Haustlöng
Also known as: Haustlong, Haustlǫng, Autumn-Long
A skaldic ekphrasis describing mythic scenes painted on a shield, notably the abduction of Iðunn by Þjazi and Thor’s duel with the giant Hrungnir. The poem condenses vivid kennings into a compact, allusive narrative.
Description
Haustlöng is an early skaldic drápa traditionally ascribed to Thjodolf of Hvinir. Cast in intricate dróttkvætt meter, it performs ekphrasis—verbal description of a shield—whose panels depict two major myths: the theft of the gods’ rejuvenating goddess Iðunn by the giant Þjazi, and the catastrophic duel between Thor and Hrungnir. The poem’s dense kennings and heiti compress a wide mythic horizon into brief, high-pressure couplets, typical of courtly praise poetry that embeds mythic exempla. Though surviving only in quotations within Snorri’s Prose Edda, Haustlöng remains a key witness to pre-Christian Norse mythic tradition and skaldic technique.
Historiography
Haustlöng survives in excerpted stanzas cited in Skáldskaparmál within the Prose Edda manuscript tradition (notably Codex Regius of the Prose Edda and the Uppsala manuscript). Snorri uses these verses to exemplify kennings and to reconstruct mythic narratives. Modern editions collate variant readings across manuscripts; the poem’s integrity and original sequence are partly conjectural due to its fragmentary preservation.
Date Notes
A skaldic drápa attributed to Þjóðólfr ór Hvini; preserved fragmentarily via Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda (13th century) quoting stanzas.
Major Characters
- Thor
- Hrungnir
- Loki
- Idunn
- Thjazi
- Skadi
Myths
- Loki and the Abduction of Iðunn
- Thor’s Duel with Hrungnir
Facts
- A classic skaldic ekphrasis: myth-scenes described on a shield.
- Attributed to Þjóðólfr ór Hvini (Thjodolf of Hvinir), a Norwegian court poet.
- Preserved only as stanzas quoted in Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda (Skáldskaparmál).
- Meter is dróttkvætt, employing dense kennings and heiti.
- Narratives include Þjazi’s abduction of Iðunn and Thor’s duel with Hrungnir.
- Functions as a primary mythic witness outside the Eddic narrative style.
- Sequence and completeness are reconstructed from Snorri’s citations.
- Frequently used in scholarship to illustrate skaldic diction and kennings for gods and giants.