# Knut Stjerna

Knut Martin Stjerna (14 March 1874 – 15 November 1909) was a Swedish archaeologist and scholar. He is notable for a number of papers analyzing Beowulf from an archaeological perspective. He was a lecturer at Uppsala University, where he taught, among others, Birger Nerman and Sune Lindqvist.

## Early life and education

Knut Stjerna was born on 14 March 1874 in Malmö, Sweden, to Johan Stjerna and Matilda Johanna Grönlund. He studied at Lund University under Henrik Schück, focusing on the history of art and literature, and in 1898 published his first major independent work, Erik den helige: en sagohistorisk studie ("Erik the Holy: a sago-historical study"). The death of his father forced Stjerna to find employment at the newspaper Sydsvenskan to support his family, while continuing his studies at the university. He switched however to studying archaeology, in part because of the resistance he was met with for his "hypercritical" method of analysing legendary stories. In 1905, he obtained his Ph.D.

## Career

Stjerna began teaching at Uppsala University in 1906, sharing responsibilities with Oscar Almgren, and took on a full-time position as lecturer in Scandinavian and Comparative Archaeology in 1907. That same year he undertook a major archaeological excavation in Uppsala with his students, after construction in the city uncovered the remains of medieval buildings. Stjerna's students at the university included Sune Lindqvist and Birger Nerman.
Between 1903 and 1908 Stjerna published a number of articles about the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf. In 1912 they were translated into English by John Richard Clark Hall, who was also responsible for several early translations of the poem. Stjerna's articles were credited with "providing a most welcome addition to the critical apparatus of the poem", by supplementing the meagre historical record with observations gleaned from archaeological research.

## Personal life

By 1908 Stjerna's health was deteriorating, and in December he was admitted to the hospital with heart arrhythmia. He was discharged in March and resumed teaching, but died in November at the age of 35.

## Publications

Stjerna published at least 23 works, several posthumous, between 1898 and 1911. They are listed on pages 265–266 of Hall's 1912 translation of Stjerna's works.
* Stjerna, Knut (1898). "Erik den helige: en sagohistorisk studie" [Eric the holy: a saga-historical study on Saint Eric]. Lunds Universitets årsskrift [Lund University yearbook] (in Swedish). 1. Lund: Lunds universitet: 1–34.
* Stjerna, Knut (1899). "Påfvebrefvet om Sankt Eriks korståg" [The papal brief on Saint Eric's crusade]. Historisk Tidskrift [Historical journal] (in Swedish). 19. Stockholm: Svenska Historiska Föreningen: 237–239.
   * Follow-up published as Stjerna, Knut (1900). "Påfvebrefvet om Sankt Eriks korståg, II: Svar till herr C. M. Kjellberg" [The papal brief on Saint Eric's crusade, II: Reply to Mr C. M. Kjellberg]. Bilagor. Historisk Tidskrift [Historical journal] (in Swedish). 20. Stockholm: Svenska Historiska Föreningen: 1–6.
* Stjerna, Knut (1900). "Vår Folksång" [Our National Anthem]. Ord och Bild [Word and Image] (in Swedish). 9. Stockholm: Wahlström & Widstrand: 97–104.
* Stjerna, Knut (1903). "Hjälmar och svärd i Beovulf" [Helmets and Swords in Beowulf]. In Salin, Bernhard; Almgren, Oscar & Ambrosiani, Sune (eds.). Studier Tilägnade Oscar Montelius, 1903 af Lärjungar [Studies Dedicated to Oscar Montelius, 1903 by Students] (in Swedish). Stockholm: P. A. Norstedt & Söners. pp. 99–120.
   * Translated in Stjerna 1912, ch. 1
* Stjerna, Knut (1903–1905). "Till de likarmade fibulornas typologi" [on the typology of symmetrical fibulae]. Månadsblad [Monthly journal] (in Swedish). 32–34 (373–408). Kungl. Vitterhets Historie och Antikvitets Akademiens: 423–436.
* Stjerna, Knut (1903–1905). "Arkeologiska anteckningar till Beovulf" [Archaeological Notes on Beowulf]. Månadsblad [Monthly journal] (in Swedish). 32–34 (373–408). Kungl. Vitterhets Historie och Antikvitets Akademiens: 436–451.
   * Translated in Stjerna 1912, ch. 2
* Stjerna, Knut (1905). "Vendel och Vendelkråk" [Vendel and the Vendel Crow]. Arkiv för nordisk filologi [Archive for Nordic Philology] (in Swedish). 21. Lund: Axel Kock: 71–80.
   * Translated in Stjerna 1912, ch. 3
* Stjerna, Knut (1905). "Bidrag till Bornholms befolkningshistoria under järnåldern" [A Contribution to the Tribal History of Bornholm During the Iron Age]. Antiqvarisk tidskrift för Sverige [Antiquarian journal for Sweden] (in Swedish). 18 (1). Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets Historie och Antikvitets Akademien: 1–296, I–VI.
* Stjerna, Knut (1905). "Sköld's hädänfard" [Scyld's Funeral Obsequies]. Studier tillägnade Henrick Schück på hans 50-årsdag den 2 November 1905 af Vänner och Lärjungar [Studies dedicated to Henrick Schück on his 50th birthday on November 2, 1905 by Friends and Disciples] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Hugo Gebers förlag. pp. 110–134.
   * Translated in Stjerna 1912, ch. 5
* Stjerna, Knut (1905). "Svear och Götar under folkvandringstiden" [The Swedes and the Getes during the Migration Period] (PDF). Svenska fornminnesföreningens tidskrift [Journal of the Swedish Antiquities Association] (in Swedish). 12 (3): 339–360.
* Stjerna, Knut (1906). "Review of Sveriges historia intill tjugonde seklet, by Oscar Montelius" [Review of Sweden's history until the twentieth century, by Oscar Montelius]. Historisk Tidskrift [Historical journal] (in Swedish). 26. Stockholm: Svenska Historiska Föreningen: 57–61.
* Stjerna, Knut (1906). "Drakskatten i Beovulf" [The Dragon's Hoard in Beowulf] (PDF). Fornvännen (in Swedish). 1: 119–144. ISSN 0015-7813.
   * Translated in Stjerna 1912, ch. 6
* Stjerna, Knut (1909). "Lund och Birka" [Lund and Birka]. Historisk tidskrift för Skåneland [Historical journal for Skåneland] (in Swedish). 3 (4–6): 171–225.
* Stjerna, Knut (1912). Essays on Questions Connected with the Old English Poem of Beowulf. Extra Series. Vol. III. Translated by Hall, John Richard Clark. London: Viking Club: Society for Northern Research.