Þórðr Sjáreksson was an 11th-century Icelandic

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 ...

. He composed a ''

drápa 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 comp ...

'' on Þórólfr Skólmsson, four strophes of which have been preserved in the

kings' sagas Kings' sagas (, , ) 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 composed during the twelfth through the fourteenth centuries, ...

. He also composed a memorial ''drápa'' on the canonised

Olaf II of Norway Saint Olaf ( – 29 July 1030), also called Olaf the Holy, Olaf II, Olaf Haraldsson, and Olaf the Stout or "Large", was List of Norwegian monarchs, King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he w ...

, called ''Róðadrápa'' (''Drápa of the Rood''), one strophe of which is preserved. A few disjoint strophes by Þórðr on different subjects are also preserved in ''

Skáldskaparmál ''Skáldskaparmál'' (Old Norse: 'Poetic Diction' or 'The Language of Poetry'; ; ) is the second part of the ''Prose Edda'', compiled by Snorri Sturluson. It consists of a dialogue between Ægir, the divine personification of the sea, and Bra ...

''. ''

Skáldatal ''Skáldatal'' (''Catalogue of Poets'') is a short prose work by Snorri Sturluson in Old Norse. It was preserved in two manuscripts: DG 11, or ''Codex Uppsaliensis'', which is one of the four main manuscripts of the ''Prose Edda'' (first quarter of ...

'' reckons Þórðr among the court poets of both Óláfr Haraldsson and

Eiríkr Hákonarson Erik Hakonsson, also known as Eric of Hlathir or Eric of Norway (; 960s – 1020s), was Earl of Lade, Governor of Norway and Earl of Northumbria. He was the son of Earl Hákon Sigurðarson and brother of the legendary Aud Haakonsdottir of Lade. ...

. In ''

Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta ''Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta'' or ''The Greatest Saga of Óláfr Tryggvason'' is generically a hybrid of different types of sagas and compiled from various sources in the fourteenth century, but is most akin to one of the kings' sagas. It ...

'' a short story is told of Þórðr. In the reign of Olaf II, he had travelled to the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

intending to visit

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. On the way he meets a mysterious tall man who converses with him in the Norse tongue and tells him to go back since the road ahead isn't safe. The stranger asks Þórðr if he knows

Hjalti Skeggiason Hjalti Skeggiason (Old Norse and Modern Icelandic: ; O.N. pronunciation: ; M.I. pron.: ) was an Icelandic chieftain who supported Gizurr the White for the introduction of Christianity in Iceland, on the Althing in 1000. Later he spent time with ...

and Þórðr tells him that they are related by marriage. The stranger asks Þórðr to bring Hjalti his greeting and tells him a story to bring Hjalti so that he will recognize who he his. Þórðr does as he is bid and when he brings the stranger's greeting to Hjalti, he is told that the man must have been

Olaf Tryggvason Olaf Tryggvason (960s – 9 September 1000) was King of Norway from 995 to 1000. He was the son of Tryggvi Olafsson, king of Viken ( Vingulmark, and Rånrike), and, according to later sagas, the great-grandson of Harald Fairhair, first King ...

, still walking the earth long after his defeat at the

Battle of Svolder The Battle of Svolder (''Svold'' or ''Swold'') was a large naval battle during the Viking age, fought in September 1000 in the western Baltic Sea between King Olaf of Norway and an alliance of the Kings of Denmark and Sweden and Olaf's enemies ...

Notes

References

*Eysteinn Björnsson (2002). ''Index of Old Norse/Icelandic Skaldic Poetry''. Published online at: http://www.hi.is/~eybjorn/ugm/skindex/skindex.html See in particular "Þórðr Sjáreksson" at http://www.hi.is/~eybjorn/ugm/skindex/thsjar.html using several different editions. *Finlay, Alison (translator) (2004). ''Fagrskinna, a Catalogue of the Kings of Norway''. Brill Academic Publishers. *Sephton, J. (translator) (1895). ''The Saga of King Olaf Tryggwason''. London, David Nutt. {{DEFAULTSORT:Thordr Sjareksson 11th-century Icelandic poets