Eyvindr skáldaspillir

Eyvindr Finnsson skáldaspillir was a 10th century Norwegian skald. He was the court poet of king Hákon the Good and earl Hákon of Hlaðir. His son Hárekr later became a prominent chieftain in Norway.

His preserved works are:

*"Hákonarmál" - Composed in memory of king Hákon and tells of his reception in Valhalla. The poem is similar to the earlier "Eiríksmál".
*"Háleygjatal" - Recounts the ancestors of earl Hákon back up to Odin and tells of their deaths. The poem is similar to the earlier "Ynglingatal".
*Some 14 disjoint stanzas on historical events.

Eyvindr drew heavily on earlier poetry in his works. The cognomen "skáldaspillir" means literally "spoiler of poets" and is sometimes translated as "plagiarist".

References

* [http://www.heimskringla.no/original/snorre/skaldatal.php Skáldatal]
* [http://www.hi.is/~eybjorn/ugm/skindex/eyv.html An index of Eyvindr's poetry]