Hrynhenda, Magnússdrápa — Arn Hryn^II

Twenty whole or partial sts survive from Arnórr jarlaskáld Þórðarson’s Hrynhenda (Arn Hryn) in praise of Magnús inn góði ‘the Good’ Óláfsson (c. 1025-47), which must date to the last two years of Magnús’s life. The first performance is described in an anecdote in Mork (1928-32, 116-18), Flat (1860-8, III, 321-3), and H-Hr (Fms 6, 195-8). Newly arrived in Norway, Arnórr is summoned by the co-rulers Magnús Óláfsson and Haraldr Sigurðarson to recite his eulogies for them. He begins with Hryn, speaking first of the (Orkney) jarls ‘west across the sea’ and his own voyages (cf. sts 1 and 2), then praises Magnús with exceptional zeal, eliciting testy remarks from Haraldr at both points, who however commends the poem once complete, admiring it more than Blágagladrápa which Arnórr addresses to him, of which little or nothing now survives.

All that survives of Hryn, except for sts 11-12, is preserved in Mgóð in ms. Hr of H-Hr; its sister ms. H lacks sts 4-8 since it has a lacuna in the early chs of Mgóð. Mork (Mork) and Flat (Flat) have sts 3 and 16-19 in the anecdote about the first performance of the poem, and Flat also has sts 8-10, 13, 15 (Mork having a lacuna in the corresponding place). Hkr (Kˣ as main ms., 39, F, E, J2ˣ) has sts 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, and 14, while ÓH has sts 5 and 6/5-8 written continuously with st. 7 (see edn of these below for ms. listing). Fsk contains no citations from Hryn. Knýtl contains sts 14/5-8 and 15 concerning the war against Sveinn Úlfsson (mss 20dˣ, 873ˣ; 1005ˣ and 19ˣ have 14/5-8 but omit st. 15 from an otherwise full text). The remaining, usually less specific, sts are preserved in the treatises on poetry and grammar: sts 12/1-4 and 20 in SnE (R as main ms. Tˣ, B, C have both, U, A have only st. 20; B is supplemented by 744ˣ where illegible). The main SnE text in W lacks these but ‘Orms Eddu-brot’ in the same ms. has sts 6/1-4 and 16/1-4. The C17th LaufE has texts of Hryn 6/1-4 and 16/1-4 (mss 2368ˣ, 743ˣ, plus papp10ˣ for 6/1-4 only), though since W was its main source (Jón Helgason 1966a, 175; LaufE 1979, 16, 30-2), they are not necessarily of independent value. TGT (W, A) is the sole witness to sts 1, 2 and also has st. 3/3-4, and the W text of FoGT also has st. 3/3-4.

Hrynhenda has become the traditional title of this poem, and it is preserved in ms. H, but there are variants: Hrunhenda/Hrúnhenda (Hr, ms. ‘i hrunhendu’), Hrynjandi (ÓH mss, except Holm2 which has ‘i hermandinni’), and Magnússdrápa (TGT and Knýtl mss); see Notes to sts 2, 4, 5, 8, 13, 14, 15 [All]). Hrynhenda is certainly the first known encomium in hrynhent metre, and may be the earliest example of the metre, since although the hrynhent fragment Anon Hafg^IV had been traditionally dated c. 1000, Jakob Benediktsson (1981) argued for a late C11th dating. The distinctive metre makes assignation of sts to the poem relatively uncontentious, added to which sts 3 and 16-19 are embedded in the Mork anecdote about the first performance of the poem, and sts 4-5 (with 6-7 by association), 8 and 13-15 are explicitly cited from the poem. Other sts contain details pointing to Magnús as hero: he is named in st. 3, and his ship Visundr in sts 9 and 16, while sts 11-12 concern the victory over the Wends ascribed to him by Adam of Bremen. Stanza 20 contains no factual detail and is preserved only in SnE, but its hrynhent metre and use of the word skjǫldungr (applied to Magnús in sts 4, 12, 13 and Arn Magndr 19) put its membership of Hryn beyond doubt.

The chronology of Magnús’s short life is well established in the prose sources and matches the internal logic of the sts insofar as it can be discerned. Setting aside sts possibly belonging to the exordium and conclusion, the poem moves through Magnús’s return from north-west Russia to claim Norway (1035, sts 4-8); his expedition to Denmark (c. 1042, sts 9-10); campaign against the Wends (c. 1043, sts 11-13); and war against Sveinn Úlfsson (c. 1043-5, sts 14-15). Hints at the structure of the original poem are afforded by st. 11, which announces itself as the beginning of a stefjamél ‘refrain-section’ while sts 4 and 9 might have begun further sections (see Edwards 1979, 43).

Problems over the detail of the ordering are relatively few, and the main one concerns the exordium. Stanza 3, with its sweeping apostrophes and call for a hearing, forms a fitting start to the praise, and is printed as such in Skj and Skald. However, a well-established tradition has it that Arnórr started Hryn with irrelevant material relating to his own travels: this is stated (and King Haraldr grumbles about it) in the Mork anecdote, and st. 2 is cited in TGT as an example of macrologia (see Context). Since two hrynhent couplets relate to the skald’s voyages, they are therefore presented in this edn as sts 1 and 2 (see further Cawley 1926-7; Edwards 1979, 40). There are other minor problems. The prose sources differ over the configuration of sts 6 and 7 (see Note on st. 6 [All]) and the order of sts 14-15 (where this edn follows Knýtl rather than H-Hr; see also Edwards 1979, 43). Stanzas 16-19 contain general praise and hence are difficult to order, but the sequence in the Mork anecdote is respected here as in previous eds. The extravagant, timeless praise in the couplet st. 20 (preserved only in SnE) makes a fitting conclusion and could have belonged to the original slœmr ‘close’, but there is no external evidence for that, and it could possibly have been a stef. The claim that the hero has no equal under the sun resembles that of the klofastef ‘split refrain’ of Steinn Óldr, and (somewhat less closely) the stef of Sigv Knútdr^I and HSt Rst^I, though it is not clear how a two-l. stef would fit into Hryn. For further comment on the reconstruction of the poem and its original extent, see Edwards 1979.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Fms = Sveinbjörn Egilsson et al., eds. 1825-37. Fornmanna sögur eptir gömlum handritum útgefnar að tilhlutun hins norræna fornfræða fèlags. 12 vols. Copenhagen: Popp.
3. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. LaufE 1979 = Faulkes, Anthony, ed. 1979. Edda Magnúsar Ólafssonar (Laufás Edda). RSÁM 13. Vol. I of Two Versions of Snorra Edda from the 17th Century. Reykjavík: Stofnun Árna Magnússonar, 1977-9.
5. Jakob Benediktsson. 1981. ‘Hafgerðingadrápa’. In Dronke et al. 1981, 27-32.
6. Jón Helgason. 1966a. ‘Verse aus der Laufás-Edda’. In Rudolph et al. 1966, 175-80.
7. Edwards, Diana C. 1979. ‘The Poetry of Arnórr jarlaskáld: An Edition and Study’. D. Phil thesis. Oxford.
8. Cawley, F. S. 1926-7. ‘A Note on Two Fragments of Arnórr Jarlaskáld’. SS 9, 13-17.
9. Internal references
10. Edith Marold 2017, ‘Snorra Edda (Prologue, Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál)’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols [check printed volume for citation].
11. (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 24 April 2024)
12. Diana Whaley 2017, ‘(Biography of) Arnórr jarlaskáld Þórðarson’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 3.
13. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Knýtlinga saga’ 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=19> (accessed 24 April 2024)
14. (forthcoming), ‘ Óláfr hvítaskáld Þórðarson, The Third Grammatical Treatise’ in Tarrin Wills (ed.), The Third Grammatical Treatise. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=32> (accessed 24 April 2024)
15. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, The Fourth Grammatical Treatise’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=34> (accessed 24 April 2024)
16. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Flateyjarbók’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=44> (accessed 24 April 2024)
17. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Óláfs saga helga’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=53> (accessed 24 April 2024)
18. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Fagrskinna’ 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=56> (accessed 24 April 2024)
19. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Hulda-Hrokkinskinna’ 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=84> (accessed 24 April 2024)
20. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Morkinskinna’ 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=87> (accessed 24 April 2024)
21. Richard Perkins and Margaret Clunies Ross (forthcoming), ‘ Anonymous, Hafgerðingadrápa’ in Guðrún Nordal (ed.), Poetry on Icelandic History. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 4. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1013> (accessed 24 April 2024)
22. Rolf Stavnem 2012, ‘ Hallar-Steinn, Rekstefja’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 893. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1237> (accessed 24 April 2024)
23. Matthew Townend 2012, ‘ Sigvatr Þórðarson, Knútsdrápa’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 649. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1356> (accessed 24 April 2024)
24. Kari Ellen Gade 2009, ‘ Steinn Herdísarson, Óláfsdrápa’ 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, pp. 367-81. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1390> (accessed 24 April 2024)
25. Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Arnórr jarlaskáld Þórðarson, Magnússdrápa 19’ 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. 229.
26. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Laufás Edda’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=10928> (accessed 24 April 2024)