Sighvatr Sturluson (

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

: ; given name also ''Sigvatr'' ;

Modern Icelandic Icelandic (; is, íslenska, link=no ) is a North Germanic language spoken by about 314,000 people, the vast majority of whom live in Iceland, where it is the national language. Due to being a West Scandinavian language, it is most closely re ...

: ''Sighvatur Sturluson'' ; c. 1170 – 1238) was a skaldic poet, ''

goði Gothi or (plural , fem. ; Old Norse: ) was a position of political and social prominence in the Icelandic Commonwealth. The term originally had a religious significance, referring to a pagan leader responsible for a religious structure and com ...

'' and member of the Icelandic

Sturlungar The Sturlungs ( Icelandic: ) were a powerful family clan in 13th century Iceland, in the time of the Icelandic Commonwealth. Their story is partly told in ''Sturlunga saga'', and members of the clan were significant participants in the civil war ...

clan. His parents were Sturla Þórðarson of Hvammur and Guðný Böðvarsdóttir. His younger brother, the famous poet and historian

Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of the ...

, grew up away from home, in Oddi, while Sighvatr and his elder brother Þórð(u)r were brought up in Hvammur. Nothing is known about his education. He married Kolbeinn Tumason’s sister Halldóra Tumadóttir, with whom he had a son,

Sturla Sighvatsson Sturla Sighvatsson (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ; 1199 – 21 August 1238) was an Icelandic chieftain or ''goði'' of the Sturlungar family clan who played an active role in the armed conflicts in Iceland during the Age of the Sturlungs (Ic ...

. He figures in the ''

Sturlunga saga ''Sturlunga saga'' (often called simply ''Sturlunga'') is a collection of Icelandic sagas by various authors from the 12th and 13th centuries; it was assembled in about 1300. It mostly deals with the story of the Sturlungs, a powerful family clan ...

'', one of the sources which cites his poetry. Only two stanzas of Sighvatr's work now remain: the first refers to the killing of Hallr Kleppjárnsson by Kálfr Guttormsson in 1212, the other to a dream before his death in the

Battle of Örlygsstaðir The Battle of Örlygsstaðir was a historic battle fought by the Sturlungar against the Ásbirningar and the Haukdælir clans in northern Iceland. The battle was part of the civil war that was taking place in Iceland at the time between various ...

in 1238. According to philologist

Roberta Frank Roberta Frank (born 1941) is an American philologist specializing in Old English and Old Norse language and literature. She is Marie Borroff Professor Emeritus of English at Yale University. Career Frank received a B.A. in comparative literatur ...

, a half-stanza by Sighvatr was misinterpreted, and thus becoming the belief in the ''

Blood eagle The blood eagle was a method of ritually executing a chosen member as detailed in late skaldic poetry. According to the two instances mentioned in the Sagas, the victims (in both cases members of royal families) were placed in a prone position, t ...

'' ritual.Frank, Roberta (1984). "Viking atrocity and Skaldic verse: The Rite of the Blood-Eagle". English Historical Review. Oxford Journals. XCIX (CCCXCI): 332–343. doi:10.1093/ehr/XCIX.CCCXCI.332.

References

*Guðrún Nordal, ''Tools of Literacy. The Role of Skaldic Verse in Icelandic Textual Culture of the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries''. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2001. pp. 186–7. *Frank, Roberta (1984). "Viking atrocity and Skaldic verse: The Rite of the Blood-Eagle". English Historical Review. Oxford Journals. XCIX (CCCXCI): 332–343. doi:10.1093/ehr/XCIX.CCCXCI.332.

External links

''Lausavísur''
Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sighvatr Sturluson 1170s births 1238 deaths Icelandic poets Skalds Sturlungar family clan Military personnel killed in action 13th-century Icelandic poets Goðar