Pafnutius and Skírnir's Journey: A Discussion of Two Medieval Plays

The purpose of this book is straightforward. It aims at comparing two texts, the Eddic poem 'Skírnismál' — 'Skírnir’s speech' or 'Fǫr Skírnis' — 'Skírnir’s Journey' and two scenes from the Latin play 'Pafnutius'. The latter is a 10th century work by the Saxon dramatist Hrotsvit. The Eddic text is preserved in two manuscripts, one from the 14th and one from the 15th century. Its date of composition is difficult to establish, but arguably, it originates in the 10th century. Most researchers consider 'Fǫr Skírnis' to be a poem. Some read it as ritual drama, a few as a dramatic dialogue. Owing to the many different research traditions that scholars have established around Old Norse Eddic texts on the one hand, and Hrotsvit’s Latin plays on the other, it has been difficult to select and evaluate relevant research contributions. Since scholars usually define Latin plays and Eddic poems as two different literary genres, they have not developed research traditions with a view to comparing Eddic text and Latin plays. Comparisons, therefore, are uncommon and there are few contributions to discuss. Indeed, comparing the texts may be a pointless exercise in the first place because one could always doubt that there was such a thing as staged theatrical drama in the 10th century. In this book, notwithstanding, I argue that staged drama existed in the 10th century, since, irrespective of their view on religion and society, there were Northwest European upper classes that wished to sponsor such complex entertainment – at least during a short period. Foreword 7 Was there a 10th Century Northwest European Drama? 9 Part One Hrotsvit 15 'Nor See Anyone Performing Plays' 17 The Reception of Hrotsvit’s Plays 17 The Royal Canoness Abbey 21 The Role of Educated Upper-Class Women 26 Playwright in Residence 30 Hrotsvit’s Failed Project 33 Hrotsvit’s Approach 36 The Drama Section 36 Conclusion 51 Hrotsvit’s 'Pafnutius' 52 Introduction 52 Legend and Liturgy as Drama 56 A Note on the Translation 63 Two Scenes from Pafnutius 68 Scene II: The Forum in Alexandria 68 Scene III: In Front of Thaïs’ House 70 Gossip and Science 74 Part Two Skírnir 79 Structuring Dialogue 81 Introduction 81 Speaker Notations 84 Things Heard and Seen 93 The Stage and its Scenery 97 The Theatrical Setting 97 Performance and Space 98 The Hall as Arena 103 Conclusion 122 Translating 'Fǫr Skírnis' as a Play 125 A Note on the Translation 126 'Fǫr Skírnis' as Historical Drama 132 Pantomimes 132 Spare the Rod and Spoil the Child? 135 The Distorted Myth 137 The Supportive Roles 140 The Dramatic Climax 142 The Main Characters 144 The Story 148 Conclusion 166 Part Three Comparison 171 'Fǫr Skírnis' and 'Pafnutius' 173 Paired Differences and Similarities 173 Dramaturgical Similarities 177 Conclusion: Authors and their Plays 192 References 195