Divinity Atlas

Sacred Correspondences
Hymns & Liturgical Texts

Husdrapa

Norse Paganism Hymns

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Origin Composed c. 985 CE; preserved via the thirteenth-century Prose Edda

Husdrapa ("house poem") is a skaldic praise poem composed by the Icelandic skald Ulfr Uggason around 985 CE, according to Laxdaela saga for the wedding feast of Olaf Hoskuldsson, describing three mythological scenes carved on the panels of the wedding host's hall: Baldr's funeral, Thor's fishing expedition to catch the Midgard Serpent, and Heimdall's fight with Loki over the necklace Brisingamen. Twelve stanzas survive, quoted by Snorri Sturluson in the Prose Edda's Skaldskaparmal as evidence for these myths, making the poem both religious praise-poetry and one of the primary sources for the myths it describes.

Facts
Origins
Origin Period
Composed c. 985 CE; preserved via the thirteenth-century Prose Edda 1
Language
Old Norse 1
Attributed Author / Compiler
Ulfr Uggason, c. 985 CE 1
Practice
Who Performs It
Trained or authorised specialists 1
Frequency
As the occasion requires 1
Solitary or Communal
Performed by a gathered group 1
Use
What It Is Used For
Praise 1
Form
Form of the Text
Skaldic praise poem (drapa) 1
Cross-Tradition Connections

Addressed To

Baldr, Deities
Source The Prose EddaSnorri Sturluson
Heimdall, Deities
Source The Prose EddaSnorri Sturluson
Thor, Deities
Source The Prose EddaSnorri Sturluson

Associated With

Loki, Deities

This source names Loki directly: "Serpent, and Heimdall's fight with Loki over the necklace Brisingamen."

Source The Prose EddaSnorri Sturluson

Belongs to Tradition

Source The Prose EddaSnorri Sturluson

Originates in Language

Old Norse, Languages

Matches its own already-established language enum value (old-norse); a skaldic poem composed by the Icelandic skald Ulfr Uggason around 985 CE.

Source The Prose EddaSnorri Sturluson

Related To

Sources
1. The Prose Edda
Snorri Sturluson, The American-Scandinavian Foundation, 1916Skaldskaparmal, quotations of HusdrapaView the Source
Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs
John Lindow, Oxford University Press, 2001s.v. Husdrapa, Ulfr UggasonView the Source
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