Learnings: The Skald and His Art

Replica of the Sutton Hoo large lyre / 6th-7th cent.

To carry out this task, the skald composed poems that followed a complex set of rules. He strove, through the finesse of his metaphors—the famous kennings, or kenningar—to create a masterpiece that cultivated glory and fame. The main subjects of his poems were his benefactors; that is, those able to pay him generously for his performances.

It was likely that skalds would also play an instrument while performing. Pictured here is a lyre, an instrument commonly used during the Early Middle Ages.