Kinship as a Measure of Time: on Descending Genealogies in “Knýtlinga saga”

Genealogies in medieval texts were important for calculating and tracking time. They might be divided into ascending and descending, and these two types have different functional loads within the framework of the saga narrative. The former are a convenient device for introducing a new character into the text. The latter to some extent predict the development of events, and sometimes simply serve other purposes, naming people who do not appear in the narrative. This article is devoted to the consideration of three descending genealogies in the Old Icelandic Kings’ “Knýtlinga saga” describing the events of Danish history. These three genealogies — that of Haraldr kesja Eiríksson (early 1080s — 1135), Knútr Eiríksson lávarðr (1096—1131) and Valdimarr Knútsson (King of Denmark: 1157—1182) — go furthest into the future in relation to the time of the story and greatly reduce the distance between what the saga says and the time of its writing (between 1251 and 1259).