Edith Marold (ed.) 2012, ‘Einarr skálaglamm Helgason, Vellekla 10’ 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. 295.
Rignði hjǫrs á hersa
hríðremmis fjǫr víða
— þrimlundr of jók Þundi
þegns gnótt — méilregni.
Ok hald-Viðurr haulda
haffaxa lét vaxa
Laufa veðr at lífi
lífkǫld Hôars drífu.
{Méilregni} {{hjǫrs hríð}remmis} rignði víða á fjǫr hersa; þrimlundr of jók Þundi gnótt þegns. Ok {hald-Viðurr {haffaxa}} lét {lífkǫld veðr Laufa} vaxa at lífi haulda {drífu Hôars}.
{The arrow-rain} [BATTLE] {of the strengthener {of the storm of the sword}} [(lit. ‘storm-strengthener of the sword’) BATTLE > WARRIOR] rained widely on the life of the hersar; the battle-minded one increased the abundance of retainers for Þundr <= Óðinn>. And {the steering Viðurr <= Óðinn> {of sea-horses}} [SHIPS > SEAFARER] let {the life-cold storms of Laufi <sword>} [BATTLES] grow against the life of men {in the snow-storm of Hárr <= Óðinn>} [BATTLE].
Mss: Kˣ(113r), 39(3vb), F(19vb), J1ˣ(67v-68r), J2ˣ(65r) (Hkr); 61(7rb), 325IX 1 a(3ra), Bb(9va-b) (ÓT)
Readings: [2] hríð‑: so all others, ‘h[...]rð‑’ Kˣ; ‑remmis: ‘‑remnis’ J2ˣ [3] þrim‑: þver‑ 39, F, þrym‑ 61, 325IX 1 a, Bb; ‑lundr: ‑lyndr 39, F, 61, ‘‑lunðar’ J1ˣ, ‑lundar J2ˣ; of: ok J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 61, 325IX 1 a, Bb [4] þegns: þegn 39, F, ‘þ(e)gns’(?) J1ˣ; gnótt: gnótt ok 39, F; méil‑: men‑ F, mél‑ 61, meðal‑ Bb [5] hald‑: hjald‑ 61, haldinn‑ Bb; Viðurr: rúnr Bb [6] haf‑: hár‑ Bb [7] Laufa: ‘lꜹpa’ 39, J1ˣ, J2ˣ; veðr: veðrs Bb; lífi: lífum 39, F, J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 61, 325IX 1 a, Bb [8] líf‑: lið‑ 39; Hôars: ‘harlldz’ 325IX 1 a, Haralds Bb
Editions: Skj AI, 124, Skj BI, 118, Skald I, 66-7, NN §§303A, 398, 2241; Hkr 1893-1901, I, 237-8, IV, 68-9, ÍF 26, 210-1, Hkr 1991, I, 140 (HGráf ch. 6), F 1871, 90; Fms 1, 57, Fms 12, 32, ÓT 1958-2000, I, 56 (ch. 35).
Context: See st. 9.
Notes: [All]: There is no intervening prose between sts 9 and 10, but 10/1-4 and 10/5-8 are thematically much more similar than sts 9 and 10/1-4 and are therefore given as a unitary stanza here and in most eds. In contrast, ÓT 1958-2000, Davidson 1983, 264-5, 170 and Hkr 1991 combine st. 9 and 10/1-4 into one stanza and let 10/5-8 stand as a single helmingr. — [1, 2] hjǫrs hríðremmis ‘of the strengthener of the storm of the sword [(lit. ‘storm-strengthener of the sword’) BATTLE > WARRIOR]’: Hríðremmis is attested in all mss as a gen., so the warrior-kenning qualifies méilregni ‘arrow-rain [BATTLE]’. Finnur Jónsson (Hkr 1893-1901, IV; Skj B) placed the warrior-kenning in the intercalary clause instead, hence Þrimlundr hjǫrs hríðremmir of jók Þundi gnótt þegns ‘The battle-minded strengthener of the storm of the sword [BATTLE > WARRIOR] increased the abundance of retainers for Þundr <= Óðinn>’, which requires the emendation of -remmis to -remmir, contrary to all mss, and leads to a much more complicated syntax for the helmingr. Because þrimlundr as a nominalised adj. can take the subject position in the intercalary clause (Kock NN §398; Reichardt 1928, 200), the emendation is unnecessary. Finnur Jónsson later (1934a, 20) changed his view and the later view is followed by this edn. — [1] hersa ‘of the hersar’: Hersar are district chieftains, noblemen of lesser rank than a jarl. Here the term seems to refer to the commanders serving the Eiríkssynir or Gunnhildarsynir (Konráð Gíslason 1895-7, I, 110). — [4] méilregni ‘the arrow-rain [BATTLE]’: Méil occurs only here and in Hfr Hákdr 9/4III méilskúr ‘arrow-shower’. It is presumably of the same origin as mél ‘bit, mouth-piece of a bridle’. Exactly what the word means is not known; in combination with ‘rain/shower’ it is likely to mean a projectile weapon: arrow or spear (LP: méilregn; ÍF 26; on méil- cf. also Konráð Gíslason 1895-7, I, 110; Kristensen 1907, 235-6, 240). Because the verb rignði ‘it rained’ is impersonal, regni ‘rain’ appears as a dat. object. — [5, 6] hald-Viðurr haffaxa ‘the steering Viðurr <= Óðinn> of sea-horses [SHIPS > SEAFARER]’: Hald- means ‘to steer’ here (cf., e.g., Sigv Nesv 2/5) and refers to the seafarer controlling the ships. — [5] haulda ‘of men’: The ONorw. form haulda rather than OIcel. hǫlða is indicated by the rhyme on hald-. Although Einarr was an Icelander, he would have been familiar with the Norw. form through living at a Norwegian court. For hauldr see ANG §§105 Anm., 238.1b. — [8] lífkǫld ‘life-cold’: I.e. inimical to life. — [8] drífu Hôars ‘in the snow-storm of Hárr <= Óðinn> [BATTLE]’: Drífu can be acc., gen. or dat., and previous eds have construed the phrase in various ways. (a) It is understood here and in most eds as being a dat. of location, with the sense ‘in battle’. (b) If the battle is thought of as an equivalent to a period of time, drífu could be a temporal acc., hence ‘at/throughout the battle’ (cf. NS §98). (c) Fms 12 combined hǫlða and drífu Hôars into a kenning, ‘the men of the snow-storm of Hárr [BATTLE > WARRIORS]’, but hǫlðar cannot form a kenning with drífu Hôars because it is an independent term (so Konráð Gíslason 1895-7, I, 112). (d) Konráð’s own suggestion of combining drífu Hôars with haffaxa ‘of sea-horses [SHIPS]’ to form a kenning for ‘battle at sea’ is unconvincing. (e) Kock (NN §2241) takes drífu Hôars in apposition to veðr Laufa ‘the weather of Laufi <sword> [BATTLE]’, but apposition involving kennings is rare at best.
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