Goeres, Erin Michelle; (2019) Translating Romance in Medieval Norway. In: Beer, Jeanette, (ed.) Companion to Medieval Translation. (pp. 75-84). Amsterdam University Press: Amsterdam, Netherlands.

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Abstract

Translation was of immense cultural importance in medieval Norway. In a “Mirror for Princes” (speculum regale) composed for the sons of King Hákon Hákonarson, king of Norway from 1217 to 1263, urges the importance of language-learning at the highest levels of society: “æf þu willt wærða fullkomenn í froðleic. þa næmðu allar mallyzkur en alra hælz latinu oc walsku. þwiat þær tungur ganga wiðazt. En þo tynþu æigi at hældr þinni tungo” (if you wish to become perfect in knowledge, then you must learn all the languages, but most especially Latin and French, because these languages are used most widely. And yet, do not forget to maintain your own language). King Hákon's interest in European culture determined the decidedly international focus of his reign. The king promoted political and trading relationships with other European monarchs, arranged marriages for his offspring with partners from European royal households, and consolidated alliances abroad rather than at home, most notably with King Henry III of England. He led his country from the final stages of a bloody civil war to relative unity as a modern, European kingdom and ruled for nearly half a century. Ties between Norway and England were particularly close. Hákon recruited political and ecclesiastical advisors from England, as English styles of painting, sculpture, ornamentation, and architecture were adopted by the Norwegian court and promoted throughout the country. This close political and cultural relationship between England and Norway was bolstered by a mutual reliance on trade. English grain, ale, cloth, and pottery flowed into Norway, while northern resources such as fish, timber, fur, and hunting birds proved popular with English buyers. European courtly literature was among the many foreign products desired and promoted by King Hákon, and it is likely that most of the romances translated into Old Norse were brought from England along with other imported goods. As the importation of foreign products helped to consolidate Norway's political relationships abroad, the importation of European romance offered a valuable form of cultural capital to members of the Norwegian court: the consumption of this popular form of European literature enabled the king and his court to demonstrate their inclusion in the wider European cultural sphere.

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