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Austrfararvísur
Austrfararvísur (‘verses of an eastern journey’) is a skaldic poetry, skaldic poem composed by the Icelandic skald Sigvatr Þórðarson c. 1019. It is written in the meter dróttkvætt (‘courtly spoken’). Historical context Sigvat was a court poet and trusted advisor of King Saint Olaf, Olaf Haraldson of Norway. He was sent with a delegation to the court of King Olof Skötkonung, Olof of Sweden. The purpose of the trip was diplomatic and the result was successful. Reconciliation was achieved between the two kings, sealed with engagement between Olaf II and the Swedish princess Astrid Olofsdotter of Sweden. Content Austrfararvísur contains a humorous and sarcastic description of Sigvat's arduous journey to ''Svíþjóð'', modern eastern Sweden. In one particularly memorable sequence, he describes how the men passed though Eidskogen into Västergötland, and reached a farm named Hof (for its identity see Fulk 2012, p. 589). The door was barred, and the people inside hostil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Álfablót
The álfablót (or the Elven sacrifice) is a Norse paganism, pagan Scandinavian blót, sacrifice to the elf, elves towards the end of autumn, when the crops had been harvested and the animals were most fat. Unlike the great blóts at Gamla Uppsala, Uppsala and Mære, the álfablót was a local celebration at the homesteads that was mainly administered by the woman of the household. Nothing is known about the particular rites because they were surrounded by secrecy and strangers were not welcome to the homesteads during the celebrations.Steinsland & Meulengracht 1998:79 However, since the elves were collective powers with a close connection to ancestors and fertility, it is possible that the álfablót concerned ancestor worship and the life force of the family. It also appears that Odin was implied and that the master of the household was called ''Ǫlvir'' when administering the rites. The first element of ''Ǫlvir'' means "beer", which was an important element in Norse pagan sacrifi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |