Anonymous, Hárbarðsljóð [The Lay of Hárbarðr]

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Hárbarðsljóð

[Harbard’s song] is a mythological eddic poem composed in a mix of

fornyrðislag

[old story meter],

ljóðaháttr

[song meter],

málaháttr

[speech meter], and some irregular or free verse. The poem is divided into 60 stanzas with some prose insertions. The oldest version of

Hárbarðsljóð

survives in a vellum manuscript from c. 1260-1280, Konungsbók eddukvæða (Codex Regius of Eddic Poetry; GKS 2365 4to). A fragmentary version of the poem is also found in AM 748 I a 4to, from c. 1300, that includes the final two-thirds of the

Hárbarðsljóð

text, from stanza 19 line 7, where the surviving manuscript begins, on to the end of the poem.

Þórr and Óðinn—here disguised as Hárbarðr [Grey beard]—trade stanzas of speech from across an inlet that Þórr encounters

1013 words

Citation: McGillivray, Andrew. "Hárbarðsljóð". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 19 September 2022 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=40736, accessed 06 October 2024.]

40736 Hárbarðsljóð 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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