side with foreign words, which, combined with the
breadth of geographical references, give his verse a
somewhat cosmopolitan feel. Mythological kennings
occur seldom, except in Erlingsfl okkr, perhaps because
they were out of keeping with the newly Christian ethos.
Also scarce are obscure, neologistic compound nouns
and kennings, of the sort so often found in other skalds’
work. The general effect is simplicity, commonly off-
set by a diffi cult word order or an intricate plaiting of
several short sentences within the one helmingr. With
Sighvatr, then, skaldic discourse seems to be both in
touch with its traditions and also opening itself to inter-
national contacts, in conformity with the expansion of
Norwegian and Danish hegemony during his lifetime.
See also Cnut
Further Reading
Editions
Finnur Jónsson, ed. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. Vols.
1A-2A (tekst efter håndskrifterne) and 1B-2B (rettettekst).
Copenhagen and Christiania [Oslo]: Gyldendal, 1912–15; rpt.
Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger, 1967 (A) and 1973 (B).
Kock, Ernst A., ed. Den norsk-isländska skjaldedikwingen. 2
vols. Lund: Gleerup, 1946–50 [contains some improvements
on Finnur Jónsson’s edition].
Jón Skaptason. “Material for an Edition and Translation of the
Poems of Sigvat Þórðarson, skáld.” Diss. State University of
New York at Stony Brook, 1983.
Translations
Hollander, Lee M. The Skalds: A Selection of Their Poems with
Introduction and Notes. Princeton: Princeton University
Press, 1945; 2nd ed. Ann Arbor: Michigan University Press,
1968 [brief biography, together with translations of selected
stanzas, with emphasis on Austrfararvísur, Vestrfararvísur,
and Bers glisvísur].
Campbell, Alistair. Skaldic Verse and Anglo-Saxon History. Lon-
don: Lewis, 1971 [translation of Sighvatr’s verses on English
topics and discussion of their historical value].
Turville-Petre, E. O. G. Scaldic Poetry. Oxford: Clarendon,
1976 [brief biography, with small selection of stanzas and
translations].
Whitelock, Dorothy, ed. English Historical Documents c. 500–
- 2nd ed. London and New York: Eyre Methuen Oxford
University Press, 1979 [English translation of Sighvatr’s
verses on English topics].
Fell, Christine. “Víkingarvísur.” In Specvlvm Norroenvm: Norse
Studies in Memory of Gabriel Turville-Petre. Ed. Ursula
Dronke et al. Odense: Odense University Press, 1981, pp.
106–22 [text, translation, and discussion of Vikingarvísur].
Literature
Finnur Jónsson. Den oldnorske og oldislandske Litteraturs His-
torie. 3 vols. 2nd ed. Copenhagen: Gad, 1920–24 [account of
Sighvatr’s career and poems].
Vestlund, Alfred. “Om strofernas ursprungliga ordning i Sigvat
Tordarsons Berso ̨ glisvísur.” Arkiv för nordisk fi lologi 46
(1929), 281–93 [analysis and rearrangement of stanza order
in Berso ̨ glisvísur].
Moberg, Ove. Olav Haraldsson, Knut den Store och Sverige.
Lund: Gleerup, 1941 [historical account of Sighvatr’s
verses].
Campbell, Alistair. Encomium Emmae reginae. Camden Society
Third Series, 72. London: Royal Historical Society, 1949
[historical value of Sighvatr’s verses on English topics].
Holtsmark, Anne. “Uppreistarsaga.” Maal og minne (1958), 93–7
[the theme of betrayal in Erfi drápa].
Hallberg, Peter. Den fornisländska poesien. Verdandis skriftse-
rie, 20. Stockholm: Bonnier, 1962 [selections, chiefl y from
Ausufararvísur].
Vries, Jan de. Altnordische Literaturgeschichte. 2 vols. Grun-
driss der germanischen Philologie, 15–6. Berlin: de Gruyter,
1941–42 rpt. 1964–67, vol. 1 [general account of Sighvatr’s
career and compositions].
Bóðdvar Guðmundsson. “Röðin á Bersöglisvísum.” Mfmir 9.1
(1970), 5–8 [reply to Vestlund, urging conservative approach
to the prose sources].
Höskuldur Þrainsson. “Hendingar í dróttkvæðum hætti hjá Sigh-
vati Þórðarsyni.” Mímir 9.1 (1970), 9–29 [Sighvatr’s practice
with hendingar].
Frank, Roberta. Old Norse Court Poetry: The Dróttkvætt Stanza.
Islandica, 42. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press,
1978 [detailed analyses of selected stanzas from Austrfara-
rvísur, the memorial lausavísur, and the Erfi drápa].
Fidjestøl, Bjarne. Det norrøne fyrstediket. Øvre Ervik: Alvheim
& Eide, 1982 [discussion of stanza allocation and sequence
in the known praise poems].
Russell PooleSIMON DE MONTFORT,
EARL OF LEICESTER (ca. 1208–1265)
A younger son of the Simon de Montfort who led the
crusade against the Albigensian heretics in southern
France, he fi rst came to England in 1230 to pursue a ram-
ily claim to the earldom of Leicester. Simon quickly won
King Henry III’s favor, secured the family inheritance,
and married the king’s sister in 1238. He thus aroused
the resentment of established baronial families, who
saw him as a self-seeking interloper. But his political
career followed a path different from that of Henry’s
other favorites.
Simon was a proud, ambitious, and self-confi dent
man who developed strong ecclesiastical friendships.
Although he was at the center of affairs in the 1240s and
1250s, he came to despise Henry’s military incapacity
and to condemn his conduct of government. In 1258 he
joined other magnates in imposing baronial government
upon the king in the Provisions of Oxford. When Henry
plotted to regain his power, Simon emerged as the chief
advocate of the Provisions and Henry’s implacable en-
emy. He rejected the arbitration of Louis IX of France
and, though outnumbered, defeated Henry at the Battle
of Lewes, 14 May 1264.
Simon now virtually ruled England, with the king
as his prisoner, but he could not legitimize his author-
ity. Faced with, the hostility of the pope and most
of the barons, he tried to strengthen his position by
including representatives of the towns and counties inSIMON DE MONTFORT, EARL OF LEICESTER