Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Snorri Sturluson, Háttatal 33’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1140.
Lífs varð rán at raunum
— reið sverð — skapat mjǫk ferðum;
stǫng óð þrátt á þingi
þjóðsterk; liðu framm merki.
Hrauð of hilmis bróður
hvǫss egg friðar ván seggjum;
spjót náðu blá bíta;
búandmenn hlutu þar renna.
Rán lífs varð mjǫk at raunum skapat ferðum; sverð reið; þjóðsterk stǫng óð þrátt á þingi; merki liðu framm. Hvǫss egg hrauð ván friðar seggjum of {bróður hilmis}; blá spjót náðu bíta; búandmenn hlutu þar renna.
‘Deprivation of life most certainly became reality for the men; the sword swung; the mightily strong standard-pole advanced obstinately at the assembly; banners marched on. The sharp blade dispelled the hope of peace for the men around the ruler’s brother [= Skúli]; dark spears bit; farmers were forced to flee there. ’
This dróttkvætt variant is called veggjat ‘wedged, inserted’. It consists of the systematic insertion in the even lines of an additional syllable between metrical positions 4 and 5, thus creating heptasyllabic even lines. The first internal rhyme in all even lines falls in metrical position 2.
The heading is veggjat (Tˣ, U(47r)). The inserted syllables are mjǫk ‘most certainly’ (l. 2), framm ‘forwards’ (l. 4), ván ‘hope’ (l. 6), þar ‘there’ (l. 8). All these words are directly preceded by short-stemmed, disyllabic words in metrical positions 3-4, and Sievers (1879, 270-1; 1893, 109-10 Anm. 1) thinks it possible that these disyllabic words may have been fully stressed and resolved. That is unlikely, but they may have been neutralised in unstressed position preceding the secondarily stressed words in metrical position 5, thus creating lines with six metrical positions. The variant is not attested elsewhere in the extant corpus of skaldic poetry, and it could have been invented by Snorri. — This stanza must refer to events that took place in 1213 at a legal assembly at Strinda, near Trondheimsfjorden. King Ingi Bárðarson and Skúli had a showdown with the farmers at that assembly (Bǫgl 1988, II, 125): K. Ingi bad sit Folck føre sit Banere tilbage, thi hand vilde icke stride mod sine egne Bønder, oc Kongen vigede tilbage med sit Folck, da forfulde Bønderne hannem, oc sloge nogne ihiel aff hans Mænd, thi raabte Skule Kongens Broder, at Kongen skulde vende om igien, thi de søgte efter oc dræbte hans Folck, da vende Kongen om igien, oc bad føre fram sit Banere, oc blefue da Bønderne slagne, og maatte de fly ‘King Ingi told his men to bring his standard back, because he did not want to fight against his own farmers, and the king retreated with his men. Then the farmers pursued him and killed some of his men. Therefore Skúli, the king’s brother, shouted that the king should turn back again, because they pursued them and killed his people. Then the king turned back again, and he commanded his standard to advance, and then the farmers were defeated and they had to flee’. See also Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar (E 1916, 480), where the legal assembly is called Raumaþing.
Text is based on reconstruction from the base text and variant apparatus and may contain alternative spellings and other normalisations not visible in the manuscript text. Transcriptions may not have been checked and should not be cited.
Lífs varð rán at raunum
— réð sverð — skapat mjǫk ferðum;
stǫng óð þrátt á þingi
þjóðsterk; liðu framm merki.
Hrauð of hilmis bróður
hvǫss egg friðar ván seggjum;
spjót náðu blá bíta;
búandmenn hlutu þar renna.
Lífs varð rán at rauðum
— reið sverð — skapat mjǫk ferðum;
stǫng óð þrátt á þingi
þjóðsterk; liðu framm merki.
Hrauð of hilmis bróður
hvǫss egg friðar ván seggjum;
spjót náðu blá bíta;
†buod-†menn hlutu þar renna.
Lífs varð rán at raunum
— reið sverð — skapat mjǫk ferðum;
stǫg óð þrátt á þingi
þjóðsterk; liðu framm merki.
Hrauð of hilmis bróður
hvǫss egg friðar ván seggjum;
spjót náðu blá bíta;
búandmenn hlutu þar renna.
Lífs var rán at raunum
— reidd sverð — skapat mjǫk ferðum;
stǫng óð þrátt á þingi
þjóðsterk; liðu framm merki.
Hrauð of hilmis bróður
hvǫss egg friðar ván seggjum;
spjót náðu blá bíta;
búandmenn hlutu þar renna.
Lífs var rán at raunum
— reidd sverð — skapat mjǫk ferðum;
stǫng óð þrátt at þingi
þjóðsterk; liðu framm merki.
Hrauð of hilmis bróður
hvǫss egg friðar ván seggjum;
spjót náðu blá bíta;
†bond-†menn hlutu þar renna.
Use the buttons at the top of the page to navigate between stanzas in a poem.
The text and translation are given here, with buttons to toggle whether the text is shown in the verse order or prose word order. Clicking on indiviudal words gives dictionary links, variant readings, kennings and notes, where relevant.
This is the text of the edition in a similar format to how the edition appears in the printed volumes.
This view is also used for chapters and other text segments. Not all the headings shown are relevant to such sections.