Information AboutSkald |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT SKALD | |
| skaldic poetry | |
| icelandic literature | |
| old norse literature | |
| medieval literature | |
| nordic folklore | |
| norse mythology | |
| viking age | |
| viking age poets | |
|
composing poetry while in chains after being captured by King Óláfr Haraldsson .]] The skald was a member of a group of n and Iceland ic leaders during the Viking Age , who composed and performed renditions of aspects of what we now characterise as Old Norse Poetry (the complementary aspect being the anonymous Eddaic Poetry ). The most prevalent Metre of skaldic poetry is Dróttkvætt . The subject is usually Historical and Eulogic , detailing the deeds of the skald's King . The technical demands of the skaldic form were equal to the complicated verse forms mastered by the Welsh Bard s and Irish Ollave s, and like those poets, much of the skaldic verse consisted of Panegyric s to King s and Aristocrat s, or memorials and testimonials to their Battle 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
HISTORY We can trace skaldic poetry to the earlier 9th century with Bragi Boddason and his '' Ragnarsdrápa '', the oldest surviving Norse poem besides the poem preserved epigraphically on the Eggjum Stone . Þorbjörn Hornklofi 's '' Glymdrápa '' of the late 9th century is the oldest surviving poem in the ''dróttkvætt'' metre, and the Karlevi Runestone 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 compiled the '' Prose Edda '' as a manual with the aim to preserve an appreciative understanding of their art. Snorri's '' Heimskringla '' 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, 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 is ornate, usually Dróttkvætt or a variation thereof. The Syntax is complex, with sentences commonly interwoven, with Kennings and Heiti are used frequently and gratuitously. Forms of skaldic poetry One prominent sort of incidental verse found in the sagas is the '' Drápa '' usually containing a Refrain . Lighter skaldic verse was called ''flokkr''. Other incidental skaldic verse found in the sagas and histories includes the ''lausavísur'', which is a single stanza of ''dróttkvætt'' said to have been improvised impromptu for the occasion it marks. Skalds also composed Satire ('' Níðvísur '') and very occasionally, erotic verse ('' Mansöngr ''). Metre The skalds wrote their verses in variants and dialects of Old Norse Language s. Technically, their verse was usually a form of Alliterative Verse , and almost always using the '' Dróttkvætt '' Stanza (also known as the ''Court'' or ''Lordly Metre''). Dróttkvætt is effectively an eight line form, with a split in the middle of each line. Kennings The verses of the skalds contain a great profusion of '' Kenning 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 , at least to those who fail to grasp the Allusion s that lie at the root of many of them. Known 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 carrier. Examples:
A few surviving skaldic poems have mythological content.
To this could be added two poems relating the death of a king and his reception in Valhalla .
And some other were composed as circumstance pieces, such as those by Egill Skallagrímsson
NOTABLE SKALDS More than 300 skalds are known from the period between AD 800 and 1200. Notable names include:
SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|