Hrafnagaldr Óðins

"Hrafnagaldr Óðins" ("Odin's raven-galdr") or "Forspjallsljóð" ("prelude poem") is an Icelandic poem in the style of the "Poetic Edda". It is preserved only in late paper manuscripts. In his influential 1867 edition of the "Poetic Edda", Sophus Bugge reasoned that the poem was a 17th century work, composed as an introduction to "Baldrs draumar". Since then it has not been included in editions of the "Poetic Edda" and not been extensively studied. But prior to Bugge's work the poem was considered a part of the "Poetic Edda" and included, for example, in the English translations of A. S. Cottle (1797) and Benjamin Thorpe (1866) as well as Karl Simrock's influential German translation (1851). In 1852, William and Mary Howitt characterized it as "amongst the most deeply poetical and singular hymns of the Edda". [Howitt 1852:85.]

The poem consists of 26 "fornyrðislag" stanzas. It mentions a number of figures from Norse mythology but does not appear to describe a myth known from other sources. The context is unclear and the narrative is difficult to follow while many stanzas are cryptic and probably corrupt. The last preserved stanza does not appear to form a satisfactory conclusion, suggesting that the poem as it has come down to us is incomplete.

In recent years there has been a revival of interest in the poem with the Icelandic philologist Jónas Kristjánsson attempting to refute Bugge's analysis. Based on linguistic evidence and the seemingly corrupted state of the text Jónas argued in favor of an earlier dating than Bugge, perhaps to the 14th century. [Jónas Kristjánsson 2002.] Philologist Kristján Árnason disagreed and argued on the basis of a metrical analysis that the poem as it has come down to us can hardly be older than from the 16th century. [Kristján Árnason 2002.] Annette Lassen argued that only a few lines have metrical indications of being young and that this is not proof of a young age for the entire poem. She concludes that the poem is a valid source which should not be subject to greater skepticism than e.g. "Fjölsvinnsmál" and "Sólarljóð". [Lassen 2006.]

In 2002 the Icelandic musician Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, traditional singer Steindór Andersen and the music group Sigur Rós composed and performed music to the poem. [Service 2002.]

Notes

References

* Bugge, Sophus (1867). "Norræn fornkvæði". Christiania: Malling. Available online at http://etext.old.no/Bugge/.
* Cottle, A. S. (tr.) (1797). "Icelandic Poetry or The Edda of Saemund". Bristol. Available online at http://www.northvegr.org/lore/poetic3/index.php
* Eysteinn Björnsson (ed. & tr.) (2002). "Hrafnagaldur Óðins : Forspjallsljóð". http://www.hi.is/~eybjorn/ugm/hrg/hrg.html
* Howitt, William and Mary Howitt (1852). "Literature and Romance of Northern Europe". Reprinted 2003, Kessinger Publishing.
* Jónas Kristjánsson (2002). "Hrafnagaldur Óðins - Forspjallsljóð". Morgunblaðið April 27, 2002. Available online at http://www.mbl.is/mm/gagnasafn/grein.html?grein_id=664350 (article), http://www.mbl.is/mm/gagnasafn/grein.html?grein_id=664349 (edition of the poem) and http://www.mbl.is/mm/gagnasafn/grein.html?grein_id=664351 (synopsis and commentary)
* Kristján Árnason (2002). "Hljóðdvöl í Hrafnagaldri Óðins". Morgunblaðið May 25, 2002. Available online at http://www.mbl.is/mm/gagnasafn/grein.html?grein_id=669901
* Lassen, Annette (2006). "Hrafnagaldur Óðins / Forspjallsljóð : et antikvarisk digt?" in "The Fantastic in Old Norse/Icelandic Literature", pp. 551-560. Available online at http://www.dur.ac.uk/medieval.www/sagaconf/lassen.htm
* Service, Tom. (2002) "Sigur Ros". The Guardian April 23, 2002. http://arts.guardian.co.uk/reviews/story/0,,705948,00.html
* Thorpe, Benjamin (tr.) (1866). "Edda Sæmundar Hinns Froða : The Edda Of Sæmund The Learned". (2 vols.) London: Trübner & Co. Available online at http://www.northvegr.org/lore/poetic2/index.php

External links

* [http://www.hi.is/~eybjorn/ugm/hrg/hrg.html Hrafnagaldur Óðins] Translation by Eysteinn Björnsson
* [http://www.northvegr.org/lore/poetic2/004.php Odin’s Ravens’ Song] Translation by Benjamin Thorpe
* [http://home.earthlink.net/~wodensharrow/korpgalder.html The Lay of Odin's Ravens] Translation by Elsa Britta Tichennell
* [http://www.northvegr.org/lore/poetic3/019.php The Song of the Ravens] Translation by A. S. Cottle
* [http://etext.old.no/Bugge/forspjal.html Forspjallsljóð] Sophus Bugge's edition
* [http://www.heimskringla.no/dansk/finnurmagnusson/forspjallsljod/index.php Odins ravnes sang] Finnur Magnússon's Danish edition
* [http://www.runenschrift.de/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=34&Itemid=68 Odins Rabenzauber] German translation by Karl Simrock