Le belle morti: eroi e traditori di fronte alla morte nelle cronache in rima della Svezia medievale

The medieval Swedish literary system is characterized by the central role that the genre “rhymed chronicle” played in it. This genre took form in the twelfth century and rapidly expanded all over Europe, entering the Swedish literary system by the beginning of the fourteenth century. Two Swedish rhymed chronicles are of particular interest because of their specifi c strategies of interpretation of recent historical events: Erikskrönika, which in all likelihood dates from the years 1320-1322, and Karlskrönika, dated to the middle of the fi fteenth century. The article aims at showing how the diff erent historical contexts, in which the two chronicles were written, determine the strategies of representation of the political actors on the scene of the narrative. A pivotal role in such strategies is played by the description of the death of some influential historical fi gures, and the article provides some signifi cant examples in order to better understand the underlying ideological dimension of the two chronicles examined.