Troll-Skalds
Troll-skalds is a training group for those having participated in the course on Trollformler, Maktord and Words of Power.
About "Troll-Skalds".
In this training group we practice the Traditional Art of skaldic poetry.
The agenda consist of composing Galders, Trollformulas, Maktord ("Barbaric Names"/"Nonsense syllables"), Böner (prayers), Hymns, Teaching tales (Parables, Folktales, Myth) and Practice OF the various forms of magical speech and song.
The class is open for those who have completed the 3 month course of "Trollformler, Maktord and Words of Power".
We meet online on Fridays at Fridays at 2.30-3.30pm (Stockholm time). Start August 21, 2026.
Completed the Trollformler, Maktord and Word of Power" and want to join? Sign up here:
Urhall & The Old Norse Skalds.
The area in which the school is located did not became Swedish until February 26, 1658. Prior to that it belonged to Norway for 600 years. Before that it was a central part of the kingdom (tribal area) of Alvheim (Elvenheim).
Queen Alfhild & the Skaldic Warrior/Poet Starkodder (Starkad).
The story of the local queen Alfhild (Her name means "Elven-Battle") – who made offerings to the Disir at night - and Starkodder (Starkad) is a dramatic and violent episode from Old Norse mythology and heroic sagas. It tells a tale of abduction, divine intervention, and the origin of one of the Nordic region's most famous mythical warriors.
(However, there is an important detail in the myth: this story concerns Starkad the Elder (Starkad Aludreng), who was a giant. He should not be confused with his grandson, the famous champion and skald Starkad who is mentioned in Skáldatal and Gesta Danorum. )
The Myth in Brief:
•Who was Alfhild? Alfhild was a beautiful princess, the daughter of King Alf of Alfheim (Alvhem). According to Hervarar saga and older accounts, she was abducted by the giant Starkad in the middle of a nightly dísablót (a sacrificial festival), just as she was reddening the sacrificial altar with blood.
•Starkad the Elder, the Giant: Starkad Aludreng was an enormous and terrifying eight-armed giant. He carried Alfhild away to his home in the north.
•Thor's Intervention: However, Alfhild was also loved by the Aesir god Thor. Enraged by the abduction, Thor tracked down the giant Starkad and slew him with his hammer, Mjöllnir. Alfhild was then able to return home to her father.
The Birth of Starkad the Younger:
When Thor slew the giant, Alfhild was already pregnant. She gave birth to a son named Storverkr. Storverkr, in turn, became the father of the "true" and more famous Starkad the Younger (Starkodder)—the legendary berserker, poet, and protégé of Odin who lived for hundreds of years and features in countless heroic sagas. The younger Starkad inherited his grandfather's immense strength but was born a human, even though the gods (primarily Thor and Odin) continued to influence his dramatic destiny.
Geographical Connection:
Besides taking place in the old Kingdom of Alvheim, there are ancient remains to this day, notably at Prästalund, which are colloquially referred to as "Starkodder's Grave".
A cognate of the Starkad legends can be found in the Anglo-Saxon poem of Beowulf.
You can read more about it here: Starkad - Wikipedia
KING SVERRI & THE NORWEGIAN COURT SKALDS
The most famous historical event in the area of the Urhall school and the village of Hedekas is probably the proclamation that took place in March 1177 at the Kings Farm Sörbo (called Sauerbo in the Sagas) when Sverre (Sverri) Sigurdsson was proclaimed king of Norway.
King Sverre Sigurdsson had several skalds attached to his court during his reign, even though he lived in a transitional period when the traditional courtly skaldic poetry (hirdskaldedikten) was undergoing change.
According to the medieval Icelandic work Skáldatal (the catalogue of skalds) and the kings' sagas, King Sverre had no fewer than 13 skalds associated with him during his lifetime:
Ásgrímr Ketilsson.
ÞorsteinnÞorbjarnarson.
Sumarliði.
Arnórr Saxason.
Hallbjörn hali.
Blakkr skáld.
Únáss Stephánsson.
Ljótr skáld.
Bragi.
Snorri Sturluson.
Sighvatr Egilsson.
Snorri Bútsson.
Þorbjörn Skakkaskáld.
Note that the list mentions a very famous name, namely Snorri Sturluson. However, the timeline does not align with reality: Snorri Sturluson was born around 1178/1179. When King Sverre died in 1202, Snorri was around 23 years old and living in Iceland. At that point, he had never set foot in Norway and did not travel there until 16 years after Sverre's death. Physically, he could therefore not have served as a court skald in Sverre's living court. Historians and textual scholars suggest that the scribes of Skáldatal either made a mistake and placed him under the wrong king, or that Snorri composed a poem about King Sverre at a later date (perhaps in his memory), which led to him being recorded there in the registry.
Link to Skáldatal. Press here!
The most interesting aspect of King Sverre, however, is that he did not solely rely on traditional skalds who sang short poems. Instead, he initiated one of the absolute greatest literary works of the Norwegian Middle Ages: Sverris saga (Sverre's Saga).He invited the Icelandic abbot Karl Jónsson to his court in Norway. The king himself served as the primary source and took part in deciding exactly what was to be written. The saga was used as an effective tool for political propaganda to legitimize his kingship.
Link to Sverre´s saga in English: Sverrisaga : "The Saga of King Sverri of Norway."
Today the Urhall School is continuing the local historical and legendary legacy left by these ancestors of the land and great Skalds of the Old Norse past.
