Anonymous, Baldrsdraumar

Andrew McGillivray (University of Winnipeg)

Ed. by Ármann Jakobsson, University of Iceland
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.3.4: Icelandic Writing and Culture.
Vol. editors: Ármann Jakobsson (University of Iceland), Kjerstin Moody (Gustavus Adolphus College), Sven Hakon Rossel (Universitat Wien), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen (University College London)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. 1300

Places

Iceland (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Poem

Resources

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Baldrsdraumar

[Baldr’s dreams] is a mythological eddic poem composed in

fornyrðislag

[old story metre]. The poem is divided into 15 stanzas, and survives in a vellum manuscript, AM 748 I a 4to, from c. 1300. In several paper manuscripts from later dates

Baldrsdraumar

bears the title

Vegtamskviða

[Vegtamr’s poem], derived from the name Óðinn provides when asked by the seeress for the identity of the one who has awoken her from the dead (stanza 6).

Baldrsdraumar displays notable similarities to Völuspá [Seeress’s prophecy]. Formally, in both poems Óðinn questions a seeress and then receives information from her about the future, though in Völuspá Óðinn’s questioning is implicit, as that text takes the form of a monologue delivered by the seeress. Linguistically, lines

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1324 words

Citation: McGillivray, Andrew. "Baldrsdraumar". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 19 June 2023 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=41005, accessed 04 May 2024.]

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