ICELANDIC LITERATURE — Old Ice landic (800-1500).— The old Icelandic poetry is a development of the old Norwegian, which, however, it soon surpassed. From the middle of the 10th century almost all the skalds (poets) are Icelanders. After the famous Nor wegian Eyvind Skaldaspillir, whose mil,' composed in memory of King Hakon (d. 961) is one of the finest songs handed down from the past, poetic art almost ceased among the Norwegians while it flourished among the Icelanders. The Elder Edda or Samunct's Edda is a collection of lays, treating of gods and heroes of antiquity. In these famous poems together with the Younger or Snorre's Edda we find the principal sources of our knowledge of Scandinavian and, indeed, Germanic myth ology. Many scholars have in recent times dis cussed both the age and what was the probable original home of the Eddaic poems. The con sensus now is that the oldest are from the latter half of the 9th century, and that most of then came from the 10th and the early part of the 11th century. Their original home is Norway and her colonies, and of these principally Ice land, where they were preserved in their writ ten form. Related to the Eddaic lays whose authors are unknown, is the poetry of the known skalds. These poems treat of a variety of themes. Joy and grief, love and hatred find expression in them, but the majority are com posed in honor of kings and princes, in whose presence the skald himself recited his poem. The Icelandic skald would visit especially Nor way, but also Sweden, Denmark and the Brit ish Isles. The princes gave them as a rule a hearty welcome and rewarded them These poems of praise and songs of heroic deeds often have great historical value, superior to the artistic, and in the sagas are found fre quent quotations from them in support of the story. Simple rules of versification, as a rule, governed the lays of the Edda. In the age of the skalds it is much more artificial, bordering sometimes on the incredible. Combined with the rules, to be strictly observed, of metre, alliteration and rhyme was developed an elabo rate system of complicated figurative para phrases (kenningar). All this artificiality is far removed from the noble simplicity of early poetry and often makes the skaldic verses unin telligible. To a number of these enigmas, the Skildskaparmal of Snorre's Edda furnishes the key.
The first great poet of Iceland was Egil Skallagrimsson, the hero of one of the best sagas. This famous viking of the 10th century was both a great skald and a mighty warrior. Of his poems that have been preserved 'Sonar torrek' ('Loss of the Son') bears the best evi dence of his great poetic gifts. In his 'War riors of Helgeland' Ibsen kas imitated it. Glum Geirason composed a poem in memory of the Norwegian king Harald Graafeld and was the first Icelandic skald to compose a poem in praise of a king. Soon this species of poetry
was exclusively confined to the Icelanders. But there are also poems of a different kind, as the love songs of Kormak Agmundsson and Gunn laug Ormstunga who visited Norway In the time of Earl Haakon (d. 995). Hallf red Van dradaskald composed poems in honor of King Olav Tryggvesson (1000). Thormod Kolbnm arskald was one of Saint Olaf's skalds and fell in the same battle as his master (1030). Most famous of all Icelandic skalds is Stgvat Thords son, who made his home in Norway and was strongly attached both to Saint Olaf and his son Magnus. Best known are his (Bersdglis (songs of free speech). Arnor Thords son and Tiodolf Arnorson were attached to King Harald Hardradi who also was a poet. Of the many poets after the time of King Harald must be mentioned the great historian Snorre Sturlasson who wrote in honor of King Halton and Earl Skule, his well-known tHat tatal' (enumeration of metres) in 102 different kinds of verses. Snorre's nephew Sturla Thordsson is the last poet who is known to have composed songs in honor of Norwegian kings (tHalconarlcvide). In all these songs of praise which principally glorify the warlike deeds of kings and princes, we find compara tively few traces of the changes brought about in customs and views by the acceptance of Christianity. Even in the drfipas that were produced after the introduction of Christianity 'figurative language and expressions are used which get their explanation from the myths of heathen gods and heroes. But it is clear that sooner or later the new religion would furnish the poets new material. Most remark able and, perhaps, the oldest in this respect is of the Sun'). Even this Christian poem, giving visions of heaven, pur gatory and hell, uses much of the heathen ma terial. But it was easy to transfer the practice of singing the praise of kings and warriors to the religious field. Christ and the Saints were looked upon as heroes and warriors. The last and most famous of these religious poems is Eystein Asgrimsson'slja> ((The written about 1360. In an original metre, later called the Lily metre, it glorifies the Savior and Virgin Mary. In 1917 were published excellent translations into modern Norwegian and Swed ish. There is also an English translation. From the middle of the 14th century the old skaldic poetry 'is succeeded by the so-called oriniur,* a kind of ballad or epical paraphrases with themes from mythology and history. Almost every Icelandic saga or romance has been turned into such lays, and even the historical books of the Bible. The first of this kind is the 'Olafs-rima' (treating of Saint Olaf) by Einar Gilsson in the 14th century. The major ity of these poems have as yet not been printed.