Heroic Deaths in Saga Settings: A Case of Paganization?

Abstract

The death-defiance which is frequently displayed by heroic figures in Old Norse literature has usually been addressed as an inheritance from the pre-Christian past. While a number of sources seem at first glance to support this view, this article shows that death-defying heroism, despite its disruptive side effects, remained a virtue in Christian surroundings, especially in martyr stories. Furthermore, the notion of fate as it develops in the pagan storyworlds shows clear parallels to the Christian concept of predestination. By comparing the circumstances of heroic deaths in Eddic poems, Fornaldarsögur , and sagas on more recent history, the article argues that medieval Scandinavian conceptualizations of the heroic age are informed by a conceptual alignment between the pagan hero and the martyr saint.