Editing Mansöngr

A '''''mansǫngr''''' (literally 'maiden-song'; plural ''mansǫngvar''; modern Icelandic ''mansöngur'', plural ''mansöngvar'') is a form of [[Norse poetry]]. In scholarly usage the term has often been applied to medieval [[skaldic poetry|skaldic]] love-poetry; and it is used of lyric openings to ''[[rímur]]'' throughout the Icelandic literary tradition.

==In high-medieval Iceland==
Skaldic love-poetry and erotic poems in Old Norse-Icelandic are often characterised in modern scholarship as ''mansöngvar''. However, [[Edith Marold]] and [[Bjarni Einarsson]] have argued that the term ''mansöngr'' has been over-used in medieval scholarship, being applied to love-poems which we have no evidence were actually viewed as ''mansöngvar''.<ref>Edith Marold, ' ''Mansǫngr'' — a Phantom Genre?', trans. by Kate Heslop, in ''Learning and Understanding in the Old Norse World: Essays in Honour of Margaret Clunies Ross'', ed. by Judy Quinn, Tarrin Wills, and Kate Heslop, Medieval Texts and Cultures of Northern Europe, 18 (Turnhout: Brepols, 2007), pp. 239-62; Bjarni Einarsson,  ‘"Mansöngr" revisited’, ''Opuscula'', 11 (2003) [=Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana, 42].</ref> Many medieval references to ''mansöngvar'' are not accompanied by the poem in question, and the boundaries of the genre are thus disputed. The [[Icelandic Homily Book]] (from c. 1200) mentions ''mansöngr'' in connection with the music of [[David]] and [[Solomon]].

=== In Icelandic sagas ===
In ''[[Egils saga]]'', the poet [[Egill Skallagrímsson]] recites a poem about a woman to his friend Arinbjörn. Arinbjörn asks Egill for whom he has composed this ''mansöngr'' and Egill recites another poem before revealing that the subject of both is Arinbjörn's kinswoman Ásgerðr, the widow of Egill's brother Þórólfr (Thorolf).<ref>The dialogue between Egill and Arinbjörn is first preserved in the 'theta fragment' of ''Egils saga'' (AM 162 A θ fol.) from c. 1250.</ref> Egill requests Arinbjörn's help in arranging his marriage with Ásgerðr, and the ''mansöngvar'' are thus a prelude to an open declaration of love and a marriage petition.

[[Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld]]'s poems to Kolfinna Ávaldadóttir are also described as ''mansöngvar'' in ''[[Hallfreðar saga]]'', but the saga depicts Hallfreðr as resisting attempts to organise Kolfinna's marriage to both himself and other men. The saga portrays Hallfreðr's erotic poetry about Kolfinna and his libellous verses on Kolfinna's husband, Grís, as destructive in nature—objectifying Kolfinna while inciting her family to violence. Only through his relationship with his King [[Ólafr Tryggvason]] (his eventual godfather) and his spiritual poems does Hallfreðr find redemption and maturity and eventually express regret for the sorrow he has caused Kolfinna.<ref>Ingibjörg Gísladóttir, ''„Krist vil ek allrar ástar....“ Um eðli Hallfreðar sögu vandræðaskálds'', University of Iceland, BA Thesis in Icelandic Literature, 2008.</ref>

One of the oldest saga manuscripts to preserve a reference to the genre is DG<ref>The De La Gardie Collection in [[Uppsala University Library]]</ref> 8 from c. 1225–1250 in the hagiographical saga ''[[Óláfs saga helga]]''. According to the saga, the Icelandic skald [[Óttarr svarti]] composed a ''mansǫngsdrápa'' about [[Astrid Olofsdotter of Sweden|Queen Ástríðr]] of [[Norway]] when they were both in the court of [[Olof Skötkonung|her father, the King of Sweden]]. This [[drápa]] provoked the wrath of her husband, [[Olaf II of Norway|King Ólafr Helgason]], but when Óttarr travelled to Norway he prudently enlisted the help of his uncle and skald [[Sigvatr Þórðarson]] to gain an audience with the Norwegian king and redeem himself with the poem ''[[Hǫfuðlausn (Óttarr svarti)|Hǫfuðlausn]]'', which praises the merits of King Ólafr rather than the beauty of his wife.

=== In Icelandic law ===
The composing of ''mansöngvar'' for or about women is explicitly prohibited by the medieval Icelandic law-code ''[[Grey Goose Laws|Grágás]]'', 'in the younger additions to ''Konungsbók'' (GKS 1157 fol) and ''Staðarhólsbók'' (AM 334 fol), where it is inserted into a passage bearing the title 'vm scaldscap' ('on poetry'), an exhaustive treatment of the different kinds of poetry and the various punishments for them'.<ref>Edith Marold, ' ''Mansǫngr'' — a Phantom Genre?', trans. by Kate Heslop, in ''Learning and Understanding in the Old Norse World: Essays in Honour of Margaret Clunies Ross'', ed. by Judy Quinn, Tarrin Wills, and Kate Heslop, Medieval Texts and Cultures of Northern Europe, 18 (Turnhout: Brepols, 2007), pp. 239-62 (pp. 249-50).</ref> But there is no clear explanation of what a ''mansöngr'' is. In the Konungsbók version, §238, the text reads<ref>Text and translation quoted from Edith Marold, ' ''Mansǫngr'' — a Phantom Genre?', trans. by Kate Heslop, in ''Learning and Understanding in the Old Norse World: Essays in Honour of Margaret Clunies Ross'', ed. by Judy Quinn, Tarrin Wills, and Kate Heslop, Medieval Texts and Cultures of Northern Europe, 18 (Turnhout: Brepols, 2007), pp. 239-62 (p. 249); she quotes the text from ''Grágás: Islændernes lovbog i fristatens tid, udg. efter det kongelige Bibliotheks Haanskrift'', ed. and trans. by Vilhjálmur Finsen, 2 vols (Copenhagen: Berling, 1852), Ib, 184. For the Staðarhólsbók version see ''Grágás efter det Arnamagnæanske Haandskrift Nr. 334 fol.'', ed. and trans. by Vilhjálmur Finsen (Copenhagen: Gyldendal, 1879), p. 393 [§377).</ref>

<blockquote>Ef maðr yrkir mansöng vm cono oc varðar scog gang. Kona a söc ef hon er xx. eða ellre. ef hon vill eigi søkia láta. oc a lavg raðande hennar sökena.</blockquote>

<blockquote>If a man composes ''mansǫngr'' about a woman he suffers full outlawry. The woman has to bring the case if she is twenty or older. If she will not have it prosecuted, then her legal administrator has to bring the case.</blockquote>

== In ''rímur''==
In Icelandic ''[[rímur]]'', ''mansöngur'' is the term used for the (optional) opening section of each ''ríma'' poem within the larger epic. The ''mansöngur'' typically shares a metre with the ''ríma'' it prefaces but is [[lyric poetry]] rather than narrative and the poet often speaks in the first person, addressing the audience directly. The ''mansöngur'' is often addressed to a woman but known as ''mansöngr'' even when it isn't. The ''mansöngur'' may or may not relate to the main narrative of the ''rímur'': some poets use the ''mansöngur'' to comment on the events of the story as they unfold or explore specific narrative themes, but others treat the ''mansöngur'' as a 'break from the action'.

The earliest ''rímur'' lack ''mansöngvar''. In later ''rímur'', the author (usually male) would compose poetry about a woman he had fallen in love with (but who generally is not depicted as reciprocating his feelings). Accordingly, ''mansöngvar'' are often sorrowful. Later, they started to feature other topics, such as love for one's ancestral estate or complaints at how few people appreciate poetry.<ref>Vésteinn Ólason, 'Old Icelandic Poetry', in ''A History of Icelandic Literature'', ed. by Daisy Nejmann, Histories of Scandinavian Literature, 5 (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2006), pp. 1-63 (pp. 55-59).</ref>

One example of the content of a ''mansöngur'' is afforded by [[William Craigie|Craigie]]'s summary of stanzas 1-17 of the third ''ríma'' of ''[[Skotlands rímur]]'' by Einar Guðmundsson, a 17th-century poet. It includes many of the classical features of the ''mansöngur'' in ''rímur'': a fair woman is addressed, while the poet laments his inadequacy as a poet and the sorrowful state of the world. The ''mansöngur'' is also a platform for personal expression—here, probably, a (veiled) complaint over losing his position as the minister for Staður in Reykjanes in 1635 after accusing two parishioners of sorcery:

<blockquote>Though the ring-decked maiden might wish for a love-song, I have but little poetry from [[Odin]]. Only a little [[poetic mead|scent of the fruit of song]] he gave me once: I have no need to be grateful for his generosity. Let those rejoice who have been more successful. Friendship is not shown to every man, and I was never good at winning favour of the great. True friendship is rare over all the land; most men look for some advantage and are envious of all others who get wealth or fame. Seek not, then, to be praised by the world: disgrace and loss may follow. [[God|He that sees in secret]] will reward you, and He will come one day to sit in [[Last Judgment|judgement]]. May I be able to see Him with joy, though my works are not so good as they might be. I have not the ''mansöngs'' to speak about the fair maid, but I must try to give her the third ballad now!<ref>''Skotlands rímur: Icelandic Ballads on the Gowrie Conspiracy'', ed. by W. A. Craigie (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1908), p. 6; https://archive.org/details/skotlandsrmuric00craigoog.</ref></blockquote>

==In Norway==
Among the medieval [[Bryggen inscriptions|inscriptions found at Bryggen]] in the Norwegian city of [[Bergen]], there are preserved examples of ''mansǫngskvæði'' ('''mansǫngr''' poems) written in Skaldic meters such as [[dróttkvætt]].<ref name=b145>{{cite book |author=[[Margaret Clunies Ross]] |title=A History of Old Norse Poetry and Poetics |location=Cambridge |publisher=Brewer |orig-year=2005 |year=2011 |isbn=9781843842798 |page=43 }}</ref> In particular, [[Bryggen inscription 145|N B145]] dates to the first half of the thirteenth century and contains a full dróttkvætt stanza, the first half of which translates thusly:<ref name=b145 />
: ''The ancient breeze of the cliff-goddesses [GIANTESSES > DESIRE] fell to me early with respect to the beautiful, dangerous young pine-tree of the fastened fire of the fish expanse [SEA > GOLD > (beautiful, dangerous, young) WOMAN].''
Simplified, this means:
: ''Desire for the beautiful, dangerous young woman overcame me a long time ago.''

==See also==
*[[Old Norse poetry]]

==References==

{{reflist}}
==Further reading==

* Theodor Möbius, 'Vom isl. mansöngr', ''Zeitschrift für deutsche Philologie: Ergänzungsband'' (1874), 42-61. The principal study of ''mansöngvar''.
* T. M. Johnstone, 'Nasīb and Mansöngur', ''The Journal of Arabic Literature'', 3 (1972), 90-95. Compares the parallel literary development of the ''mansöngur'' and the Arabic ''[[Nasīb (poetry)]]''.
* Ingibjörg Gísladóttir, [http://skemman.is/en/item/view/1946/10445 ''„Krist vil ek allrar ástar....“ Um eðli Hallfreðar sögu vandræðaskálds.''] University of Iceland, BA Thesis in Icelandic Literature, 2008.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mansongr}}
[[Category:Skaldic poetry]]