Gizsv Frag 1III
Diana Whaley (ed.) 2017, ‘Gizurr svarti (gullbrárskáld), Fragment 1’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 192.
Fylkir ‘The ruler’
(not checked:)
fylkir (noun m.): leader
gleðr ‘gladdens’
(not checked:)
gleðja (verb): gladden, rejoice
í ‘in’
(not checked:)
í (prep.): in, into
folki ‘battle’
(not checked:)
folk (noun n.): people
flagðs ‘of the troll-woman’
(not checked:)
flagð (noun n.): troll-woman
[2] flagðs blakk: flakk R, B, 761bˣ, ‘flac’ Tˣ, fleinblakk C
kennings
blakk flagðs‘the steed of the troll-woman ’
= WOLF
the steed of the troll-woman → WOLF
notes
[2] blakk flagðs ‘the steed of the troll-woman [WOLF]’: Flakk in most mss provides alliteration and rhyme but leaves l. 2 short by one syllable, and does not match known Old Norse vocabulary, since flakk n. ‘wandering, vagrancy’ is recorded in Modern Icelandic but not in Old Norse, though the verb flakka ‘wander (as a vagrant)’ is. (a) Emendation seems to be unavoidable, and the syntax and sense, including ok ‘and’, suggest that what is required is a phrase denoting a beast of battle with svan Hlakkar ‘the swan of Hlǫkk <valkyrie> [RAVEN/EAGLE]’ as the joint object to gleðr ‘gladdens’ (l. 1). Flagðs blakk ‘troll-woman’s steed’, suggested in Nj 1875-89, II, 305-8, is adopted in Skj B, this edn and elsewhere. (b) Konráð Gíslason (Nj 1875-89, II, 306-7) rejects a claim of Sveinbjörn Egilsson that flakkr, here and in a variant reading flaks for fáks in Þhorn Gldr 3/3I, could be a word for ‘wolf’. Flakk is retained in CPB II, 166, with the translation ‘roving wolf’. (c) The C reading fleinblakk is metrically satisfactory but its meaning would be the nonsensical ‘arrow-steed’.
blakk ‘the steed’
(not checked:)
1. blakkr (noun m.): horse
[2] flagðs blakk: flakk R, B, 761bˣ, ‘flac’ Tˣ, fleinblakk C
kennings
blakk flagðs‘the steed of the troll-woman ’
= WOLF
the steed of the troll-woman → WOLF
notes
[2] blakk flagðs ‘the steed of the troll-woman [WOLF]’: Flakk in most mss provides alliteration and rhyme but leaves l. 2 short by one syllable, and does not match known Old Norse vocabulary, since flakk n. ‘wandering, vagrancy’ is recorded in Modern Icelandic but not in Old Norse, though the verb flakka ‘wander (as a vagrant)’ is. (a) Emendation seems to be unavoidable, and the syntax and sense, including ok ‘and’, suggest that what is required is a phrase denoting a beast of battle with svan Hlakkar ‘the swan of Hlǫkk <valkyrie> [RAVEN/EAGLE]’ as the joint object to gleðr ‘gladdens’ (l. 1). Flagðs blakk ‘troll-woman’s steed’, suggested in Nj 1875-89, II, 305-8, is adopted in Skj B, this edn and elsewhere. (b) Konráð Gíslason (Nj 1875-89, II, 306-7) rejects a claim of Sveinbjörn Egilsson that flakkr, here and in a variant reading flaks for fáks in Þhorn Gldr 3/3I, could be a word for ‘wolf’. Flakk is retained in CPB II, 166, with the translation ‘roving wolf’. (c) The C reading fleinblakk is metrically satisfactory but its meaning would be the nonsensical ‘arrow-steed’.
ok ‘and’
(not checked:)
3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
kennings
svan Hlakkar‘the swan of Hlǫkk ’
= RAVEN/EAGLE
the swan of Hlǫkk → RAVEN/EAGLE
Hlakkar ‘of Hlǫkk’
(not checked:)
2. Hlǫkk (noun f.): Hlǫkk
kennings
svan Hlakkar‘the swan of Hlǫkk ’
= RAVEN/EAGLE
the swan of Hlǫkk → RAVEN/EAGLE
Ôleifr ‘Óláfr’
(not checked:)
Óláfr (noun m.): Óláfr
notes
[3] Ôleifr ‘Óláfr’: See Introduction.
élum ‘with the storms’
(not checked:)
él (noun n.; °; dat. -um): storm
kennings
élum Skǫglar.‘with the storms of Skǫgul. ’
= BATTLES
with the storms of Skǫgul. → BATTLES
notes
[3, 4] gǫgl Yggs … élum Skǫglar ‘the goslings of Yggr <= Óðinn> [RAVENS] … with the storms of Skǫgul <valkyrie> [BATTLES]’: Yggs, gen. sg. of the Óðinn-name Yggr ‘terrible, fearsome one’, is clearly needed here, rather than ýgs, gen. sg. of the adj. ýgr ‘fierce, fearsome’.
Yggs ‘of Yggr’
(not checked:)
1. Yggr (noun m.): Yggr
[4] Yggs: so C, ‘ygs’ R, Tˣ, 761bˣ, ‘[…]’ B, ‘ýggs’ 744ˣ
kennings
gǫgl Yggs‘the goslings of Yggr ’
= RAVENS
the goslings of Yggr → RAVENS
notes
[3, 4] gǫgl Yggs … élum Skǫglar ‘the goslings of Yggr <= Óðinn> [RAVENS] … with the storms of Skǫgul <valkyrie> [BATTLES]’: Yggs, gen. sg. of the Óðinn-name Yggr ‘terrible, fearsome one’, is clearly needed here, rather than ýgs, gen. sg. of the adj. ýgr ‘fierce, fearsome’.
gǫgl ‘the goslings’
(not checked:)
gagl (noun n.): gosling
kennings
gǫgl Yggs‘the goslings of Yggr ’
= RAVENS
the goslings of Yggr → RAVENS
notes
[3, 4] gǫgl Yggs … élum Skǫglar ‘the goslings of Yggr <= Óðinn> [RAVENS] … with the storms of Skǫgul <valkyrie> [BATTLES]’: Yggs, gen. sg. of the Óðinn-name Yggr ‘terrible, fearsome one’, is clearly needed here, rather than ýgs, gen. sg. of the adj. ýgr ‘fierce, fearsome’.
fegin ‘joyful’
(not checked:)
2. feginn (adj.; °compar. fegnari, superl. fegnastr): glad, happy
Skǫglar ‘of Skǫgul’
(not checked:)
Skǫgul (noun f.): Skǫgul
[4] Skǫglar: so Tˣ, C, 761bˣ, ‘skavgar’ R, ‘[…]glar’ B, ‘sko᷎glar’ 744ˣ
kennings
élum Skǫglar.‘with the storms of Skǫgul. ’
= BATTLES
with the storms of Skǫgul. → BATTLES
notes
[3, 4] gǫgl Yggs … élum Skǫglar ‘the goslings of Yggr <= Óðinn> [RAVENS] … with the storms of Skǫgul <valkyrie> [BATTLES]’: Yggs, gen. sg. of the Óðinn-name Yggr ‘terrible, fearsome one’, is clearly needed here, rather than ýgs, gen. sg. of the adj. ýgr ‘fierce, fearsome’.
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
The lines are cited in SnE (Skm) within a sequence illustrating terms for rulers. They are followed by a remark that a king is called fylkir because he lines up his army in their fylkingar ‘battle ranks’ (SnE 1998, I, 100).
Stanza/chapter/text segment
Use the buttons at the top of the page to navigate between stanzas in a poem.
Information tab
- text: if the stanza has been published, the edited text of the stanza and translation are here; if it hasn't been published an old edition (usually Skj) is given for reference
- sources: a list of the manuscripts or inscriptions containing this stanza, with page and line references and links (eye button) to images where available, and transcription where available
- readings: a list of variant manuscript readings of words in the main text
- editions and texts: a list of editions of the stanza with links to the bibliography; and a list of prose works in which the stanza occurs, allowing you to navigate within the prose context
- notes and context: notes not linked to individual words are given here, along with the account of the prose context for the stanza, where relevant
Interactive tab
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.
Full text tab
This is the text of the edition in a similar format to how the edition appears in the printed volumes.
Chapter/text segment
This view is also used for chapters and other text segments. Not all the headings shown are relevant to such sections.