Literature
The paper addresses some similarities existing between The Poetic Edda and the Kartvelian (Georgian) pagan custom called Stsorproba or Tsatsloba observed in the eastern mountainous regions of Georgia until very recently. The center-piece of the work is the unusual pattern of behavior underlying both Sigurth-Brynhild’s wedding nights and the Stsorproba practices - a young couple sharing a bed without sexual intercourse. The paper shows how the Sigurth-Brynhild pattern being an isolated instance within its own mythological framework fits into the complex Stsorproba system with surprising precision. For the first time in the study of Norse mythology the present paper raises the problem of differentiating of stanzas 41 (The Prophecy of Gripir) and 12 (Brynhild’s Ride to Hel) from stanzas 20 (Fragment of Sigurth Lay), 4 (The Short Lay of Sigurth) and 67 (Brynhild’s Ride to Hel) and reveals their Kartvelian origin. The analysis of The Poetic Edda carried out in conjunction with the Kartvelian data raises another novel issue: the connection of the Sigurth-Brynhild wedding nights pattern with the pagan Norse hospitality custom whose Kartvelian lining is also uncovered. The research allows us to argue in favor of a shared habitat of the Kartvels and the Norsemen in the distant past.
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