the poet laments his inadequacy as a poet and the sorrowful state of the world. The mansöngur is also a platform for personal expression—here, probably, a (veiled) complaint over losing his position as the minister for Staður in Reykjanes in 1635 after accusing two parishioners of sorcery: Though the ring-decked maiden might wish for a love-song, I have but little poetry from Odin. Only a little scent of the fruit of song he gave me once: I have no need to be grateful for his generosity. Let those rejoice who have been more successful. Friendship is not shown to every man, and I was never good at winning favour of the great. True friendship is rare over all the land; most men look for some advantage and are envious of all others who get wealth or fame. Seek not, then, to be praised by the world: disgrace and loss may follow. He that sees in secret will reward you, and He will come one day to sit in judgement. May I be able to see Him with joy, though my works are not so good as they might be. I have not the mansöngs to speak about the fair maid, but I must try to give her the third ballad now! In Norway Among the medieval inscriptions found at Bryggen in the Norwegian city of Bergen, there are preserved examples of mansǫngskvæði (mansǫngr poems) written in Skaldic meters such as dróttkvætt. In particular, N B145 dates to the first half of the thirteenth century and contains a full dróttkvætt stanza, the first half of which translates thusly: The ancient breeze of the cliff-goddesses [GIANTESSES > DESIRE] fell to me early with respect to the beautiful, dangerous young pine-tree of the fastened fire of the fish expanse [SEA > GOLD > (beautiful, dangerous, young) WOMAN]. Simplified, this means: Desire for the beautiful, dangerous young woman overcame me a long time ago. See also Old Norse poetry References Further reading Theodor Möbius, 'Vom isl. mansöngr', Zeitschrift für deutsche Philologie: Ergänzungsband (1874), 42-61. The principal study of mansöngvar. T. M. Johnstone, 'Nasīb and Mansöngur', The Journal of Arabic Literature, 3 (1972), 90-95. Compares the parallel literary development of the mansöngur and the Arabic Nasīb (poetry). Ingibjörg Gísladóttir, „Krist vil ek allrar ástar....“ Um eðli Hallfreðar sögu vandræðaskálds. University of Iceland, BA Thesis in Icelandic Literature, 2008. Skaldic poetry