Eyjólfr dáðaskáld

Eyjólfr dáðaskáld ("poet of deeds") was a skald active in the early 11th century. He was the court poet of Eiríkr Hákonarson for whom he composed the "Bandadrápa", his only known poem. Eight stanzas and a refrain are preserved of the "Bandadrápa" in the kings' sagas, primarily "Heimskringla", and in "Skáldskaparmál". The content of the poem is also summarized in "Fagrskinna". The preserved parts of "Bandadrápa" relate Eiríkr's early deeds; his killing of Skopti, his becoming a jarl at a young age, his raids in the Baltic and his attack on Ladoga. Judging from the "Fagrskinna" summary the complete poem was much more extensive, going up to the battle of Svöldr and beyond. It may have been composed around the year 1010.

Apart from what can be surmised from his poetry nothing is known about Eyjólfr. He may have been an Icelander like most known skalds of the period. The refrain of the "Bandadrápa" celebrates Eiríkr for conquering lands "according to the will of the gods", a phrase borrowed from Einarr skálaglamm's "Vellekla". This pagan reference in a poem about the ostensibly Christian Eiríkr may suggest that the poet was himself a pagan.

References

*Finlay, Alison (editor and translator) (2004). Fagrskinna, a Catalogue of the Kings of Norway. Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN 9004131728
* [http://www.hi.is/~eybjorn/ugm/skindex/edad.html Eyjólfr dáðaskáld: Bandadrápa 1-9]