The
skald was a member of a group of
poetA poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
s, whose courtly poetry (Icelandic:
dróttkvæði) is associated with the courts of
ScandinaviaScandinavia is a geographical region in northern Europe that includes, and is named after, the Scanian Province. It consists of the kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark...
n and
IcelandThe Republic of Iceland is a European island country located in the North Atlantic Ocean. It has a population of about 320,000 and a total area of 103,000 km². Its capital and largest city is Reykjavík, whose surrounding area is home to approximately two thirds of the national population...
ic leaders during the
Viking ageViking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the eighth to eleventh 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 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...
(the complementary aspect being the anonymous
Eddaic poetryThe 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.Codex Regius was written in the...
).
The most prevalent
metreIn poetry, the meter is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse. Many traditional verse forms prescribe a specific verse meter, or a certain set of meters alternating in a particular order. Prosody is a more general linguistic term, that includes poetical meter but also the rhythmic aspects of...
of skaldic poetry is dróttkvætt. The subject is usually
historicalHistory is the study of the human past, with special attention to the written record. Scholars who write about history are called historians. It is a field of research which uses a narrative to examine and analyse the sequence of events, and it often attempts to investigate objectively the patterns...
and
eulogicA 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
kingA monarch is the person who heads a monarchy, a form of government in which the country or entity usually ruled or controlled by an individual who usually rules for life or until abdication...
.
The technical demands of the skaldic form were equal to the complicated verse forms mastered by the
WelshWelsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic spoken natively in Wales, in England by some along the Welsh border and in the Welsh immigrant colony in the Chubut Valley in Argentine Patagonia....
bardIn medieval Gaelic and British culture a bard was a professional poet, paid by a monarch to praise the sovereign's activities....
s and
IrishIrish is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now only spoken natively by a small minority of the Irish population but also plays an important symbolic role in the life of the Irish state, and is used...
ollaves, and like those poets, much of the skaldic verse consisted of
panegyricA 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
kingA monarch is the person who heads a monarchy, a form of government in which the country or entity usually ruled or controlled by an individual who usually rules for life or until abdication...
s and
aristocratAristocracy is a form of government, in which a few of the most prominent citizens rule. This may be a hereditary elite, or it may be by a system of cooption where a council of prominent citizens add leading soldiers, merchants, land owners, priests, and lawyers to their number...
s, or memorials and testimonials to their
battleGenerally, a battle is a conceptual component in the hierarchy of combat in warfare between two or more armed forces, wherein each group will seek to defeat the others within the scope of a military campaign, and are well defined in duration, area and force commitment.Wars and military campaigns...
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
scopA 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" (
OHGThe 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
DutchDutch is a West Germanic language spoken by over 22 million people as a native language, and over 5 million people as a second language.
"1% of the EU population claims to speak Dutch well enough in order to have a conversation." Outside the European Union the number of second language...
verb "schelden" which means "shouting abuse" or "calling names."
History
We can trace skaldic poetry to the earlier 9th century with
Bragi 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...
and his
RagnarsdrápaRagnarsdrápa 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 stoneThe Eggja stone is a grave stone that was ploughed up in 1917 on the farm Eggja in Sogn og Fjordane in Norway....
.
Þorbjörn 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....
's
GlymdrápaGlymdrápa 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 RunestoneThe Karlevi Runestone or Öl 1 is commonly dated to the late 10th century, located near the Kalmarsund straight in Karlevi on the island of Öland, Sweden. It is one of the most notable and prominent runestones. The inscription is partly in prose, partly in verse...
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 SturlusonSnorri Sturluson was an Icelandic historian, poet and politician. He was twice elected lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing...
compiled the
Prose EddaThe Prose Edda, also known as the Younger Edda, Snorri's Edda or simply Edda, is an Old Norse language Icelandic collection of four sections interspersed with excerpts from earlier skaldic and Eddic poetry containing tales from Norse mythology...
as a manual with the aim to preserve an appreciative understanding of their art. Snorri's
HeimskringlaHeimskringla 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 time 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
skaldThe 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...
), 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
meterIn poetry, the meter is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse. Many traditional verse forms prescribe a specific verse meter, or a certain set of meters alternating in a particular order. Prosody is a more general linguistic term, that includes poetical meter but also the rhythmic aspects of...
is ornate, usually dróttkvætt or a variation thereof. The
syntaxIn linguistics, syntax is the study of the principles and rules for constructing sentences in natural languages...
is complex, with sentences commonly interwoven, with kennings and
heitiA heiti is a synonym used in Old Norse poetry in place of the normal word for something...
are 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 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...
, and almost always using the
dróttkvætt stanzaIn 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 refrain
A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...
(stef) at intervals.
- Flokkr or dræplingr, a shorter series of such stanzas without refrain.
- Lausavísur, a single stanza of dróttkvætt said to have been improvised impromptu for the occasion it marks.
Skalds also composed
satireSatire is often strictly defined as a literary genre or form; although in practice it is also found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, human or individual vices, follies, abuses, or shortcomings are held up to censure by means of ridicule, derision, burlesque, irony, or other methods,...
(
níðvísur) and very occasionally, erotic verse (
mansöngrMansöngr were erotic verses written by skalds in Scandinavia, around the time of the Vikings.The writing of mansöngr were prohibited in a number of Norse jurisdictions, often on pain of death. This was not so much from the point of view of prudery, but from fear of magical ensnarement. As an...
).
Kennings
The verses of the skalds contain a great profusion of
kenningA kenning is a circumlocution used instead of an ordinary noun in Old Norse and later Icelandic 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* Hermeticism, a magical and religious movement stemming from the teachings of Hermes Trismegistus* Hermetics, the deliberate use of esoteric imagery...
, at least to those who fail to grasp the
allusionAn allusion is a figure of speech that makes a reference to, or representation of, a place, event, literary work, myth, or work of art, either directly or by implication. M.H. Abrams defined allusion as "a brief reference, explicit or indirect, to a person, place or event, or to another literary...
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.
- 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....
- The deeds of Harald Fairhair
- Vellekla
Vellekla 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.
- Knútsdrápa
Knútsdrápur 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 GreatCnut the Great , also known as Canute or Knut or Cnut Sweynsson, was a Viking king of England and Denmark, Norway, and parts of Sweden...
A few surviving skaldic poems have mythological content.
- Þórsdrápa
Þórsdrápa 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 ThorThor is the red-haired and bearded god of thunder in Germanic mythology and Germanic paganism, and its subsets: Norse paganism, Anglo-Saxon paganism and Continental Germanic paganism....
telling the tale of one of his giant-bashing expeditions.
- Haustlöng
Haustlöng 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.
- 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...
- Relates four tales from the mythology as painted on a shield given to the poet.
- Húsdrápa
Húsdrápa 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.
- 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...
- describes the origin of the Norwegian kings and the history of the House of Yngling. It is preserved in the HeimskringlaHeimskringla 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
ValhallaIn 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...
.
- Hákonarmál
Hákonarmál 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.
- Eiríksmál
Eiríksmál 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 SkallagrímssonEgill Skallagrímsson was an Icelandic skald and the great anti-hero of Icelandic literature.Several accounts tell of him slaughtering as many as 20 or more armed men single-handedly and even dispatching a feared berserker with relative ease...
- Sonatorrek
Sonatorrek 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 Skallagrímsson was an Icelandic skald and the great anti-hero of Icelandic literature.Several accounts tell of him slaughtering as many as 20 or more armed men single-handedly and even dispatching a feared berserker with relative ease...
's sons
- Höfuðlausn
Höfuðlausn or the "Head's Ransom" is a skaldic poem by 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...
- a praise for King Eiríkr Bloodaxe, that saved its author's head
- Arinbjarnarkviða
Arinbjarnarkviða 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 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 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...
"the Old" (early 9th century), author of RagnarsdrápaRagnarsdrápa 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 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....
(9th century)
- Þjóðólfr of Hvinir
Þjóðólfr 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 HaustlöngHaustlöng 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 YnglingatalYnglingatal 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 Hákonarmál
Hákonarmál 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 HáleygjatalHáleygjatal 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 Skallagrímsson
Egill Skallagrímsson was an Icelandic skald and the great anti-hero of Icelandic literature.Several accounts tell of him slaughtering as many as 20 or more armed men single-handedly and even dispatching a feared berserker with relative ease...
(10th century), author of SonatorrekSonatorrek 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...
, HöfuðlausnHöfuðlausn or the "Head's Ransom" is a skaldic poem by 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...
and ArinbjarnarkviðaArinbjarnarkviða 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 Ögmundarson
Kormákr 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 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 Goðrúnarson
Eilífr 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 ÞórsdrápaÞórsdrápa 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 Hjaltason
Þórvaldr 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 Helgason
Einarr 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 VelleklaVellekla 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 Uggason
Úlfr 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 HúsdrápaHúsdrápa 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 Hallkelsson
Tindr 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 Þórðarson
Sigvatr Þórðarson or Sigvat the Skald was a court poet to the kings Olaf II of Norway, Canute the Great, Magnus the Good and Anund Jacob, by whose reigns his floruit can be dated to the earlier eleventh century.-Poems:...
(earlier 11th century)
- Þórarinn loftunga
Þórarinn 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 svarti
Óttarr 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 Canute the Great of Denmark and England...
(earlier 11th century), a skald at the court of king Olof Skötkonung and Olaf the StoutOlaf Haraldsson was king of Norway from 1015 to 1028, . His mother was Åsta Gudbrandsdatter, and his father was Harald Grenske, great-grandchild of Harald Fairhair...
- King Haraldr Harðráði
Harald Sigurdsson , later given the epithet Hardrada was the king of Norway from 1047 until 1066. He also claimed to be the King of Denmark until 1064, often defeating King Sweyn's army and forcing him to leave the country...
(mid-11th century)
- Arnórr Þórðarson (mid-11th century), Jarlaskald "the Earls' Skald"
- Einarr Skúlason
Einarr 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 Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson was an Icelandic historian, poet and politician. He was twice elected lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing...
(12/13th century)
- Þórir Jökull Steinfinnsson
Þórir 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 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...
- 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...
- Scop
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...
- The griot
A griot or jeli is a West African poet, praise singer, and wandering musician, considered a repository of oral tradition. As such, they are sometimes also called bards...
s perform similar functions in West African societies.
External links