Skalla-Grímr
Encyclopedia
Skalla-Grímr Kveldulf
sson (9. and 10. centuries) was a Norwegian
, who was forced to emigrate to Iceland
in the days of his enemy Harald Fairhair
. His main claim to fame is that he was the father of Egill
, but he also deserves a footnote in the history of Nordic literature for having composed the following stanza:
"Now the nobleman (Kveldulfr) has exacted revenge upon the king (Harald Fairhair); now wolf and eagle tread on the king's children. The hewn corpses of Hallvarðr (Hallvarðr harðfari and his people, that is the enemies) flew into the sea; the grey eagle tears the wounds of Snarfari (Sigtryggr snarfari was the brother of Hallvarðr harðfari)."
If the saga is to be believed, this is the first attested instance in the Nordic canon of a stanza with end rhymes. Of course, there are serious doubts about that.
End rhymes didn't occur in Norse poetry until his son Egill composed the poem Höfuðlausn
. It is mostly agreed that Höfuðlausn is correctly attributed to Egill, and he might have got impulses from England, where end rhymes did occur in Latin poetry. It is not impossible that his father invented the metre. Skalla-Grímr surely knew how to put a stanza together, there are others more likely attributed to him, and Egill, of course, inherited his genius from someone, but the consensus now is, that Egill most likely put the words in his father's mouth, when he regaled later generations with stories of his beginning. Still, the unorderly ending of the stanza could suggest an on-the-spot composition. The question will probably never be resolved.
Kveldulf Bjalfason
Ulf Bjalfason was a renowned hersir and landowner in ninth century Sogn, Norway. He is a main character in the early chapters of Egils Saga and appears in the Landnamabok and other Icelandic sources...
sson (9. and 10. centuries) was a Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, who was forced to emigrate to 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...
in the days of his enemy Harald Fairhair
Harald I of Norway
Harald Fairhair or Harald Finehair , , son of Halfdan the Black, was the first king of Norway.-Background:Little is known of the historical Harald...
. His main claim to fame is that he was the father of Egill
Egill Skallagrímsson
Egill Skallagrímsson was a Viking Age warrior and skald. Egill is one of the great anti-heroes of the Icelandic sagas.-Life:...
, but he also deserves a footnote in the history of Nordic literature for having composed the following stanza:
- Nú's hersis hefnd
- við hilmi efnd;
- gengr ulfr ok örn
- of ynglings börn.
- Flugu höggvin hræ
- Hallvarðs á sæ.
- Grár slítr undir
- ari Snarfara.
"Now the nobleman (Kveldulfr) has exacted revenge upon the king (Harald Fairhair); now wolf and eagle tread on the king's children. The hewn corpses of Hallvarðr (Hallvarðr harðfari and his people, that is the enemies) flew into the sea; the grey eagle tears the wounds of Snarfari (Sigtryggr snarfari was the brother of Hallvarðr harðfari)."
If the saga is to be believed, this is the first attested instance in the Nordic canon of a stanza with end rhymes. Of course, there are serious doubts about that.
End rhymes didn't occur in Norse poetry until his son Egill composed the poem Höfuðlausn
Höfuðlausn
Höfuðlausn 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...
. It is mostly agreed that Höfuðlausn is correctly attributed to Egill, and he might have got impulses from England, where end rhymes did occur in Latin poetry. It is not impossible that his father invented the metre. Skalla-Grímr surely knew how to put a stanza together, there are others more likely attributed to him, and Egill, of course, inherited his genius from someone, but the consensus now is, that Egill most likely put the words in his father's mouth, when he regaled later generations with stories of his beginning. Still, the unorderly ending of the stanza could suggest an on-the-spot composition. The question will probably never be resolved.