Eskál Vell 22^I

Ok til móts á Meita
mjúkhurðum framm þurðu
með svǫrgœli Sǫrva
sjau landrekar randa.
Glumði allr, þás Ullar
eggþings Heðins veggjar
— gnótt flaut nás fyr nesjum —
Nóregr, saman fóru.

Ok sjau landrekar þurðu framm á {mjúkhurðum Meita} til {móts randa} með {{Sǫrva svǫr}gœli}. Allr Nóregr glumði, þás {Ullar {veggjar Heðins}} fóru saman {eggþings}; gnótt nás flaut fyr nesjum.

And seven commanders rushed onwards aboard {the pliant doors of Meiti <sea-king>} [SHIPS] to {the meeting of shields} [BATTLE] with {the gladdener {of the bird of Sǫrvi <sea-king>}} [RAVEN/EAGLE > WARRIOR]. All of Norway resounded, when {the Ullar <gods> {of the wall of Heðinn <legendary hero>}} [SHIELD > WARRIORS] crashed together {in the blade-assembly} [BATTLE]; an abundance of corpses was floating off the headlands.

Mss: Kˣ(141v), F(23va), J1ˣ(82v), J2ˣ(77v), 325VIII 1(3rb) (Hkr); 61(11v) (ll. 5-8, 1-4), 53(9va), 54(5rb), Bb(15rb) (ÓT); FskBˣ(20v), FskAˣ(81) (Fsk, ll. 1-4)

Readings: [1] Ok til móts: hitt var meir F;    á: at F, 53, 54, Bb, FskBˣ;    Meita: mǫra F, ‘mǫta’ J1ˣ, FskAˣ, ‘mí(u)ta’(?) 325VIII 1, ‘mæra’ Bb    [2] mjúk‑: mjó‑ F, ‘mjok‑’ 53, 54, Bb;    ‑hurðum: ‘‑(h)erdu’(?) 53, ‑herðum 54, Bb    [3] svǫr‑: sǫr‑ F, FskAˣ, spor‑ FskBˣ;    ‑gœli: so F, ‘‑gǫli’ Kˣ, J2ˣ, ‘‑geli’ J1ˣ, ‘‑goli’ 325VIII 1, FskAˣ, ‘‑giæli’ 61, ‘‑gieli’ 53, 54, ‘‑geili’ Bb, ‑gœlis FskBˣ;    Sǫrva: svarfa J1ˣ, svarra Bb, ‘aurgua’ FskBˣ, ‘sarpa’ FskAˣ    [4] sjau: sjá 54, Bb;    land‑: lǫnd‑ FskBˣ;    ‑rekar: ‑reki J1ˣ, ‑reka Bb;    randa: landa Bb, hǫndum FskBˣ, handan FskAˣ    [5] allr: allt F;    þás (‘þa er’): þar er 54, Bb    [6] ‑þings: ‑þing 325VIII 1    [7] gnótt: gnógt 54;    flaut: flaust Bb;    nás: ‘nass’ 325VIII 1, ‘vas’ 53, vás 54    [8] Nóregr: ‘nor̄’ 325VIII 1, nóregs 53, 54, Bb

Editions: Skj AI, 127, Skj BI, 121, Skald I, 68; Hkr 1893-1901, I, 285-6, IV, 75-6, ÍF 26, 245-6, Hkr 1991, I, 164 (ÓTHkr ch. 18), F 1871, 107; Fms 1, 94, Fms 12, 34-5, ÓT 1958-2000, I, 102 (ÓT ch. 56); Fsk 1902-3, 73 (ch. 14), ÍF 29, 115 (ch. 16).

Context: See Context to st. 21.

Notes: [1-2] mjúkhurðum Meita ‘the pliant doors of Meiti [SHIPS]’: Hurð ‘door, hurdle’ is unusual as the base-word of a ship-kenning but the explanation might be that ships, like doors, are constructed of boards (Hkr 1893-1901, IV; Meissner 222). — [4] sjau landrekar ‘seven commanders’: Snorri Sturluson explains the word landreki in Skm (SnE 1998, I, 101) as one who leads a host into the realm of another king or drives a host out of his own realm. However, this implied derivation from reka ‘drive’ is probably wrong (Faulkes, SnE 1998, I, 220), as is the derivation from *landríkr ‘land-ruler’ in LP: landreki. The word more likely derives from rekja ‘to straighten out’ (ÍO: 2 ‑reki; AEW: reki 2) and means ‘commander’, cf. for instance HHund I 32/3. These leaders have been identified either as seven commanders allied with Hákon or as commanders of the two opposing hosts. Their number, seven, is most likely connected to the seven fylki under Hákon’s rule (st. 13), each coming from a different fylki. — [5, 6] Ullar veggjar Heðins ‘the Ullar <gods> of the wall of Heðinn <legendary hero> [SHIELD > WARRIORS]’: Whether this warrior-kenning refers only to Hákon and his warriors or to the two opposing hosts cannot be determined for sure. The image ‘all of Norway resounded’ makes the latter more likely. — [6] eggþings ‘in the blade-assembly [BATTLE]’: The function of this gen. sg. kenning in the helmingr is unclear, but it is tentatively taken here with fóru saman ‘crashed together, went together’ as a rare instance of an adverbial gen. of place (Konráð Gíslason 1895-7, I, 147-8; cf. also NS §141). It could alternatively be taken with nesjum (l. 7) hence ‘headlands of battle’.

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. Meissner = Meissner, Rudolf. 1921. Die Kenningar der Skalden: Ein Beitrag zur skaldischen Poetik. Rheinische Beiträge und Hülfsbücher zur germanischen Philologie und Volkskunde 1. Bonn and Leipzig: Schroeder. Rpt. 1984. Hildesheim etc.: Olms.
5. AEW = Vries, Jan de. 1962. Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch. 2nd rev. edn. Rpt. 1977. Leiden: Brill.
6. LP = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1931. Lexicon poeticum antiquæ linguæ septentrionalis: Ordbog over det norsk-islandske skjaldesprog oprindelig forfattet af Sveinbjörn Egilsson. 2nd edn. Copenhagen: Møller.
7. NS = Nygaard, Marius. 1906. Norrøn syntax. Kristiania (Oslo): Aschehoug. Rpt. 1966.
8. ÍO = Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon. 1989. Íslensk orðsifjabók. Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans.
9. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
10. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
11. Hkr 1991 = Bergljót S. Kristjánsdóttir et al., eds. 1991. Heimskringla. 3 vols. Reykjavík: Mál og menning.
12. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
13. Fsk 1902-3 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1902-3. Fagrskinna: Nóregs kononga tal. SUGNL 30. Copenhagen: Møller.
14. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
15. ÍF 29 = Ágrip af Nóregskonunga sǫgum; Fagrskinna—Nóregs konungatal. Ed. Bjarni Einarsson. 1985.
16. Konráð Gíslason. 1895-7. Efterladte skrifter. 2 vols. I: Forelæsninger over oldnordiske skjaldekvad. II: Forelæsninger og videnskablige afhandlinger. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
17. ÓT 1958-2000 = Ólafur Halldórsson, ed. 1958-2000. Saga Óláfs Tryggvasonar en mesta. 3 vols. EA A 1-3. Copenhagen: Munksgaard (Reitzel).
18. Internal references
19. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta’ 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=60> (accessed 4 May 2024)
20. (forthcoming), ‘ Snorri Sturluson, Skáldskaparmál’ 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=112> (accessed 4 May 2024)