''Óláfsdrápa Tryggvasonar'' (''The ''
drápa
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 ...
'' of
Óláfr Tryggvason
Olaf Tryggvason (960s – 9 September 1000) was King of Norway from 995 to 1000. He was the son of Tryggvi Olafsson, king of Viken (Vingulmark, and Rånrike), and, according to later sagas, the great-grandson of Harald Fairhair, first King of N ...
'') is an Icelandic
skaldic poem
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 ...
from ca. 1200. It relates the life story of the 10th century King Óláfr Tryggvason from his upbringing in Russia to his death at
Svöldr
The Battle of Svolder (''Svold'' or ''Swold'') was a large naval battle during the Viking age, fought in September 999 or 1000 in the western Baltic Sea between King Olaf of Norway and an alliance of the Kings of Denmark and Sweden and Olaf's e ...
. The poem is only preserved in ''
Bergsbók
''Bergsbók'' is an Icelandic manuscript from the early 15th century. It contains the kings' sagas ''Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta'', a long version of ''Óláfs saga helga'' and several short texts and poems, mostly associated with the two ...
'' and the text there is defective. After 16 ''
dróttkvætt
In prosody, alliterative verse is a form of verse that uses alliteration as the principal ornamental device to help indicate the underlying metrical structure, as opposed to other devices such as rhyme. The most commonly studied traditions of a ...
'' verses, there is a lacuna of an estimated 40 verses followed by 12 preserved final verses. The manuscript attributes the poem to
Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld Hallfreðr Óttarsson or Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld (''Troublesome Poet'') (c. 965 – c. 1007) was an Icelandic skald. He is the protagonist of ''Hallfreðar saga'' according to which he was the court poet first of Hákon Sigurðarson, then of Ó ...
, Óláfr's court poet, but this attribution is rejected by modern scholars. The poem has many similarities with ''
Rekstefja'', a poem from the same time on the same subject and preserved in the same manuscript.
While by no means an original or historically important poem, the ''Óláfsdrápa'' has been praised for its "engaging directness". The unknown author was influenced by earlier 12th-century poets, such as
Einarr Skúlason
Einarr Skúlason (ca. 1100 – after 1159) was an Icelandic priest and skald. He was the most prominent Norse poet of the 12th century. Einarr's poetry is primarily preserved in ''Heimskringla'', ''Flateyjarbók'', ''Morkinskinna'', ''Fagrski ...
and
Þorkell Hamarskáld Thorkel or Thorkell (Þórkæll / Þorkell) is an Old Norse masculine personal name. Among the more famous holders of the name are:
*Thorkel of Namdalen, ninth-century jarl and father of Ketil Trout.
*Thorkell Súrsson, tenth-century Icelander and ...
.
[De Vries 1999:45.]
Notes
References
* Eysteinn Björnsson (2002). ''Index of Old Norse/Icelandic Skaldic Poetry''. Published online at: http://www.hi.is/~eybjorn/ugm/skindex/skindex.html See in particular "Óláfs drápa Tryggvasonar" at http://www.hi.is/~eybjorn/ugm/skindex/od.html from the editions of
Finnur Jónsson
Finnur Jónsson (May 29, 1858 – March 30, 1934) was an Icelandic-Danish philologist and Professor of Nordic Philology at the University of Copenhagen. He made extensive contributions to the study of Old Norse literature.
Finnur Jónsson was b ...
and E. A. Kock.
* Hoops, Johannes (2003). ''Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde: Band 22''. Walter de Gruyter.
* Vries, Jan de (1999). ''Altnordische Literaturgeschichte: 3. Auflage. Mit einem Vorwort von Stefanie Wurth''. Walter de Gruyter.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olafsdrapa Tryggvasonar
Skaldic poems
Works of unknown authorship