Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
drott-kvaett
Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Quick Facts
Old Norse:
drōtt-kvætt
Related Topics:
skaldic poetry
verse
See all related content
Britannica AI Icon
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites

drott-kvaett

literature
Also known as: dróttkvætt
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

drott-kvaett, a medieval Scandinavian verse form used in skaldic poetry. Drott-kvaett consists of stanzas of eight regular lines, each of which has three stresses and ends with a trochee. The form exhibits a complex pattern of internal and terminal rhyme, alliteration, and especially alternation of consonance with full rhyme at the ends of lines.