''Skíðaríma'' () is a humorous Icelandic ríma, of unknown authorship, dated to around 1450–1500.

Summary

The hero is the audacious and inventive beggar Skíði, who was apparently a historic figure from the 12th century. It was also a real event that he had a dream in 1195, and it is this dream that is the matter of ''Skíðaríma''. Skíði dreams that

Óðinn Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Emp ...

sends

Þórr Thor (from ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, and fertility. Beside ...

to fetch Skíði in order to broker peace between Heðinn and Högni as their incessant war about

Hildr In Norse mythology, Hildr (Old Norse "battle"Orchard (1997:192).) is a valkyrie. Hildr is attested in the ''Prose Edda'' as Högni's daughter and Hedin's wife in the ''Hjaðningavíg''. She had the power to revive the dead in battlefields and u ...

threatens to destroy

Valhalla In Norse mythology, Valhalla ( , ; , )Orchard (1997:171–172) is described as a majestic hall located in Asgard and presided over by the god Odin. There were five possible realms the soul could travel to after death. The first was Fólkvang ...

. Skíði manages to make peace by asking to marry Hildr and finding her willing. However, as Skíði could not stop mentioning the word ''God'' in front of the

Æsir Æsir (Old Norse; singular: ) or ēse (Old English; singular: ) are deities, gods in Germanic paganism. In Old Nordic religion and Nordic mythology, mythology, the precise meaning of the term "" is debated, as it can refer either to the gods i ...

, and finally makes the

sign of the cross Making the sign of the cross (), also known as blessing oneself or crossing oneself, is both a prayer and a ritual blessing made by members of some branches of Christianity. It is a very significant prayer because Christians are acknowledging ...

Heimdallr In Norse mythology, Heimdall (from Old Norse Heimdallr; modern Icelandic language, Icelandic Heimdallur) is a Æsir, god. He is the son of Odin and nine mothers. Heimdall keeps watch for invaders and the onset of Ragnarök from his dwelling Himi ...

struck him in the mouth with the

Gjallarhorn In Norse mythology, Gjallarhorn (Old Norse: ; "hollering horn"Orchard (1997:57). or "the loud sounding horn"Simek (2007:110).) is a horn associated with the god Heimdallr and the wise being Mímir. The sound of Heimdallr's horn will herald the ...

. However, some of the

Einherjar In Norse mythology, the einherjar (singular einheri; literally "army of one", "those who fight alone")Simek, Rudolf (1993). ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology''. Translated by Angela Hall. p. 71.Orchard (1997:36) and Lindow (2001:104). are those ...

side with Skíði, whereas others are against him. A great battle ensued with a great many heroic deeds, some of them done by the pathetic beggar himself, until finally

Sigurðr Sigurd ( ) or Siegfried (Middle High German: ''Sîvrit'') is a legendary hero of Germanic heroic legend, who killed a dragon — known in Nordic tradition as Fafnir () — and who was later murdered. In the Nordic countries, he is referred t ...

the dragon slayer throws him out through the door. Skíði wakes up with a lot of pain in a farm on

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

. The depiction of the grovelling, avaricious and impudent beggar is considered to be very funny, and the poem is full of burlesque humour.

Editions and translations

* Maurer, Konrad von (ed.), ''Die Skída-ríma'' (Munich: Verlag der k. Akademie, 1869) *
Kvæðasafn eptir íslenzka menn frá miðöldum og síðari öldum. Fyrsta deild: Ljóðmæli nafngreindra höfunda
' (Hið íslenska bókmentafélag, 1922). * Finnur Jónsson (ed.), ''Rímnasafn: Samling af de ældste islandske rimer'', Samfund til udgivelse af gammel nordisk litteratur, 35, 2 vols (Copenhagen: Møller and Jørgensen, 1905-22), I:10–40. * Finnur Jónsson'sbr>1929 Copenhagen edition
* Theo Homan (ed.), ''Skíðaríma: An Inquiry into Written and Printed Texts, References and Commentaries'', Amsterdamer Publikationen zur Sprache und Literatur, 20 (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1975) (including an English translation pp. 347–59)
Text in modern Icelandic spelling at Bragi

Manuscripts

The oldest manuscript of the ríma is Reykjavík, Stofnun Árna Magnússon, Am 1025 4to, copied in 1737 by Jón Þorkelsson Skálholtsrektor.''Skíðaríma: An Inquiry into Written and Printed Texts, References and Commentaries'', ed. by Theo Homan, Amsterdamer Publikationen zur Sprache und Literatur, 20 (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1975), pp. 13, 16.
Manuscripts listed at Handrit.is

References

Old Norse poetry Rímur
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