
''Haustlǫng'' (
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 ...
: 'Autumn-long';
anglicized as ''Haustlöng'') is a
skaldic poem composed around the beginning of the 10th century by the 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 ...
Þjóðólfr of Hvinir
Þjóðólfr ór Hvini (; anglicized as Thjódólf of Hvinir or Thiodolf; fl. late 9th–early 10th c. AD), was a Norwegian skald, said to have been one of the court-poets of the Norwegian king Harald Fairhair. His name suggests that he was fro ...
.
The poem has been preserved in the 13th-century ''
Prose Edda'' by
Snorri Sturluson, who quotes two groups of
stanzas from it and some verses to illustrate technical features of skaldic diction. Snorri also drew inspiration from Þjóðólfr to redact his own version of the myths told in ''Haustlöng''.
The poem describes
mythological scenes said by the
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 ...
to have been painted on a shield: Loki's betraying of
Iðunn, the goddess who kept the
Æsir eternally young - who was snatched from them by the
jötunn Þjazi after he had assumed
eagle form; and
Thor's victorious combat against the strongest of the
jötnar,
Hrungnir.
Title
The title of the poem, ''Haustlǫng'', translated as 'Autumn-long', may refer to its period of composition or gestation by the
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 ...
, identified from a relatively early period with
Þjóðólfr of Hvinir
Þjóðólfr ór Hvini (; anglicized as Thjódólf of Hvinir or Thiodolf; fl. late 9th–early 10th c. AD), was a Norwegian skald, said to have been one of the court-poets of the Norwegian king Harald Fairhair. His name suggests that he was fro ...
.
Text
Abduction of Iðunn
The
stanzas 1–13 of the poem depict the encounter of the
Æsir (gods)
Odin,
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 ...
and
Hœnir with the
jötunn Þjazi in the form of an eagle.
As the three gods Odin, Loki and Hœnir are trying to cook an ox, the giant Þjazi, who has assumed eagle form, asks for a share of the meat. Loki strikes at him with a staff, but the weapon sticks to the eagle and to Loki's hand as the bird flies off. The eagle finally agrees to release Loki on condition that he deliver up to him
Iðunn and the apples which are the "gods’ old-age medicine".
Without Iðunn, tells the poet, "all
Ingi-Freyr’s kin
Æsir">he
Æsirbecame old and grey in their assembly; the powers were rather ugly in form". The gods then catch
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 ...
and force him to get Iðunn back: "‘You shall be trapped, Loki,’ the angry one spoke thus, ‘unless by some scheme you bring back the renowned maid, enlarger of the fetters'
ods'joy." In the less cryptic form of the episode recounted in the Prose Edda, we are told that Loki then borrows Freyja's falcon skin cloak in order to fly to
Jötunheimar in bird form. There the Jötnar direct a storm-wind against the transformed god to keep him out of their abode, but nonetheless Loki is able to fly off with Idunn clutched in his claws in the form of a nut. Þjazi gives chase in eagle form but is burnt in a bonfire kindled by the Aesir just after Loki has cleared the battlements of Asgard and ducked down to hide at the foot of the wall.
Thor's duel with Hrungnir
In the
stanzas 14–20 of ''Haustlöng'',
Þjóðólfr depicts Thor's journey to the duel with the jötunn
Hrungnir while the entire cosmos reacts. Then Hrungnir and Thor fight by hurling their weapons at each other (the jötunn's whetstone and
Thor's hammer), and the poem alludes at the end to the removal of the piece of whetstone from Thor's head. In contrast to
Snorri Sturluson's account,
Þjóðólfr lays more emphasis upon Thor's journey to the battle, accompanied by noise and flames, while Snorri makes relatively little of it and also describes Hrungnir's journey. Thor's servant
Þjálfi and Hrungnir's clay-made giant Mokkurkálfi are absent from Þjóðólfr’s version.
Other verses
Two other verses of ''Haustlöng'' have survived for they are also cited in the 13th-century
Prose Edda:
* "Middlingly free of deceit, he was a slow provider of service to the god. The helmet-capped educator
dinof the fetters declared there was something behind it."
* "The lady-wolf
hiassiflew noisily to meet the commanders of the crew
he Æsirno short time ago in an old old-one’s form."
Two other verses attributed to
Þjóðólfr by Snorri in the Prose Edda were instead redacted by the 9th-century skald
Þorbjörn Hornklofi.
See also
*
Ekphrasis
References
Bibliography
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External links
HaustlǫngOld Norse text. ''Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning'' by
Finnur Jónsson 1912-1915
Þjóðólfr ór Hvini: HaustlöngTwo editions of the Old Norse text
Old Norse text with Lithuanian and English translation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haustlong
Skaldic poems
Works based on art
Prose Edda