Bersi Skáldtorfuson
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Bersi Skáldtorfuson
OR:
Bersi Skáldtorfuson on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

Bersi Skáldtorfuson was an 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 ...
, active around the year 1000 CE. He was a court poet to Earl Sveinn Hákonarson. During the Battle of Nesjar he was captured by King Óláfr Haraldsson's forces. Three of the four stanzas of his that have survived were ostensibly composed while in captivity. One ''
lausavísa In Old Norse poetry and later Icelandic poetry, a ''lausavísa'' (pl. ''lausavísur'') is a single stanza composition, or a set of stanzas unconnected by narrative or thematic continuity. Lausavísur are often introduced in the text of sagas S ...
'' is attributed to Bersi in the surviving fragments of ''Óláfs saga helga'' by Styrmir Kárason. However, the same stanza is attributed to
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 ...
in
Heimskringla () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland. While authorship of ''Heimskringla'' is nowhere attributed, some scholars assume it is written by the Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson (117 ...
and to
Óttarr svarti Óttarr svarti ("Óttarr the Black") was an 11th-century Icelandic skald. He was the court poet first of Óláfr skautkonungr of Sweden, then of Óláfr Haraldsson of Norway, the Swedish king Anund Jacob and finally of Cnut the Great of Denmark ...
in other sagas on St. Óláfr. Styrmir's saga gives some information on Bersi's career in St. Óláfr's service and indicates that he died in 1030. Bersi was at some point at the court of King
Canute the Great Cnut ( ; ; – 12 November 1035), also known as Canute and with the epithet the Great, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway from 1028 until his death in 1035. The three kingdoms united under Cnut's rul ...
where Sigvatr Þórðarson addressed him in verse after they had both received gifts from the king. Apart from being mentioned 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, ...
, Bersi also has a minor role in ''
Grettis saga ''Grettis saga Ásmundarsonar'' (modern , reconstructed ), also known as ''Grettla'', ''Grettir's Saga'' or ''The Saga of Grettir the Strong'', is one of the Icelanders' sagas. It details the life of Grettir Ásmundarson, a bellicose Icelandic ou ...
'', chapters 15, 23 and 24, where he asks Earl Sveinn to spare
Grettir Ásmundarson ''Grettis saga Ásmundarsonar'' (modern , reconstructed ), also known as ''Grettla'', ''Grettir's Saga'' or ''The Saga of Grettir the Strong'', is one of the Icelanders' sagas. It details the life of Grettir Ásmundarson, a bellicose Icelandic ou ...
's life.Fox 2001, page 54. Se

for an alternative translation (by
William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...
and Eiríkr Magnússon) of the relevant chapter o

for an edition of the Old Norse text. Bersi's mother, Skáld-Torfa, was apparently also a poet but none of her works have survived.


Poetry

Bersi Skáldtorfuson: "Flokkr um Óláf" 1-3:


See also

*
List of Icelandic writers Iceland has a rich literary history, which has carried on into the modern period. Some of the best known examples of Icelandic literature are the Sagas of Icelanders. These are prose narratives based on historical events that took place in Icela ...
* List of skalds *
Icelandic literature Icelandic literature refers to literature written in Iceland or by Icelandic people. It is best known for the sagas written in medieval times, starting in the 13th century. As Icelandic and Old Norse are almost the same, and because Icelandic wo ...


References


Notes


Bibliography

* Björnsson, Eysteinn (2001).
Lexicon of Kennings: The Domain of Battle
'. *Fox, Denton and Hermann Pálsson (translators) (2001). ''Grettir's Saga''. University of Toronto Press. * Jónsson, Finnur (1931). ''Lexicon Poeticum''. København: S. L. Møllers Bogtrykkeri. *Hollander, Lee M (editor and translator). (1991).
Heimskringla: History of the Kings of Norway
'.
University of Texas Press The University of Texas Press (or UT Press) is the university press of the University of Texas at Austin. Established in 1950, the Press publishes scholarly and trade books in several areas, including Latin American studies, Caribbean, Caribbea ...
. *Monsen, Erling (editor and translator) and A. H. Smith (translator) (2004). ''Heimskringla Or the Lives of the Norse Kings.'' Kessinger Publishing. *Poole, Russell G. (1991).
Viking Poems on War and Peace
'.
University of Toronto Press The University of Toronto Press is a Canadian university press. Although it was founded in 1901, the press did not actually publish any books until 1911. The press originally printed only examination books and the university calendar. Its first s ...
.
Bersi Skáldtorfuson
Extant poetry {{DEFAULTSORT:Bersi Skaldtorfuson 11th-century Icelandic poets