Hallfreðr Óttarsson or Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld (''Troublesome Poet'') (c. 965 – c. 1007) was an 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 traditionally ...

. He is the protagonist of ''

Hallfreðar saga ''Hallfreðar saga vandræðaskálds'' (, Old Norse pronunciation: ) is one of the Icelanders' sagas. The saga is preserved in several 14th century manuscripts, including Möðruvallabók and Flateyjarbók, with significant difference between the v ...

'' according to which he was the

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 (Petrarch) ...

first of

Hákon Sigurðarson Haakon Sigurdsson ( non, Hákon Sigurðarson , no, Håkon Sigurdsson; 937–995), known as Haakon Jarl (Old Norse: ''Hákon jarl''), was the ''de facto'' ruler of Norway from about 975 to 995. Sometimes he is styled as Haakon the Powerful ( n ...

, then 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 ...

and finally of

Eiríkr Hákonarson Erik Hakonsson, also known as Eric of Hlathir or Eric of Norway, (, 960s – 1020s) was Earl of Lade, Governor of Norway and Earl of Northumbria. He was the son of Earl Hákon Sigurðarson and brother of the legendary Aud Haakonsdottir of Lade. He ...

. A significant amount of poetry by Hallfreðr has been preserved, primarily in ''Hallfreðar saga'' and the

kings' sagas Kings' sagas ( is, konungasögur, nn, kongesoger, -sogor, nb, kongesagaer) are Old Norse sagas which principally tell of the lives of semi-legendary and legendary (mythological, fictional) Nordic kings, also known as saga kings. They were compo ...

but a few fragments are also quoted in ''

Skáldskaparmál ''Skáldskaparmál'' (Old Norse: 'The Language of Poetry'; c. 50,000 words; ; ) is the second part of the ''Prose Edda''. The section consists of a dialogue between Ægir, the divine personification of the sea, and Bragi, the god of poetry, in ...

''. In his '' lausavísur'' Hallfreðr was an unusually personal skald, offering insight into his emotional life and, especially, his troubled and reluctant conversion from

paganism Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christianity, early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions ot ...

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

under the tutelage of king Óláfr. The following is an example. The ''

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 ...

'' manuscript attributes an ''

Óláfsdrápa Tryggvasonar ''Óláfsdrápa Tryggvasonar'' (''The ''drápa'' of Óláfr Tryggvason'') is an Icelandic skaldic poem 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 po ...

'' to Hallfreðr but this attribution is rejected by modern scholars.

External links

page at the Skaldic Project
All extant poetry

in the

Möðruvallabók __NOTOC__ Möðruvallabók () or AM 132 fol is an Icelandic manuscript from the mid-14th century, inscribed on vellum. It contains the following Icelandic sagas in this order: *''Njáls saga'' *''Egils saga'' *''Finnboga saga ramma'' *''Bandamanna ...

version
Myth and Religion in the Poetry of a Reluctant Convert
Article by Diana Whaley
Erfidrápa Óláfs Tryggvasonar
Text of ''Erfidrápa'' with short notes on the poet in Norwegian {{DEFAULTSORT:Hallfredr vandraedaskald 10th-century Icelandic poets 960s births 1000s deaths Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain 11th-century Icelandic poets Icelandic male poets Converts to Christianity from pagan religions