Old Norse verse form related to fornyrðislag but with longer lines and more syllables.
Málaháttr, the metre of speeches, is a verse form with four stressed syllables per line but a larger number of unstressed syllables than fornyrðislag. This gives the verse a heavier, narrative character.
The metre is most common in heroic poetry, for instance in Atlamál, which depicts the fall of Gunnarr and Högni. Its more drawn-out rhythm is thought to reflect prose's influence and a late stage in eddic development.
Attestations
- Atlamál in grœnlenzku, Poetisk Edda (ca. 1270, Codex Regius)
- Chief example of málaháttr in the eddic corpus.