Hárbarðsljóð (Lay of Hárbarðr) is one of the poems of the Poetic Edda, found in the Codex Regius and AM 748 I 4to manuscripts. It is a flyting poem with figures from Norse mythology

Synopsis

In the conventional interpretation of this poem the deities Odin and Thor compete with each other. Odin, disguised as Hárbarðr (Greybeard), a ferry man, is rude and obnoxious towards Thor who is returning to Asgard after a journey in Jötunheimr, the land of the giants. Hárbarðr boasts of his sexual prowess, his magical powers, his gambantein, and his tactical abilities. Thor then tells of how he defeated the Giants.

Structure

The poem is significantly less structured than most Eddic poems, and is predominantly written in a metric form known as málaháttr or "conversational style". However, other metrical forms are also to be discerned, while some of the text is pure prose.

Theories

The early commentators F. W. Bergmann and Viktor Rydberg argued that there is doubt to be cast on assigning the persona of Odin to Hárbarðr, since many of the characteristics of Hárbarðr were alleged to be more akin to those of Loki than Odin. For example, Hárbarðr repeatedly boasts of his prowess among women, as do both Odin in Havamal and Loki in Lokasenna; and the speakers in both Lokasenna and Hárbarðsljóð accuse Thor's wife Sif of adultery. This theory was forcefully rejected before the end of the 19th century by Finnur Jónsson, Fredrick Sander, and Felix Niedner, and has not been accepted by Eddic scholars since their time.

References

External links

English translations

• Harbarthsljoth Translation and commentary by Henry A. Bellows
• Harbarðslióð Translation by Benjamin Thorpe
• Hárbarzljóð Translation by W. H. Auden and P. B. Taylor
• Hárbarzljóð Translation by Lee M. Hollander
• The Song of Harbard Translation by A. S. Cottle

Old Norse editions

• Hárbarðsljóð Sophus Bugge's edition of the manuscript text
• Hárbarðsljóð Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling