Húsdrápa
Also known as: Husdrápa, House-Drapa, Ulf Uggason’s Husdrápa
A skaldic praise poem by Úlfr Uggason describing mythic scenes carved in Óláfr pái’s hall, notably Thor’s fishing for the World Serpent, Baldr’s funeral, and the contest over Brísingamen.
Description
Húsdrápa is a drápa composed in late-tenth-century Iceland for Óláfr pái Höskuldsson’s feast at Hjarðarholt. In tightly wrought dróttkvætt stanzas, Úlfr Uggason describes mythological tableaux carved or painted upon the walls of the chieftain’s hall, transforming the space into a didactic and celebratory gallery. The surviving fragments, preserved chiefly by Snorri Sturluson, depict emblematic moments from the gods’ saga: Þórr’s perilous angling of Jörmungandr, the solemn rites at Baldr’s ship-funeral, and the struggle between Heimdallr and Loki over Freyja’s Brísingamen. The poem thus functions both as encomium for the host and as a concise catalogue of mythic memory anchored in material art.
Historiography
Only fragments are extant, quoted in Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda (notably in Skáldskaparmál) and transmitted through later manuscripts. The poem is often discussed alongside Ragnarsdrápa and Haustlöng as mythological drápur that ekphrastically describe visual artworks. Editorial reconstructions vary in stanza order and count, and readings depend on emendations typical for skaldic diction. Modern scholarship uses comparative citations in Snorra Edda and skaldic corpora to attribute and contextualize the fragments.
Date Notes
Composed for Óláfr pái at Hjarðarholt; survives only in medieval quotations (chiefly Snorri’s Prose Edda) and later manuscripts.
Major Characters
- Baldr
- Nanna
- Odin
- Thor
- Jormungandr
- Hymir
- Heimdall
- Loki
- Freyja
Myths
- Baldr’s Funeral
- Thor’s Fishing for Jörmungandr
- Loki and Heimdall for Brísingamen
Facts
- A skaldic drápa composed by Úlfr Uggason for Óláfr pái’s feast at Hjarðarholt.
- Extant only in fragments preserved chiefly in Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda.
- Ekphrastic: it describes mythic scenes displayed on a chieftain’s hall interior.
- Depicts Thor’s fishing for Jörmungandr, Baldr’s funeral, and the Brísingamen contest.
- Meter is dróttkvætt, the hallmark of courtly skaldic praise poetry.
- Frequently compared with Ragnarsdrápa and Haustlöng as mythological drápur.
- Serves dual functions: encomium for the patron and mnemonic catalogue of myths.
- Transmission depends on medieval quotations; original poem’s full length is unknown.
- Important witness for Norse myth narrative details otherwise sparsely attested.
- Shows interaction between material art, performance, and communal memory in Iceland.