390 POETRY OR SCALDSHIP, MUSIC AND MENTAL EKERCISES 



The figurative names given to scald ship l by the poets show 

 how the earlier traditions were impressed upon the mind 

 Kvdsirs llood, Dvergar mead, Suttungs mead, Asar's mead, 

 Odreyris liquid, Od/ns gift, Odins freight, The Dvergar s sea, 

 The Dvergar 's ale, Jotnars mead. 



Bragi ^ was supposed to be the most eloquent scald among: 

 the Asar. 



The origin of poetry is given in Havamal ; but in the later 

 Edda we have a more minute account of how it was learned 

 by the Asar. 



When Hler of Hlesso, who was also called ^Egir, came to 

 Asgard to visit the Asar, he made many inquiries, among 

 which was the following : 



" ^Egir said : ' Whence has come the idrott which you call 

 scaldship ? ' Bragi answered : ' The origin was that the gods 

 (Asar) went to war with a people called Vanir. They appointed 

 a truce thus ; both went to a vessel and spat on it. When 

 parting, the gods, unwilling to let this mark of truce be lost, 

 took it, and out of it shaped a man, Kvasir. He is so wise 

 that no one can ask him any question that he cannot answer. 

 He travelled far and wide about the world to teach wisdom to 

 men. When invited home to the Dvergar, Fjalar and Galar, 

 they called him to a secret meeting and slew him. They let 

 his blood run into two tubs and a kettle called Odreyrir 

 (song-rearer), but the tubs are called Son (sacrifice), and Bodn. 

 They mixed 2 the blood with honey, and therefrom came the 

 mead of which whosoever drinks becomes a skald or a wise 

 man. The Dvergar told the Asar that Kvasir had been 



1 Skaldskap = scald-ship, derived from 

 skald, a poet. 



The leading poets were : 



Bragi Boddason the old (about 800). 

 The earliest who appears within historical 

 periods. 



Thjodolf of Hvin and Thorbjorn Horn- 

 klofi, Harnld Fairhair's scalds. 



Eyvind Skald aspillir, Hakon the Good's 

 greatest poet. 



Egil Skallagrimsson. 



Kormak Ogmuudsson, famous for love 

 songs. 



Hallfred Vandroedaskald, the trouble- 

 some scald, Olaf Tryggvason's greatest 

 poet. 



Sighvat Thordarson, St. Olaf's greatest 

 scald. 



Thjodolf Arnorsson, Harald Hardradi's 

 scald. 



The scalds who made songs on Knut 

 the Great were : Thord Kolbeinsson, 

 Sighvat Thordarson, Ottar the black, 

 Thorarin Loftunga (praise-tongue), Hall- 

 vard Harekublesi, Bersi Skaldtorfu- 

 son. 



The greatest masterpiece of scaldic art 

 was composed in 1222-23 by Snorri Stur- 

 luson on Hakon Hakonsson, King of Nor- 

 way, and the jarl Skuli, Bard's son. 

 Hattatal (the list of metres) is its title, 

 and of the 102 strophes each one is in a 

 different metre. 



2 Cf. mixing blood in foster-brother- 

 hood. 



