Darraðarljóð is a skald

Skald

The skald was a member of a group of poets, whose courtly poetry is associated with the courts of Scandinavian and Icelandic leaders during the Viking Age, who composed and performed renditions of aspects of what we now characterise as Old Norse poetry .The most prevalent metre of skaldic poetry is...

ic poem in Old Norse

Old Norse

Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....

 found in chapter 156 of Njáls saga. The song consists of 11 stanzas, and within it twelve valkyries weave and choose who is to be slain at the Battle of Clontarf

Battle of Clontarf

The Battle of Clontarf took place on 23 April 1014 between the forces of Brian Boru and the forces led by the King of Leinster, Máel Mórda mac Murchada: composed mainly of his own men, Viking mercenaries from Dublin and the Orkney Islands led by his cousin Sigtrygg, as well as the one rebellious...

 (fought outside Dublin in 1014 CE

Common Era

Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...

). Of the twelve valkyries weaving, six of their names are given: Hildr

Hildr

In Norse mythology, Hildr is a valkyrie. Hildr is attested in the Prose Edda as Högni's daughter and Hedin's wife in the legend of Hedin and Högni...

, Hjörþrimul, Sanngriðr, Svipul

Svipul

In Norse mythology, Svipul is a valkyrie. Svipul is attested among valkyrie list in the poem Darraðarljóð and the longer of the two Nafnaþulur valkyrie lists in the Poetic Edda book Skáldskaparmál. In addition, the name Svipul appears as a synonym for "battle" in Skáldskaparmál...

, Guðr, and Göndul

Göndul

In Norse mythology, Göndul is a valkyrie. Göndul is attested in Heimskringla, Sörla þáttr, and a 14th century Norwegian charm...

. Stanza 9 of the song reads:

Now awful it is to be without,

as blood-red rack races overhead;

is the welkin gory with warriors' blood

as we valkyries war-songs chanted.

At the end of the poem, the valkyries sing "start we swiftly with steeds unsaddled—hence to battle with brandished swords!" The poem may have influenced the concept of the Three Witches

Three Witches

The Three Witches or Weird Sisters are characters in William Shakespeare's play Macbeth . Their origin lies in Holinshed's Chronicles , a history of England, Scotland and Ireland...

 in Shakespeare's Macbeth

Macbeth

The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...

.

Darrað or Dorrud's vision is located in Caithness

Caithness

Caithness is a registration county, lieutenancy area and historic local government area of Scotland. The name was used also for the earldom of Caithness and the Caithness constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . Boundaries are not identical in all contexts, but the Caithness area is...

and the story is a "powerful mixture of Celtic and Old Norse imagery".

External links

• Darraðarljóð in Old Norse from «Kulturformidlingen norrøne tekster og kvad» Norway.
• Two versions of the original text
• Translation of chapters 155 and 156 of Njal's saga
• One version and a translation in English