Description
Hrafnagaldur Óðins is a late-medieval or early modern Icelandic Eddic-style poem, which was considered by early editors to be part of the Eddic corpus.
According to the performer, Guðrún Kristín Magnúsdóttir, who chants the poem in the original:
"Hrafnagaldur (Ravens’ spell) is a problem-child in the family of the olden surviving poems in Icelandic. It was even omitted from editions of Edda-poems for a long time. It is in Icelandic OK; we understand every word, name, heiti, and kenning, but somehow a heilabrjótur (brain-cracker), as we seem to find no story or message in it as whole. Even the very name, Hrafnagaldur Óðins is misleading, as it seems not to be in any context with the many little dramatic and interesting events compiled herein.
MY VERSION HERE
Here, Harfnagaldur is chanted in the old tradition of kveða rímur and þulur and kvæði (ríma, þula, kvæði). I composed a stemma to go with Hrafnagaldur. This art was still a living folk entertainment when I was a kid. I loved to stay on farms in the country-side during summer. Old people there, were willing to teach all the olden customs to a curious little city-girl. That is why I know how to hand-milk cows and spin a thread from sheep-wool. Those poems (--long as some of them are--) were recited learned by heart. I have Hrafnagaldur for you (typed in Latin alphabet letters) if you would, so, be able to make something really substantial out of it."