Old Norse Women’s Poetry: The Voices of Female Skalds. Translated from the Old Norse

Description

The rich and compelling corpus of Old Norse poetry is one of the most important and influential areas of medieval European literature. What is less well known, however, is the quantity of the material which can be attributed to women skalds. This book, intended for a broad audience, presents a bilingual edition (Old Norse and English) of this material, from the ninth to the thirteenth century and beyond, with commentary and notes. The poems here reflect the dramatic and often violent nature of the sagas: their subject matter features Viking Age shipboard adventures and shipwrecks; prophecies; curses; declarations of love and of revenge; duels, feuds and battles; encounters with ghosts; marital and family discord; and religious insults, among many other topics. Their authors fall into four main categories: pre-Christian Norwegian and Icelandic 'skáldkonur' of the Viking Age; Icelandic 'skáldkonur' of the Sturlung Age (thirteenth century); additional early 'skáldkonur' from the 'Islendingasögur' and related material, not as historically verifiable as the first group; and mythical figures cited as reciting verse in the legendary sagas ('fornaldarsögur'). Foreword vii Abbreviations xi Introduction 1 I. Real People, Real Poetry 11 Hildr Hrólfsdóttir nefju 12 Jórunn skáldmær 13 Gunnhildr konungamóðir 16 Steingerðr Þorketilsdóttir 16 Þórhildr skáldkona 17 Auðr Hvelpssystir und Hóli (Bróka-Auðr) 18 Steinunn Refsdóttir 18 Þuríðr Óláfsdóttir pá 20 Kerling í Tungu 21 II. Quasi-Historical People and Poetry 23 Fóstra Þórodds Þorbrandssonar 23 Arnfinnsdóttir jarls 24 Ármóðsdóttir skeggs 25 Unnr Marðardóttir 26 Bóndadóttir, Kerling, and Ambátt in 'Vǫlsa þáttr' 28 Ásdís á Bjargi 31 Signý Valbrandsdóttir 32 Þorbjǫrg Grímkelsdóttir 32 Helga Bárðardóttir 34 Ólǫf geisli 35 Ketilríðr Hólmkelsdóttir 36 III. Visionary Women: Women’s Dream-Verse 39 Kona at Munka-Þverá 40 Steinvǫr Sighvatsdóttir á Keldum 40 Halldóra Þórðardóttir 41 Kona ein í Svartárdal 41 Þuríðr at Fellsenda í Dǫlum 42 Kona skammt frá Þingeyrastað 43 Jóreiðr Hermundardóttir í Miðjumdal 43 IV. Legendary Heroines 49 'Helreið Brynhildar' 50 Signý Hálfdansdóttir 55 Hervǫr Angantýsdóttir ('Hervararkviða') 56 V. Magic-Workers, Prophetesses, and Alien Maidens 71 Heiðr in 'Vǫluspá' 72 'Darraðarljóð' 73 'Grottasǫngr' 77 Four Miscellaneous 'Spákona' Sequences 85 1. 'Hrólfs saga kraka' (Heiðr) 85 2. 'Ǫrvar-Odds saga' (Heiðr) 86 3. 'Ǫrvar-Odds saga' (Ǫlvǫr) 88 4. 'Orms þáttr Stórólfssonar' (vǫlva) 88 Gyðja (Pagan Priestess) from 'Ǫrvar-Odds saga' 89 Hervǫr Hundingjadóttir 91 Hildisif Ptólómeusdóttir and Álsól Ptólómeusdóttir 93 'Busluboen' 95 VI. Trollwomen 101 Bragi Boddason’s Trollwoman 102 Forað 102 Feima and Kleima 105 Hildigunnr Risadóttir 106 Vargeisa 106 Ýma, Hergunnr, and Margerðr 108 Hetta trollkona 111 Old Norse Literature Time Line 115 Glossary of Personal Names 117 Bibliography 129 Index of Names 135