Rimur
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In the literature of Iceland, a ríma (pl. rímur, literally "a rhyme") is an epic poem written in any of the so-called rímnahættir ("rhymic meters"). They are rhymed, they alliterate and consist of two to four verses per stanza. There are hundreds of these meters, counting variations, but they can be grouped in ten families or so, more of which to follow. The plural, rímur, is either used as an ordinary plural, denoting any two or more rímur, but is also used for more expansive works, containing more than one ríma as a whole. Thus Ólafs ríma Haraldssonar denotes an epic about Ólafr Haraldsson in one ríma, while Núma rímur are a multi-part epic on Numa Pompilius.
Samples
- Download recording - Rimur (Icelandic folk music) from the Library of Congress' California Gold: Northern California Folk Music from the Thirties Collection; performed by Sigurd Bardarson on April 29, 1940 in Carmel, California