Þórbjǫrn Hornklofi (Modern Norwegian: ''Torbjørn Hornklove'') was a 9th-century

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

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 ...

and one of 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 (Petrarc ...

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...

Harald Fairhair Harald Fairhair no, Harald hårfagre Modern Icelandic: ( – ) was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from 872 to 930 and was the first King of No ...

. His poetry has sometimes been regarded as a contemporary source of information regarding King Harald, although it is only preserved embedded within 13th and 14th century king's sagas. A portion of two skaldic poems by him which are preserved are ''

Hrafnsmál ''Hrafnsmál'' (Old Norse: ; "raven song") is a fragmentary skaldic poem generally accepted as being written by the 9th-century Norwegian skald Þorbjörn Hornklofi. ''Hrafnsmál'' largely consists of a conversation between an unnamed valkyrie an ...

'' and ''

Glymdrápa ''Glymdrápa'' ("''Drápa'' of din") is a skaldic poem composed by Þorbjörn Hornklofi, the court poet of King Harald I of Norway (''Haraldr hárfagri''). Composed toward the end of the 9th century, the poem recounts several battles waged by King ...

''. The first poem, which utilizes verse form

málaháttr Málaháttr (Old Norse: ) is a poetic metre in Old Norse poetry, which is usually described as "conversational style." It is similar to fornyrðislag except that there are more syllables in a line; usually five. Poems with verses in this metre: * ...

, describes life at Harald's court, mentions that he took a Danish wife, and that he won a victory at the

Battle of Hafrsfjord The Battle of Hafrsfjord ( no, Slaget i Hafrsfjord) was a great naval battle fought in Hafrsfjord sometime between 872 and 900 that resulted in the unification of Norway, later known as the Kingdom of Norway. After the battle, the victorious Vikin ...

. The second is 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 ...

which relates a series of battles Harald won during the consolidation of his rule of Norway.Index of poetry by Thórbiorn Hornklofi
/ref>

Translations

* Kershaw, Nora (1922) ''Anglo-Saxon and Norse Poems'' (originally published by The University Press, 1922. re-published by Kessinger Publishing, LLC . 2009) * Hollander, Lee Milton (1980) ''Old Norse Poems: The Most Important Nonskaldic Verse Not Included in the Poetic Edda'' (originally printed by Columbia University Press. 1936, re-published by Abela Publishing. 2010)

References

External links

''The Lay of Harold'' (Translation and commentary by Lee M. Hollander)''Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning'' (Author: Finnur Jónsson)
Thorbjorn horklofi Thorbjorn horklof Thorbjorn horklof Thorbjorn horklof {{Norway-poet-stub