Einarr Helgason, known by the

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

''skálaglamm'' ("tinkle-

scales Scale or scales may refer to: Mathematics * Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points * Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original * Scale factor, a number w ...

") was a 10th-century Icelandic

skald 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 traditional ...

. He was a

court poet A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarc ...

of Lord Hákon to whom he dedicated his magnum opus, the '' Vellekla'' (''Gold Dearth''). Einarr's added name ''skálaglamm'' means "tinkle-scales" 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, the ''

Prose Edda The ''Prose Edda'', also known as the ''Younger Edda'', ''Snorri's Edda'' ( is, Snorra Edda) or, historically, simply as ''Edda'', is an Old Norse textbook written in Iceland during the early 13th century. The work is often assumed to have been ...

'', ''

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 year ...

'' and ''

Jómsvíkinga saga The ''Jómsvíkinga saga'' ("''Saga of the Jomsvikings''") is a medieval Icelandic saga composed by an anonymous author. The saga was composed in Iceland during the 13th century. It exists in several manuscripts which vary from each other. There ...

''. According to Egils saga, Einarr was a friend of

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 ...

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 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 traditionall ...

'' on the shield. According to

Landnámabók (, "Book of Settlements"), often shortened to , is a medieval Icelandic written work which describes in considerable detail the settlement () of Iceland by the Norse in the 9th and 10th centuries CE. is divided into five parts and ov ...

and other sources, Einarr drowned in

Breiðafjörður Breiðafjörður (, ''wide fjord'') is a large shallow bay, about 50 km wide and 125 km long, in the west of Iceland. It separates the region of the Westfjords (Vestfirðir) from the Snæfellsnes peninsula to the south. Breiðafjörðu ...

References

Of Einar Helgi's son and Egil
A chapter from Egils saga

Includes many quotations from ''Vellekla'' translated by Laing

All of Einarr's poetry with short notes on the skald in Icelandic
Vellekla
Text of the poem with short notes on the skald in Norwegian

Footnotes

10th-century Icelandic poets {{Iceland-writer-stub