Óttarr svarti (“Óttarr the Black”) was an 11th-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 traditionally ...
. He was the court poet first of
Óláfr skautkonungr of Sweden, then of
Óláfr Haraldsson of Norway, the Swedish king
Anund Jacob and finally of
Cnut the Great of Denmark and England. His poems are significant contemporary evidence for the careers of Óláfr Haraldsson and Cnut the Great.
Óttarr was the nephew of
Sigvatr Þórðarson, and Óttarr clearly based the poem ''
Hǫfuðlausn'', his encomium for
Óláfr Haraldsson, on Sigvatr’s ''Víkingarvísur'', which tallies the king's early Viking expeditions. A small ''
þáttr
The ''þættir'' (Old Norse singular ''þáttr'', literally meaning a "strand" of rope or yarn)O'Donoghue (2004:226). are short stories written mostly in Iceland during the 13th and 14th centuries.
The majority of ''þættir'' occur in two compend ...
'' (short story) on Óttarr, ''
Óttars þáttr svarta'', is preserved in
Flateyjarbók,
Bergsbók,
Bæjarbók and
Tómasskinna.
Works
#''
Óláfsdrápa sœnska''. Verses for the Swedish king
Olof Skötkonung
Olof Skötkonung, (Old Norse: ''Óláfr skautkonungr'') sometimes stylized as ''Olaf the Swede'' (c. 980–1022), was King of Sweden, son of Eric the Victorious and, according to Icelandic sources, Sigrid the Haughty. He succeeded his father in ...
.
#''Höfuðlausn'' (also spelled as ''Hǫfuðlausn'').
#''
Knútsdrápa ''Knútsdrápur'' (plural of ''Knútsdrápa'') are Old Norse skaldic compositions in the form of '' drápur'' which were recited for the praise of Canute the Great. There are a number of these:
* The '' Knútsdrápa'' by Óttarr svarti
* The ''Kn ...
''. Verses for
Cnut the Great. ''Knútsdrápur'' composed by other poets include those of
Sigvatr Þórðarson and
Hallvarðr háreksblesi Hallvarðr Háreksblesi was one of the skalds of Canute the Great. Nothing is known about his life or family but eight fragments of his poetry on Canute have been preserved. While Hallvarðr's poetry resembles that of Canute's other poets in many ...
.
#''Lausavísur''.
A recent review of the origins of the nursery rhyme
London Bridge is Falling Down has debunked the popularly held belief that it enshrines an English folk memory of a
Viking attack on London, sometimes connected with an attack in 1014 for which a stanza from Óttarr's ''Höfuðlausn'' is the earliest source.
[Clark, John (2002). ‘London Bridge and the archaeology of a nursery rhyme’, ''London Archaeologist'' 9, 338–40; cf. Hagland, Jan Ragnar, and Watson, Bruce. (2005). 'Fact or folklore: the Viking attack on London Bridge', ''London Archaeologist'' 12, 328-33]
Notes
References
Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages
All extant poetry
(eftir Flateyjarbók)
*Jesch, Judith (2005) 'Skaldic poetry, a case of literacy avant la lettre?' In: ''Literacy in Medieval and Early Modern Scandinavian Culture''. Ed. P. Hermann. Odense. Pp. 187–210
*Jesch, Judith (2006). 'The ‘meaning of the narrative moment’: Poets and history in the late Viking Age'. In: ''Narrative and History in the Early Medieval West''. Ed. E. M. Tyler, R. Balzaretti. Turnhout. Pp. 251–65
* Thunberg, Carl L. (2012). ''Att tolka Svitjod'' 'To interpret Svitjod'' Göteborgs universitet. CLTS. pp 35-36. .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ottarr svarti
Icelandic male poets
11th-century Icelandic poets