Höfuðlausn

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Höfuðlausn or the "Head's Ransom" is a skaldic poem by Egill Skalla-Grímsson in praise of king Eirik Bloodaxe. He reputedly created it in the span of one night. Eirik had captured him after he had been shipwrecked in Northumbria, and sentenced him to death on grounds of old bad blood between them, that included Egill practicing forbidden sorceries against the king and causing him shame. But Egill composed the drápa during the night before his planned execution, and when he recited it in the morning, Eiríkr gave him his freedom and forgave any vengeance. This poem is considered to be one of the great works of Scandinavian literature.

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