The rich and compelling corpus of Old Norse poetry is one of the most important and influential areas of medieval European literature. What is less well known, however, is the quantity of the material which can be attributed to women skalds. This book, intended for a broad audience, presents a bilingual edition (Old Norse and English) of this material, from the ninth to the thirteenth century and beyond, with commentary and notes. The poems here reflect the dramatic and often violent nature of the sagas: their subject matter features Viking Age shipboard adventures and shipwrecks; prophecies; curses; declarations of love and of revenge; duels, feuds and battles; encounters with ghosts; marital and family discord; and religious insults, among many other topics. Their authors fall into four main categories: pre-Christian Norwegian and Icelandic 'skáldkonur' of the Viking Age; Icelandic 'skáldkonur' of the Sturlung Age (thirteenth century); additional early 'skáldkonur' from the 'Islendingasögur' and related material, not as historically verifiable as the first group; and mythical figures cited as reciting verse in the legendary sagas ('fornaldarsögur').
Author(s): Sandra Ballif Straubhaar
Series: Library of Medieval Women
Publisher: D. S. Brewer
Year: 2011
Language: English
Pages: XII+146
City: Cambridge
Foreword vii
Abbreviations xi
Introduction 1
I. Real People, Real Poetry 11
Hildr Hrólfsdóttir nefju 12
Jórunn skáldmær 13
Gunnhildr konungamóðir 16
Steingerðr Þorketilsdóttir 16
Þórhildr skáldkona 17
Auðr Hvelpssystir und Hóli (Bróka-Auðr) 18
Steinunn Refsdóttir 18
Þuríðr Óláfsdóttir pá 20
Kerling í Tungu 21
II. Quasi-Historical People and Poetry 23
Fóstra Þórodds Þorbrandssonar 23
Arnfinnsdóttir jarls 24
Ármóðsdóttir skeggs 25
Unnr Marðardóttir 26
Bóndadóttir, Kerling, and Ambátt in 'Vǫlsa þáttr' 28
Ásdís á Bjargi 31
Signý Valbrandsdóttir 32
Þorbjǫrg Grímkelsdóttir 32
Helga Bárðardóttir 34
Ólǫf geisli 35
Ketilríðr Hólmkelsdóttir 36
III. Visionary Women: Women’s Dream-Verse 39
Kona at Munka-Þverá 40
Steinvǫr Sighvatsdóttir á Keldum 40
Halldóra Þórðardóttir 41
Kona ein í Svartárdal 41
Þuríðr at Fellsenda í Dǫlum 42
Kona skammt frá Þingeyrastað 43
Jóreiðr Hermundardóttir í Miðjumdal 43
IV. Legendary Heroines 49
'Helreið Brynhildar' 50
Signý Hálfdansdóttir 55
Hervǫr Angantýsdóttir ('Hervararkviða') 56
V. Magic-Workers, Prophetesses, and Alien Maidens 71
Heiðr in 'Vǫluspá' 72
'Darraðarljóð' 73
'Grottasǫngr' 77
Four Miscellaneous 'Spákona' Sequences 85
1. 'Hrólfs saga kraka' (Heiðr) 85
2. 'Ǫrvar-Odds saga' (Heiðr) 86
3. 'Ǫrvar-Odds saga' (Ǫlvǫr) 88
4. 'Orms þáttr Stórólfssonar' (vǫlva) 88
Gyðja (Pagan Priestess) from 'Ǫrvar-Odds saga' 89
Hervǫr Hundingjadóttir 91
Hildisif Ptólómeusdóttir and Álsól Ptólómeusdóttir 93
'Busluboen' 95
VI. Trollwomen 101
Bragi Boddason’s Trollwoman 102
Forað 102
Feima and Kleima 105
Hildigunnr Risadóttir 106
Vargeisa 106
Ýma, Hergunnr, and Margerðr 108
Hetta trollkona 111
Old Norse Literature Time Line 115
Glossary of Personal Names 117
Bibliography 129
Index of Names 135
