Thank you, Phil! I was reading the Icelandic sagas pretty heavily around the time I wrote this, and had read a book of skaldic poetry as well, so that's where you can quickly get a sense of the 'tone'.
I recently got a book called 'Crimsoning... moreThank you, Phil! I was reading the Icelandic sagas pretty heavily around the time I wrote this, and had read a book of skaldic poetry as well, so that's where you can quickly get a sense of the 'tone'.
I recently got a book called 'Crimsoning the Eagle's Claw'. It's a collection of modern translations of poems by the Christian viking (yes, they did exist!) Earl Rognvald Kali Kolsson of Orkney. Amazing stuff - I highly recommend checking it out!
For a tale of revenge, magic, curses, beer-induced vomiting, battles, dismemberment, farming, hidden treasure, and poetry, you can't beat Egil's Saga, which should be easy to find. Egil Skallagrimsson was a big, ugly SOB who was often likened to a troll - and was also the best-known Icelandic poet of the Viking era. He is probably best known for composing a praise-poem for king Eirik Bloodaxe when the latter had him captured and sentenced to death. The so-called "Head Ransom" was successful; Egil was let free.
Axius - no rhyme needed! We... less
Ladies and gentlemen, Paul England!
Man, how do you do it? Drag that old Norse and make it Old Nord with so little effort and in such style that it makes one want to boot up Skyrim and immerse? How ever you do it, just don't stop.
Thanks, Lissette! It was a lot of fun to do. I've done 3 of these so far (will post the others too), and trying to follow the form's 'rules' actually helps give me ideas, I find. The constraints make for creativity.
An in-character poem I wrote while playing through a build I may post at some point.
It's loosely based on the rules of one of the commoner forms of skaldic poetry, drottkvaett: 8 lines, 6 syllables per line, alliteration. As you can see it stre... moreAn in-character poem I wrote while playing through a build I may post at some point.
It's loosely based on the rules of one of the commoner forms of skaldic poetry, drottkvaett: 8 lines, 6 syllables per line, alliteration. As you can see it stretches (or breaks) the pattern in several places. This type of verse was also known for its syntactical difficulty and allusiveness. Modern translations of skaldic poetry must make many adjustments for the lines to be accessible to readers today.
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I recently got a book called 'Crimsoning... more
Man, how do you do it? Drag that old Norse and make it Old Nord with so little effort and in such style that it makes one want to boot up Skyrim and immerse? How ever you do it, just don't stop.
It's loosely based on the rules of one of the commoner forms of skaldic poetry, drottkvaett: 8 lines, 6 syllables per line, alliteration. As you can see it stre... more