View source for Háttatal

{{Short description|Section of Prose Edda}}
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The '''Háttatal''' ([[Old Norse]]: 'Tally of [[Metre (poetry)|Metres]]';{{Sfn|Orchard|1997|p=74}} c. 20,000 words; [[Old Norse]]: {{IPA|non|ˈhɑːtːɑtɑl|}}, [[Modern Icelandic]]: {{IPA|is|ˈhauhtaˌtʰaːl̥|}}) is the last section of the ''[[Prose Edda]]'' composed by the [[Iceland]]ic [[poet]], politician, and historian [[Snorri Sturluson]]. Using, for the most part, his own compositions, it exemplifies the types of verse forms used in Old Norse poetry.  Snorri took a prescriptive as well as descriptive approach; he has systematized the material, and often notes that "the older poets did not always" follow his rules.

Most of the forms depend on number of syllables per line, as well as assonance, consonance, and alliteration.  Although end rhyme is represented, it does not function in the ways most modern English speakers expect (forms include AAAAAAAA, and AAAABBBB), and plays a very minor role.  Understanding this work will be much easier if the [[First Grammatical Treatise]] is also available to hand.

Many scholars{{who|date=December 2016}} have suggested that the form of ''Háttatal'' suggests a classical influence deriving from the traditions of Christian learning to which Snorri was doubtlessly exposed.  Others{{who|date=December 2016}} have argued that this is a result of using a logical approach, within the framework of a dialog, and that some aspects of the work prove that it was not directly influenced by classical writings.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===

* {{Cite book|last=Orchard|first=Andy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uIujQgAACAAJ|title=Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend|date=1997|publisher=Cassell|isbn=978-0-304-34520-5|language=en|author-link=Andy Orchard}}

==External links==
{{wikisourcepar|Prose Edda/Háttatal|Háttatal}}
{{wikisourcepar|Prose Edda}}
{{wikisourcepar|Edda}}
*[http://www.heimskringla.no/wiki/Háttatal Snorri Sturluson's Háttatal in the original language]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060906005755/http://www.cybersamurai.net/Mythology/nordic_gods/LegendsSagas/Edda/ProseEdda/ContentsIcelandic.htm#hattae Háttatal, Old Norse]

==See also==
* [[Alliterative verse]]
* [[Old Norse poetry]]
* [[Skald]]

{{Prose Edda}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hattatal}}
[[Category:Skaldic poems]]
[[Category:Works by Snorri Sturluson]]
[[Category:Prose Edda]]
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