The Viking Poets

In Old Norse, poets were called skalds. Skalds were highly regarded oral storytellers operating in Viking society. They specialised in skaldic poetry, an elaborate form of verse that often praised whichever king they served.

Skaldic poetry was a complex system where words were woven together with skill and intricacy. This began with the poetic structure. The skalds used a form of verse called drottkvætt. A drottkvætt stanza was written in eight lines. Each line had six syllables: three were stressed, and the last was unstressed. Alliterating words would then connect each line; however, every other line would have two alliterating words instead of one. The skald would also pay close attention to the internal rhyme of their poem; in every line, there would be two internal rhyming words. Below is an example from Egil Skargrimmson, a Viking age warrior (c. 910–990), farmer, and skald:

Icelandic Version: Títt erum verð at vátta Vætti ber ek at ek hætta þung til þessar gǫngu þinn, kinnalá minni Margr velr gestr þar er gistir gjǫld, finnumsk vér sjaldan Ármóði liggr, œðri ǫlðra dregg í skeggi.

Modern English Translation: Eager am I the meal to acknowledge Witness I bear that I dared Heavy make this journey your, cheek-surge my Many pays a guest, there stays payment, we meet seldom In Ármóðr lies, dearer of ale dregs in beard.

Confused? Just imagine having to come up with drottkvætt on the spot. And on top of that, in front of a violent Viking king who could make your life very difficult if he didn’t like your poem. But wait, there’s more! Another technique skalds employed was the kenning. Kennings were short descriptive phrases that replaced certain words, a bit like a mini-riddle. In the above example, the poet used the phrase ‘cheek-surge’ as a kenning for vomit. Most of the time, kennings would draw from the skald’s extensive knowledge of the mythological tradition. For instance, ‘Sif’s hair’ would be a kenning for gold (this was a reference to the golden hair of the Norse goddess, Sif).

Skalds interwove so many kennings into their work that, at times, their poems could seem like one big brainteaser. In a poem by Eyvind Finnson, a Norwegian skald who served Hákon the Good during the 10th century, he used five different kennings in the same eight-line stanza:

Kenning 1: Ullr of the Battle-Leek = Warrior Ullr was a Norse god associated with battle. The phrase “…of the battle-leek” would refer to a sword. Coupling these two phrases together, we get Warrior.

Kenning 2: Hawk Mountain = Arm This refers to falconry, where the hawk would perch on a person’s arm as if it were a mountain.

Kenning 3: Seed of Fyrisvellir = Gold This refers to a story told in the Saga of King Rolf Kraki, where king Rolf scatters gold over the marshes of Fyrisvellir (as if it were a seed) to distract his pursuers.

Kenning 4: Flour of Frodi’s Hapless Slaves = Gold This refers to the Song of Grotti, where King Frodi orders his slaves to mill gold from a magical grindstone.

Kenning 5: Flesh of Mother of Enemy of Giantess = Earth The enemy of giantess would refer to Thor, a Norse god known for slaying giants. His mother, Jord, was the personification of the earth.

To see more of the kennings used by skalds, click here.

Final Thoughts

This was why Skalds were so highly sought after, though. Using so many kennings to reference various aspects of mythology would elevate their work beyond a simple praise poem. As a king, to have a skaldic poem about you would legitimise your rule. Not only would it glorify your reign and enshrine you into folk legend, but it would connect you to a much larger mythological tradition.

Skalds were also entertainers; some would play music, while others relied solely on their voices to captivate audiences. The sheer composure needed to do this in such a violent time, while also reciting perfect drottkvætt verse and keeping track of all their kennings, is something we must marvel at.

The term skald may refer to a poet, but it was obvious that skalds were much more than just poets. They were lore keepers and scholars, true masters of their craft, torchbearers responsible for keeping their cultural heritage alive.