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Einarr Skúlason (ca. 1100 – after 1159) was an
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...
ic priest and
skald A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: , later ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry, the other being Eddic poetry, which is anonymous. Skaldic poems were traditional ...
. He was the most prominent Norse
poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...
of the 12th century. Einarr's poetry is primarily preserved in ''
Heimskringla ''Heimskringla'' () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorre Sturlason (1178/79–1241) 1230. The name ''Heimskringla'' was first used in the 17th century, derive ...
'', ''
Flateyjarbók ''Flateyjarbók'' (; "Book of Flatey") is an important medieval Icelandic manuscript. It is also known as GkS 1005 fol. and by the Latin name ''Codex Flateyensis''. It was commissioned by Jón Hákonarson and produced by the priests and scribes ...
'', ''
Morkinskinna ''Morkinskinna'' is an Old Norse kings' saga, relating the history of Norwegian kings from approximately 1025 to 1157. The saga was written in Iceland around 1220, and has been preserved in a manuscript from around 1275. The name ''Morkinskinn ...
'', '' Fagrskinna'' and ''
Skáldskaparmál ''Skáldskaparmál'' (Old Norse: 'The Language of Poetry'; c. 50,000 words; ; ) is the second part of the ''Prose Edda''. The section consists of a dialogue between Ægir, the divine personification of the sea, and Bragi, the god of poetry, ...
''. He was descended from the family of
Egill Skallagrímsson Egil Skallagrímsson (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ; 904 995) was a Viking Age war poet, sorcerer, berserker, and farmer.Thorsson, 3 He is known mainly as the anti-hero of '' Egil's Saga''. ''Egil's Saga'' historically narrates a period fro ...
, the so-called ''Mýramenn''. For most of his life he lived in Norway, during the reign of kings
Sigurd Magnusson :''Sigurd Magnusson was also the name of Sigurd I of Norway.'' Sigurd Magnusson (ca. 1180 – 3 April 1194) was a Norwegian nobleman who campaigned against King Sverre of Norway during the Civil war era in Norway. Background Sigurd Magnusson was ...
,
Harald Gille Harald Gille (Old Norse: ''Haraldr Gilli'' or ''Haraldr Gillikristr'', c. 1102 − 14 December 1136), also known as Harald IV, was king of Norway from 1130 until his death. His byname Gille is probably from Middle Irish ''Gilla Críst'' "servant o ...
and the sons of the latter, especially
Eysteinn Haraldsson Eystein II (Old Norse: ''Eysteinn Haraldsson'', Norwegian: ''Øystein Haraldsson''); c.1125 – 21 August 1157) was king of Norway from 1142 to 1157. He ruled as co-ruler with his brothers, Inge Haraldsson and Sigurd Munn. He was killed in t ...
, whose marshall he became. After Eysteinn's death in 1157, he composed the poem ''Elfarvísur'' for the nobleman Gregorius Dagsson (died 1161), referring to his victory over King Hákon Herdebrei at
Göta älv The Göta älv (; "River of (the) Geats") is a river that drains lake Vänern into the Kattegat, at the city of Gothenburg, on the western coast of Sweden. It was formed at the end of the last glaciation, as an outflow channel from the Baltic Ic ...
in
Götaland Götaland (; also '' Geatland'', '' Gothia'', ''Gothland'', ''Gothenland'' or ''Gautland'') is one of three lands of Sweden and comprises ten provinces. Geographically it is located in the south of Sweden, bounded to the north by Svealand, wit ...
. The best known of Einarr's '' drápur'' is ''Geisli'' ("Ray of Light"), about St. Olaf Haraldsson. This ''drápa'' was recited in the Church of Christ in
Nidaros Nidaros, Niðarós or Niðaróss () was the medieval name of Trondheim when it was the capital of Norway's first Christian kings. It was named for its position at the mouth (Old Norse: ''óss'') of the River Nid (the present-day Nidelva). Althou ...
in the presence of the three Norwegian kings of the time,
Eysteinn Eysteinn (Swedish: Östen; died ca 600) was the son of Eadgils and Yrsa of Saxony. He was the father of Ingvar. The Eysteinn tumulus ''(Östens hög)'' in Västerås near Östanbro has been linked to King Eysteinn by some popular historians. The ...
,
Sigurd Sigurd ( non, Sigurðr ) or Siegfried (Middle High German: ''Sîvrit'') is a legendary hero of Germanic heroic legend, who killed a dragon and was later murdered. It is possible he was inspired by one or more figures from the Frankish Merovin ...
and
Inge Inge is a given name in various Germanic language, Germanic language-speaking cultures. In Swedish and Norwegian, it is mostly used as a masculine, but less often also as a feminine name, sometimes as a short form of Ingeborg, while in Danish, Est ...
, along with
Jon Birgersson, Archbishop of Nidaros Jon Birgersson (died 24 February 1157) was a Norwegian clergyman, bishop, and the first archbishop of the archdiocese of Nidaros. His father's name was Birger, but his year of birth is unknown. He served as bishop of the diocese of Stavanger from 11 ...
. The poem is composed in the '' dróttkvætt'' metre and it is the earliest completely preserved ''drápa'' with Christian content.


Notes


References


External links


Einarr Skúlason
All extant poetry


Note

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skulason, Einarr Einarr Skulason Einarr Skulason Einarr Skulason Year of death unknown Year of birth unknown Einarr Skulason Year of birth uncertain