedfromtheEtruscanalphabetduringtheearlycenturiesCE.
Runic inscriptions are few innumber,with even fewer that concernmusic in any
way,withoneimportantexception,aswillbediscussedlater.Followingrunes,Iwill
discussboththePoeticEddaandtheprosewritingoftheSnorraEdda inthesame
section, despite there being significant differences between them, as almost all of
theirreferencestomusicarerelatedtothesamefigures inOldNorsereligionand
mythology.Themostnumerousanddiverseoftheextantsourcesaresagas,manyof
whichwerewrittenduringthegoldenageofIcelandicliteratureinthe13thcentury
when literary activity particularly flourished. Of all the genres, the sagas are the
mostabundantwithreferencestomusic,themostcommontypeofwhichinvolves
singing.
Given the sheer number of sources in just the saga genre alone, it is
impossibletocovereverysingleinstanceofmusicbeingmentionedintheentirety
ofOldNorse literature in this short section.That said,music is surprisinglynot a
commontopicinOldNorseliterature,makingsourcesthatcontainareferencethat
ismore thanapassingmention relatively rare.Thiswhittlesdown thenumberof
sagas that couldbementionedhere.Of course, evenwith this selectivity, it is still
impossible to note every single saga that containsmusic, and it is inevitable that
somewillbeoverlooked. Inselectingthesourcesto include inthischapter, Ihave
consideredseveralcriteria.First,Ihavetriedtoincludesourcesfromamongthose
that are themost studied; second, to include asmany different genres ofwritten
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materialaspossible.Needlesstosay,anysourcewheremusicplaysapivotalroleis
included.SagasthatconcernpeopleandeventslongaftertheVikingAge,however,
willnotbediscussed,astheyareoutsidethetimeframeofthisstudy.
Runes
Tomyknowledge,therearenorunicinscriptionsdatingfromtheVikingAge
(c.793–1099CE)thatconcernsmusic.Ironically,althoughtheuseofrunicscriptin
Scandinavia pre-dates the use of the Latin alphabet, the one famous example of
runesbeingusedtonotatemusicisfromcirca1300.AptlynamedCodexRunicus,the
entirecodexiswritteninmedievalfuthark,whereeachrunecorrespondstoaletter
of the Latin alphabet. The Codex Runicus mostly concerns Danish Scanian Law
(Skånskelov)andearlyDanishhistory.Interestingly,thelastleafofthismanuscript
containsaversewithmusicalnotations.Thelyricsofthissong,whichiswrittenin
OldEastNorse,goesasfollows:
Drømdemikendrøminatum DreamedIadreamlastnightof
silkiokærlikpæl51 silkandfinefur
Fig.11MusicalnotationsintheCodexRunicus.(Photo:“CodexRunicus.”
ArnamagnæanDigitizationProject,Denmark.)
Theabovelines(seefig.11)aretheonlymusicalfragmentinthemanuscript,
andhaveno relation to thewritingpreceding it.Theyarevery likely theopening51CodexRunicus,AM288vo(Copenhagen:TheArnamagnæanInstitute).
34
twolinestoamedievalballad.Afewnotes,orneumes,astheyarecalledinmedieval
musicalnotation, continueafter therunes.Thesecontinuingsinglevirga52neumes
beginwiththesamesequenceofnotesasthebeginning,beforebreaking fromthe
precedentwithaporrectusflexus53seriesofnotes; thusthesenotesarevery likely
the beginning of a variation on the preceding main theme. Medieval ballads
frequently contain a refrain that repeats multiple times in a set pattern (e.g. the
NorwegianMedievalballad“MargjitHjukse”),andthisseriesofnotesisconsistent
withthatpattern.
TheEddas
WhiletheNordicpeopledidnothaveagodofmusic(e.g.Apollo)amongtheir
deities, there is one god who is particularly associated with sound: Heimdallr.
Heimdallrissaidtohavehearingsoexcellentthatheisabletoheargrassgrowing
on the earth and wool growing on sheep,54and possesses the horn Gjallarhorn
(“yelling horn”), which he will blow when marking the coming of Ragnarǫk.
GjallarhornismentionedinVǫluspá55(CodexRegiusc.1270)andinGylfaginning56of
Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda (c. 1220). In addition to this musical mention, in
Vǫluspá,theshepherdEggþérissaidtositonamoundandhappilyplayhisharpat
thebeginningofRagnarök.
Satþaráhaugi Satthereonamoundogslóhörpu andstruckaharpgýgjarhirðir, giantherdsmanglaðurEggþér57 gladEggþér
52Thenameofsingleneumesinmedievalmusicalnotation,equivalenttoan8thnoteinmodernnotation;alsocalledapunctum.53Aporrectusisaseriesof threenotesconsistingofahigh, low,andanotherhighnote,respectively.Aporrectusflexusaddstothissequencebyendingwithalow4thnote.54SnorriSturluson,“Gylfaginning,”TheProseEdda,27.55“Vǫluspá,”ThePoeticEdda,stanza46.56SnorriSturluson,“Gylfaginning,”TheProseEdda,ch.14,25,51.57Vǫluspá41.Thetranslationismyown.
35
Whileitdoesnotcontainmentionsofinstruments,Hávamálalsohasvarious
cryptic allusions to singing. In it, Óðinn is described as knowing galdr58––aword
closeinmeaningtotheEnglish“enchantment.”Bothwordsindicateaspecifictype
ofmagic, but also share an etymological rootwith a verb closely associatedwith
singing:gala,“tochant”or“tosing”ingaldr,59andobviouslychantinenchantment.
In stanza160, in theLjóðatal sectionof thepoem, there is amentionof a certain
Þjóðrerirwhoknowssorceroussinging:
160.Þatkannekitfimmtánda ergólÞjóðrerirdvergrfyrDellingsdurum: aflgólhannásumenalfumframa, hyggjuHroftatý.60160.Iknowafifteenth,whichsangÞjóðrerirdwarfbeforeDellings’door,powerhegavetothegodsandfametotheelves,foresighttoHroftatý[Óðinn].TwooftheheroicpoemswithinThePoeticEdda,AtlamálandAtlakviða,also
include mentions of music, i.e. Gunnar playing harp with his toes.61This subject,
whichisalsofeaturedintheVǫlsungasaga,isacommononethroughouttheNorse
world during the Viking Ages and succeeding Middle Ages. The heroic poem
Oddrúnargrátur likewise mentions harp-playing and furthermore includes a
depictionofsorceroussinging.62Meanwhile,HjálmarH.Ragnarssonarguesthatthe
entirely of Grottasǫngr, which is preserved in Snorri’s Prose Edda, as well as
Darraðarljóð in Brennu-Njáls saga, are in fact working songs.63According to his
theory,Grottasǫngris themillsongof twogirlsorderedtoproducewealth forthe
kingbygrindingamagicstone.Whilethisisnotproven,onenoticesthatthetitleof58Hávamál,stanza152.59Geir T., Zoëga, Richard Cleasby, and Guðbrandur Vigfússon. A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1910), s.v. “gala.” 60Hávamál,stanza160.61Atlamál,verse31;Atlakviða,verse66.62Oddrúnargrátur,stanza29.63HjálmarH.Ragnarsson,“AShortHistoryofIcelandicMusictotheBeginningoftheTwentiethCentury”(MFAdiss.,CornellUniversity,1980),Introduction.
36
thepoemindeedcallsittheSongofGrotti,andnotthePoemofGrotti.Ifthisistrue,
then it would imply that working songs, the majority of which belong to oral
traditionandmanyofwhicharebelievedtohavebeenlost,couldhavesurvivedin
someformwithintheexistingwrittenrecords.
Sagas
Byfarsomeofthemostimportantsourceswehaveformusicarethefamed
sagas.SagasaresomeofourbestliterarysourcestowardunderstandingtheViking
Ageandlatermedievalperiod,astheyprovidesomeofthemostdetailedaccounts
ofScandinaviansocietyduringorshortlyafterthattime.Sagasencompassabroad
varietyofstylesandsubjects,rangingfromrealistictofantastic,heathenmythology
toChristianhagiography.Themanygenresofsagasinclude:Íslendingasögur(sagas
of Icelanders), fornaldarsögur (legendary sagas), riddarasögur (chivalric sagas),
konungasögur(kings’ sagas),samtíðarsögur (contemporarysagas),heilagramanna
sögur (saints’ sagas), and biskupa sögur (bishops’ sagas). Íslendingaþættir (short
talesofIcelanders)arealsooftenincludedindiscussionsaboutsagas.UnlikeEddic
andskaldicpoetry,sagasaregenerallywritteninprose.
For all their merits, one must use caution when using sagas as historical
documents. Their biggest disadvantage lies within the fact that most sagas were
written down a century or more after the events that they describe. This
understandably raises questions about their accuracy, especially concerning
religiouscustomsthatwerenolongerperformedduringthetimeofthewriter.The
second caveat is the question of bias, which is the case for any literary source.
Naturally,anyinterpreterwouldbeconcernedaboutanypersonalorpoliticalbias
onthepartofthescribeorauthor,butasmostsagaswerewrittenanonymously,it
isoftendifficulttodiscernspecificbiasthescribeorauthormayhavehad,makingit
sometimesimpossibletodistinguishbetweenfactandfiction.Furthercomplicating
the situation is how different scribes changed some details when copying
manuscripts, not infrequently resulting in several versions of the same saga.
Unfortunately,asmanymanuscriptshavebeenlost,theextantmanuscriptsmaynot
represent a holistic picture of the saga. Lastly, there is geographic bias. The
37
overwhelming majority of sagas were written in Iceland and concern events in
Iceland and Norway. While this is fantastic for Icelandic scholars, they are less
usefulwhenstudying, for instance,EasternSweden.Keepingthesepoints inmind,
boththelongersagasandtheshorterþættirwillbenotedinthefollowingsection.
FornaldarsögurNorðurlanda
One of themost famous fornaldarsögur, or legendary sagas, in existence is
surely theVǫlsungasaga. It illustrates a scenewith aharp thatbecameapopular
sourceofartisticdepictionaroundthetimeof theVikingAges(see fig12).Oneof
theheroesof the saga,Gunnar, is thrown into a snakepit,whereheplays aharp
withhisfeettocharmthesnakes.Thisworkssaveforonelargeadder,whichbites
andpromptlykillshim.64TheimageofGunnarstrummingaharpwithhistoesisa
recurrentone,appearinginmanydecorativecarvings.
Fig.12WoodcarvingofGunnarplayingaharpwithhistoesontheleftdoorplank
of Hylestad stave church in Setesdal, Norway. (Photo: Jeblad, “Gunnar insnakepitHylestad.”Setesdal,Norway.)
BósasagaokHerrauðsisremarkablenotonlyforactuallydescribingaharp
indetail(aregrettablyrareandpreciousoccurrence)butalsoformentioningwhat
songswereplayedonit:
64 Guðni Jónsson, and Bjarni Vilhjálmsson, eds., Völsunga saga (Reykjavík:BókaútgáfanForni,1943-4)ch.39.
38
Konungr spyrr nú, hvárt hann kann nokkut fleiri slagi, en hann segir eptirveranokkurasmáleikaokbaðfólkithvílastfyrst.Settustmennnútildrykkju.Sló hann þar Gýgjarslag okDrömbuð okHjarrandahljóð. Því næst kom innÓðinsminni.ÞálaukSigurðrupphörpunni.Húnvarsvástór,atmaðrmáttistandaréttrímaganumáhenni;húnvaröllsemágullsæi.Þartókhannupphvíta glófa gullsaumaða. Hann sló nú þann slag, sem Faldafeykir heitir, okstukkuþáfaldarnirafkonunum,oklékuþeirfyrirofanþvertréin.Stukkuþáuppkonurnarokallirmenninir,okengihlutrvarþásá,atkyrrþoldi.65Thekingnowasked,whetherheknewanymoretunes,buthesaidthattherewerecertainsmallonesandbadethepeopletorest first.Thensatthemendown to drink. He played the “Ogress-tune” and “The Dreamer” and“Plundering-song.” Next came a toast to Óðinn. Then Sigurðr took up theharp.Itwassobig,thatamancouldstanduprightinitsmiddle,anditwasallset in gold. Then he took up a white glove embroidered in gold. He nowstruckatune,which“Coif-Tosser”hight,andthecoifsjumpedoffthewomen,andtheydancedaroundabovethecrossbeams.Thenjumpedupthewomenandallmen,andnothingremainedinitsplace.
Fromthispassagewelearnthreeimportantthings:1)thepotentialsizeandvalueof
aharp,2)thatmusicwasplayedasentertainment,and3)therewereindeed“dance
music”, insofar as there was dancing with musical accompaniment. As no large
harpshaveyetbeen found in thearchaeological record, thisdescriptionofaharp
whereamancould“standuprightinitsmiddle”isstriking,evenifthewritingwere
slightlyhyperbolic.Thatmusicwasplayedasentertainmentmayseemobviousfor
us today, but as skalds and poetrywere clearly held in higher esteem thanwere
musicians before the later Middle Ages, and as there are relatively so few
descriptions of music in general, this account is valuable for confirming the
existenceofcommonlyknown“popularmusic”inearlyGermanicculture.Ofcourse,
BósasagaokHerrauðswaswrittencenturiesafterthemythictimewithwhichit is
concerned, but it does not seem unreasonable that there were musical
entertainmentwithinthedrinkinghallsoftimeslongpast.
65GuðniJónsson,andBjarniVilhjálmsson,eds.,BósaSagaOkHerrauðs.2nded.Vol.3.FornaldarsögurNorðurlanda(Reykjavik:Íslendingasagnaútgáfan,1954)ch.12.
39
YnglingasagacreditsÓðinnastheonewhobroughtsingingtoScandinavia.
“Hann ok hofgoðar hans heita ljóðasmiðir, því at sú íþrótt hófst af þeim í
norðrlöndum.”66(“He and his temple-priestswere called song-smiths, for that art
came from them into the northern lands.”) It also mentions a king, Hugleikr, as
havinghadmany instrumentalistsathis court, among themharpists, fiddlers,and
other string players, “Hann hafði mjök í hirð sinni allskonar leikara, harpara ok
gígjaraokfiðlara;hannhafðiokmeðsérseiðmennokallskonarfjölkunnigtfólk.”67
(“He had many in his court all sorts of players: harpists and gígja-players and
fiddlers; and he had with him magicians and all sorts of witchcraft-folk.”) While
Óðinniscommonlydescribedasthegodofpoetry, it isnotoftenthatheissaidto
have introduced Scandinavianswith the art of song, and the euhemeral Ynglinga
sagaisnotableinthisregard.
Norna-Gestsþáttrisaþáttr,orashortstory,andthereforenotasaga,butwill
bementionedinthissectionasitscontentismostalikeafornaldasaga.Itmentions
harpplayingtwice:thefirstwhenthekingasksGestrwhetherhehadanyskills,to
whichthelatteranswers,“Hannkvaðstleikaáhörpueðasegjasögur,sváatgaman
at”68(“Hesaidheplaystheharporrecitessagas,sothatpeoplearepleased.”).The
secondisofGestrplayingtheharp:
Tekr Gestr hörpu sína ok slær vel ok lengi um kveldit svá at öllum þykkirunað í á at heyra, ok slær þó Gunnarsslag bezt. Ok at lyktum slær hannGuðrúnarbrögð in fornu.Þauhöfðumenneigi fyrrheyrt.Okeptirþatsváfumennafumnóttina.69TookGestuphisharpandplayedwellandlongintotheevening,sothatallweredelighted tohear it, andheplayedGunnars-tune thebest.Andat theendheplayedtheancientGuðrúnarbrögð[Guðrún’strickery].Theyhadnotheardthatbefore.Andafterthat,themenwenttosleepforthenight.
66 Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson, ed., Snorri Sturluson, Heimskringla, Ynglinga saga I.(Reykjavík:Hiðíslenzkafornritafélag,1979)ch.6.67Ibid.ch.25.68SigurðurNordal,Norna-Gestsþáttr. InFlateyjarbók I(Akranes: Flateyjarútgáfan,1944)ch.1.69Ibid.ch.2.
40
Thispassage,liketheonefromBósasagaokHerrauðs,isusefulforitsdescriptionof
whattheharpistplayed.Thenames“Gunnar”and“Guðrún”arestronglyindicative
of the characters fromVǫlsunga saga, although it is possible that the songswere
referring to other people who happened to share those names. If the songs did
concerntheeventsofthesaga,however,itwouldimplytheexistenceofagenreof
musicregardinglegendsandepics.
Konungasögur
Konungasögur, or Kings’ sagas, are sagas about the lives of (sometimes
legendary)Scandinaviankings,oftencomposedbetweenthe12thto14thcenturies,
many years after the kings’ deaths. Morkinskinna, named after the rotting
manuscript parchment onwhich itwas preserved, is one suchKings’ saga. In the
sectiondetailinghisexploits,KingHaraldrharðráðiclaimstohavemasteredharp-
playingandpoetry:
Íþróttirkannkátta AccomplishmentshaveIeight Yggsfetklíðatsmíða Ygg’swine[skaldicpoetry]canIforge fœrremkhvasstáhesti skilledamIattravellingswiftlyonhorseback hefksundnumitstundum: Ihavepracticedswimmingonoccasion
skríðakannkáskíðum slidecanIonskisskýtkokrœksvátnýtir Ishootandrowsothatitcountshvártveggjakannkhyggja bothcanIunderstandharpsláttokbragþáttu.70 harp-playingandpoems.
In Orkneyinga saga, Earl Rögnvaldr Kali Kolsson likewise claims to have
mastered music and verse, and gives a near identical boast to that of Haraldr
harðráði:
Taflemkǫrratefla, ReadyamItoplaychess,íþróttirkankníu, accomplishmentshaveInine,týniktrauðlarúnum, rarelydoIforgetrunes,tíðerumbókoksmíðir, booksIreadanddosmith,skríðakankáskíðum, slidecanIonskisskýtkokrœksvátnýtir; Ishootandrowsothatitcounts
70Morkinskinna,U16.
41
hvárttveggjakankhyggja, bothcanIunderstandharpsláttokbragþáttu.71 harp-playingandpoems.
Theseboastsgivetheimpressionthatplayingtheharpwasheldinenoughesteem
thatitwasworthbraggingasanaccomplishment.However,instrumentplayersand
entertainersthemselvesseemtohavebeenregardedinalowlight.InSagaSverris
konungs, the Icelandic skald Máni has a competition with two jesters whose
entertainment includedvarious instrumentalplayingand lowbuffoonery.72Máni’s
victorysymbolizesskaldicpoetry’splaceashavingahigherrankthaninstrumental
playinginWestNorsesocietyatthetime.(Thistrendwillreverseitselfduringthe
Late Middle Ages, when music and jesting become more popular in courts than
skaldicpoetry.)
Íslendingasögur
Truetoitsname,Íslendingasögur––sagasofIcelanders––narratethelivesand
events of Icelandic history that generally took place between the 9th to early 11th
centuries.Ashasbeennotedpreviously,Brennu-Njálssaga,oneofthemostfamous
Icelandicsagasinhistory,containstheskaldicpoemDarraðarljóð.73Itisaneleven-
stanzapoemdescribingtwelvevalkyriesweavingandchoosingthefatesofwarriors
inbattle.HjálmarH.Ragnarssonarguesthat itmightinfactbetheremnantsofan
old weaving song.74Aside from this possible musical material, Brennu-Njáls saga
illustrates Christian mass being sung.75 While singing mass is unquestionably
Christian,othersagasoftenmentionchanting,sometimesfordivination.Eírikssaga
rauða has the famous scene where Guðriður Þorbjarnardóttir helped a völva by
singingtheappropriatechant:
71FinnbogiGuðmundsson,Orkneyingasaga(Reykjavík:Hiðíslenzkafornritafélag,1965),ch.49.72ÞorleifurHauksson,Sverris saga (Reykjavík: Hið íslenzka fornritafélag, 2007) ch. 85.73EinarÓl.Sveinsson,ed,Brennu-NjálsSaga(Reykjavík:Hiðíslenzkafornritafélag,1954)ch157.74HjálmarH.Ragnarsson,“AShortHistoryofIcelandicMusic”,Introduction.75Brennu-NjálsSaga,ch.124.
42
Súkonavar í bygð, erÞorbiörghét; honvar spá-kona;honvarkölluð lítil-völua…Baðhonfásérkonurþær,semkynnifroeðiþat,erþyrftitilseiðinnatfremiaokVarðlokkurheita.Ennþærkonurfunduzeigi.Þávaratleitatatumboeinn,efnökkurkynni.ÞásvararGuðríðr:hvárkiemfilkunnignévísenda-kona,enþókendiHalldís,fóstramín,méráÍslandiþatfræði,erhonkallaðiVarðlokkur. Þorbiörg svaraði: þá ertu fróðari enn ekætlaði. Guðríðr segir:þettaerþesskonarfroeðiokatferli,atekætlaíöngumatbeinaatvera,þuíatekemkonakristin…ÞorkellherðirnúatGuðríði,ennhonkveðzmundugera,sem hann vildi. Slógu þá konur hring umhverfis, en Þorbjörg uppi áseiðhiallinum. Kvað Guðríðr þá kvæðit svá fagrt ok vel, at engi þóttiz fyrrheyrthafameðfegriraustkveðit,sáerþarvar.Spákonaþakkarhennikvæðitokkvaðmargarþærnáttúrurhingatathafasóttokþótti76
Therewasawomandwellingthere,namedÞórbjörg;shewasaseeress;shewascalledLittle-Völva…Sheaskedforthosewomen,whoknewthewisdom(chant),whichwasnecessaryforseiðrandwascalledVarðlokkur[Warlock-song].Butthosewomencouldnotbefound.Thenthosedwellingtherewereasked, if anyone knew it. Then answered Guðríðr, “Neither am Imagicallyskilled nor a wise-woman, but Halldís, my foster-mother, taught me thatchant in Iceland,whichshecalledVarðlokkur.”Þorbjörgreplied:“Thenyouaremore learned than I had thought.” Guðríðr replied, ‘This is the sort ofknowledge and proceeding, that I want nothing to do with, for I am aChristianwoman."…ÞórkellnowpressuredGuðríðr,andsheconsentedtodoashewished.Madethenthewomenaringaround,andÞórbjörgsatupontheseið-platform.ThenGuðríðrrecitedthechantsobeautifullyandwell,thatnoonethoughtthattheyhadheardthechantspokenwithafairervoicethanwasthere.Theseeressthankedherfortherecitalandsaidthatmanyofthepowerswerenowpleased
Laxdælasagaalsofeatureschanting,77butreligionandprophesywerenotthe
onlyreasons forsinging.Egilssagamakes itapparent thatpeoplecomposed love-
songsaswell,asAulvirdoesforhissweetheart,Solveig.78Inotheroccasions,music
76Einar Ól. Sveinsson andMatthias Thordarson, ed, Eiríks saga rauða (Reykjavík:Hiðíslenzkafornritafélag,1935)ch.4.77EinarÓl.Sveinsson,ed,Laxdælasaga(Reykjavík:Hiðíslenzkafornritafélag,1934)ch.37.78SigurðurNordal,ed.,EgilssagaSkalla-Grímssonar(Reykjavík:Hiðíslenzkafornritafélag,1956)ch.2.
43
was played simply for personal entertainment, as is the case in Bárðar saga
Snæfellsáss,whereHelgaplaysharptoherselfallnightinherbed.(“Húnslóhörpu
nær allar nætur því að henni var þá enn sem oftar ekki mjög svefnsamt.”79“She
struck theharpnearly everynightbecause shewas still oftennot able to sleep.”)
Grettis saga is full of singing: from an old woman chanting, to performing evil
spells,80to Grettir singing in order to keep his spirits up while in captivity in
Byzantium.81InViglundarsaga,EarlEiríkurentertainsKingHaraldurwith singing
andvarious instruments: “Ogaðenduðumgjöfumlét jarl framberaeinahörpu.”82
(“And at the end of [this] gift-giving, let the earl bear forth a harp.”) Meanwhile,
Vatnsdælasagaincludesararesceneinvolvinghornswhenlúðrhornsareblownto
callmentobattle.83Whilenotthemostreliablehistoricalresource,Íslendingasögur
areneverthelessvaluablefordepictingabroadrangeofscenarioswhereinsinging
andmusicalinstrumentswereperformed.
Íslendingaþættir
Íslendingaþættir, or Short Tales of Icelanders, are similar in content to
Íslendingasögur, with the main difference being that þættir are shorter in length
thansagas.Morkinskinna(writteninIcelandc.1220andpreservedinamanuscript
fromc.1275)containssuchashorttalecalledHreiðarsþáttrheimska,andfromthis
we can gather that hornswereused to signalmeetings and ship launches. In this
þáttr,theprotagonistHreiðarraccompanieshisbrotherÞórðrtoNorway,wherehe
hears a hornblástr. When Hreiðarr asks what it means, Þórðr answers, “Blásit er
jafnantilmótseðatilskipdráttar.”84(“Ablastisalwaysforameetingorforaship-
79ÞórhallurVilmundarson,ed.,BárðarsagaSnæfellsáss(Reykjavík:Hiðíslenzkafornritafélag,1991)ch.7.80GuðniJónsson,GrettissagaÁmundarsonar,(Reykjavík:Hiðíslenzkafornritafélag,1936)ch.81.81Ibid.ch.90.82JóhannesHalldórsson, ed.,Viglundarsaga(Reykjavík:Hið íslenzka fornritafélag,1959)ch.4.83Einar Ól. Sveinsson, ed., Vatnsdæla saga (Reykjavík: Hið íslenzka fornritafélag,1939)ch.9.84Ármann Jakobsson, andÞórður Ingi Guðjónsson, eds.,Morkinskinna. (Reykjavík:
44
levy.”)Anotherþáttrthatincludesinstruments,JökulsþátturBúasonar isuniquein
statingthattheprotagonistJökullentertainedwithsongsandbassoonmusicwhile
visitingSoldaninthelandoftheSaracens.85
Conclusion
This chapter has discussed some of the types of Old Norse sources that
mentionOldNorsemusic, includingrunicwriting,skaldicandEddicpoetry,sagas,
andþættir.Whilethesearewritingsfromwithinthesameethnographictraditionas
themusicoftheso-calledVikings,itmustberememberedthatthesewritingswere
written down sometimes centuries after their events, necessitating one to be
cautiouswhenusing themashistoricalsources. It isevendifficult tosaywithany
conviction that these literary sources truly follow the same cultural tradition, as
culture issomethingthat isconstantlyevolving. Itcertainlychangesaftermultiple
decades, as is the timebetweenmanyof the sagas’ events and theirwrittendate.
Finally, the conversion to Christianity and increased cultural influence from the
European mainland undeniably impacted Norse culture, causing some previous
traditions to becomediscontinued or greatly changed.What the extantOldNorse
writtenmaterialsgiveusregardingNorsemusicarecolorfulillustrationsofagreat
varietyofmusicbeingplayedindiversesettings,indicatingthattherewereindeed
multiplestylesandpurposesformusicduringtheVikingAge.
Hiðíslenzkafornritafélag,2011)153.85 Jóhannes Halldórsson, ed., Jökuls þáttr Búasonar (Reykjavík: Hið íslenzkafornritafélag,1959)ch.3.
45
Chapter5
ReconstructingMusicintheVikingAge
With the exceptionof runestones and runic inscriptions, Scandinaviansdid
not have a widespread writing tradition during the Viking Age. Therefore, the
majority of surviving sources in theOldNorse languagewerewritten down after
1100 CE, often well after the events that they describe. This inevitably presents
severalproblemswhenusingthemashistoricalsources,buttheproblembecomes
evenmorepronouncedwhenturningtowardsthemforinformationonmusic.It is
comparable to seeking information from a concert review that was written two
hundredyearsaftertheconcerthadtakenplace,fromareviewerwhoisnotamusic
criticandwhohadnevergonetoasimilarconcert.Thismightmakethetaskofthe
music historian seemquite futile–howaccurately canwe really evendescribe the
musicfromseveraldecadesago, letalonecenturiesago?Thischapterwillattempt
to reconstruct Viking Age Scandinavian music by combining archaeological and
literary sources with later medieval melodies, musical styles, and contemporary
musictheory.
Variousmethodsforwritingdownmusichaveexistedforthousandsofyears
intheNearEast,India,China,andGreece,butthepracticeofnotatingbothpitchand
rhythminthefamiliarstaffnotationthatisstandardtoday(seefig.13)beganwith
Guido d’Arezzo (c. 991–1033 CE), a Benedictinemonk in Italy.While his lifetime
correspondstothedatesoftheVikingAge,musicoftheGermanicpeopleswerenot
written down in thisway (indeed, theywere notwritten down at all) presenting
considerablechallengestothetaskofrecreatingmusic.
Fig.13ExampleofstandardWesternmusicnotationusing5staves(lines)onwhich
the notes are placed based on pitch. Here it shows the theme fromBeethoven’s 5th Symphony, 1st movement. (Photo: Jobrahms, “Beethovensymphony5opening.”Wikipediacommons.)
46
EarlyMelodies
ThereareseveralworksofmusictheorydatingtotheVikingAgesthatdetail
how instrumentswere tuned in continentalEurope,but it isuncertainas towhat
extentthisinformationisapplicabletoGermanicmusic.TheFrankishmusictheorist
and Benedictine monk Hucbald (c. 840/850–930 CE) records in his work De
HarmonicaInstitutione(c.880CE)thatthesix-stringedlyrewastunedC-D-E-F-G-A,
i.e. the first 6 notes of the Cmajor scale, when the first stringwas tuned to C.86
However,hisexplanationreferstohowtheclassicallyrewastunedduringthetime
ofthelateRomansenatorandphilosopherAniciusManiliusSeverinusBoëthius(c.
480–524 CE), who in turnwroteDe institutionemusica, amajorwork describing
howGreekmusicfunctioned.Thus, it isentirelyuncertainwhetherGermaniclyres
weretunedinthismanner.
TheearliestrecordedScandinavianmusicisthemelodyfromCodexRunicus
(see ch. 4). Thismelody is the basis of the popular Danish song “Drømtemig en
drøminat”(seefig.14),whichhasmanyvariations,butthearrangersofthistune
havetakenamplelibertieswiththemusicwritteninthemanuscript,andthemost
well-knownversionsofthissongarenotaccuratetranscriptionsofthemanuscript.
Fig.14ThepopularDanishsong“Drømtemigendrøminat”,basedonthemelody
fromCodexRunicus.(Photo:“Drömdemigendröminatt.”Folkwiki.)
86PeterCHorn,"TheSoundoftheSuttonHooHarp."ThaEngliscanGesithas-TheEnglishCompanions.
47
Unlike inmodernscores,medievalmusicnotationdoesnothavea timesignature,
meaningthatthescoredoesnotindicatepreciserhythm.Whatitdoesindicateare
thepitchesandsequenceofthenotes(i.e. themelody),dependingontheclef.The
markingthatresemblesa“C”atthebeginningofthescoreistheCclef(seefig.15).
Theplacementof theC clefdetermineswhere theC is on the staves. In figure15
below, theplacementsof theCclefs indicate that thestartingnotesof themelody
are A and F. This earlymelody, called “Nobilis, humilis”, is preserved in late 13th
centurymanuscripts,amongthemtheCodexC233inUppsala,Sweden(seefig.15).
Written for twovoices, it is ahymnof sorts for St.Magnus, and consistsof seven
strophes.Thetwopartsarewritteninparallelthirds,withtheuppervoicestarting
onanAandthelowervoicestartingonanF(seefig.16).Itmaythenbepresumed
thatthosenoteswerepartofanearlymedievalScandinavianmode.
Fig.15“Nobilis,humilis”onCodexUpsaliensisC233.(Photo:“Nobilis,humilis.”
Liturgia.)
Fig.16Modernstaffnotationof“Nobilis,humilis.”(Photo:“Nobilishumilis.”The
VikingAnswerLady.)
48
Parallel third chords, as exhibited in this manuscript, are either major or
minor thirds.Amajor third is amusical interval of twopitches separatedby four
half steps, or semitones (e.g. C andE, etc.), as opposed to aminor third,which is
separatedby threehalf steps,or semitones (e.g.CandE-flat).Although themajor
third is common and sounds pleasing today, that is greatly due to the fact that
westerninstrumentssincethe20thcenturyusetheequaltemperedtuningsystem,
wherethereisanequalintervalbetweeneachsemitoneandwherethefrequencyof
asinglenotedoublesperoctave.Themajorthirdwasconsidereddissonantduring
theearlymedievalperiod,whenPythagoreantuningwasusedandwhichresultsin
ratherdispleasing-soundingharmonies.WhilethetuningsystemofearlyGermanic
music is uncertain, “Nobilis, humilis” was very likely performed according to the
non-equal tempered tuningsystemthatwasused inmainlandEuropeat the time.
Thehymnisbelievedtodatefromtheearly12thcentury87(thoughitispreservedin
13th centurymanuscripts) both for its unusual harmonies and its subjectmatter,
whichiswritteninpraiseofSt.Magnus,whowasmartyredinOrkneyin1117.
MedievalBallads&theGymel
Despite having changed from earlymedieval times, certain styles ofmusic
maygiveglimpsesintolateVikingAgeScandinavianmusic.Onesuchstyleisaform
ofsingingcalledgymel.Agymelisatypeofpolyphonicvocalmusicwhereinavocal
part––usuallytheuppervoice––isdividedintotwopartsofequalrange,witheach
part singing independently until they both converge in unison at the end of the
piece. According to Giraldus Cambrensis (c. 1146–1223 CE), this vocal style was
popularinnorthernEngland,whichwashistoricallyoccupiedbyScandinavians.He
suggeststhatassuchpolyphonicsingingwasnotcommoninnativeEnglishmusic,it
wastheScandinavianswhoinfluencedthisstyle.88Ifthiswasthecase,thenitwould
87Philip Pulsiano and Kirsten Wolf,Medieval Scandinavia: An Encyclopedia (NewYork:GarlandPublishing,1993),422.88Dom Anselm Hughes, New Oxford History of Music: Early Medieval Music Up to1300.Vol.2(Oxford:OxfordUniv.Press,1954)315-317.
49
furthersupportthetheorythatearlyScandinaviansingingincorporatedpolyphony,
thelikesofwhichisubiquitousintheparallelthird-dependent“Nobilis,humilis.”89
Othermusical stylesmay also give clues as to their possible Scandinavian
ancestors.AmongthesearetheNorwegianmedievalballad,middelalderballade––a
genre of surviving folk songs that reflect mythological themes. The content and
structureof these songs indicate thepossibility that someof themmaydate from
actual medieval times. Within middelalderballader are categories reminiscent of
genres of sagas, such as legendeballader(legendballads), ridderballader(chivalric
ballads),andnaturmytiskeballader(naturemythicalballads).Thislastcategoryhas
its own subcategory ofbergtakingsvisene, themost famous ofwhich is the ballad,
“MargitHjukse.”Balladsarestoriestoldthroughsong,and“MargitHjukse”tellsthe
tragic tale of a young maiden who was abducted by and forced to wed the
“Bergekongen”(mountainking).Itssimplemelody,mythologicalsubjectmatter,and
refrain structure of the lyrics is strongly evocative of medieval styles, making it
quite probable that it is old, perhaps even stemming from motifs in medieval
ballads.
FolkSongs
At first it might seem preposterous to attempt to gain any knowledge of
VikingAgemusic from folkmusic thathavesurviveduntil recent times.However,
folk music is typically conservative by nature, and can preserve extremely old
melodies foraremarkably longtime.MusichistorianNilsGrindeput itbest inhis
writingaboutNorwegianfolkmusic:
Folkmusic is often closely tied to itsmilieu, and it is preserved primarilythrough so-called “oral” transmission. That is to say, this music, whethervocalorinstrumental,originallywaslearnedandpreservedfromgenerationtogenerationsimplybyhearing,withoutthehelpofnotationorothermeans.
89Itmustbementioned,however,thatpolyphonicmusicbegintoappearinFrenchmanuscripts from the 10th century. During the lifetime of Giraldus Cambrensis,polyphonic music, particularly polyphonic organum, flourished in France.Nevertheless, it isstillcuriousthatpolyphonicsingingwasastylethatsurfacedinthepreviouslyScandinavian-occupiedpartsofEngland,andnotelsewhere,whichislikelytohaveoccurredhadgymelbeenprimarilyinfluencedbyFrenchsinging.
50
Onlyinmoderntimeshasthischanged.90
Methods of oral transmission often produce variations of the original, and is
particularly vulnerable tobecoming lost.As themethodofworking that a song is
tied to is discontinued, the songs may also become extinct. Such is the case, for
instance,withtheherdingcalls,kulning,inNorway,whicharewaningastheherding
lifestyle disappears. Sadly, unwritten oral traditionsmay be nearly impossible to
recoverafterlivingmemoryofthemdies.However,itisimportanttoacknowledge
thetenacityoffolksongsingeneral.Thelongestlingeringmelodiesofanytradition
tendtobelullabiesandfolksongs,followedbydomesticsongs(songsforweaving,
drawingwater,etc.).Again,thislastcategoryisdependentuponthecontinuationof
thedomestictaskwithwhichthesongconcerns;yettheymaycontinuetoexistas
folkmusic even after the task itself is no longer performed (e.g. pastoral herding
songssunginurbanenvironments).Suchsongsmayhavelinkstothedistantpast.
Understandably,historians jumptoanymoderntraditionsthatmaybetied
to the remote past for direction. As Iceland lay farther away from mainland
European influence and maintained the clearest linguistic link to the Old Norse-
speaking peoples, it is natural to once again turn to Iceland for musical clues,
although there is little evidence of an unbroken Icelandic musical tradition
harkening back to the Viking Ages. Among known recorded Icelandic melodies
include five set to Old Norse texts, recorded in Jean-Baptiste de la Borde’s 1780
book,EssaisurlaMusiqueAncienneetModerne.91DelaBordereceivedinformation
regarding these songs from the German-Danishmusician Johann Ernst Hartmann
wholivedinCopenhagen(thenalsothecapitalofIceland).Supposedly,thesesongs
were sung in Iceland at the time, and Hartmann learned of them from visiting
IcelandersinCopenhagen.Whilethisisslightlydubious,thesubjectmattersofthese
songsareundeniablyintriguing.Amongthefivesongsaretwothataresettopoems
90NilsGrinde.AHistoryofNorwegianMusic.(Lincoln:UniversityofNebraskaPress,1991)73.91Jean-BaptistedelaBorde,Jean-Baptiste,EssaisurlaMusiqueAncienneetModerne.Paris:Del’Impr.deP.D.Pierres,1780.
51
fromthePoeticEdda,andanotherthatisalsoapoem.Thesesongs’lyricsarefrom
Vǫluspá(seefig.17),Hávamál,andKrakamál,respectively.
Fig.17Völuspásong,asrecordedbydelaBordein1780.(Photo:“ScoreforVôluspá
Tune.”TheVikingAnswerLady.)Therecordedmelodiesofthesethreesongsareextremelysimilar,suchthat
theycouldhavebeenbasedoffofonemelodythatwasadaptedfordifferenttexts:
Theyall arebuiltovera flexible song formulawhichwithminorvariationsareadaptedtodifferentmetres.Suchasongformulathatcanbeadaptedtoalmostanytext,maywellderivefromancientoraltraditions.Andevenmorestrange - these tunes seem to circle around the major third. This is thecentralinterval92
That the songcentersaroundamajor third is interesting, as it tiesdirectly to the
centralfeatureof“Nobilis,humilis.”SinceatleasttheendoftheRenaissanceperiod
(c. 1400–1600 CE) and possibly previously, it is customary for westernmusic to
beginandendinthesamekey(e.g.DmajorpiecesendinD).Folkmusic,withlinks
tooldertraditions,oftendeviatesfromthesesetsofrulesandissometimeswritten
inoldermodes,asopposed to themajorandminorscalesused inmostEuropean
music since the 1600s. This is clearly the case in the Vǫluspá song, which defies
structuralrulesofmusictheoryfromeithertheClassicalPeriod(c.1730–1820CE)
duringwhichtimethebookwaspublished,orthatoftheprecedingBaroquePeriod
92 Kåre A. Lie, Spor Av Vikingenes Sanger: Sanger Og Danser Fra Vikingtid OgMiddelalder=TracesoftheSongsoftheVikings(Borre:MidgardForl.,2009).
52
(c.1600–1750CE).Unlessthissongwasarandompost-1600compositionthatjust
happenedtodefyallmusicalconventionsof its time, it is likelythat ithas linksto
priormelodies.
AnotherofthefiveOldNorsesongsrecordedinEssaisurlaMusiqueAncienne
et Moderne is one about Haraldr hardráði, and is therefore also thematically
concerned with the Viking Ages. Unlike the melodies of the three previously
mentioned songs, theHaraldrhardráðimelodybeginsandendson the samenote
(see fig. 18). Although the surviving record only shows it as having beenwritten
with one vocal line, themelody curiously functions perfectlywellwhen a second
partisaddedinparallelthirds,93exactlylikein“Nobilis,humilis.”
Fig.18SongofHaraldrHardráða,asrecordedbydelaBordein1780.(Photo:“Score
forHaraldrHardraðaTune.”TheVikingAnswerLady.)ThelastOldNorsesong,titled“Lilja,”issomethingofanoddity.Thelyricsof
the song are based on the skaldic poem of the same name that was supposedly
composedbyBrotherEysteinn.94Themelodyfor“Lilja”iscompletelydifferentfrom
93Christie L. Ward, “Viking Age Music.” Viking Answer Lady Webpage. AccessedDecember01,2016.http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/music.shtml.94ErikaSigurdson,TheChurchinFourteenthCenturyIreland:TheFormationofanEliteClericalIdentity(Leiden:KoninklijkeBrillNV,2015)56.
53
thoseof theother four,andcentersaroundminor thirdsand fifths(see fig.19). It
wouldnotbehyperbolictodescribeitassoundingquitecreepy.Thethematicuseof
minorthirdsishighlyevocativeofByzantinechantsandMiddleEasternmusic,and
onewonderswhetherthistunecouldhavebeenaforeignimportfromtheEast.
Fig.19Thesong“Lilja”,asrecordedbydelaBordein1780.(Photo:“ScoreforLilja
Tune.”TheVikingAnswerLady.)
IcelandicRímurandTvísöngur
Onceagain,weturntoIcelandicmusicaltraditionsinthehopesofcatchinga
glimpse into its pre-Christian past. Two traditions that may be so linked are the
Icelandicrímurandtvísöngur.Rímurisaformofsungoralpoetry,withtheearliest
written poems harkening back to the 14th century. The poetic structure contains
alliteration and rhyme, and its contents include kennings, heiti, and other
characteristicsofskaldicpoetry.Asaformofpoetry,rímurhaveremainedpopular
overthecenturies,with78poemsfoundbefore1600,138,248,and505fromthe
seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries respectively, and 75 from the
twentieth century.95Sigurður Nordal has remarked upon the extremely change-
95FinnurSigmundsson,Rímnatal(Reykjavík:Rímnafélagið,1966).
54
resistant nature of rímur, calling them “probably the most absurd example of
literary conservatism that has ever been noted. It can be said that they remain
unchanged for fivewhole centuries although everything around them changes.”96
Anothermusical formwith long roots, tvísöngur is a type of singingwherein two
voicessinginparallelfifths.Itisespeciallytemptingtostudytvísöngur,asthisstyle
“is evidently a remnant of the parallel organum97of the 9th century andwas still
practiceduntilcomparativelyrecenttimes.”98Yetdespitethetemptationtoregard
rímurortvísöngurasevidenceofsomepure,unbrokentraditions,thiswouldbeas
foolhardy as thinking that themodern Icelandic Alþingi has remained completely
unchanged since its inception in 930CE.99 It is necessary to look to any of these
surviving traditions for inspirational purposes, and not as accurate historical
sources.
ReconstructingVikingAgeMusic
Certainmusicalgroupshavemademucheffortovertheyearstoreconstruct
VikingAgeScandinavianmusic,andthemorescholarly-mindedofthemhavetaken
inspiration from the aforementioned early medieval melodies and ballads, folk
songs,andIcelandicrímur.Sincetherearenorecordingsfromthistimeperiod,this
reconstructionbasedonahodge-podgeofvariousstylesmayappeartobeasgood
as itgets.Putmorebluntly, it is impossible toknowexactlyhowthemusicof the
GermanicpeoplesduringtheVikingAgesoundedwithoutatimemachine.Itisboth
thebeautyandthedepressingtruthofmusicthatnowordswilleverdo justiceto
captureit;athousandeloquentlywrittenaccountswillpaleinusefulnesstoasingle
sheetofmusicthathasnotatedthescore.However,thereisonemoremethodwith
whichwemightbeabletotakeonestepclosertounderstandingearlyScandinavian
96Daisy L. Neijmann, The Icelandic Voice in Canadian Letters: The Contribution ofIcelandic-Canadian Writers to Canadian Literature (Carleton, Ont.: CarletonUniversityPress,1997)28.97Aformofearlypolyphonicvocalmusic.98WilliApel,HarvardDictionaryofMusic(Cambridge,MA:BelknapPressofHarvardUniversityPress,1969)400.99Asitstands,theAlþingiwasdiscontinuedfor45yearsbetween1799and1844.
55
music:reconstructionviaelimination.Givenwhatweknowabout the instruments
andaccounts,itispossibletodoasortofreverseengineeringbyeliminatingwhatit
wasnot. As has been discussed earlier, Arab travelers and continental Europeans
wrote their impressions of Viking music, on the whole of which were
overwhelmingly negative, as they sounded overwhelmingly different from their
own.Luckily forhistorians, thesepeoplehavealsowrittenabouttheirownmusic,
making it possible to conduct a cross-cultural analysis of Greek, Western
Ecclesiastical,andArabicmusic,anddecidewhatScandinavianmusicmustnothave
soundedlikebyeliminatingtheseforeignstylesfromthelistofpossibilities.Itneeds
hardly be said that the negative accounts imply that themusic of the northwere
profoundlydifferentfromthatoftheirsouthernneighbors.Bycontrastingwhatthe
known musical styles sounded like, and therefore eliminating similar sounds, it
becomespossibletosaywithsomeconfidencewhatScandinavianVikingAgemusic
didnotsoundlike.
The current prevailing hypothesis is that Scandinavian music sounded
displeasing to Arabic travelers such as Ibn Fadlān and at-Tartushi because they
were unaccustomed to hearing anything like it. However, further analysis of 10th
centuryArabicmusicrevealsthatthismaynotnecessarilyhavebeenthecase.For
Arabicsources,wemayturntotheKitabal-Musiqaal-Kabir(“GreatBookofMusic”),
a treatise onmusic by the 10th century philosopherAl-Farabi (872–950/951 CE),
and to Abu-I-Faraj’smaster compendium,Kitabal-Aghani (“Book of Songs”). The
maqam (pl.maqamat),ormodesof traditionalArabicmusic, thatAl-Farabi lists in
his treatise are still influential today, as is hisArabian tone system.100Meanwhile,
Kitabal-Aghaniisinvaluableforcontainingnotjustthesongsandrelatedhistorical
information, but for also including early Islamicmusic theory and descriptions of
thesongs.Wemaygleanfrombothof thesebooksthat10thcenturyArabicmusic,
far from being unfamiliar with thirds, had in fact contained major, minor, and
100Habib Hassan Touma, The Music of the Arabs. Translated by Laurie Schwartz(Portland,Or.:AmadeusPress,1996)170.
56
neutral thirds.101Thiswas the typeofmusicplayed inBaghdad, the capital of the
AbbasidCaliphate fromthe late8th tomid-13thcenturies;assuch,amemberofan
embassyfromBaghdadsuchasIbnFadlānwouldcertainlyhavebeenfamiliarwith
thesechords.Andalusianclassicalmusic,whiledifferentfromthatofBaghdad,was
unmistakably influenced by the court music of the Abbasids, and also included
thirds.The foundingofAndalusianclassicalmusic in the9thcentury iscredited to
Ziryab (Abu I-Hasan ‘Ali IbnNafi’),whowas a pupil of the famousAbbasid court
musician Ishaq al-Mawsili, and whose own career first saw success in Baghdad
beforehemovedtoCórdoba.102
It cannot have been the case that the Baghdadian Ibn Fadlān or the
Andalusianat-TartushiweredispleasedbyNorsemusicbecauseitcontainedchord
intervalsthattheywereunfamiliarwith.Itismorelikelythatat-Tartushi’svisceral
dislikewaspreciselybecause themusic heheard contained familiar intervals, but
whichusedadifferenttuningsystem.ItisknownfromKitabal-Musiqaal-Kabirthat
Arabicmusiccontainedmicrotones––pitchesinbetweenthoseusedinEurope––and
therefore any Norse music such as those of the people in Hedeby must have
sounded constantly out of tune to Arab ears, causing a kind of musical uncanny
valley and making it sound all the more jarring. This foreign music, with
unintelligiblechanting,strangeinstruments,anddispleasingharmonies,musthave
soundedquitehorrifyingtoonesuchasat-Tartushiindeed.
Pulling together information from archaeology, contemporary and later
literarysources,andvariousmusicalstyles,thepictureofVikingAgemusicbegins
to show itself. Like themusic of any people, themusic of theOldNorse-speaking
peopleweremany, and undoubtedly had significant regional and local variations.
Theirrepertoireincludedsolovoice,acappella,orvocalsaccompaniedwithstring,
woodwind,brass,andpercussioninstruments.Mostoften,stringinstrumentswere
usuallyplayedindoorsatdrinkinghalls,accompanyingsongsofpraiseorthosethat
101Neutral thirds are intervals that arewider than aminor third, but less than amajorthird.102Olivia Remie Constable,Medieval Iberia: Readings from Christian, Muslim, andJewishsources(Philadelphia:UniversityofPennsylvaniaPress,1997).
57
toldastory.Somerituals,suchasthoseinvolvingavǫlvaortheGothikadancewith
wolf skins that Anna Komnene describes, involved chanting or dancing. As with
everythingelse,theremusthavebeenvariationsonthesoundsofthesechants––itis
difficult to imagine that war chants and seiðr chants sounded the same. It is not
outrageous speculation to guess that chanting for battles or for frenzied religious
ceremoniesmust have involved producing different pitches in order to stimulate
adrenaline;themonotonous,consistentrhythmicchantinginthemannerofTibetan
Buddhism, for example, encourages thebrain toenteralphawaves,hasa calming
effect,andisgoodformeditation103––exactlytheoppositeofwhatonewouldwant
before a battle. On the other hand, this latter type of “droning” chantsmay have
beenperfectforavǫlva.
At-TartushidescribesDanishsingingasagutturalhummingandcomparesit
to dogs barking,104hinting that at least some kinds of voice productionwere not
melodic.FromArabicaccounts,wecangatherthatScandinavianinstrumentswere
nottunedinequaltemperamentandalmostcertainlydidnotuseanyoftheArabic
modes, of which we know very much about. Early medieval melodies such as
“Nobilis, humilis” and centuries old traditions such as tvísöngur strongly indicate
that polyphony, particularly the use of parallel thirds, might have been involved.
From Old Norse literary sources and later medieval musical styles, we learn the
suspected contents of these songs, and can gather that therewere likelydifferent
genres ofmusic. Therewere almost certainly songs of praise for chiefs,warriors,
andfallenheroes;songsaboutepicslikethestoryoftheVǫlsungasaga;lovesongs;
andlikelydomesticsongsinthelikenessofGrottaǫngr,Darraðarljóð-styleweaving
songs, or lullabies.While speculation, the lyrics of these songs probably included
alliteration,rhyming,repeatingrefrains,orotherpoeticfeaturesthataresharedin
survivingformssuchastheIcelandicrímurandtheNorwegianmiddelalderballader.
103MichaelWinkelman,“ShamanismastheOriginalNeurotheology,”Zygon:JournalofReligion&Science39,no.1(2004):193–217,doi:10.1111/j.1467-9744.2004.00566.x.104Georg Jacob,ArabischeBerichte vonGesandten anGermanische Fürstenhöfe ausdem9.und10.Jahrhundert(Berlin:DeGruyter,1927)29.
58
Conclusion
ThischapterhasattemptedtoreconstructVikingAgeScandinavianmusicby
combining archaeological and literary sources with later medieval melodies and
medieval music theories. On the one hand, archaeological records and foreign
sourcesprovide contemporary informationof the timeperiod,while on theother
hand,post-VikingAgeliteraryandmusicalsourcesdescribewhenandwhatkindof
musicwereusedandhowitmayhavesounded.Thetruthprobablyliessomewhere
inthemiddle.Nodoubtthetypeofinstrumentsfoundinthearchaeologicalrecord
wereplayed,butitwouldbefoolishtoassumethateveryinstrumentwasplayedfor
every occasion. There were likely many categories of Viking Age music, the way
there are multiple genres of sagas andmiddelalderballader, and literary sources
support this theory. Distant relations such as the gymel and tvísöngur combined
withearlymedievalmelodiesandfolksongsofferimportantharmoniccluesabout
how the songsmayhave sounded,whileArabic sources suggesthow theydidnot
sound.Allinall,itispossibletopiecetogetherquiteacompellingpictureofViking
Age Scandinavian music. It may not be a complete picture, but it is a picture
nonetheless.
59
Chapter6
Conclusion
Every major civilization has its own art, of which music is often a
cornerstone.Despitethis,musichasoftenbeenmissingfromdiscussionsregarding
VikingAgeScandinavianstudies.Whileitissadlyimpossibletoreproducethemusic
oftheNorsepeoplewhollyaccurately,itispossibletomakeacogentcase.Itisnever
easy toreconstructhistoricalmusic,butOldNorsemusic inparticularhasseveral
factorsthatmakeitparticularlydifficult.Thefirstisthegeneralreasonnotspecific
to Viking Age culture: music is ephemeral in nature. Music of the Viking Age
Scandinavians has the added complication of not having had any standardized
system of music notation, nor a writing culture with which they might have
described their ownmusic.Wemust then rely on biased descriptions from other
peoplesforprimarysources.
Second,themajorityofmusical instrumentsthatwemayhavebeenableto
usetogainabetterideaofearlyScandinavianmusichavebeendestroyed,lost,orin
mostcases,decayed.Itisentirelyprobablethatthesmallsampleofinstrumentsthat
havebeenexcavatedareheavilyskewedtowardswindinstruments,simplybecause
the commonmaterialsused forwindsaremetal andbone,which last longer than
thoseusedforstringsorpercussion,whichoverwhelminglytendtobecomposedof
organic,easilydecomposedmaterialssuchaswoodandanimalhides.
Third, unlike reconstructing continental European music from the Early
Middle Ages, music of the heathen Scandinavian peoples have been actively
suppressed and destroyed by the Church. While the Catholic Church was not as
powerfulanentityduringtheearlyVikingAgeasitwouldlaterbecomeduringthe
later Middle Ages, it was nonetheless able to accomplish its goal of persuading
ScandinaviatobecomeChristian.105Thus,themusicoftheso-called“Vikings”dieda
105Inactuality,itismoreapttosaythatthemajorityofScandinaviachosetoadoptChristianity, rather than it having been passively converted, but the end result ofChristianitytakingholdintheregionisthesame.
60
slower, insidious death, as it changed fromwithin.Music that is suppressedmay
findways tobekeptaliveby thepeoplewhostillhold themdear(e.g. thevibrant
musicanddance traditionsof theYorubaDiaspora throughout theAmericas),but
musicthatisforgottenorabandonedbyitsownpeoplefacesasadderend.Hence,
this combinationofunwrittenmusic, lost instruments,and transformed traditions
renderconstructingScandinavianmusicoftheVikingAgeverydifficultindeed.
Nevertheless,despite these challenges, thediscussion shouldnot restupon
theassumptionthat themusicof theNorsepeoplehadended.Weshouldalsonot
speakof“OldNorsemusic”as if itwereonemonolithicblock.Rather, itshouldbe
understood that there were multiple musical styles, such as military, religious,
praise, popular, and domestic music, with likely some crossover between similar
genres.Overthecenturies,certainstyles, if theyexisted,certainlycametoanend.
Among this number arenon-Christian religious chants andmilitary chants, as the
Scandinavian region changed its religion and modes of warfare. The styles most
likely to have survivedwere the simplemelodies of lullabies and domestic songs
thatwerepasseddownfromonegenerationtothenext,eventuallyturningintofolk
songs.Evenifanote-for-noteexactreproductionisimpossible,wecannevertheless
propose an extremely educated hypothesis based on examining melodies, songs,
andmusical styles from the High and LateMiddle Ages, and by searchingwithin
time-honoredmusicaltraditionswithpossiblelinkstothemedievalperiodforclues.
Examining and conducting cross-cultural comparisons betweenmedievalWestern
European, Byzantine, Abbasid, and Andalusian music theories aid reconstruction
work, and a methodology of reconstruction via elimination of known dissimilar
foreignstylesmayalsobeperformedforfurtheranalysis.Allofthiscombinedyields
awealthofinformationonVikingAgeScandinavianmusic.
Apeople’ssongsandmusicisjustasimportantapartoftheirculturalhistory
andheritageastheirlanguageandliterature.GiventhewealthofsourcesforViking
AgeScandinavianmusicandthe importanceof thesubject, it issilly to ignorethis
areaofstudyontheassumptionthatthereistoolittleevidence.Thequestionisnot
whether it ispossibleor impossible to studyVikingsAgeScandinavianmusic,but
ratherhowtostudyit.TheVikings,wemayconfidentlysay,hadplentyofmusic.
61
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