Aesthetic Expressions of Nature in Skaldic Verse

A good deal of attention has been paid, from several disciplinary approaches, to whether traces of ‘a “modern”, non-utilitarian and purely aesthetic view’ of nature can be found in Old Norse literature.1 A certain polarity has emerged between arguing for that possibility, and for a purely instrumental view. This divide originates in Kantian aesthetics, which emphasizes ‘disinterestedness’ as a requisite for aesthetic experience and judgement, and has also been important to ecocriticism broadly, which has been centrally concerned with taking nature ‘on its own terms, not homocentrically’.2 The question is significant because of the perceived relationship between (disinterested) aesthetics and ethics, or, more concretely, whether past societies valued the natural world for itself or solely as a resource. It is also simply an interesting question because of the way in which we tend to experience (Nordic) nature ourselves today, and are encouraged to through tourist advertisements: the majesty of fjords, the beauty of snow-capped mountains, the loveliness of rolling fields, and so on. It is difficult to gaze at such landscapes (and I use the word ‘gaze’ advisedly here) and imagine not finding them beautiful.3 In this chapter I want to explore what skaldic poetry can contribute to the debate.