Bröllopsmyten i Helgakviða Hjörvarzsonar : Ett exempel på fornskandinavisk härskarideologi i Codex Regius hjältediktning

Gro Steinsland’s theory of the Myth of hieros gamos as Ancient Scandinavian Ruler Ideology has been discussed and critized among archaeologists and historians of religions. Her theory suffers from many source-critical imperfections and needs to be further examined in the light of other source-materials.In this article the Eddaic/Heroic poem Helgakvida Hjörvarzsonar is analyzed. Through a comparison betw een this poem and Steinsland’s tentative interpretation of Skírniismál/Ynglingatal the article shows how the prosimetric introduction to HHv includes a m otif where the ruler Helgi is the fruit of an exogamie relation.The authenticity of this mythical m otif and the intertextual relation between Helgakviða Hjörvarzsonar and Skirnismál is discussed in the article. The heroic poem follows Skirnismál in describing the origin and carachter of the hero/ruler, but do even support the idea of a connection between exogamy and the birth of a hero, a condition empirically missing in Skirnismál. Without beeing able to judge the exact relation between the two poems, this connection is of great theoretical value. Perhaps the connection originally existed in the Ynglinga tradition in Skirnismál Ynglingatal. This would support Steinsland’s theory