Austrfararvísur (‘verses of an eastern journey’) is a

skaldic poem 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 ...

composed by the

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

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 ...

Sigvatr Þórðarson Sigvatr Þórðarson or Sighvatr Þórðarson or Sigvatr Thórðarson or Sigvat the Skald (995–1045) was an Icelandic skald. He was a court poet to King Olaf II of Norway, as well as Cnut the Great, Magnus the Good and Anund Jacob, by who ...

c. 1019. It is written in the meter

dróttkvætt Old Norse poetry encompasses a range of verse forms written in the Old Norse language, during the period from the 8th century to as late as the far end of the 13th century. Old Norse poetry is associated with the area now referred to as Scandinav ...

(‘courtly spoken’).

Historical context

Sigvat was a court poet and trusted advisor of King Olaf Haraldson of Norway. He was sent with a diplomatic delegation to the court of King Olof of Sweden. The delegation was successful. Reconciliation was achieved between the two kings, sealed with engagement between Olaf II and the Swedish princess

Astrid Olofsdotter of Sweden Astrid Olofsdotter ( Norwegian: ''Astrid Olavsdatter''; English: ''Aestrith''; died 1035) was the queen consort of Saint Olaf, who reigned over Norway from 1019 to 1028. She is the only woman to have a surviving skaldic praise-poem dedicated to ...

Content

Austrfararvísur contains a humorous and sarcastic description of Sigvat's arduous journey to ''Svíþjóð'', modern eastern Sweden. In one particularly memorable sequence, he describes how the men passed though Eidskogen into

Västergötland Västergötland (), also known as West Gothland or the Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish), situated in the southwest of Sweden. Vä ...

, and reached a farm named Hof (for its identity see Fulk 2012, p. 589). The door was barred, and the people inside hostile; due to being Christian, Sigvat and his retinue were not welcome. According to the prose context and alluded to in the poem, Sigvat went on to ask for lodging at two other homesteads, but were likewise refused at each. Thunberg, Carl L.(2012). ''Att tolka Svitjod'' 'To interpret Svitjod'' Göteborgs universitet. p. 33. . The relevant verses (4-6) from the poem in Fulk's edition (pp. 589-592): : ''I resolved to aim for Hof; the door was barred, but I made enquiries from outside; resolute, I stuck my down-bent nose in. I got very little response from the people, but they said t washoly; the heathen men drove me off; I bade the ogresses bandy words with them.'' : ''‘Do not come any farther in, wretched fellow’, said the woman; ‘I fear the wrath of

Óðinn Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Emp ...

; we are heathen.’ The disagreeable female, who drove me away like a wolf without hesitation, said they were holding a sacrifice to the elves inside her farmhouse.'' : ''Now three namesakes have driven eaway, they who turned their backs on me; not at all do the firs of the whetstone-platform WORD > MENdisplay praiseworthiness. However, I fear this above all, that every loader of the ocean-ski HIP > SEAFARERwho is named Ǫlvir will henceforth chase strangers away.''

References

Editions and translations

* * ''Om skalden Sighvat Thordsson och tolkning af hans Austrfararvísur, Vestrfararvísur och Knútsdrápa'' (author: Sighvatr Þórðarson; editor: Sven Alfred Ternström, publisher:Lund, H. Ohlssons boktryckeri, 1871. text in

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was 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 ...

with Swedish introduction, translation and notes )

Other sources

* Jonsson, Finnur (1907) ''Den islandske litteraturs historie tilligemed den old norske'' (University of California Libraries) * Lagerqvist,Lars O. (1982) ''Sverige och dess regenter under 1.000 år'' (Albert Bonniers Förlag AB) * Thunberg, Carl L. (2012) ''Att tolka Svitjod'' 'To interpret Svitjod''(Göteborgs universitet CLTS) ,

External links

The poem in Old Norse, two editions

''In Praise of Ástríðr Óláfsdóttir'' (Judith Jesch - University of Nottingham)
__NOTOC__ 11th-century poems Skaldic poems {{poem-stub