1. Old-Norse Icelandic Technical Terms

aðalhending, ‘noble rhyme, chief rhyme’, combination of two syllables participating in full internal rhyme (identical vowels and postvocalic environment) within a skaldic poetic line. Normally aðalhending occurs in even lines (so ll. 2, 4, 6 and 8) of a dróttkvætt or hrynhent stanza

áttmælt, ‘eight-times spoken’, a dróttkvætt stanza in which each of the eight lines contains a separate clause

bálkr, ‘section’, a longer poem containing narrative sections

bálkarlag, ‘sections’ metre’ (?), a regularised fornyrðislag with two alliterating staves in the odd lines and the main stave placed in metrical position 1 in the even lines, as in dróttkvætt

bragarmál, poetic diction characterised by cliticisation, i.e. the suffixation of unstressed particles and pronouns with loss of vowel

drápa, long encomiastic skaldic poem with stef (see below)

dróttkvætt, ‘court poetry’, the most common metre used in skaldic poetry, comprising stanzas of eight hexasyllabic lines, regular alliteration and hendingar (skothending in odd lines and aðalhending in even ones)

erfidrápa, ‘memorial poem’, encomium commemorating a deceased person

ferskeytt, ‘square metre’, a four-line ríma stanza, comprising two couplets, each sharing alliteration, while two odd and two even lines share end rhyme abab

flokkr, long skaldic poem without stef

fornyrðislag, ‘old story metre’, Old Norse development of the common Germanic alliterative long-line

galdralag, ‘incantations’ metre’, a variant of ljóðaháttr with verbal repetition and an additional full line with internal alliteration

greppaminni, ‘poets’ reminder’, dróttkvætt variant in which each line in the first helmingr of a stanza consists of an independent question that is answered in the corresponding line of the second helmingr

Haðarlag, ‘Hǫðr’s metre’, regularised málaháttr lines with internal rhyme (skothending in odd lines and aðalhending in even ones)

hagmælt, ‘skilfully spoken’, fornyrðislag with internal rhyme (skothending in odd lines and aðalhending in even ones)

háttlausa, ‘formless’, a kind of dróttkvætt lacking internal rhyme

háttr, metre, verse-form (lit. ‘mode, manner’)

heiti, poetic synonym, an alternative and often descriptive term or name for a frequently-occurring object or person mentioned in skaldic poetry, e.g. skævaðr ‘high-strider’ for ‘horse’, Yggr, an alternative name for the god Óðinn

helmingr (pl. helmingar), a half-stanza normally of four lines

hending (pl. hendingar), lit. ‘catching’, a syllable participating, with one other, in full internal rhyme (aðalhending) or partial rhyme (skothending) within a line of a skaldic stanza

hrynhent, ‘flowing rhymed’, a skaldic metre, and an expanded version of dróttkvætt in which each line contains eight syllables

hǫfuðstafr, ‘head (main) stave’, chief alliterating stave fixed in initial position of even lines of regular dróttkvætt and hrynhent stanzas

kenning, a nominal periphrasis, consisting of a base-word and one or more determinants

kviðlingr, a snippet of poetry, usually no more than two lines

kviðuháttr, ‘poems’ form’ (?), a skaldic metre (a variant of fornyrðislag) in which the odd lines consist of three syllables and the even lines of four syllables

lausavísa (pl. lausavísur), ‘loose stanza’, a separate stanza or part thereof which does not belong to a long poem and which is normally presented as an integral part of a prose narrative

ljóðaháttr, ‘songs’ metre’, a six-line metre in which ll. 1-2 and 4-5 alliterate, while ll. 3 and 6 alliterate internally

málaháttr, ‘speeches’ metre’, an extended form of fornyrðislag with five metrical positions rather than four

mannjafnaðr, ‘comparison of men’, formal or semi-formal comparison of the merits of two or more men, often in poetry

níð, shaming slander or abuse, often in poetic form, typically containing implications of cowardice and/or passive male homosexuality (cf. mannjafnaðr and senna)

ofljóst, ‘too transparent, excessively clear’, play on words, punning, using homonyms

Ragnars háttr, ‘Ragnarr’s metre’, a dróttkvætt variant characterised by a lack of internal rhymes in the odd lines and by alliteration in metrical position 2 rather than position 1 in the even lines

rekit, ‘extended, driven’ (?), an extended kenning with more than two determinants (cf. tvíkent)

ríma (pl. rímur), late medieval and modern Icelandic narrative poetry, characterised by complex metrical form indebted to both skaldic and eddic verse (see ferskeytt above), end rhyme, division into several cantos; subject matter is mainly indebted to existing romances and fornaldarsögur

runhent, ‘end-rhymed’ (?), skaldic metres employing end rhyme

senna, ‘flyting’, poetic debate between two persons evaluating each other’s merits, usually accompanied by insults

skothending, ‘inserted rhyme’ (?), combination of two syllables with different vowels and similar postvocalic environments participating in a form of internal rhyme within a skaldic line. Normally skothending occurs in odd lines (so ll. 1, 3, 5, and 7) of a dróttkvætt or hrynhent stanza

Starkaðar lag, ‘Starkaðr’s metre’, fornyrðislag with two alliterating staves in odd lines and anacrusis in even lines

stef, refrain of a skaldic drápa

stikki, a kind of poem, e.g. Sǫrlastikki

stikkalag, ‘needle’s metre’, metre in which the main stave in even lines falls on a syllable other than the first

tvíkent, ‘doubly modified’, a kenning with two determinants (cf. rekit)

tøglag, ‘journey metre’, a variant of fornyrðislag in which the even lines have aðalhending and the odd may have skothending

vísa (pl. vísur), a skaldic stanza, in the plural often a term used of a long poem lacking a refrain (e.g. Sigvatr’s Bersǫglisvísur)

þáttr, ‘strand’, a smaller, independent narrative usually embedded in or added to a saga

þula (pl. þulur), a list of poetic synonyms (heiti) in metrical form

ævikviða, ‘life-poem’, retrospective autobiographical poem in which a speaker, often on the point of death, looks back on the course of his life and his achievements

References