All the events in the upper worlds
impact us here, though they’re petty there.
Mother Frau Holle is making her bed,
shaking her blankets, shaking them vigorously
and we get a blanket of the whitest snow.
The continual din of the day is tapered,
Continue reading
Poems
A Skaldic Eagle Takes Flight
Hatched from the Egg, he was hungry always;
that cosmic hailstone crafted such wyrd.
In size he surged, consuming carrion:
strong and stately, he stood at last.
He was sleek and fierce, but unsatisfied.
That fleshy fodder had fulfilled its end,
but such food no longer could feed his soul.
His keen cold eyes, they craved new vistas,
and his heart sought out the holy mysteries.
To the Cave he went, that court of darkness
and Lunar land of limitless night,
seeking its treasures for his soul’s triumph.
He came at last to cauldrons three
filled with the ferment of fathomless Spirit.
Continue reading
Háskólavísur 15: Saga’s End
With the work of his MA/MPhil finished, it was left to the Skald to relax and enjoy early summer and the outdoor life in Oslo with his lady. Many hills, forests, lakes, sea shores, and islands were explored. But his time to leave Europe finally arrived, and after another tearful goodbye, the Skald finally departed Oslo to visit Iceland once more on his way home to Vinland. There, the Skald rejoiced in seeing many happy and familiar sights once more, such as Háskóli Íslands, Gullfoss, Geysir, Þingvellir (including the Ásatruarfélagið’s midsummer Þingblót), and Bláa Lónið. Finally, the Skald attended his graduation on June 25. After nearly eleven months abroad, the Skald returned to Vinland on June 30. Though his future directions were as yet uncertain, it was a time to celebrate further and enjoy the company of family and friends. With his time in the Viking and Medieval Norse Studies program finally finished, the Skald composed this verse:
Sweet celebrations sealed my triumph,
a victory won in Viking Studies.
Then Norway’s nature was a needed break:
Continue reading
Háskólavísur 14: The End of the Degree
The cold Oslo winter persisted, and the Skald fortified himself for the long siege, working diligently on his master’s thesis. But after 15 weeks, as winter’s assault finally relented, the Skald finished his glorious text of 36,000 words about his ancient counterpart, the figure of the skald as found in the probable works of Snorri Sturluson: Edda, Heimskringla, and Egils saga. After a brief celebration and much relaxing that included plenty of sight-seeing, the Skald prepared to face the final contest in his master’s degree. With his lady from his time in Iceland by his side once more, he undertook the ordeal of a trial-by-lecture in a runology course and emerged victorious. It is said he celebrated the day with fine rum and a cigar in the afternoon, and by a sushi dinner and a bottle of mead with his lady in the evening. He rested the next day, composing this verse:
My wode had waxed through the winter’s dark
and opened my flow of artful words.
O’er pages of ink, I poured the Mead,
Continue reading
Háskólavísur 13: The Turning Wheel
Autumn rolled on as the months passed. The Skald finished his first semester courses in time to celebrate his birthday in a state of total rest. December was not so cold in Oslo as one might have expected. January made up for it, however, when winter arrived in earnest. After that birthday rest, however, a protracted fight with doctoral program applications commenced. It dragged on longer than expected, running into mid January, but at last it was finished. The new year brought a new semester, the last of the Skald’s MA in Viking & Medieval Norse Studes, which held some long-awaited treats: his master’s thesis and an advanced runology course, the latter to be examined by trial lecture. Once in the thick of things, the Skald considered his situation, and composed this verse:
The turning wheel brought time for rest,
as I completed courses and passed the solstice.
The future is foggy for my further studies,
Continue reading
Háskólavísur 12: The Semester Sets In
As the equinox passed and night began to overtake day in the ancient Viking land of Oslo, the Skald was well settled into his studies for the fall semester, which included ancient runes, the rhetoric of the elder skalds, and the tongue and poetry of the noble Anglo-Saxons. (Just like the last two semesters, he couldn’t resist signing up for four classes this time around.) Never content to leave anything to the last minute, the Skald’s thoughts also turned to the future and where he might next live the life of the mind, although that was still a long way off. Looking further forward to the winter break and writing a thesis in the next semester, he then composed this verse:
Dark drains daylight as I dare the Ascent:
for forty credits I further go,
Continue reading
Háskólavísur 11: Nýtt Land og Nýja Hof
As the summer heat of his homeland approached its peak, the Skald prepared his ship to sail from Vinland onward to new adventures in Norway. Aided by runes of good fortune, the sailing was smooth and the Skald beached his ship in the bay and established his farmstead of Nýja Hof in the cozy little village of Sogn Studentby in the northern part of Olso. Unlike the somewhat barren landscape of Reykjavík, this place was teeming with grass and trees, and the sun was still bright and warm. Once settled in and ready for the start of classes, the Skald noted that it was the day of a new moon, reflected on the seasonal cycles and the work ahead (especially that of his master’s thesis), and composed this verse:
A bright sun shines on my bold adventure,
which now continues in a new country.
In Bragi’s land, I’ve beached my ship
Continue reading
Háskólavísur 10: The Suns of Summer
The days passed and lengthened as the spring semester came to its final end, with the skald having won total victory over all the classes and exams. But it was time to head onward to future adventures. After a tearful goodbye, the Skald left Iceland, returning to his homeland just in time for the hot and humid summer and its bright and searing sun. After a long rest, the Skald reflected on his travels, the sun as a metaphor, and his upcoming journey to Norway and composed this verse:
In sorrow I left for southern lands,
alone to fly and from my lady parted,
to a sleep of a sort in a summer rest.
It readies my heart for the road ahead,
Continue reading
Háskólavísur 09: The Heart of the Slain
The spring semester had attacked with a greater force than the fall semester, but Eirik skald had read the runes aright and was even more prepared this time around. In late March, the semester’s elite vanguard, a particular long essay, had fallen like Hrungnir, leaving the rest of its forces utterly demoralized. The Skald proceeded to easily strike down the rest one by one, until the semester had only two champions remaining, at which point the Skald celebrated a brief rest with rum and cigars. As the Skald prepared to face those last two champions, he reflected on the most Sacred Heart that he won from the slain essay and composed this verse:
I sought the Grail, that sacred Stone,
in tales time-tested of the Trú Norræn
and found my goal in those famed kernels,
Continue reading
Háskólavísur 08: Climb the Mountain
On a fine February day in Iceland, the intrepid students of Viking Studies walked the lands once tread by Njáll, Gunnar, and others from Njáls saga, and climbed the steep hill known as Stóra-Dímon near Hlíðarendi. Eirik skald was with them. Many weeks later, after some reflection, with respect to spiritual pursuits, on the metaphor of the climb and the magnificence of the view from the top compared to that of the bottom, he composed this verse:
Clear cold crisp air: it cuts sharply,
but victory’s view from ‘vantaged point
above the abyss is the best of sights.
Below on land, we lumber around,
Continue reading
The Skaldic Eagle 