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Hǫfuðlausn (Egill)
''Hǫfuðlausn'' ( ) or ''‘Head-ransom’'' is a skaldic poem attributed to Egill Skalla-Grímsson in praise of king Eirik Bloodaxe. It is cited in Egils Saga (chapter 61), 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 summarized in the following way. Egil falls into king Eirik's hands after being shipwrecked in Northumbria. Faced with the decision to either dishonorably flee and risk being exposed as a coward or to directly face his adversary and ask for reconciliation, Egil chooses the latter. The two men are enemies during the saga, which makes Egil’s decision especially bold. Earlier in the saga Egil goes as far as to construct a Nithing pole, a sign of disrespect in medieval Scandinavian society. For this and other reasons King Eirik tells Egil not to expect any outcome other than death for his arrival in his court. This would be the end for Egil, however, one of his allies ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skaldic Poetry
A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: , later ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry, the other being Eddic poetry, which is anonymous. Skaldic poems were traditionally composed on one occasion, sometimes extempore, and include both extended works and single verses ('' lausavísur''). They are characteristically more ornate in form and diction than eddic poems, employing many kennings and heiti, more interlacing of sentence elements, and the complex ''dróttkvætt'' metre. More than 5,500 skaldic verses have survived, preserved in more than 700 manuscripts, including in several sagas and in Snorri Sturluson's ''Prose Edda'', a handbook of skaldic composition that led to a revival of the art. Many of these verses are fragments of originally longer works, and the authorship of many is unknown. The earliest known skald from whom verses survive is Bragi Boddason, known as Bragi the Old, a Norwegian skald of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Egill Skalla-Grímsson
Egil or Egill is a masculine given name derived from Old Norse. It may refer to: Characters *Egil (Hymiskvida), farmer in the poem ''Hymiskvida'' *Egil, brother of Volund, hero of Völundarkviða and the Thidreks saga *Egil One-Hand, hero from the Icelandic saga ''Egils saga einhenda ok Ásmundar berserkjabana'' *Ongentheow, also known as Egil Places *Eğil, a district of Diyarbakır Province, south eastern Turkey *Egil Peak, Sverdrup Mountains, Antarctica Other uses *Egil (given name) *Electrical Generation and Integrated Lighting Systems Engineer, NASA flight controller See also *''Alt for Egil'', a 2004 Norwegian musical film directed by Tore Rygh, starring Kristoffer Joner and Trond Høvik *Egil's Saga, 13th century Icelandic saga *Egill Skallagrímsson Brewery Olgerdin ( is, Ölgerðin Egill Skallagrímsson) is an Icelandic brewery and beverage company based in Reykjavík. Established on 17 April 1913, the oldest beer-producing factory in Iceland. Annually, it produces 45 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eric I Of Norway
Eric Haraldsson ( non, Eiríkr Haraldsson , no, Eirik Haraldsson; died 954), nicknamed Bloodaxe ( non, blóðøx , no, Blodøks) and Brother-Slayer ( la, fratrum interfector), was a 10th-century Norwegian king. He ruled as King of Norway from 932 to 934, and twice as King of Northumbria: from 947 to 948, and again from 952 to 954. Sources Historians have reconstructed a narrative of Eric's life and career from the scant available historical data. There is a distinction between contemporary or near contemporary sources for Eric's period as ruler of Northumbria, and the entirely saga-based sources that detail the life of Eric of Norway, a chieftain who ruled the Norwegian Westland in the 930s. Norse sources have identified the two as the same since the late 12th century, and while the subject is controversial, most historians have identified the two figures as the same since W. G. Collingwood's article in 1901. This identification has been rejected recently by the historian Cl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Egils Saga
''Egill's Saga'' or ''Egil's saga'' ( non, Egils saga ; ) is an Icelandic saga (family saga) on the lives of the clan of Egill Skallagrímsson (Anglicised as Egill Skallagrimsson), an Icelandic farmer, viking and skald. The saga spans the years c. 850–1000 and traces the family's history from Egill's grandfather to his offspring. Its oldest manuscript (a fragment) dates back to 1240 AD, and comprises the sole source of information on the exploits of Egill, whose life is not historically recorded. Stylistic and other similarities between ''Egill's Saga'' and ''Heimskringla'' have led many scholars to believe that they were the work of the same author, Snorri Sturluson. The work is generally referred to as ''Egla'' by Icelandic scholars. Synopsis The saga begins in Norway around 850, with the life of Egill's grandfather Ulf (Kveldulf Bjalfason, Úlfr) aka Kveldulf or "Evening Wolf", and his two sons Thorolf (Þórólfr) and Skallagrim (Skalla-Grímr). Strife with the royal h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northumbria
la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (after 876)South: Danish kingdom (876–914)South: Norwegian kingdom (after 914) , life_span = 654–954 , flag_type = Oswald's Stripes, the provincial flag of Northumbria and red was previously purple , image_coat = , image_map = Map_of_the_Kingdom_of_Northumbria_around_700_AD.svg , image_map_size = 250 , image_map_caption = Northumbria around 700 AD , image_map2 = , image_map2_size = , image_map2_caption = , government_type = Monarchy , year_start = 653 , year_end = 954 , event_end = South is annexed by Kingdom of England , event1 = South is annexed by the Danelaw , date_even ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nithing Pole
A nithing pole ( non, níðstang), sometimes normalized as ''nithstang'' or ''nidstang'', was a pole used for cursing an enemy in Germanic pagan tradition. History and usage A nithing pole consisted of a long, wooden pole with a recently cut horse head at the end, and at times with the skin of the horse laid over the pole. The nithing pole was directed towards the enemy and target of the curse. The curse could be carved in runes on the pole. Attestations A nithing pole event appears in ''Egils saga'': "And when all was ready for sailing, Egil went up into the island. He took in his hand a hazel-pole, and went to a rocky eminence that looked inward to the mainland. Then he took a horse's head and fixed it on the pole. After that, in solemn form of curse, he thus spake: 'Here set I up a curse-pole, and this curse I turn on king Eric and queen Gunnhilda. (Here he turned the horse's head landwards.) This curse I turn also on the guardian-spirits who dwell in this land, that they ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Æthelstan
Æthelstan or Athelstan (; ang, Æðelstān ; on, Aðalsteinn; ; – 27 October 939) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 924 to 927 and King of the English from 927 to his death in 939. He was the son of King Edward the Elder and his first wife, Ecgwynn. Modern historians regard him as the first King of England and one of the "greatest Anglo-Saxon kings". He never married and had no children; he was succeeded by his half-brother, Edmund I. When Edward died in July 924, Æthelstan was accepted by the Mercians as king. His half-brother Ælfweard may have been recognised as king in Wessex, but died within three weeks of their father's death. Æthelstan encountered resistance in Wessex for several months, and was not crowned until September 925. In 927 he conquered the last remaining Viking kingdom, York, making him the first Anglo-Saxon ruler of the whole of England. In 934 he invaded Scotland and forced Constantine II to submit to him. Æthelstan's rule was resented by the S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skaldic Poems
A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: , later ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry, the other being Eddic poetry, which is anonymous. Skaldic poems were traditionally composed on one occasion, sometimes extempore, and include both extended works and single verses ('' lausavísur''). They are characteristically more ornate in form and diction than eddic poems, employing many kennings and heiti, more interlacing of sentence elements, and the complex ''dróttkvætt'' metre. More than 5,500 skaldic verses have survived, preserved in more than 700 manuscripts, including in several sagas and in Snorri Sturluson's ''Prose Edda'', a handbook of skaldic composition that led to a revival of the art. Many of these verses are fragments of originally longer works, and the authorship of many is unknown. The earliest known skald from whom verses survive is Bragi Boddason, known as Bragi the Old, a Norwegian skald of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_bsb00073337_00172.jpg "Click for more on -> Nithing Pole")
