1210, 1218, 1223). He is also known to have had friends
among the Icelandic aristocrats of his day (Hrafn Svein-
bjarnarson, Sæmundr Jónsson).
At the end of the Snorra Edda in GkS 2367 4to
are preserved forty stanzas of a poem called Jómsvík-
ingadrápa, together with thirty stanzas of an unnamed
poem, most commonly called Málsháttakvæði. The stef
(“refrain”) stanza of this last poem is also quoted anony-
mously in Flateyjarbók. In Snorra Edda, no author is
given for either poem, but in Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar
en mesta, where eighteen stanzas of Jómsvíkingadrápa
are preserved (fi ve of which are not in the Snorra Edda),
they are assigned to “Bjarni byskup.” Jómsvíkingasaga
in MS AM 510 4to also contains an allusion to the
drápa that “Bjarni biskup... orti um Jómsvíkinga.”
Möbius conjectured that both Jómsvíkingadrápa and
Málshattakvæði, quoted in GkS 2367 4to, are by the
same skald.
Jómsvíkingadrápa is a regularly built drápa with stef
in stanzas 15, 19, 23, 27, 31, and 35. Untypically, the
stef occupies lines 1, 4, 5, and 8 of each stef stanza. If
the slæmr (“slim end”; the last subdivision of a poem)
originally had the same length as the inngangr (“intro-
duction”), as was generally the case, the poem would
have been fi fty stanzas long, fi ve stanzas now being lost.
The drápa is composed in the meter munnv o ̨rp, which
is a simplifi ed dróttkvætt meter, without hendingar in
the odd lines and with skothendingar instead of aðal-
hendingar in the even lines.
The poem tells part of the story of the Jomsvikings,
and seems to refer to oral tradition in numerous phrases
such as frák (“I heard”), frágum vér (“we heard”), and
segja menn (“men say”). The poem probably was com-
posed in the same period as the written sagas about the
Jomvikings, and it seems to have been infl uenced by
them or by traditions used by them, e.g., in the men-
tion of the skalds Vigfúss and H o ̨varðr (st. 34). On the
other hand, the poem differs from the prose tradition,
e.g., in the prominence given to the Norwegian chieftain
Ármóðr, forefather of the well-known Arnmœðlingar
(sts. 21, 29). The main subject of the poem is the Joms-
vikings’ attack on Norway and the battle against Earl
Hákon in Hjo ̨ rungavágr (Sunnmøre). In particular, it
concentrates on Vagn Ákason, who, despite the Joms-
vikings’ military defeat, succeeded in realizing his vow
to marry Ingibjo ̨rg, the daughter of the Norwegian chief
Þorkell leira (“loam-fi eld”).
The stef in this poem on Viking warfare and love
contains a complaint in which the poet gives vent to his
grief that the wife of a nobleman causes him sorrow. This
stef seems to be a model for the stereotypical introduc-
tory stanzas with an erotic content called mans ̧ongr,
found in the later Icelandic rímur, a word that occurs
nowhere in skaldic poetry, except in Jómsvíkingadrápa,
where it is said that Vagn Ákason “spoke manso ̨ ngr on”
Ingibjo ̨ rg, and in Málsháttakvæði. Jómsvíkingadrápa
probably marks a turning point in the history of skaldic
verse, as it is the fi rst poem by a historically well-known
poet, who chooses as his subject old lore, hence the
skald’s own denomination so ̨gukvæði, and treats it in a
light-hearted, ironic manner. In his introduction to the
poem, the skald alludes to his unhappy love, and he
parodies common skaldic introductions: “I call nobody
to listen to my poem.... I have not learned poetry under
hanged men.... I present a so ̨ gukvæði to people who are
not listening.” It may be signifi cant that the skald is a
compatriot of Ro ̨gnvaldr Kali, who half a century earlier
had introduced troubadour infl uences into skaldic poetry
after his visit to Narbonne, where he was accompanied
by Bjarni’s predecessor as bishop, Vilhjálmr. Moreover,
Ro ̨ gnvaldr was a coauthor of Háttalykill, which also
tells forn frœði (“old lore”). The Orkney islands seem
to have been a center for the fl ourishing of so ̨gukvæði
around 1200.
Although Bjarni’s authorship of Málsháttakvæði can-
not be proven, some similarities between this proverb
poem and Jómsvíkingadrápa are worth mentioning: a
light tone of irony, numerous allusions to real and heroic
history, and a concentration on erotic motives (Mö-
bius 1874, Holtsmark 1937). Several scholars remain
skeptical about Bjarni’s authorship, however, and take
Málsháttakvæði to be an imitation of Bjarni’s poem (de
Vries 1941–42), which may be considerably later (Her-
mann Pálsson 1984). Bjarni has also been mentioned,
with little real evidence, as the possible author of some
Þulur preserved in the Snorra Edda (Bugge).Further ReadingEditions
Möbius, Theodor, “Malshatta-kvædi.” Zeitschrift für deutsche
Philologie. Ergänzungsband (1874), 3–74, 615–6 [edition
and commentary].
Petersens, Carl af, ed. Jómsvikinga saga (efter Cod. AM. 510, 4:
to) samt Jómsvíkingadrápa. Lund: Gleerup, 1879 [diplomatic
and critical editions of Jómsvíkingadrápa with commentary,
pp. 104–33].
Finnur Jónsson, ed. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. Vols.
1A–2A (tekst efter håndskrifterne) and 1B–2B (rettet tekst).
Copenhagen and Christiania [Oslo]: Gyldendal, 1912–15;
rpt. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger, 1967 (A) and 1973
(B), Vol. 2A, pp. 1–10, 129–36; vol. 2B, pp. 1–10, 138–45
[standard edition].Literature
Bugge, Sophus. “Biskop Bjarne Kolbeinssøn og Snorres Edda.”
Annaler fornordisk Oldkyndighed og Historic (1875), 209–46
[on Þulur].
Jón Stefànsson. “Bjarne Kolbeinsson, the Skald, Bishop of
Orkney, 1188–1223.” Orkney and Shetland Miscellany 1
(1907), 43–7.
Holtsmark, Anne. “Bjarne Kolbeinsson og hans forfatterskap.”
Edda 37 (1937), 1–17.BJARNI KOLBEINSSON