Hjálm Lv 9VIII (Ǫrv 19)/4 — Sóta ‘Sóti’
Hvarf ek frá fögrum fljóða söngvi,
alltrauðr gamans, austr við Sóta.
För skundaðak, ok fórk í lið
hinzta sinni frá hollvinum.
Ek hvarf austr við Sóta, alltrauðr gamans, frá fögrum söngvi fljóða. Skundaðak för, ok fórk í lið hinzta sinni frá hollvinum.
I went east in company with Sóti, completely averse to pleasure, away from the beautiful singing of women. I speeded my journey and joined a warband for the last time away from my loyal friends.
readings
[4] austr við Sóta: at með Sóta 344a, út með Sóta 343a, 471, 173ˣ
notes
[4] Sóta ‘Sóti’: This is the only mention of a companion of Hjálmarr’s named Sóti in both Heiðr and Ǫrv, although ǪrvOdd Ævdr 43/1 (Ǫrv 113) names a Sóti as one of Oddr’s companions. It has been suggested (Ǫrv 1892, xvi, 58 n. 2; Edd. Min. lix; Heiðr 1960 xii, 9 n. 3) that Sóti and Hjálmarr may have been associated in an earlier version of the narrative, implying that Ǫrvar-Oddr became involved in it at a later stage. This seems a plausible hypothesis. Heusler and Ranisch (Edd. Min. 49) go so far as to name Sóti as the speaker of ǪrvOdd Lv 5 (Ǫrv 13). These are the only instances in poetry where Sóti occurs as the name of a man; elsewhere in poetry (LP: sóti) it appears as a horse-name, both in a þula, Anon Þorgþ 1/6III, and as the base-word of ship- and wolf-kennings.