SOURCE: Bagge, Sverre. “Morality and Human Character.” In Society and Politics in Snorri Sturluson's “Heimskringla,” pp. 146-91. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991.

In the following essay, Bagge examines Snorri's views regarding morality, chivalry, personality, and character.

Introduction

In the present chapter I shall attempt to draw the conclusions from Snorri's treatment of conflicts for his ideas of morality and human character, thereby directly addressing the question of “political man” mentioned in the introduction. I shall treat Snorri's ideal king and aristocrat and the norms they are supposed to adhere to, compared to those of the contemporary European aristocracy. Finally, I shall deal with Snorri's concept of human character. This analysis will, I hope, contribute to the discussion between the adherents of Elias's evolutionary perspective of political man and those who follow Bailey in assuming a fairly universal political game between rational actors.

The Ideal Man

The qualities Snorri...