Hvem daterede Helga Þorsteinsdóttir?

Helga the Fair was an Icelandic woman whose life and relationships are described in Gunnlaugs saga ormstungu. She is the daughter of Þorsteinn Egilsson and his wife Jofrid, and the granddaughter of Egill Skallagrímsson. Helga is trapped in a love triangle with Gunnlaugr Ormstunga and Hrafn Önundarson, which eventually leads to the men's deaths.

Hrafn Önundarson est un scalde islandais des IX^e et X^e siècles, mort en 1008.

Mentionné dans le Skáldatal comme poète de cour du jarl des Hlaðir Eiríkr Hákonarson et du roi de Suède Óláfr sænski, Hrafn est l'un des principaux protagonistes de la Gunnlaugs saga ormstungu, où il est le rival de Gunnlaugr. La saga est d'ailleurs titrée Saga de Gunnlaugr et de Hrafn dans l'un des manuscrits.

Âgé de dix-huit ans, le scalde Gunnlaugr quitte l'Islande pour entreprendre un voyage à l'étranger. La femme qu'il aime, Helga, lui a auparavant été promise, et il a été convenu qu'elle n'épouserait personne d'autre dans un délai de trois ans. Il séjourne notamment à la cour du roi de Suède Óláfr sænski, où Hrafn se trouve aussi. Une rivalité naît bientôt entre les deux hommes, chacun contestant le talent de l'autre. Lorsque Hrafn rentre en Islande, il demande la main de Helga. Retenu par son service auprès du roi d'Angleterre, Gunnlaugr revient trop tard et les noces de Hrafn et de Helga ont lieu, contre la volonté de la jeune femme, restée fidèle à Gunnlaugr. Celui-ci provoque Hrafn en duel, mais le combat est prématurément interrompu, leurs pères s'interposant. Le lendemain, le duel est interdit par la Lögrétta. Hrafn propose alors à Gunnlaugr de l'affronter en Norvège, parce qu'« il ne retirait aucune jouissance d'avoir épousé Helga». Le combat a lieu dans le Trøndelag. Hrafn y trouve la mort, mais il parvient à blesser mortellement Gunnlaugr par traîtrise, ne supportant pas l'idée qu'il puisse étreindre Helga.

Trois strophes composées par Hrafn ont été conservées dans la saga.

Gunnlaugr ormstunga (Old Norse: [ˈɡunːˌlɔuɣz̠ ˈormsˌtʰuŋɡɑ]; Icelandic: Gunnlaugur ormstunga [ˈkʏnːˌlœyːɣʏr ˈɔ(r)msˌtʰuŋka]; "serpent-tongue"; c. 983–1008) was an Icelandic skald. His life is described in Gunnlaugs saga ormstungu, where several of his poems are preserved.

Gunnlaugr was born ca. 983. From an early age he proved himself impetuous, audacious, brave, and tough. He was also a skilled author of mostly derogatory poems, which earned him the cognomen ormstunga "serpent-tongue". After a quarrel with his father, Illugi, Gunnlaugr left his home at the age of twelve to stay for some time at Borg with Þorsteinn Egilsson, the son of Egill Skallagrímsson. There, he became acquainted with Þorsteinn's daughter, Helga the fair, reputedly the most beautiful woman on Iceland. Her hair was so ample that she could hide herself in it.

When Gunnlaugr was eighteen, he went abroad. At that time, Helga became his fiancée, on the condition that she would wait no more than three years for Gunnlaugr. He visited the courts of Norway, Ireland, Orkney and Sweden and England. In Sweden, he visited the court of King Óláfr Skötkonung where he met his rival, the Icelandic champion and skald, Hrafn Önundarson.

Gunnlaugr's stay in the service of King Æthelred of England delayed his return to Iceland and Helga. He did not return until four years had passed (ca. 1005). Since Gunnlaugr had been gone longer than his allotted three years, Helga was forced into an unhappy marriage to Gunnlaugr's rival, Hrafn Önundarson. Gunnlaugr and Hrafn met at the Althing and Gunnlaugr challenged Hrafn to a hólmganga or duel of honour. The duel ended in a draw and was the last one allowed in Iceland. From that time, hólmgǫngur were forbidden by the Gray Goose Laws.

In order to settle their dispute in blood, the two champions met in the Kingdom of Norway in the spring of 1008. There, Gunnlaugr defeated Hrafn, but was fatally wounded. After a short time he died. He was 25. Helga later remarried, but never recovered from Gunnlaugr's death. Her greatest pleasure was to rest her eyes on a sumptuous coat that Gunnlaugr had given her. One evening, she rested her head on her husband's shoulder, spread the coat in front of her, and watched it for a while. Thereafter, she fell back into her husband's embrace and was dead.