Valgarðr á Velli was an 11th-century

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 ...

in the service of King

Harald Hardrada Harald Sigurdsson (; – 25 September 1066), also known as Harald III of Norway and given the epithet ''Hardrada'' (; modern no, Hardråde, roughly translated as "stern counsel" or "hard ruler") in the sagas, was King of Norway from 1046 t ...

of Norway. Little is known about his life or origin but his name suggests he may have been a kinsman, perhaps a son, of Mörðr Valgarðsson of Völlr, a chieftain who plays a role in ''

Njáls saga ''Njáls saga'' ( ), also ''Njála'' ( ), ''Brennu-Njáls saga'' ( ) or ''"The Story of Burnt Njáll"'', is a thirteenth-century sagas of Icelanders, Icelandic saga that describes events between 960 and 1020. The saga deals with a process of ...

''. He is listed in '' Skáldatal'' among the court poets of Harald Hardrada.

Extant poetry

The Norse sources attribute 11 stanzas or half-stanzas of ''

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 ...

'' poetry to Valgarðr. There are three in '' Skáldskaparmál'' where they are used to illustrate the use of certain ''

heiti A heiti (Old Norse ''heiti'' , Modern Icelandic , pl. ''heiti'' "name, appellation, designation, term") is a synonym used in Old Norse poetry in place of the normal word for something. For instance, Old Norse poets might use ''jór'' "steed" in ...

'' (poetic synonyms). Of these, one mentions that

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

was laid waste. Two others are descriptions of destruction by fire in an unknown context. There are 8 stanzas or half-stanzas preserved in 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 ...

where they are used as sources of historical information on events in the life of Harald Hardrada. The first chronologically is preserved only in ''

Fagrskinna ''Fagrskinna'' ( ; is, Fagurskinna ; trans. "Fair Leather" from the type of parchment) is one of the kings' sagas, written around 1220. It is an intermediate source for the ''Heimskringla'' of Snorri Sturluson, containing histories of Norwegian k ...

'' and relates to events in 1042 as Harald joined an uprising against emperor

Michael V Kalaphates Michael V Kalaphates ( grc-gre, Μιχαήλ Καλαφάτης) was Byzantine emperor for four months in 1041–1042. He was the nephew and successor of Michael IV and the adoptive son of Michael IV's wife Empress Zoe. He was popularly called " ...

and had some of his Varangian bodyguards killed. The next is preserved in ''Fagrskinna'', '' Morkinskinna'', '' Heimskringla'' and ''

Hulda-Hrokkinskinna ''Hulda-Hrokkinskinna'' is one of the kings' sagas. Written after 1280 it relates the history of the Norwegian kings from Magnús góði, who acceded to the throne in 1035, to Magnús Erlingsson, who died in 1177. The saga is based on Snorri Stu ...

'' and describes Harald travelling from Garðar (Russia) to Sigtuna in Sweden. Another stanza, preserved in the same sources as well as in '' Flateyjarbók'', describes a voyage from Sweden to Denmark which the sagas state that Harald undertook to meet his nephew, King Magnus the Good. Three complete stanzas describe Harald's harrying of Denmark ca. 1044–1045. The skald praises Harald for crushing his enemies: "Haraldr, you thoroughly ravaged all Sjælland". As the king burns down a settlement south of

Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 51,916 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...

, the surviving inhabitants take flight: "families slipped, grief-stricken, silent in flight to the forest". The description then moves on to the capture of women by Harald's victorious forces: Finally, there are two stanzas describing a sea voyage and Harald's rule over all of Norway.

Evaluation

Finnur Jónsson described the surviving fragments of Valgarðr's works as testifying highly to his abilities as a poet, showing mastery over language and form and an appealing sense of fantasy. He noted that instead of dry reports on battle and bloodshed, Valgarðr focused in on single moments that were worth paying attention to. Finnur regarded the description of the captured women as a particularly successful example of his vivid style.Finnur Jónsson 1894:638.

References

Works cited

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