Þórbjǫrn hornklofi (Modern Norwegian: ''Torbjørn Hornklove''; note that ''hornklofi'' is a nickname, not a surname) was a 9th-century Norwegian

skald A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry in alliterative verse, the other being Eddic poetry. Skaldic poems were traditionally compo ...

and one of the court poets of

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Harald Fairhair Harald Fairhair (; – ) was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from 872 to 930 and was the first Monarchy of Norway, King of Norway. Supposedly, two ...

. His poetry has sometimes been regarded as a contemporary source of information regarding King Harald, although it is only preserved embedded within 13th and 14th century king's sagas. The two skaldic poems by him which are preserved, both only in excerpts, are ''

Hrafnsmál ''Hrafnsmál'' (Old Norse: ; "raven song") is a fragmentary skaldic poem generally accepted as being written by the 9th-century Norwegian skald Þorbjörn Hornklofi. ''Hrafnsmál'' largely consists of a conversation between an unnamed valkyrie a ...

'' and ''

Glymdrápa ''Glymdrápa'' ("''Drápa'' of din") is a Skaldic poetry, skaldic poem composed by Þorbjörn Hornklofi, the court poet of King Harald I of Norway (''Haraldr hárfagri''). Composed toward the end of the 9th century, the poem recounts several battle ...

''. The first poem, which utilizes verse form

málaháttr Málaháttr (Old Norse: ) is a poetic metre in Old Norse poetry, which is usually described as "conversational style." It is similar to fornyrðislag except that there are more syllables in a line; usually five. Poems with verses in this metre: * ...

, describes life at Harald's court, mentions that he took a Danish wife, and that he won a victory at the

Battle of Hafrsfjord The Battle of Hafrsfjord () was a naval battle fought in Hafrsfjord sometime between 872 and 900 that resulted in the unification of Norway, later known as the Kingdom of Norway (872–1397), Kingdom of Norway. After the battle, the victorious Vi ...

. The second is the earliest preserved

drápa A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry in alliterative verse, the other being Eddic poetry. Skaldic poems were traditionally comp ...

in regular

dróttkvætt Old Norse poetry encompasses a range of verse forms written in the Old Norse language, during the period from the 8th century to as late as the far end of the 13th century. Old Norse poetry is associated with the area now referred to as Scandinav ...

, and relates a series of battles Harald won during the consolidation of his rule of Norway.Edith Marold with the assistance of Vivian Busch, Jana Krüger, Ann-Dörte Kyas and Katharina Seidel, translated from German by John Foulks 2012, ‘Þorbjǫrn hornklofi, ''Glymdrápa''’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), ''Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035.'' Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 73. (accessed 12 July 2025)

References

Translations

* Kershaw, Nora (1922) ''Anglo-Saxon and Norse Poems''. The University Press
''The Lay of Harold''
in Hollander, Lee Milton (1936) ''Old Norse Poems: The Most Important Nonskaldic Verse Not Included in the Poetic Edda'' * R. D. Fulk 2012, �
(Biography of) Þorbjǫrn hornklofi
�� in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 73.

External links

''Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning'' (Author: Finnur Jónsson)
9th-century Norwegian poets Norwegian male poets Germanic pagans {{Norway-poet-stub