Vol. 1, 142 — — ed. Judith Jesch
Judith Jesch 2012, ‘(Biography of) Jórunn skáldmær’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 142.
Nothing is known of Jórunn skáldmær ‘Poet-maiden’ (Jór): who she was, when or where she lived, or when or why she composed the poem Sendibítr (Send) attributed to her. Her nickname indicates a young, unmarried woman who composed poetry. Jórunn is the only female poet among the sixty-seven skalds named in Skm (SnE 1998, I, lv-lix). Mss C(9r) and Tˣ(41v) have the masculine name Jǫrundr instead, but this is unlikely to be significant, as no poet by the name of Jǫrundr is otherwise known – it is an understandable mistake given how rare named women poets were. Jórunn is often assumed to have been a tenth-century Norwegian, contemporary with Kings Haraldr and Hálfdan, but the dating of Send, and therefore of her lifetime, is uncertain (see Introduction below).
Jórunn skáldmær (Jór)
10th century
Skj AI, 60-61; BI, 53-54
volume 1
main editor: Judith Jesch