Háttatal

by Snorri Sturluson, Anthony Faulkes (Editor)

Ha'ttatal is a treatise in Old Icelandic on the metres and verse-forms of Old Norse poetry. It forms the third part of the Edda of the Icelandic historian and poet Snorri Sturluson (1179-1241). This poem consists of 102 stanzas in various verse-forms in praise of the rulers of Norway after
Sturluson had visited the Norwegian court in about 1222-3. This is the earliest medieval treatise on the metres of poetry in a Germanic language, and is of immense importance for our understanding of the metres not only of Norse poetry but also of those of Anglo-Saxon and Medieval German, and it
also provides great insight into the ways in which a medieval vernacular poet perceived his work. This edition is in normalized spelling and has an introduction, notes, and glossary.

198 pages, Hardcover

First published December 19, 1991

About the author

Snorri Sturluson (also spelled Snorre Sturlason) was an Icelandic historian, poet and politician. He was twice elected lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He was the author of the Prose Edda or Younger Edda, which consists of Gylfaginning ("the fooling of Gylfi"), a narrative of Norse mythology, the Skáldskaparmál, a book of poetic language, and the Háttatal, a list of verse forms. He was also the author of the Heimskringla, a history of the Norwegian kings that begins with legendary material in Ynglinga saga and moves through to early medieval Scandinavian history. For stylistic and methodological reasons, Snorri is often taken to be the author of Egils saga.

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Reviews

[Mac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Háttatal is the third and final part of Snorri Sturluson's Edda. In this part, Snorri illustrates different variations in meter and rhyme of the skaldic form. At the same time, the 102 verses comprise an extended tribute poem that Snorri has composed in honor of two Norwegian strongmen.

The poetry in Háttatal was much easier to comprehend than that in Skáldskaparmál. For one, Snorri's metrical patterns are much more regular than those that seem to have appeared "naturally" in other skaldic verse. It is also easier to pick up the context of the kennings since they are all about the same thing: paying tribute to Snorri's Norwegian patrons.

Once again, Anthony Faulkes's edition is ideal for the student reader. There is a full glossary in addition to helpful notes, plus an informative introduction and appendix.