Rígsþula: Heimdallr Fathers the Human Classes

Rígsþula (Rigsthula) is an Eddic poem in Old Norse in which the god Heimdallr sleeps with the three ancestral couples of humankind to father the poor, the middle class, and the wealthy. The really classic study of the Irish influence on Rígsþula is Jean Young (1933), “Does Rígsþula Betray Irish Influence?“ Arkiv för nordisk filologi 49, 97-107. A more recent study is Frederic Amory (2001), “The Historical Worth of Rígsþula“ Alvíssmál 10, 3-20: For more examples of Irish influence on Old Norse literature, see Lindy Brady (2016), “An Irish Sovereignty Motif in Laxdǿla saga“ Scandinavian Studies 88.1, 60-76: Dr. Jackson Crawford is Instructor of Nordic Studies and Nordic Program Coordinator at the University of Colorado Boulder (formerly UC Berkeley and UCLA). He is a historical linguist and an experienced teacher of Old Norse, Modern Icelandic, and Norwegian. FAQs: Jackson Crawford’s