Hallfreðr Óttarsson or Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld (''Troublesome Poet'') (c. 965 – c. 1007) was an Icelandic

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 ...

. He is the protagonist of ''

Hallfreðar saga ''Hallfreðar saga vandræðaskálds'' (, Old Norse pronunciation: ) is one of the sagas of Icelanders. The saga is preserved in several 14th-century manuscripts, including Möðruvallabók and Flateyjarbók, but there are significant differences b ...

'' according to which he was the court poet first of Hákon Sigurðarson, then of

Óláfr Tryggvason Olaf Tryggvason (960s – 9 September 1000) was King of Norway from 995 to 1000. He was the son of Tryggvi Olafsson, king of Viken ( Vingulmark, and Rånrike), and, according to later sagas, the great-grandson of Harald Fairhair, first King ...

and finally of

Eiríkr Hákonarson Erik Hakonsson, also known as Eric of Hlathir or Eric of Norway (; 960s – 1020s), was Earl of Lade, Governor of Norway and Earl of Northumbria. He was the son of Earl Hákon Sigurðarson and brother of the legendary Aud Haakonsdottir of Lade. ...

. A significant amount of poetry by Hallfreðr has been preserved, primarily in ''Hallfreðar saga'' and the

kings' sagas Kings' sagas (, , ) are Old Norse sagas which principally tell of the lives of semi-legendary and legendary (mythological, fictional) Nordic kings, also known as saga kings. They were composed during the twelfth through the fourteenth centuries, ...

but a few fragments are also quoted in ''

Skáldskaparmál ''Skáldskaparmál'' (Old Norse: 'Poetic Diction' or 'The Language of Poetry'; ; ) is the second part of the ''Prose Edda'', compiled by Snorri Sturluson. It consists of a dialogue between Ægir, the divine personification of the sea, and Bra ...

''. In his '' lausavísur'' Hallfreðr was an unusually personal skald, offering insight into his emotional life and, especially, his troubled and reluctant conversion from

paganism Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

under the tutelage of king Óláfr. The following is an example. The '' Bergsbók'' manuscript attributes an ''

Óláfsdrápa Tryggvasonar ''Óláfsdrápa Tryggvasonar'' (''The ''drápa'' of Óláfr Tryggvason'') is an Icelandic skaldic poetry, skaldic poem from ca. 1200. It relates the life story of the 10th century King Óláfr Tryggvason from his upbringing in Russia to his death at ...

'' to Hallfreðr, but this attribution is rejected by modern scholars.

External links

page at the Skaldic Project
All extant poetry

in the

Möðruvallabók __NOTOC__ Möðruvallabók () or AM 132 fol is an Icelandic manuscript from the mid-14th century, inscribed on vellum. It contains the following Icelandic sagas in this order: *''Njáls saga'' *''Egils saga'' *''Finnboga saga ramma'' *''Bandamanna ...

version
Myth and Religion in the Poetry of a Reluctant Convert
Article by Diana Whaley
Erfidrápa Óláfs Tryggvasonar
Text of ''Erfidrápa'' with short notes on the poet in Norwegian {{DEFAULTSORT:Hallfredr vandraedaskald 10th-century Icelandic poets 960s births 1000s deaths Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain 11th-century Icelandic poets Icelandic male poets Converts to Christianity from Germanic paganism