''Hrafnsmál'' (

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is 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 of Scandinavia and t ...

: ; "

raven A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus ''Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between "crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigned t ...

song") is a fragmentary

skald A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: , later ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry, the other being Eddic poetry, which is anonymous. Skaldic poems were traditionally ...

ic poem generally accepted as being written by the 9th-century

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

skald

Þorbjörn Hornklofi Þórbjǫrn Hornklofi (Modern Norwegian: ''Torbjørn Hornklove'') was a 9th-century Norwegian skald and one of the court poet of King Harald Fairhair. His poetry has sometimes been regarded as a contemporary source of information regarding King Har ...

. ''Hrafnsmál'' largely consists of a conversation between an unnamed

valkyrie In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ("chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters"Orchard (1997:36) ...

and a raven; the two discuss the life and martial deeds of

Harald Fairhair Harald Fairhair no, Harald hårfagre Modern Icelandic: ( – ) was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from 872 to 930 and was the first King of Nor ...

. Due to this, the poem is sometimes referred to as ''Haraldskvæði''Orchard (1997:89). . The

meter The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its prefi ...

of the poem is dominantly ''

Málaháttr Málaháttr (Old Norse: ) is a poetic metre in Old Norse poetry, which is usually described as "conversational style." It is similar to fornyrðislag except that there are more syllables in a line; usually five. Poems with verses in this metre: * A ...

'', while smaller portions are in

Ljóðaháttr In prosody, alliterative verse is a form of verse that uses alliteration as the principal ornamental device to help indicate the underlying metrical structure, as opposed to other devices such as rhyme. The most commonly studied traditions of ...

and

Fornyrðislag In prosody, alliterative verse is a form of verse that uses alliteration as the principal ornamental device to help indicate the underlying metrical structure, as opposed to other devices such as rhyme. The most commonly studied traditions of ...

.Hollander (1980:54). Through dating of the parts as well as the meter is consistent, they may be separate compositions but scholarly consensus is indecisive. The poem is usually described as a praise poem, but bears more resemblance in style to the

Eddic poems The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems, which is distinct from the '' Prose Edda'' written by Snorri Sturluson. Several versions exist, all primarily of text from the Icelandic m ...

. In style, it so much resembles ''

Atlakviða ''Atlakviða'' (''The Lay of Atli'') is one of the heroic poems of the ''Poetic Edda''. One of the main characters is Atli who originates from Attila the Hun. It is one of the most archaic Eddic poems, possibly dating to as early as the 9th centu ...

'' (one of the oldest Eddic poems) that it has been suggested they were both composed by Hornklofi.Genzmer, Felix. 1926. ‘Der Dichter der Atlakviða’. ANF 42, 97-134. Stanzas from the poem were reworked into a song by

Einar Selvik Einar Selvik (born 18 November 1979), also known by his stage name Kvitrafn ("white raven"), is a Norwegian musician known for being the drummer in the black metal band Gorgoroth from 2000 to 2004, and for fronting the Nordic folk project Wardru ...

for the game ''

Assassin's Creed Valhalla ''Assassin's Creed Valhalla'' is a 2020 action role-playing video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It is the twelfth major installment in the ''Assassin's Creed'' series, and the successor to 2018's ''Assassin's Creed ...

''.

Editions and translations

* Borrow, George (Trans.) (1862). ''Once A Week: An Illustrated Miscellany of Literature, Art, Science &Popular Information''. Vol. VII. June to December, 1862. London: Bradbury & Evans, 11, Bouverie Street. Entitled ''Harald Harfagr''. Features an illustration by

Anthony Frederick Augustus Sandys Anthony Frederick Augustus Sandys (born Antonio Frederic Augustus Sands; 1 May 1829 – 25 June 1904), usually known as Frederick Sandys, was a British painter, illustrator, and draughtsman, associated with the Pre-Raphaelites. He was also assoc ...

. * Kershaw, Nora (1922). ''Anglo-Saxon and Norse Poems''. Cambridge at the University Press. * Hollander, Lee Milton (1980). ''Old Norse Poems: The Most Important Nonskaldic Verse Not Included in the Poetic Edda''
Forgotten Books
*

Notes

References

* Hollander, Lee Milton (1980). ''Old Norse Poems: The Most Important Nonskaldic Verse Not Included in the Poetic Edda''. Forgotten Books. * Orchard, Andy (1997). ''Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend''. Cassell.

External links

Hrafnsmál
from heimskringla.no {{DEFAULTSORT:Hrafnsmal Skaldic poems Sources of Norse mythology Cultural depictions of Harald Fairhair

Editions and translations

See also

Notes

References

External links