Bjarkamál

''Bjarkamál'' (''Bjarkemål'' in modern Norwegian and Danish) is an Old Norse poem from around the year 1000. Only a few lines have survived in the Icelandic version, the rest is known from Saxo's version in Latin. The latter consists of 298 hexameters, and tells the tale of Rolf Krake's downfall at Lejre, described in a dialogue between two of Rolf Krake's twelve berserkers, Bodvar Bjarke (hence the name of the poem), the most famous warrior at the court of the legendary Danish king Rolf Krake, and Hjalte (= hilt). The poem opens with Hjalte waking up his fellow berserkers, having realized they are under attack. In 1030, King Olav had the bard Tormod Kolbrunarskald recite the ''Bjarkamál'' to rouse his outnumbered army in the morning before the start of the Battle of Stiklestad, according to ''Fóstbrœðra saga''.

In ''Bjarkamál'', Rolf Krake has subdued the Swedes enough to make them pay him tax. Instead, they destroy his court at Lejre with a trick reminding us of Homer's Trojan horse: The wagons, bringing the valuables to Lejre, are filled with hidden weapons instead. When the Swedes, led by Hjartvar, arrive at Lejre, they are invited to a party, but unlike the Danes, they make sure to stay sober. Saxo has combined motives from the original Danish poem with motives from the second song in the '' Æneid'', known as the ''nyktomakhi'', where Æneas tells Dido about the battle between the Greeks and the Trojans in Troy. The ''nyktomakhi'' is of about the same length as ''Bjarkamál'', and containing the same elements: The Trojan horse/the smuggling of Swedish weapons; Danes/Trojans are sound asleep when Swedes/Greeks attack them; plus the climax: The goddess Venus informs Æneas that it is the will of the gods themselves (that is, Jupiter, Juno, Minerva and Neptune) that Troy shall fall, and so he can honourably flee. Correspondingly, Rolf Krake's sister Hrut shows Bjarke the war god Odin, albeit the sight of Odin constitutes the moment when Bjarke and Hjalte die.

In Axel Olrik's rewrite of Bjarkemål, the mortally wounded Bjarke calls on Hrut to show him Odin, only to say that if Odin shows himself, Bjarke will take revenge (for the death of Rolf). He then lies down next to his dead king, because it is appropriate of a king's man to honour him so, when the king has been mild and just ("dådherlig"). The postscript of Roar Skovmand emphasises the rejection of Odin and that the king is honoured with loyalty, even after he is dead.

A well-known example of the old Norse faith in fylgjur, is Bjarke in ''Bjarkamál'' lying fast asleep in the hall, while his fylgja (doppelgänger in animal shape), the bear, is fighting on his behalf outside. When eventually Bjarke gets up and starts fighting, the bear has disappeared.

The hymn "Sol er oppe" (= Sun is up) from 1817 is Grundtvig's version of the poem.

Body

Most of the poem is lost. Only fragments of it are preserved in ''Skáldskaparmál'' and in ''Heimskringla''. In Saxo Grammaticus' ''Gesta Danorum'' a Latin translation of the poem is found but it probably does not closely follow the original.

The following example may illustrate the difference between the original terse Old Norse and Saxo's elaborate translation.

References

The Old Lay of Biarki
Translation and commentary by Lee M. Hollander, includes translation of Axel Olrik's reconstruction

The remnants of the original text, two editions

Saxo's Latin version (starting with "Ocius evigilet")

Translation of Saxo's version

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bjarkamal
Skaldic poems
Sources of Norse mythology