Hrynhent

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Hrynhent (also hrynhendr , hrynjandi háttr or liljulag ) is the name for a skaldisches meter . It is a variant of Dróttkvætt , the main measure of the skalds , and was probably created under the influence of ecclesiastical poetry from Western and Southern Europe.

construction

Like the Dróttkvætt, the hrynhent consists of syllable-counting lines that are connected by bar and inner rhymes . The peculiarity of the hrynhent is the use of eight syllables per line of verse (in Dróttkvætt there were only six).

M ágnús hlýð til m áttigs óðar,
m angi veit ek stranger annan;
y ppa ráðumk y ðru kappi,
J óta gramr, í kvæði fljótu.
H aukr réttr es þú, H örða dróttinn,
h verr gramr es þér stórum verri,
meiri verði þ inn an þ eira
þ rifnuðr allr, unz himinn rifnar.
Hrynhenda 1, by Arnórr jarlaskáld
Anvers, Langzeile 1
Abvers
Anvers, Langzeile 2
Abvers
Anvers, Langzeile 3
Abvers
Anvers, Langzeile 4
Abvers
structure
8th
8th
8th
8th
8th
8th
8th
8th
Syllables
Magnus hear mighty poetry.
I know a lot before others.
I want your bravery
Praise the king of the Jutes in a flowing poem.
You are a righteous hawk, King of the Norwegians.
No king is greater
or more powerful than you
All prosper until the sky bursts.
Translation freely after
Insley

Each half line consists of exactly eight syllables. The bars are according to the scheme 1 2 || 3 4 distributed over the long lines. The inner rhymes (line eight for example: þrif - rif ) also hold the verses together. The Hrynhent also has a trochaic rhythm that was probably adopted from church poetry . In Dróttkvætt only the last two syllables were trochaic. In the Hrynhent it is now extended fairly regularly over the entire verse.

use

The meter is in its purest form in a Price poem on Magnus the Good in front, called Hrynhenda or Magnusdrápa that the skald jarlaskáld wrote Arnórr. It dates from the 11th century . The award poem Eiríksdrápa by Markús Skeggjason is also in the Hrynhent and is dedicated to King Erik . In this tradition, poems were repeatedly written in the Hrynhent. After one of the last, Lilja by Eysteinn Ásgrímsson (1345), the meter was also called liljulag .

See also

literature

  • Klaus von See: Germanic verse art ; Metzler Collection M 67; Stuttgart (1967) p. 50 ff.
  • Edith Marold : Hrynhent . In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde Vol. 15. (2nd edition) Berlin, New York 2000.
  • John Insley: Hrynhenda . In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde Vol. 15. (2nd edition) Berlin, New York 2000.

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