Einarr Helgason
Encyclopedia
Einarr Helgason or Einarr skálaglamm was a 10th century Icelandic skald
Skald
The 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...

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He was a court-poet of Lord Hákon
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...

 to whom he dedicated his magnum opus, the Vellekla
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...

(Gold Dearth). Einarr's added name skálaglamm means "Bowl tinkle" and refers to a set of balances and weights with divinatory powers, given to him by Hákon.

The part of Einarr's poetry that has come down to us is preserved in the 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....

, 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...

, Egils saga
Egils saga
Egils saga is an epic Icelandic saga. The oldest transcript dates back to 1240 AD. The saga is centered on the life of Egill Skallagrímsson, an Icelandic farmer, viking and skald...

 and Jómsvíkinga saga
Jómsvíkinga saga
The Jómsvíkinga saga relates of the founding of Jomsborg by Palnatoke, and of the famous Viking brotherhood of the Jomsvikings....

. According to Egils saga, Einarr was a friend of Egill Skalla-Grímsson and once gave him a decorated shield which he had received in Norway. Egill was greatly displeased since tradition compelled him to compose a drápa on the shield.

According to Landnámabók
Landnámabók
Landnámabók , often shortened to Landnáma, is a medieval Icelandic written work describing in considerable detail the settlement of Iceland by the Norse in the 9th and 10th centuries AD.-Landnáma:...

 and other sources, Einarr drowned in Breiðafjörður
Breiðafjörður
Breiðafjörður is a large shallow bay, about 50 km wide and 125 km long and located in the west of Iceland. It separates the region of the Westfjords from the rest of the country. Breiðafjörður is encircled by mountains, including glacier Snæfellsjökull the Snæfellsnes peninsula on the south side...

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