Háleygjatal is a skaldic poem by Eyvindr skáldaspillir

Eyvindr Skáldaspillir

Eyvindr Finnsson skáldaspillir was a 10th century Norwegian skald. He was the court poet of king Hákon the Good and earl Hákon of Hlaðir. His son Hárekr later became a prominent chieftain in Norway.His preserved works are:...

 made in honour of Haakon Sigurdsson

Haakon Sigurdsson

Haakon Sigurdarsson was the de facto ruler of Norway from about 975 to 995.-Background:Haakon was the son of Sigurd Haakonsson, Jarl of Lade and ruler of Trøndelag and Hålogaland. His mother was Bergljot Toresdatter, daughter of Tore Ragnvaldsson, Earl of Møre...

 and his ancestors, in the end of the 10th century.

The poem is only partially preserved in disjoint parts quoted in Skáldskaparmál

Skáldskaparmál

The second part of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda the Skáldskaparmál or "language of poetry" is effectively a dialogue between the Norse god of the sea, Ægir and Bragi, the god of poetry, in which both Norse mythology and discourse on the nature of poetry are intertwined...

, Heimskringla

Heimskringla

Heimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson ca. 1230...

and two other manuscripts of kings' sagas

Kings' sagas

The kings' sagas are Norse sagas which tell of the lives of Scandinavian kings. They were composed in the 12th to 14th centuries in Iceland and Norway....

. It appears to be a lesser imitation of Ynglingatal

Ynglingatal

Ynglingatal is a skaldic poem listing the kings of the House of Ynglings, dated by most scholars to the late 9th century.The original version is attributed to Þjóðólfr af Hvini who was the skald of a Norwegian petty king named Ragnvald the Mountain-High and who was a cousin of Harald Fairhair...

. Just like Ynglingatal it contains 27 generations (3 x 3 x 3), and some expressions appear to be borrowed from Ynglingatal. Moreover, it is composed in the same meter

Meter (poetry)

In poetry, metre is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse or lines in verse. Many traditional verse forms prescribe a specific verse metre, or a certain set of metres alternating in a particular order. The study of metres and forms of versification is known as prosody...

, kviðuháttr, and the theme seems to be to trace the lineage of the poet's patron to the gods.

A part of the poem quoted in Ynglinga saga

Ynglinga saga

Ynglinga saga is a legendary saga, originally written in Old Norse by the Icelandic poet Snorri Sturluson about 1225. It was first translated into English and published in 1844....

mentions Odin

Odin

Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....

 and Skaði

Skaði

In Norse mythology, Skaði is a jötunn and goddess associated with bowhunting, skiing, winter, and mountains...

.

Þann, skaldblœtr! skattfœri gat ása niðr vit járnviðju, þá er þau meir í Manheimum skatna vinr ok Skaði bygðu; sævar beins ok sonu marga öndurdís við Óðni gat. — Schultz's edition

To Asa's son Queen Skade bore Saeming, who dyed his shield in gore, -- The giant-queen of rock and snow, Who loves to dwell on earth below, The iron pine-tree's daughter, she Sprung from the rocks that rib the sea, To Odin bore full many a son, Heroes of many a battle won. — Laing's adaptation