Jórunn skáldmær ("poet-maiden") was a
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 ...
active in the first half of the 10th century. Only two stanzas and three half-stanzas of her ''Sendibítr'' ("Biting message") were preserved, mostly in
Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of th ...
's works, such as ''
Saga of Harald Fairhair
The Saga of Harald Fairhair (''Haralds saga hárfagra'') is the third of the sagas in Snorri Sturluson's ''Heimskringla'', after ''Ynglinga saga'' and the saga of Halfdan the Black. Snorri sagas were written in Iceland in the 1220s. This saga is ...
'' and ''
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 ...
''. The ''Sendibítr'', which deals with a conflict between
Harald Fairhair
Harald Fairhair (; – ) 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 Monarchy of Norway, King of Norway. Supposedly, two ...
and his son Halfdan the Black, is the longest recorded skaldic poem composed by a woman.
[Borovsky, Zoe. 1999. "Never in public: Women and performance in Old Norse Literature". ''Journal of American Folklore''. 112 (443): 6–39.]
See also
*
Hildr Hrólfsdóttir
*
Gunnhildr konungamóðir
*
Steinunn Refsdóttir
Steinunn Refsdóttir 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 p ...
Notes
External links
Jórunn's ''Sendibítr'' in the original language
10th-century Norwegian women
10th-century women writers
10th-century writers
10th-century Norwegian poets
Norwegian women poets
Medieval women poets
{{Norway-poet-stub