Old Norse poetry encompasses a range of verse forms written in the Old Norse language, during the period from the 8th century to as late as the far end of the 13th century. Old Norse poetry is associated with the area now referred to as Scandinavia. Much Old Norse poetry was originally preserved in oral culture, but the Old Norse language ceased to be spoken and later writing tended to be confined to history rather than for new poetic creation, which is normal for an extinct language. Modern knowledge of Old Norse poetry is preserved by what was written down. Most of the Old Norse poetry that survives was composed or committed to writing in Iceland, after refined techniques for writing (such as the use of vellum, parchment paper, pens, and ink) were introduced—seemingly contemporaneously with the introduction of Christianity: thus, the general topic area of Old Norse poetry may be referred to as Old Icelandic poetry in literature.
There are also around 122 verses preserved in Swedish rune inscriptions, 54 in Norwegian and 12 in Danish. (See Eggjum stone.)
Poetry played an important role in the social and religious world of the Vikings. In Skáldskaparmál, Snorri Sturluson, recounts the myth of how Odin brought the mead of poetry to Asgard. Poetry is referred to in such terms as 'the drink of the raven-god (= Odin)' even in the oldest preserved poetry, which is an indicator of its significance within the ancient Scandinavian culture.
Old Norse poetry developed from the common Germanic alliterative verse, and as such has many commonalities with Old English, Old Saxon, and Old High German poetry, including alliteration, poetic circumlocutions termed kennings, and an expansive vocabulary of poetic synonyms, termed heiti.
Old Norse poetry is conventionally, and somewhat arbitrarily, split into two types: Eddaic poetry (also known as Eddic poetry) and Skaldic poetry. Eddaic poetry refers to poems on themes of mythology or ancient heroes, composed in simpler meters (see below) and with anonymous authors. Most of the Eddaic poems are preserved in the Codex Regius manuscript, but a few others survive in manuscripts like the fragmentary AM 748 I 4to. On the other hand, Skaldic poetry was usually written as praise for living kings and nobles, in more intricate meters and by known authors, known as skalds.
Types of poetry There are various types of Old Norse poetry which have been preserved. Of particular interest to scholars are the Skaldic and Eddic lays, or poems. However, also of interest are occasional verse from other sources. Skaldic and Eddic works have many commonalities besides being written in Old Norse, such as alliteration; however, scholars usually distinguish the two based on certain characteristics.
Distinction between Skaldic and Eddic poetry Scholarly distinction between Eddic and Skaldic works largely derives both from differing manuscript traditions and their typical matter and style.
Manuscript sources One major distinction between Skaldic and Eddic poetry derives from the manuscript sources of the surviving known works. The large majority of works described as "Eddic" are found only in the Codex Regius, while a few of the poems found in it also survive in independent recensions in the AM 748 I 4to manuscript. Many verses from these Eddic poems are also quoted as evidence in the Prose Edda. Some poems not found in the early Eddic manuscripts are still considered to be "Eddic" due to their style. Examples include the "Lay of Ríg" from the Codex Wormianus; the "Lay of Hyndla" from the Flateyjar-bók; and, the "Lay of Svipdag", which is only found in later, paper manuscripts (rather than vellum). Together, all of these poems are grouped under the somewhat fluid term the Poetic Edda. Edward Pettit, The Poetic Edda: A Dual-Language Edition. Cambridge, UK: Open Book Publishers, 2023, https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0308
Matter and style Compared to the main skaldic style, the Eddic lays tend to be differentiated by three characteristics: the material deals with the mythology, ancient heroes, and ethics of the ancient Norse. Furthermore, the Eddic style is characterized by relative simplicity in terms of style and meter and, "like the later folk songs and ballads, they are anonymous and objective, never betraying the feelings or attitudes of their authors." In contrast, the skaldic poetry tends to concern itself with contemporary events and personalities, although also sometimes dealing with or alluding to myth and legend; skaldic poetry avoids direct narration; and, it is often known who the authors of the skaldic verses are along with their dates, unlike the Eddic poetry.
Metrical forms Old Norse poetry has many metrical forms (). They range from the ancient and relatively simple fornyrðislag ('air of ancient words'), closely related to the Old English meter, to the innovative and complex dróttkvætt ( 'court-spoken meter').
The metrical forms are divided into two groups: the Eddic forms, of which there are three, and the Skaldic forms, of which there are many more. All Norse verse forms share similarities both with each other and with other non-Norse forms of Germanic alliterative verse; such as, alliteration of stressed and grammatically important syllables, line lengths determined by the number of stressed syllables (called "lifts"), and the linking of half-lines into full lines or couplets by means of alliteration.Hallberg, Peter, translated by Paul Schach and Sonja Lindgrenson. Old Icelandic Poetry. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln (1975) ISBN 0-8032-0855-3, p. 12-13
Unique for Norse meter is a division of poems into stanzas (rather than the stichic Old English metre) with fixed numbers of lines, generally four. Another difference between the Norse system and the general Germanic pattern is that the Norse poets, unlike the Old English poets, tended to treat each "couplet", or Germanic line, as a complete syntactic unit, avoiding enjambment where a thought begun on one line continues through the following lines; only seldom do they begin a new sentence in the second half-line. It is not uncommon for modern editors to print each half-line of Old Norse poetry on a new line, rather than printing two half-lines on the same line separated by a cæsura, as is traditionally done for instance in Old English verse.
Eddic metrical forms Eddic, or Eddaic, poetry is for the most part composed either in fornyrðislag ('air of ancient words') or ljóðaháttr ('chant-meter'); a third, less common meter is málaháttr ('speech-meter').
Epic meter (Fornyrðislag)
Fornyrðislag ('air of ancient words') is the most commonly used Eddic metre and is often used for narrative poetry. It is the closest to other Germanic alliterative verse, including the Old English metre of Beowulf, and is found on runestones and in the Old Norse Poetic Edda. Its use continued in Iceland into late medieval sagnakvæði poetry.
Like all other Norse metre fornyrðislag is divided into stanzas of four full lines or couplets, each consisting of two half-lines. Each half-line has two stressed syllables, also known as "lifts", with a somewhat arbitrary number of other syllables. Through the use of alliteration, half-lines join into couplets. Generally, in the first half-line (the 'a-verse'), both "lifts", or stressed syllables alliterate—these are the "supports" (stuðlar). In the second line of any given couplet (the 'b-verse'), only one of the two stressed syllables is alliterated, usually the first—this is the "head-stave" (hǫfuðstafr).Hallberg, Peter, translated by Paul Schach and Sonja Lindgrenson. Old Icelandic Poetry. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln (1975) ISBN 0-8032-0855-3, p. 12-13
This example is from the Waking of Angantyr:
Speech meter (málaháttr) Málaháttr ('meter of speeches') is essentially a variant of fornyrðislag which adds an unstressed syllable to each half-line, making six to eight (sometimes up to ten) unstressed syllables per line. This meter is similar to that used in the Old Saxon Heliand. It is sometimes combined with ljóðaháttr in the same composition.
Chant meter (Ljóðaháttr) Ljóðaháttr ('chant-' or 'ballad' metre) is also organized into four-line stanzas. The first and third lines are typical lines of Germanic alliterative verse with four lifts and two or three alliterations, separated into two half-lines with cæsura, but with somewhat looser restrictions than fornyrðislag (for instance allowing two-syllable lines); the second and fourth lines have three lifts and two alliterations, and no cæsura. This example is from Freyr's lament in Skírnismál:
Because of its structure, which comprises clearly defined rhythmic stanzas, ljóðaháttr lends itself to dialogue and discourse. There were a number of variant stanza forms based on ljóðaháttr, including galdralag ('meter of spells'), which adds a fifth short (three-lift) line at the end of the stanza; in this form, the fifth line usually mirrors the fourth.
Skaldic metrical forms The Skaldic forms were so called because of their use in more elaborate court poetry composed by the elite poets known as skalds. In Skaldic poetry the structures used tend to be complex,Hallberg, Peter, translated by Paul Schach and Sonja Lindgrenson. Old Icelandic Poetry, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln (1975) ISBN 0-8032-0855-3, p. 107 and more highly derived from the common Germanic poetic tradition. Around a hundred meters are known, many only from Snorri Sturluson's Háttatal.
One of the simplest skaldic meters was kviðuháttr ('meter of lays'), a strict variant of fornyrðislag where the first half-line must contain exactly 3, the second exactly 4 syllables.Poole, Russell. 2005. Metre and Metrics. In: McTurk, Rory (ed.). A Companion to Old Norse-Icelandic Literature. P.267-268 It was used in genealogical poems such as Þjóðólfr ór Hvíni's Ynglingatal and Eyvindr Skáldaspillir's Háleygjatal. Other Skaldic meters, such as dróttkvætt and Hrynhenda were more complex, involving assonance and even end-rhyme.
Courtly Meter (Dróttkvætt)
Dróttkvætt (meaning ‘courtly metre’,) added internal rhymes (so called hendings) to its stanza structures. The resulting verse form goes well beyond the requirements of Germanic alliterative verse and strongly resembles Celtic (Irish and Welsh) verse forms. The dróttkvætt stanza had eight half-lines, each having usually three lifts and almost invariably six syllables. Although other stress patterns appear, the verse is predominantly trochaic, and the last two syllables in each line have to form a trochee (there are a few specific forms which utilize a stressed word at line-end, such as in some docked forms).Ringler, Dick (ed. and trans.). Jónas Hallgrímsson: Selected Poetry and Prose (1998), ch. III.1.B 'Skaldic Strophes', http://www.library.wisc.edu/etext/jonas/Prosody/Prosody-I.html#Pro.I.B In the very earliest dróttkvætt poetry (like the Ragnarsdrápa or Haustlǫng), the metrical requirements were somewhat looser, but by the 10th century the following specific requirements obtained for odd-numbered and even-numbered lines.Myrvoll, Klaus. The constitutive features of the dróttkvætt metre (2016).
In the odd-numbered lines (equivalent to the a-verse of the traditional alliterative line): Two of the stressed syllables alliterate with each other. Two of the stressed syllables share partial rhyme of consonants (which was called skothending) with dissimilar vowels (e.g. rider and loading).
In the even lines (equivalent to the b-verse of the traditional alliterative line): The first stressed syllable must alliterate with the alliterative stressed syllables of the previous line. Two of the stressed syllables rhyme (aðalhending, e.g. hating and baited), not necessarily at the end of the word (e.g. torching and orchard).