Popular Culture and Royal Propaganda in Norway and Iceland in the 13th century

Abstract

One of the main topics of discussion in research on the translated riddrasögur has been their intended purpose and function. Earlier research on the subject has suggested that the translations of the European romances were commissioned by King Hákon Hákonarason in order to present a new European royal ideological model to the Scandinavian society. In this article I wish to investigate this hypothesis further by studying the royal ideology in Strengleikar. Do the kings presented in Strengleikar appear as the European Christian rex justus kings, which was the dominant medieval royal model, or do they convey another image - an image that may be interpreted to explain both the intended function and the popularity of the translations in Norway and Iceland?