Egil Skallagrimsson (10th Century)
“I awoke early
to heap my words;
as a servant of speech
I did my morning’s work.
I have piled a mound
of praise that long
will stand without crumbling
in poetry’s field.”
- A poem attributed to Egil Skallagrimsson in Egil’s Saga (chapter 80), recorded c. 13th century possibly by Snorri Sturluson, translated by Bernard Scudder. New York: Penguin Classics, 2004 edition.
