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40-428: The poem consists of 55 stanzas in total, which are composed in a ljóðaháttr meter. Stanzas 1-4 are a conversation between Odin and Frigg, which set up the plotline and stanza 5 sends him off on his journey. Stanzas 6-55 are solely between Gagnráð (Odin) and Vafþrúðnir. The lay commences with Odin asking advice and directions of Frigg as to whether it would be wise to seek out the hall of Vafþrúðnir to compete with

80-621: A few of the poems found in it also survive in independent recensions in the AM 748 I 4to manuscript. Many verses from these Eddic poems are also quoted as evidence in the Prose Edda . Some poems not found in the early Eddic manuscripts are still considered to be "Eddic" due to their style. Examples include the " Lay of Ríg " from the Codex Wormianus ; the " Lay of Hyndla " from the Flatey-jarbók ; and,

120-478: A lesser performance (in fornyrðislag ); Harald judged that verse bad and then offered this one in the more demanding form. While the exchange may be fictionalized, the scene illustrates the regard in which the form was held. Most dróttkvætt poems that survive appear in one or another of the Norse sagas ; several of the sagas are biographies of skaldic poets. Hrynhenda or hrynjandi háttr ('the flowing verse-form')

160-443: A master of dissimulation, attempts to pass himself off as Gagnráðr (trans. "victory"), and beseeches the traditional hospitality which should be afforded to wayfarers. Vafþrúðnir, wrong-footed, invites him in and to seat himself. A game of riddling then ensues between the pair. During the course of stanza 19, Vafþrúðnir was unwise enough to wager his head in the case of defeat: victory for Odin will result in his death. In stanza 55, at

200-532: A range of verse forms written in the Old Norse language, during the period from the 8th century to as late as the far end of the 13th century. Old Norse poetry is associated with the area now referred to as Scandinavia . Much Old Norse poetry was originally preserved in oral culture, but the Old Norse language ceased to be spoken and later writing tended to be confined to history rather than for new poetic creation, which

240-402: A stressed word at line-end, such as in some docked forms). In addition, specific requirements obtained for odd-numbered and even-numbered lines. In the odd-numbered lines (equivalent to the a-verse of the traditional alliterative line): In the even lines (equivalent to the b-verse of the traditional alliterative line): The requirements of the verse form were so demanding that occasionally

280-570: A wide range of other possibilities. Many of the Eddic lays can be characterized as focused on ethical topics. Eddic poetry is to indebted narratives describing heroes, which was part of a long oral tradition, as well as textual. The skaldic forms were so called because of the existence of a socially-defined group of which the individual members were generally known by the term skald , or scold , or by similarly linguistically related terms, in Old Norse and particularly closely related languages. Basically,

320-449: Is a later development of dróttkvætt with eight syllables per line instead of six, with the similar rules of rhyme and alliteration, although each hrynhent -variant shows particular subtleties. It is first attested around 985 in the so-called Hafgerðingadrápa of which four lines survive (alliterants and rhymes bolded): The author was said to be a Christian from the Hebrides , who composed

360-435: Is almost like a "combination" of the previous — alliteration always on the first metrical-position, and the rhymes in the odd-lines juxtaposed (all features in bold in this example): There is one more form which is a bit different though seemed to be counted among the previous group by Snorri, called draughent . The syllable-count changes to seven (and, whether relevant to us or not, the second-syllable seems to be counted as

400-497: Is an Icelandic codex in which many Old Norse poems from the Poetic Edda are preserved. Thought to have been written during the 1270s , it is made up of 45 vellum leaves. The work originally contained a further eight leaves , which are now missing . It is the sole source for most of the poems it contains. In scholarly texts, this manuscript is commonly abbreviated as [R] for Codex Regius, or as [K] for Konungsbók. The codex

440-425: Is characterized by relative simplicity in terms of style and meter and, "like the later folk songs and ballads, they are anonymous and objective, never betraying the feelings or attitudes of their authors." In contrast, the skaldic poetry tends to concern itself with contemporary events and personalities, although also sometimes dealing with or alluding to myth and legend; skaldic poetry avoids direct narration; and, it

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480-531: Is conventionally, and somewhat arbitrarily, split into two types: Eddaic poetry (also known as Eddic poetry) and Skaldic poetry . Eddaic poetry refers to poems on themes of mythology or ancient heroes, composed in simpler meters (see below) and with anonymous authors. Most of the Eddaic poems are preserved in the Codex Regius manuscript, but a few others survive in manuscripts like the fragmentary AM 748 I 4to . On

520-863: Is normal for an extinct language . Modern knowledge of Old Norse poetry is preserved by what was written down. Most of the Old Norse poetry that survives was composed or committed to writing in Iceland , after refined techniques for writing (such as the use of vellum, parchment paper, pens, and ink) were introduced—seemingly contemporaneously with the introduction of Christianity: thus, the general topic area of Old Norse poetry may be referred to as Old Icelandic poetry in literature. There are also around 122 verses preserved in Swedish rune inscriptions , 54 in Norwegian and 12 in Danish. (See Eggjum stone .) Poetry played an important role in

560-500: Is often known who the authors of the skaldic verses are along with their dates, unlike the Eddic poetry. Old Norse poetry has many metrical forms ( Old Norse : hættir ). They range from the ancient and relatively simple fornyrðislag ('air of ancient utterings'), closely related to the Old English meter , to the innovative and complex dróttkvætt ( Old Norse : dróttkvæðr háttr 'court-spoken meter'). In Eddic, or Eddaic, poetry,

600-421: Is one night, long is the next; how can I bear three? A month has often seemed less to me than this half night of longing. Because of its structure, which comprises clearly defined rhythmic stanzas , ljóðaháttr lends itself to dialogue and discourse. There were a number of variant stanza forms based on ljóðaháttr , including galdralag ("incantation meter"), which adds a fifth short (three-lift) line at

640-460: The " Lay of Svipdag ", which is only found in later, paper manuscripts (rather than vellum). Together, all of these poems are grouped under the somewhat fluid term the Poetic Edda . Compared to the main skaldic style, the Eddic lays tend to be differentiated by three characteristics: the material deals with the mythology, ancient heroes, and ethics of the ancient Norse. Furthermore, the Eddic style

680-475: The "head-stave" (or, hǫfuðstafr ). The word "line" and "couplet" need some clarification. Essentially, in fornyrðislag and many other forms, Norse poets treated each "half-line" of Germanic alliterative verse as a separate line. The Norse "couplet" is basically a single Germanic line, a pair of half-lines joined by alliteration. Thus, a Norse fornyrðislag stanza of eight lines corresponds to four lines of Old-English alliterative verse. Another difference between

720-407: The "main" form never has alliteration or rhyme in the first 2 syllables of the odd-lines (i.e., rhymes always coming at the fourth-syllable), and the even-lines never have rhyme on the fifth/sixth syllables (i.e.: they cannot harbor rhyme in these places because they extra-metrical), the following couplet shows the paradigm: [Note the juxtaposition of alliteration and rhyme of the even-line] Then,

760-828: The Norse system and the general Germanic pattern is that the Norse poets, unlike the Old English poets, tended to treat each "couplet", or Germanic line, as a complete syntactic unit, avoiding enjambment where a thought begun on one line continues through the following lines; only seldom do they begin a new sentence in the second half-line. This example is from the Waking of Angantyr : V aki, Angantýr!   v ekr þik Hervǫr, ei ngadóttir   y kkr Sváfu! Selðu ór h augi   h vassan mæki þann's S vafrlama   s lógu dvergar. Awaken, Angantyr ! Hervor awakens you; your only daughter by Sváfa! Yield up from

800-449: The all-wise jötunn in a contest of knowledge. Frigg counsels against this course of action, saying that Vafþrúðnir is the most powerful one she knows. Nevertheless Odin continues with his quest. On arriving at Vafþrúðnir's hall, Odin seeks to test Vafþrúðnir's wisdom through the classic mechanism of a wisdom contest. Vafþrúðnir's response is to accept the wanderer in his hall and only allow him to leave alive if Odin proves to be wiser. Odin,

840-555: The conclusion of the contest, Vafþrúðnir is obliged to capitulate to Odin's cunning when Odin asks him what Odin whispered in Baldr 's ear prior to Baldr's body being placed on the funerary ship , a question to which only Odin knows the answer; it is a rule of the wisdom contest that questions could only be asked to which the questioner knew the answer and so it is at this point that Vafþrúðnir recognizes his guest for who he is: Lj%C3%B3%C3%B0ah%C3%A1ttr Old Norse poetry encompasses

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880-543: The end of the stanza; in this form, the fifth line usually echoes the fourth. Eddic poems have other common characteristics besides verse form. The Eddic poetry lays are diverse; however, three important common characteristics can be described: mythology, ethics, and heroic lore. One major topic of Eddic poetry is mythology. The mythological topics of Eddic poetry most importantly include Norse mythology , however other types of mythology are also involved, including various other Germanic traditions, probable Christian ideas, and

920-637: The even ones). Ljóðaháttr ("chant" or " ballad " metre) is a stanzaic verse form, organized into four-line stanzas. The first and third lines were standard lines of Germanic alliterative verse with four lifts and two or three alliterations, separated into two half-lines with cæsura; the second and fourth lines had three lifts and two alliterations, and no cæsura. This example is from Freyr 's lament in Skírnismál : L ǫng es nótt,   l ǫng es ǫnnur, hvé mega ek þ reyja þ rjár? Opt mér m ánaðr   m inni þótti en sjá h alfa h ýnótt. Long

960-475: The extra-metrical): As one can see, there is very often clashing stress in the middle of the line ( Vápna hríd velt a....//..Vægdar laus feig um.... , etc.), and oddhending seems preferred (as well as keeping alliterative and rhyming syllables separated, which likely has to do with the syllabic-makeup of the line). Codex Regius Codex Regius ( Latin : Cōdex Rēgius , "Royal Book" or "King's Book"; Icelandic : Konungsbók ) or GKS 2365 4º

1000-422: The metric structures are for the most part either in the form of fornyrðislag ("old story"/"epic meter") or ljóðaháttr ("song"/"chant meter"). Both fornyrðislag and ljóðaháttr verse form share similarities; such as, partial alliteration of stressed and grammatically important syllables, division of the verse into half lines or full lines and couplets, with fixed numbers of lines, line lengths determined by

1040-510: The mound the sharp sword that which dwarves forged for Svafrlami . Fornyrðislag had a variant form called málaháttr ("meter of speeches"), which adds an unstressed syllable to each half-line, making six to eight (sometimes up to ten) unstressed syllables per line. This meter is similar to that used in the Old Saxon Heliand . Conversely, another variant, kviðuháttr , has only three syllables in its odd half-lines (but four in

1080-523: The number of stressed syllables (called "lifts"), and the linking of full lines or couplets by means of alliteration. A verse form close to that of Beowulf was used on runestones and in the Old Norse Poetic Edda ; in Norse, it was called fornyrðislag , which means "old story metre". Fornyrðislag is the more commonly used Eddic meter, and is often used for narrative poems. Fornyrðislag formally consists of eight line stanzas. Each line of

1120-566: The other hand, Skaldic poetry was usually written as praise for living kings and nobles, in more intricate meters and by known authors, known as skalds . There are various types of Old Norse poetry which have been preserved. Of particular interest to scholars are the Skaldic and Eddic lays, or poems. However, also of interest are occasional verse from other sources. Skaldic and Eddic works have many commonalities besides being written in Old Norse, such as alliteration; however, scholars usually distinguish

1160-406: The poem ("so said the goddess of hawk-land, true of words") are syntactically separate but interspersed within the text of the rest of the verse. The elaborate kennings manifested here are also practically necessary in this complex and demanding form, as much to solve metrical difficulties as for the sake of vivid imagery. Intriguingly, the saga claims that Harald improvised these lines after he gave

1200-542: The poem asking God to keep him safe at sea. ( Note : The third line is, in fact, over-alliterated. There should be exactly two alliterants in the odd-numbered lines.) The metre gained some popularity in courtly poetry, as the rhythm may sound more majestic than dróttkvætt. We learn much about these in the Hattatal : Snorri gives for certain at least three different variant-forms of hrynhenda. These long-syllabled lines are explained by Snorri as being extra-metrical in most cases:

1240-399: The requirements of Germanic alliterative verse and strongly resembles Celtic (Irish and Welsh) verse forms. The dróttkvætt stanza had eight lines, each having usually three lifts and almost invariably six syllables. Although other stress patterns appear, the verse is predominantly trochaic. The last two syllables in each line had to form a trochee (there are a few specific forms which utilize

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1280-488: The rhyme remains the same (Snorri seems to imply that frumhending , which is placing a rhyme on the first syllable of any line, is preferably avoided in all these forms: the rhymes are always preferred as oddhending , "middle-of-the-line rhymes") — in the even-lines the rhyme and alliteration are not juxtaposed, and this is a key feature of its distinction (the significant features only are marked in bold below): The next form, which Snorri calls "ordinary/standard hrynhenda",

1320-710: The skald was a type of poet. In Skaldic poetry, the structures used tend to be complex, evolved from the common Germanic poetic tradition. Around a hundred meters are known, many only from Snorri Sturluson's Háttatal . One of the simpler skaldic meters was kviðuháttr , a variant of fornyrðislag with alternating lines of 3 and 4 syllables, used in genealogical poems such as Þjóðólfr ór Hvíni's Ynglingatal and Eyvindr Skáldaspillir 's Háleygjatal . Other Skaldic meters, sch as dróttkvætt and Hrynhenda were more complex.. Dróttkvætt , meaning " courtly metre", added internal rhymes and other forms of assonance to its stanza structures. The resulting verse form goes well beyond

1360-738: The social and religious world of the Vikings . In Skáldskaparmál , Snorri Sturluson , recounts the myth of how Odin brought the mead of poetry to Asgard . Poetry is referred to in such terms as 'the drink of the raven-god (= Odin)' even in the oldest preserved poetry, which is an indicator of its significance within the ancient Scandinavian culture. Old Norse poetry developed from the common Germanic alliterative verse , and as such has many commonalities with Old English , Old Saxon , and Old High German poetry, including alliteration , poetic circumlocutions termed kennings , and an expansive vocabulary of poetic synonyms, termed heiti . Old Norse poetry

1400-399: The stanza has two vocally stressed syllables, also known as "lifts", with a somewhat arbitrary number of other syllables. Through the use of alliteration, lines join into couplets. Generally, in the first line of fornyrðislag , both "lifts", or stressed syllables alliterate. In the second line of any given couplet, only one of the two stressed syllables is alliterated, usually the first—this is

1440-499: The text of the poems had to run parallel, with one thread of syntax running through the on-side of the half-lines, and another running through the off-side. According to the Fagrskinna collection of sagas , King Harald III of Norway uttered these lines of dróttkvætt at the Battle of Stamford Bridge ; the internal assonances and the alliteration are emboldened: The bracketed words in

1480-405: The time was not entirely trustworthy with such precious cargo, it was transported by ship, accompanied by a military escort. One of the principal manuscripts of Snorri's Edda (GKS 2367 4to) is also named Codex Regius. Composed of 55 vellum pages, dating from the early 14th century, it was part of the same gift from Bishop Brynjólfur to Frederick III. It was returned to Iceland in 1985, where it

1520-461: The two based on certain characteristics. Scholarly distinction between Eddic and Skaldic works largely derives both from differing manuscript traditions and their typical matter and style. One major distinction between Skaldic and Eddic poetry derives from the manuscript sources of the surviving known works. The large majority of works described as "Eddic" are found only in the Codex Regius , while

1560-434: The variant-forms show unsurprising dróttkvætt patterns overall; the main difference being that the first trochee of the odd-lines are technically not reckoned as extrametrical since they harbor alliteration , but the even-lines' extra-metrical feature is more or less as the same. The 2nd form is the "troll-hrynjandi" : in the odd-lines the alliteration is moved to the first metrical position (no longer "extra-metrical") while

1600-573: Was discovered in 1643, when it came into the possession of Brynjólfur Sveinsson , then Bishop of Skálholt in Iceland, who in 1662 sent it as a gift to King Frederick III of Denmark ; hence the name. It was then kept in the Royal Library in Copenhagen until April 21, 1971, when it was brought back to Reykjavík , and is now kept in the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies . Because air travel at

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