Skald
Encyclopedia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n and Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
ic leaders during the Viking Age
Viking Age
Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the late 8th to 11th centuries. Scandinavian Vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. The Vikings also reached Iceland, Greenland,...
, who composed and performed renditions of aspects of what we now characterise as Old Norse poetry
Old Norse poetry
Old Norse poetry encompasses a range of verse forms written in Old Norse, during the period from the 8th century to as late as the far end of the 13th century...
(the complementary aspect being the anonymous Eddaic poetry
Poetic Edda
The Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems primarily preserved in the Icelandic mediaeval manuscript Codex Regius. Along with Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, the Poetic Edda is the most important extant source on Norse mythology and Germanic heroic legends, and from the early 19th century...
).
The most prevalent metre
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...
of skaldic poetry is dróttkvætt. The subject is usually historical
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and eulogic
Eulogy
A eulogy is a speech or writing in praise of a person or thing, especially one recently deceased or retired. Eulogies may be given as part of funeral services. However, some denominations either discourage or do not permit eulogies at services to maintain respect for traditions...
, detailing the deeds of the skald's king
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
.
The technical demands of the skaldic form were equal to the complicated verse forms mastered by the Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
bard
Bard
In medieval Gaelic and British culture a bard was a professional poet, employed by a patron, such as a monarch or nobleman, to commemorate the patron's ancestors and to praise the patron's own activities.Originally a specific class of poet, contrasting with another class known as fili in Ireland...
s and Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
ollaves, and like those poets, much of the skaldic verse consisted of panegyric
Panegyric
A panegyric is a formal public speech, or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing, a generally highly studied and discriminating eulogy, not expected to be critical. It is derived from the Greek πανηγυρικός meaning "a speech fit for a general assembly"...
s to king
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
s and aristocrat
Aristocracy
Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
s, or memorials and testimonials to their battle
Battle
Generally, a battle is a conceptual component in the hierarchy of combat in warfare between two or more armed forces, or combatants. In a battle, each combatant will seek to defeat the others, with defeat determined by the conditions of a military campaign...
s. The kings and nobles, for their part, were not only intelligent and appreciative audiences for gifted skalds; some of them were poets in their own right.
Etymology
The West Germanic counterpart of the skald is the scopScop
A ' was an Old English poet, the Anglo-Saxon counterpart of the Old Norse .As far as we can tell from what has been preserved, the art of the scop was directed mostly towards epic poetry; the surviving verse in Old English consists of the epic Beowulf, religious verse in epic formats such as the...
. Not unlike the scop, which is related to Modern English scoff, the name skald is continued in English scold, reflecting the central position of mocking taunts in Germanic poetry. The word is perhaps ultimately related to Proto-Germanic *skalliz "sound, voice, shout" (OHG
Old High German
The term Old High German refers to the earliest stage of the German language and it conventionally covers the period from around 500 to 1050. Coherent written texts do not appear until the second half of the 8th century, and some treat the period before 750 as 'prehistoric' and date the start of...
skal "sound"). OHG has skalsang "song of praise, psalm". skellan means "ring, clang, resound". The OHG variant stem skeltan etymologically identical to the skald- stem (Proto-Germanic *skeldan) means "to scold, blame, accuse, insult". The person doing the insulting is a skelto or skeltāri.
This bears striking similarities to the Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
verb "schelden" which means "shouting abuse" or "calling names."
History
Skaldic poetry can be traced to the earlier 9th century with Bragi BoddasonBragi Boddason
In his Edda Snorri Sturluson quotes many stanzas attributed to Bragi Boddason the old , a court poet who served several Swedish kings, Ragnar Lodbrok, Östen Beli and Björn at Hauge who reigned in the first half of the ninth century...
and his Ragnarsdrápa
Ragnarsdrápa
Ragnarsdrápa is a skaldic poem composed in honour of the Scandinavian hero Ragnar Lodbrok. It is attributed to the oldest known skald Bragi Boddason who lived in the 9th century, and composed for the Swedish king Björn at Haugi. Bragi describes the images on a decorated shield which Ragnar had...
, the oldest surviving Norse poem besides the poem preserved epigraphically on the Eggjum stone
Eggjum stone
The Eggja stone , listed as N KJ101 in the Rundata catalog, is a grave stone with a runic inscription that was ploughed up in 1917 on the farm Eggja in Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway.-Description:...
. Þorbjörn Hornklofi
Þorbjörn hornklofi
Þorbjörn Hornklofi was a 9th century Norwegian poet. He was the court poet of King Harald Fairhair.-Bibliography:*Glymdrápa - A drápa on King Harald.*Hrafnsmál/Haraldskvæði - Another poem on King Harald using the málaháttr metre....
's Glymdrápa
Glymdrápa
Glymdrápa is a skaldic poem composed by Þorbjörn hornklofi toward the end of the 9th century. It recounts several battles waged by Haraldr hárfagri , mostly as he was subduing Norway....
of the late 9th century is the oldest surviving poem in the dróttkvætt metre, and the Karlevi Runestone
Karlevi Runestone
The Karlevi Runestone, designated as Öl 1 by Rundata, is commonly dated to the late 10th century and located near the Kalmarsund straight in Karlevi on the island of Öland, Sweden...
from the late 10th century has the oldest surviving text in the metre.
From the 10th century, the poems begin to syncretize pagan and Christian elements. In the 11th century, the professional skald is extinct in continental Scandinavia with the progressing Christianisation of Scandinavia, but survives in Iceland into the 13th century. As the profession was threatened with extinction in Iceland as well, Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was twice elected lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing...
compiled the Prose Edda
Prose Edda
The Prose Edda, also known as the Younger Edda, Snorri's Edda or simply Edda, is an Icelandic collection of four sections interspersed with excerpts from earlier skaldic and Eddic poetry containing tales from Nordic mythology...
as a manual with the aim to preserve an appreciative understanding of their art. Snorri's 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...
also preserves many poems.
Skaldic poetry
Most Nordic verse of the Viking Age came in one of two forms: eddic or skaldic. Eddic verse was usually simple, in terms of content, style and metre, dealing largely with mythological or heroic content. Skaldic verse, conversely, was complex, and usually composed as a tribute or homage to a particular Jarl or king. Performance of skaldic poetry was spoken, not sung or chanted.Unlike many other literary forms of the time, much skaldic poetry is attributable to an author (called a skald), and these attributions may be relied on with a reasonable degree of confidence. Many skalds were men of influence and power, and were thus biographically noted. The 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...
is ornate, usually dróttkvætt or a variation thereof. The syntax
Syntax
In linguistics, syntax is the study of the principles and rules for constructing phrases and sentences in natural languages....
is complex, with sentences commonly interwoven, with kennings and heiti
Heiti
A heiti is a synonym used in Old Norse poetry in place of the normal word for something...
being used frequently and gratuitously.
Skaldic poetry was written in variants and dialects of Old Norse languages. Technically, their verse was usually a form of alliterative verse
Alliterative verse
In prosody, alliterative verse is a form of verse that uses alliteration as the principal structuring device to unify lines of poetry, as opposed to other devices such as rhyme. The most commonly studied traditions of alliterative verse are those found in the oldest literature of many Germanic...
, and almost always using the dróttkvætt stanza
Stanza
In poetry, a stanza is a unit within a larger poem. In modern poetry, the term is often equivalent with strophe; in popular vocal music, a stanza is typically referred to as a "verse"...
(also known as the Court or Lordly Metre). Dróttkvætt is effectively an eight line form, where each pair of lines is an original single long line which is conventionally written as two lines.
Forms of skaldic poetry
Forms of skaldic poetry are:- Drápa, a long series of stanzas (usually dróttkvætt), with a refrainRefrainA refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...
(stef) at intervals. - Flokkr, vísur or dræplingr, a shorter series of such stanzas without refrain.
- LausavísaLausavísaIn Old Norse poetry and later Icelandic poetry, a lausavísa is a single stanza composition, or a set of stanzas unconnected by narrative or thematic continuity....
, a single stanza of dróttkvætt said to have been improvised impromptu for the occasion it marks.
Skalds also composed insult
Insult
An insult is an expression, statement which is considered degrading and offensive. Insults may be intentional or accidental...
(níðvísur) and very occasionally, erotic verse (mansöngr
Mansöngr
A Mansöngr is a form of erotic poetry in Iceland, both in medieval skaldic poetry and in modern rímur.In the Ljóðatal section of the Hávamál, charms 16 and 17 are explicitly love charms....
).
Kennings
The verses of the skalds contain a great profusion of kenningKenning
A kenning is a type of literary trope, specifically circumlocution, in the form of a compound that employs figurative language in place of a more concrete single-word noun. Kennings are strongly associated with Old Norse and later Icelandic and Anglo-Saxon poetry...
s, the fixed metaphors found in most northern European poetry of the time. Kennings are devices ready to supply a standard image to form an alliterating half-line to fit the requirements of dróttkvætt; but the substantially greater technical demands of skaldic verse required that these devices be multiplied and compounded in order to meet its demands for skill and wordplay. These images can therefore become somewhat hermetic
Hermetic
* Hermeticism, a magical and religious movement stemming from the teachings of Hermes Trismegistus* Hermeticism , a literary movement in poetry started in Italy* Hermetics, the deliberate use of esoteric imagery...
, at least to those who fail to grasp the allusion
Allusion
An allusion is a figure of speech that makes a reference to, or representation of, people, places, events, literary work, myths, or works of art, either directly or by implication. M. H...
s that lie at the root of many of them.
Skaldic poems
Most of the skaldic poetry we have are poems composed to individual kings by their court poets. They typically have historical content, relating battles and other deeds from the king's career.- GlymdrápaGlymdrápaGlymdrápa is a skaldic poem composed by Þorbjörn hornklofi toward the end of the 9th century. It recounts several battles waged by Haraldr hárfagri , mostly as he was subduing Norway....
- The deeds of Harald Fairhair - VelleklaVelleklaVellekla is a partially preserved drápa composed in the late 10th century by the Icelandic skald Einarr Helgason skálaglamm. It is one of the two drápas he made for Hákon jarl...
- The deeds of Hákon Hlaðajarl. - Bandadrápa - The deeds of Eiríkr Hlaðajarl.
- KnútsdrápaKnutsdrapaKnútsdrápur are Old Norse skaldic compositions in the form of drápur which were recited for the praise of Canute the Great...
- The deeds of Cnut (I) the GreatCanute the GreatCnut the Great , also known as Canute, was a king of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden. Though after the death of his heirs within a decade of his own and the Norman conquest of England in 1066, his legacy was largely lost to history, historian Norman F...
A few surviving skaldic poems have mythological content.
- ÞórsdrápaÞórsdrápaÞórsdrápa is a skaldic poem by Eilífr Goðrúnarson, a poet in the service of Jarl Hákon Sigurðarson. The poem is noted for its creative use of kennings and other metaphorical devices, as well as its labyrinthine complexity....
- A drápa to the god ThorThorIn Norse mythology, Thor is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and also hallowing, healing, and fertility...
telling the tale of one of his giant-bashing expeditions. - HaustlöngHaustlöngHaustlöng is a skaldic poem composed around the beginning of the 10th century. The poem is preserved in the 13th century Prose Edda, which quotes two groups of stanzas from it, and is attributed to the Norwegian skald Þjóðólfr of Hvinir. The poem describes mythological scenes painted on a shield...
- Relates two tales from the mythology as painted on a shield given to the poet. - RagnarsdrápaRagnarsdrápaRagnarsdrápa is a skaldic poem composed in honour of the Scandinavian hero Ragnar Lodbrok. It is attributed to the oldest known skald Bragi Boddason who lived in the 9th century, and composed for the Swedish king Björn at Haugi. Bragi describes the images on a decorated shield which Ragnar had...
- Relates four tales from the mythology as painted on a shield given to the poet. - HúsdrápaHúsdrápaHúsdrápa is a skaldic poem partially preserved in the Prose Edda where disjoint stanzas of it are quoted. It is attributed to the skald Úlfr Uggason. The poem describes mythological scenes carved on kitchen panels...
- Describes mythological scenes as carved on kitchen panels. - YnglingatalYnglingatalYnglingatal 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...
- describes the origin of the Norwegian kings and the history of the House of Yngling. It is preserved in the HeimskringlaHeimskringlaHeimskringla 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...
.
To this could be added two poems relating the death of a king and his reception in Valhalla
Valhalla
In Norse mythology, Valhalla is a majestic, enormous hall located in Asgard, ruled over by the god Odin. Chosen by Odin, half of those that die in combat travel to Valhalla upon death, led by valkyries, while the other half go to the goddess Freyja's field Fólkvangr...
.
- HákonarmálHákonarmálHákonarmál is a skaldic poem which the skald Eyvindr skáldaspillir composed about the fall of the Norwegian king Hákon the Good at the battle of Fitjar and his reception in Valhalla. This poem emulates Eiríksmál and is intended to depict the Christian Hákon as a friend to the pagan gods...
- The death of king Hákon the Good and his reception in Valhalla. - EiríksmálEiríksmálEiríksmál is a skaldic poem composed sometime in 954 or later on the behest of the Norwegian queen Gunnhild in honour of her slain consort Erik Bloodaxe. Only the beginning of the poem is extant....
- The death of king Eiríkr and his reception in Valhalla.
Some other were composed as circumstance pieces, such as those by Egill Skallagrímsson
Egill Skallagrímsson
Egill Skallagrímsson was a Viking Age warrior and skald. Egill is one of the great anti-heroes of the Icelandic sagas.-Life:...
- SonatorrekSonatorrekSonatorrek is a skaldic poem in 25 stanzas by Egill Skallagrímsson . The work laments the death of two of the poet's sons, Gunnar, who died of a fever, and Böðvarr, who drowned during a storm. It is preserved in Egils saga Skalla-Grímssonar, ch. 78, which is included in the 14th-century...
- A lament on the death of EgillEgill SkallagrímssonEgill Skallagrímsson was a Viking Age warrior and skald. Egill is one of the great anti-heroes of the Icelandic sagas.-Life:...
's sons - HöfuðlausnHöfuðlausnHöfuðlausn or the "Head's Ransom" is a skaldic poem attributed to Egill Skalla-Grímsson in praise of king Eirik Bloodaxe.It is cited in Egils Saga , which claims that he created it in the span of one night. The events in the saga that lead up to the composition and recitation of the poem can be...
- a praise for King Eiríkr Bloodaxe, that saved its author's head - ArinbjarnarkviðaArinbjarnarkviðaArinbjarnarkviða is a skaldic poem by Egill Skalla-Grímsson in praise of his friend Arinbjörn. The poem is preserved in manuscripts of Egils saga. Some lines are lost while others may be corrupted. The metre is kviðuháttr.-References:...
- In praise of the poet's friend Arinbjörn
Notable skalds
More than 300 skalds are known from the period between AD 800 and 1200. Many are listed in the SkáldatalSkáldatal
Skáldatal is a short prose work in Old Norse. It is preserved in two manuscripts: DG 11, or Codex Uppsaliensis, which is one of the four main manuscripts of the Prose Edda , and AM 761 a 4to , which also contains Skaldic poems...
, not all of whom are known from extant material. Notable names include:
- Bragi BoddasonBragi BoddasonIn his Edda Snorri Sturluson quotes many stanzas attributed to Bragi Boddason the old , a court poet who served several Swedish kings, Ragnar Lodbrok, Östen Beli and Björn at Hauge who reigned in the first half of the ninth century...
"the Old" (early 9th century), author of RagnarsdrápaRagnarsdrápaRagnarsdrápa is a skaldic poem composed in honour of the Scandinavian hero Ragnar Lodbrok. It is attributed to the oldest known skald Bragi Boddason who lived in the 9th century, and composed for the Swedish king Björn at Haugi. Bragi describes the images on a decorated shield which Ragnar had... - Þorbjörn hornklofiÞorbjörn hornklofiÞorbjörn Hornklofi was a 9th century Norwegian poet. He was the court poet of King Harald Fairhair.-Bibliography:*Glymdrápa - A drápa on King Harald.*Hrafnsmál/Haraldskvæði - Another poem on King Harald using the málaháttr metre....
(9th century) - Þjóðólfr of HvinirÞjóðólfr of HvinirÞjóðólfr of Hvinir was a Norwegian skald, active around the year 900. He is considered to have been the original author of Ynglingatal, a poem glorifying the Norwegian petty king Ragnvald the Mountain-High, by describing how he was descended from the Swedish kings and the Norse gods.He is also...
(fl. c. 900), author of HaustlöngHaustlöngHaustlöng is a skaldic poem composed around the beginning of the 10th century. The poem is preserved in the 13th century Prose Edda, which quotes two groups of stanzas from it, and is attributed to the Norwegian skald Þjóðólfr of Hvinir. The poem describes mythological scenes painted on a shield...
and YnglingatalYnglingatalYnglingatal 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... - Eyvindr Finnsson (10th century), known also as Eyvindr skáldaspillir, or Eyvindr the Plagiarist, the author of HákonarmálHákonarmálHákonarmál is a skaldic poem which the skald Eyvindr skáldaspillir composed about the fall of the Norwegian king Hákon the Good at the battle of Fitjar and his reception in Valhalla. This poem emulates Eiríksmál and is intended to depict the Christian Hákon as a friend to the pagan gods...
and HáleygjatalHáleygjatalHáleygjatal is a skaldic poem by Eyvindr skáldaspillir made in honour of Haakon Sigurdsson and his ancestors, in the end of the 10th century.The poem is only partially preserved in disjoint parts quoted in Skáldskaparmál, Heimskringla and two other manuscripts of kings' sagas. It appears to be a... - Egill SkallagrímssonEgill SkallagrímssonEgill Skallagrímsson was a Viking Age warrior and skald. Egill is one of the great anti-heroes of the Icelandic sagas.-Life:...
(10th century), author of SonatorrekSonatorrekSonatorrek is a skaldic poem in 25 stanzas by Egill Skallagrímsson . The work laments the death of two of the poet's sons, Gunnar, who died of a fever, and Böðvarr, who drowned during a storm. It is preserved in Egils saga Skalla-Grímssonar, ch. 78, which is included in the 14th-century...
, HöfuðlausnHöfuðlausnHöfuðlausn or the "Head's Ransom" is a skaldic poem attributed to Egill Skalla-Grímsson in praise of king Eirik Bloodaxe.It is cited in Egils Saga , which claims that he created it in the span of one night. The events in the saga that lead up to the composition and recitation of the poem can be...
and ArinbjarnarkviðaArinbjarnarkviðaArinbjarnarkviða is a skaldic poem by Egill Skalla-Grímsson in praise of his friend Arinbjörn. The poem is preserved in manuscripts of Egils saga. Some lines are lost while others may be corrupted. The metre is kviðuháttr.-References:... - Kormákr ÖgmundarsonKormákr ÖgmundarsonKormákr Ögmundarson was a 10th century Icelandic skald. He is the protagonist of Kormáks saga which preserves a significant amount of poetry attributed to him. According to Skáldatal he was also the court poet of Sigurðr Hlaðajarl and fragments of a drápa to the jarl are preserved in...
(mid-10th century), the main character of Kormáks sagaKormáks sagaKormáks saga is one of the Icelanders' sagas. It tells of the tenth-century Icelandic poet, Kormákr Ögmundarson, and Steingerðr, the love of his life. The saga preserves a significant amount of poetry attributed to Kormákr, much of it dealing with his love for Steingerðr. Though the saga is... - Eilífr GoðrúnarsonEilífr GoðrúnarsonEilífr Goðrúnarson was a late 10th century skald, considered to be the author of the poem Þórsdrápa. He is also credited with Hákonar drápa jarls and a fragment remains of a poem with Christian allusions which is also believed to be his work...
(late 10th century), author of ÞórsdrápaÞórsdrápaÞórsdrápa is a skaldic poem by Eilífr Goðrúnarson, a poet in the service of Jarl Hákon Sigurðarson. The poem is noted for its creative use of kennings and other metaphorical devices, as well as its labyrinthine complexity.... - Þórvaldr HjaltasonÞórvaldr HjaltasonÞórvaldr Hjaltason was an Icelandic skald in the service of the Swedish king Eric the Victorious. He took part in the Battle of the Fýrisvellir against Styrbjörn the Strong and composed the following two lausavísur:...
(later 10th century), a skald of king Eric the Victorious - Hallfreðr Óttarsson (late 10th century, court poet of King Óláfr Tryggvason
- Einarr HelgasonEinarr HelgasonEinarr Helgason or Einarr skálaglamm was a 10th century Icelandic skald.He was a court-poet of Lord Hákon to whom he dedicated his magnum opus, the Vellekla...
"Skálaglamm" (late 10th century), "of the gleaming coins" - author of VelleklaVelleklaVellekla is a partially preserved drápa composed in the late 10th century by the Icelandic skald Einarr Helgason skálaglamm. It is one of the two drápas he made for Hákon jarl... - Úlfr UggasonÚlfr UggasonÚlfr Uggason was an Icelandic skald who lived in the last part of the tenth century.The Laxdæla saga tells how he composed his Húsdrápa for a wedding...
(late 10th century), author of the HúsdrápaHúsdrápaHúsdrápa is a skaldic poem partially preserved in the Prose Edda where disjoint stanzas of it are quoted. It is attributed to the skald Úlfr Uggason. The poem describes mythological scenes carved on kitchen panels... - Tindr HallkelssonTindr HallkelssonTindr Hallkelsson was an Icelandic skald active around the year 1000. He was the court poet of earl Hákon Sigurðarson and fragments of his drápa on the earl are preserved in Jómsvíkinga saga, the kings' sagas and the Prose Edda...
(fl. c. 1000), one of Hákon Sigurðarson's court poets - Gunnlaugr Illugason (10/11th century), nicknamed Ormstunga "Worm-tongue" on account of his propensity for satire and invective
- Sigvatr ÞórðarsonSigvatr ÞórðarsonSigvatr Þórðarson or Sigvat the Skald was an Icelandic skald. He was a court poet to King Olaf II of Norway, as well as Canute the Great, Magnus the Good and Anund Jacob, by whose reigns his floruit can be dated to the earlier eleventh century.Sigvatr was the best known of the court skalds of...
(earlier 11th century) - Þórarinn loftungaÞórarinn loftungaÞórarinn loftunga was an Icelandic skald active during the first half of the 11th century.He composed Tøgdrápa on King Canute. Like Sigvatr Þórðarson's poem in praise of the same king, Knútsdrápa, the Tøgdrápa is composed in the metrical form tøglag — perhaps invented at King Canute's court...
(earlier 11th century) - Óttarr svartiÓttarr svartiÓttarr svarti was an 11th century Icelandic skald. He was the court poet first of Óláfr skautkonungr of Sweden, then of Óláfr Haraldsson of Norway, the Swedish king Anund Jacob and finally of Cnut the Great of Denmark and England...
(earlier 11th century), a skald at the court of king Olof Skötkonung and Olaf the StoutOlaf II of NorwayOlaf II Haraldsson was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. He was posthumously given the title Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae and canonised in Nidaros by Bishop Grimkell, one year after his death in the Battle of Stiklestad on 29 July 1030. Enshrined in Nidaros Cathedral... - King Haraldr Harðráði (mid-11th century)
- Arnórr Þórðarson (mid-11th century), Jarlaskald "the Earls' Skald"
- Einarr SkúlasonEinarr SkúlasonEinarr Skúlason was an Icelandic priest and skald. He was the most prominent Norse poet of the 12th century.He was descended from the family of Egill Skallagrímsson, the so called Mýramenn. For most of his life he lived in Norway, with the kings Sigurðr Jórsalafari, Haraldr gilli and the sons of...
(12th century)), author of Geisli - Snorri SturlusonSnorri SturlusonSnorri Sturluson was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was twice elected lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing...
(12/13th century) - Þórir Jökull SteinfinnssonÞórir Jökull SteinfinnssonÞórir jökull Steinfinnsson was an Icelandic 13th century warrior and possibly a skald.-Life:Þórir was captured following the Battle of Örlygsstaðir, fought on August 21, 1238. He was executed along with five others, whose names are recorded in the Íslendinga saga, included in the Sturlunga saga. ...
(13th century)
See also
- Old Norse poetryOld Norse poetryOld Norse poetry encompasses a range of verse forms written in Old Norse, during the period from the 8th century to as late as the far end of the 13th century...
- Alliterative verseAlliterative verseIn prosody, alliterative verse is a form of verse that uses alliteration as the principal structuring device to unify lines of poetry, as opposed to other devices such as rhyme. The most commonly studied traditions of alliterative verse are those found in the oldest literature of many Germanic...
- ScopScopA ' was an Old English poet, the Anglo-Saxon counterpart of the Old Norse .As far as we can tell from what has been preserved, the art of the scop was directed mostly towards epic poetry; the surviving verse in Old English consists of the epic Beowulf, religious verse in epic formats such as the...
- The griotGriotA griot or jeli is a West African storyteller. The griot delivers history as a poet, praise singer, and wandering musician. The griot is a repository of oral tradition. As such, they are sometimes also called bards...
s perform similar functions in West African societies.
External links
- Dróttkvæði, skjaldkvæði og rímur from heimskringla.no.
- Finnur JónssonFinnur JónssonFinnur Jónsson was an Icelandic philologist who made extensive contributions to the study of Old Norse literature.Finnur graduated from Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík in 1878 and went to Denmark for further studies at the University of Copenhagen. He received a doctorate in philology in 1884 with a...
, ed. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning, from heimskringla.no. - Finnur Jónsson, ed. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. 4 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen og Christensen, 1912-15. Photographic reprint Copenhagen: Rosenkilde og Bagger, 1967. Still the definitive edition.
- Skaldic Project homepage: Skaldic poetry currently under edition (Clunies RossMargaret Clunies RossMargaret Clunies Ross is the McCaughey Professor of English Language and Early English Literature and Director of the Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of Sydney. Her main research areas are Old Norse-Icelandic Studies and the history of their study. Since 1997 she has led the project...
et al.). - Index of Old Norse/Icelandic Skaldic Poetry at the Jörmungrund database
- Sveinbjörn Egilsson and Finnur Jónsson, eds. Lexicon poeticum antiquæ linguæ septentriolanis: ordbog over det norsk-islandske skjaldesprog. 2nd ed. Copenhagen: Det kongelige nordiske oldskriftselskab, 1913-16 Also in partial form at the Jörmungrund database