Hárbarðsljóð
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 this poem, the ferryman Harbard and the god Thor compete in a flyting or verbal contest with one other. The ferryman Hárbarðr (Greybeard) is rude and obnoxious towards Thor who is returning to Asgard after a journey in Jötunheimr, the land of the giants. Hárbarðr obstructs his way and refuses him passage across a swollen river. He begins by saying that Thor dresses poorly and that his mother is dead. In the course of the poem, Harbard boasts of his sexual prowess, his magical and tactical abilities, asking Thor about his. Thor responds, telling how he defeated Giants. Ultimately, after mocking him at length, Harbard curses Thor and tells him to walk around.
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. In the last decade, several scholars have concluded that the poem is an intentionally stylized version of the traditional flyting structure.
