Note to Þhorn Harkv 14I
[1] hafnaði ‘rejected’: Snorri’s interpretation of the context in Hkr reveals that he understood the verb to mean ‘parted with’ (so also Magerøy 1963, 84; Jochens 1995, 31), but the meaning of the stanza may well be not that Haraldr parted with so many wives or concubines but that although he could have married a woman from any part of Norway, he chose a Dane instead. See Koht (1927-9, 430-1), in response to Schreiner (1927-9b, 172-3). Following Snorri’s interpretation, to explain the connection between this stanza and st. 13, Lindquist (1929, 7) supposes some lines to have been lost from the beginning of this stanza, to the effect that the women speak ill of Haraldr because of an old grudge. Harris (1985, 97) perceives the tone of this stanza as mocking. For a listing of the numerous women with whom Haraldr is said to have fathered children, see Hkr 1991, III, 135.
References
- Bibliography
- Jochens, Jenny. 1995. Women in Old Norse Society. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press.
- Hkr 1991 = Bergljót S. Kristjánsdóttir et al., eds. 1991. Heimskringla. 3 vols. Reykjavík: Mál og menning.
- Lindquist, Ivar. 1929. Norröna lovkväden från 800 och 900 talen. I: Förslag till restituerad täxt jämte översättning. Lund: Gleerup.
- Harris, Joseph. 1985. ‘Haraldskvæði’. In Strayer 1982-9, VI, 97-8.
- Koht, Halvdan. 1927-9. ‘Innlegg i stridsspursmål’. HT(N) 28 (5 ser. 7), 425-47.
- Magerøy, Hallvard, trans. 1963. ‘Haraldskvedet’. In Haugen 1994, 82-6.
- Schreiner, Johan. 1927-9b. ‘Harald Hårfagre og hans efterfølgere’. HT(N) 28 (5 ser. 7), 161-224.
- Internal references
- (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Heimskringla’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=4> (accessed 7 May 2024)