Here i read the two last chapters of Håkonarmål. Hákonarmál is a skaldic poem from 960/70 AD which the skald(bard) Eyvindr skáldaspillir composed about the fall of the Norwegian king Hákon Haraldsson 'the Good' at the battle of Fitjar and his reception in Valhalla. Eyvindr served as a hirdskald in the king Håkons retinue. The poem is preserved in its entirety and is widely considered to be of great beauty. The entire kvad has 21 chapers, it starts with the valkyries Gandul and Skogul arriving at the battlefield at Stord in west-Norway, where King Håkon is fighting the sons of Eirik Bloodaxe(who was Håkons half-brother), it tells how he wins the battle but is mortally wounded. The king asks the valkyries why he was given this fate. The valkyries replies that they gave him victory and he will now go with them and meet Odin. The next chapter tells of the god Tyr in Åsgård, commanding the gods Hermod and Bragi to go and welcome King Håkon as he arrives to the hall. He is then welcomed by them, the einherjers and then the other norse gods. The peom ends with the last two chapters about what a great king he was. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%A1konarm%C3%A1l https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%A1konarm%C3%A1l See the entire poem in english here: http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/onp/onp13.htm Or in old-norse, Norwegian, Swedish or danish here: http://www.heimskringla.no/wiki/Hakonarmaal English translation: Unbound towards the home of men will Fenrisulfr fare before we will see a king as great in his stead. Cattle die, kinsmen die, earth and land deserted Since Hákon left with heathen gods many men are harried. Norwegian: Ubunden mot menneskers heim vil Fenrisulven fare før igjen det kommer en jamngod konge i hans øde fotspor. Fe dør, frender dør, landet legges øde, siden Håkon fór til hedenske guder er mang en mann blitt kuet. Swedish: Mån’ obunden till jordens folk Fenrisulf fara, innan jemngod å öde rum konungsman kommer. Dör fä, dö fränder, öde lägges land och jord; sedan Håkan for till hedna gudar, mången träldom trycker. The image in the end is a illustration of the king, "Håkon taler på tinget til trønderne" by Christian Krogh. Music is "Vindarnas Hus" by Ulf Söderberg

• published: 03 Aug 2015
• views: 247