Abstract
This study aims to give a contribution to the history of passion as a motif in Old Norse literature. It will be done by an examination of a distinct and clearly defined phenomenon: love-sickness. The material will primarily be a distinct literary type: the Old Norse poetry. A specific formula type, here called ‘the woman causes the man grief’, which has so far not been thoroughly investigated, will be in focus. All instances of this formula type in Old Norse literature are mapped and the concept expressed in it is analyzed. The article concludes that this concept must be described as a clear form of love-sickness. It further discusses the similarities and differences, as well as the possible relationship, of this Old Norse tradition of love-sickness with the continental European one. The article argues for an independent, native Old Norse, background of the formula type and the concept of passion expressed there.
