Þjóðólfr Of Hvinir
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Þjóðólfr ór Hvini (; anglicized as Thjódólf of Hvinir or Thiodolf; fl. late 9th–early 10th c. AD), was a Norwegian
skald A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry in alliterative verse, the other being Eddic poetry. Skaldic poems were traditionally compo ...
, said to have been one of the court-poets of the Norwegian king Harald Fairhair. His name suggests that he was from the region of Hvinir ( Kvinesdal). Two skaldic poems, '' Haustlǫng'' (Autumn-long) and '' Ynglingatal'' (Enumeration of the Ynglingar), are generally attributed to him.


Saga account

According to Heimskringla, he fostered Harald's sons Sigurd Hrisi, Halfdan Long-Leg, Gudröd the Radiant, Ragnvald Rettilbein.


Works

Both ''Haustlǫng'' and ''Ynglingatal'' are ascribed to Þjóðólfr of Hvinir from a relatively early period. They were preserved, along with some of his other verses, by the 13th-century Icelandic writer Snorri Sturluson in the '' Prose Edda''. A third poem, '' Hrafnsmál'', is also attributed to him by Snorri, although scholars rather think that it was composed by another of Harald Fairhair's court-poets named Þórbjǫrn Hornklofi. Þjóðólfr composed ''Ynglingatal'' for Ragnvald Heidumhære, a
chieftain A tribal chief, chieftain, or headman is a leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies There is no definition for "tribe". The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of weste ...
from Vestfold ( Oslofjord). The poem tells about the lives of the Ynglingar, a dynasty of kings from Uppsala, and forms the basis for Snorri's '' Ynglinga saga''. What we have preserved of ''Haustlǫng'' is centred on two mythological scenes:
Loki Loki is a Æsir, god in Norse mythology. He is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mythology), Laufey (a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to the goddess Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi (son of Lo ...
's betraying of Iðunn, the Æsir's "old-age cure", which was snatched from them by the jǫtunn Þjazi in eagle form; and Thor's victorious combat against the strongest of the jǫtnar, Hrungnir. If ''Haustlǫng'' was composed in emulation of Bragi inn gamli's '' Ragnarsdrápa'', as seems likely, then it will have had two further episodes.


References


Bibliography

* * * 10th-century Norwegian poets Norwegian male poets Place of birth unknown Place of death unknown {{Norway-poet-stub