Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Poems, Bjarkamál in fornu 6’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 503.
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gleðja (verb): gladden, rejoice
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gunnr (noun f.): battle < gunnveitir (noun m.): [battle-granter]
[1] gunnveitir: so U, A, B, C, gunnveiti R, Tˣ, W, papp10ˣ, 2368ˣ, 743ˣ
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veitir (noun m.): giver < gunnveitir (noun m.): [battle-granter]
[1] gunnveitir: so U, A, B, C, gunnveiti R, Tˣ, W, papp10ˣ, 2368ˣ, 743ˣ
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2. ganga (verb; geng, gekk, gengu, genginn): walk, go
[2] gengum: ‘giegnum’ papp10ˣ
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fagr (adj.; °fagran; compar. fegri, superl. fegrstr): fair, beautiful < fagrbúinn (adj.): beautifully adorned
[2] ‑búnir: ‘[…]’ B, ‘‑bunir’ 744ˣ
[3] þingskilum Þjaza ‘with Þjazi’s <giant’s> assembly declarations [GOLD]’: Another gold-kenning of the ‘speech of giants’ type; see Note to st. 5/8.
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þingskil (noun n.): assembly declaration
[3] þingskilum: þingskálum W, papp10ˣ, 2368ˣ, 743ˣ, ‘[…]’ B, ‘þíngskilum’ 744ˣ
[3] þingskilum Þjaza ‘with Þjazi’s <giant’s> assembly declarations [GOLD]’: Another gold-kenning of the ‘speech of giants’ type; see Note to st. 5/8.
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þjóð (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -/-u; -ir): people
[4] þjóðir hermargar: ‘[…]’ B, om. 744ˣ
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hermargr (adj.): a great deal
[4] þjóðir hermargar: ‘[…]’ B, om. 744ˣ
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Rín (noun f.): [Rhine]
[5] Rínar rauðmalmi: ‘[…]malmi’ B, ‘rinar ryð malme’ 744ˣ
[5] rauðmalmi Rínar ‘with the red metal of the Rhine <river> [GOLD]’: Although this kenning conforms to the type ‘fire of water’ (cf. Note to st. 5/7), the reference to the river Rhine has a special significance in the context of the legend of the Niflungar (Meissner 228-9 and see Note to l. 6 below), because the heroes Gunnarr and Hǫgni, who had Sigurðr killed and then took possession of the gold-hoard the latter had taken from Fáfnir, hid the gold in the river Rhine, in a spot where it has never been found (cf. SnE 1998, I, 48).
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rauðr (adj.; °compar. -ari): red < rauðmalmr (noun m.): [with red metal]
[5] Rínar rauðmalmi: ‘[…]malmi’ B, ‘rinar ryð malme’ 744ˣ
[5] rauðmalmi Rínar ‘with the red metal of the Rhine <river> [GOLD]’: Although this kenning conforms to the type ‘fire of water’ (cf. Note to st. 5/7), the reference to the river Rhine has a special significance in the context of the legend of the Niflungar (Meissner 228-9 and see Note to l. 6 below), because the heroes Gunnarr and Hǫgni, who had Sigurðr killed and then took possession of the gold-hoard the latter had taken from Fáfnir, hid the gold in the river Rhine, in a spot where it has never been found (cf. SnE 1998, I, 48).
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malmr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): metal < rauðmalmr (noun m.): [with red metal]
[5] Rínar rauðmalmi: ‘[…]malmi’ B, ‘rinar ryð malme’ 744ˣ
[5] rauðmalmi Rínar ‘with the red metal of the Rhine <river> [GOLD]’: Although this kenning conforms to the type ‘fire of water’ (cf. Note to st. 5/7), the reference to the river Rhine has a special significance in the context of the legend of the Niflungar (Meissner 228-9 and see Note to l. 6 below), because the heroes Gunnarr and Hǫgni, who had Sigurðr killed and then took possession of the gold-hoard the latter had taken from Fáfnir, hid the gold in the river Rhine, in a spot where it has never been found (cf. SnE 1998, I, 48).
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róg (noun n.; °-s): strife, slander
[6] rógi Niflunga ‘with the strife of the Niflungar <legendary heroes> [GOLD]’: The Niflungar were the heroes Gunnarr and Hǫgni, sons of a legendary king Gjúki, together with their step-brother Guthormr and their sisters Guðrún and Guðný. Guðrún married Sigurðr Fáfnisbani ‘Slayer of Fáfnir’ who had come into possession of a fabulous horde of gold that the Niflingar coveted and for which they killed Sigurðr. Thus gold can be called the ‘strife’ of the Niflungar, even though it was merely its catalyst.
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Niflungr (noun m.; °; -ar): one of Niflungar
[6] Niflunga: buðlunga C
[6] rógi Niflunga ‘with the strife of the Niflungar <legendary heroes> [GOLD]’: The Niflungar were the heroes Gunnarr and Hǫgni, sons of a legendary king Gjúki, together with their step-brother Guthormr and their sisters Guðrún and Guðný. Guðrún married Sigurðr Fáfnisbani ‘Slayer of Fáfnir’ who had come into possession of a fabulous horde of gold that the Niflingar coveted and for which they killed Sigurðr. Thus gold can be called the ‘strife’ of the Niflungar, even though it was merely its catalyst.
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vísi (noun m.; °-a): leader
[7] inn vígdjarfi vísi ‘the battle-bold prince’: This phrase is nom. and so in apposition to gunnveitir ‘the battle-granter [warrior]’ in l. 1. Both phrases presumably refer to Hrólfr kraki.
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2. inn (art.): the
[7] inn vígdjarfi vísi ‘the battle-bold prince’: This phrase is nom. and so in apposition to gunnveitir ‘the battle-granter [warrior]’ in l. 1. Both phrases presumably refer to Hrólfr kraki.
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vígdjarfr (adj.): battle-bold
[7] inn vígdjarfi vísi ‘the battle-bold prince’: This phrase is nom. and so in apposition to gunnveitir ‘the battle-granter [warrior]’ in l. 1. Both phrases presumably refer to Hrólfr kraki.
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4. vaka (verb): awaken
[8] vakði: so Tˣ, varði R, C, vakti W, U, A, papp10ˣ, 2368ˣ, 743ˣ, vaki B
[8] hann vakði Baldr þeygi ‘he did not wake Baldr at all’: Or Baldr vakði hann þeygi ‘Baldr did not wake him at all’. However these words are construed, this is the reading of the majority mss against R’s Baldr þǫgli varði hann ‘Baldr the Silent defended him’. The sense of all three possible readings is unclear. A hero by the name of Baldr is not known from any Old Norse source for the legend of Hrólfr kraki’s last battle. In skaldic poetry Baldr is elsewhere the name of one of the gods, son of Óðinn and Frigg (but Víðarr is the ‘silent’ god; cf. SnE 1998, I, 19: hinn þǫgla Ás) or the base-word of a man-kenning (cf. LP: Baldr). It is possible, as suggested by Faulkes (SnE 1998, I, 189), that the Baldr of this line was originally part of a warrior-kenning or that the variant readings vakði/vakti ‘awakened’ and þeygi ‘not at all, by no means’ might be the remains of an allusion to the episode of the apparently inactive Bǫðvarr bjarki in Hrólfr’s last battle, whose body lay inert in his tent but who participated in the fighting in the shape of a bear (cf. Hrólf 1960, 118). Skj B and Skald adopt the mixed-reading version varði hann Baldr þeygi ‘Baldr did not defend him at all’.
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hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...
[8] hann: om. A, B
[8] hann vakði Baldr þeygi ‘he did not wake Baldr at all’: Or Baldr vakði hann þeygi ‘Baldr did not wake him at all’. However these words are construed, this is the reading of the majority mss against R’s Baldr þǫgli varði hann ‘Baldr the Silent defended him’. The sense of all three possible readings is unclear. A hero by the name of Baldr is not known from any Old Norse source for the legend of Hrólfr kraki’s last battle. In skaldic poetry Baldr is elsewhere the name of one of the gods, son of Óðinn and Frigg (but Víðarr is the ‘silent’ god; cf. SnE 1998, I, 19: hinn þǫgla Ás) or the base-word of a man-kenning (cf. LP: Baldr). It is possible, as suggested by Faulkes (SnE 1998, I, 189), that the Baldr of this line was originally part of a warrior-kenning or that the variant readings vakði/vakti ‘awakened’ and þeygi ‘not at all, by no means’ might be the remains of an allusion to the episode of the apparently inactive Bǫðvarr bjarki in Hrólfr’s last battle, whose body lay inert in his tent but who participated in the fighting in the shape of a bear (cf. Hrólf 1960, 118). Skj B and Skald adopt the mixed-reading version varði hann Baldr þeygi ‘Baldr did not defend him at all’.
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Baldr (noun m.): [Baldr, Baldur]
[8] hann vakði Baldr þeygi ‘he did not wake Baldr at all’: Or Baldr vakði hann þeygi ‘Baldr did not wake him at all’. However these words are construed, this is the reading of the majority mss against R’s Baldr þǫgli varði hann ‘Baldr the Silent defended him’. The sense of all three possible readings is unclear. A hero by the name of Baldr is not known from any Old Norse source for the legend of Hrólfr kraki’s last battle. In skaldic poetry Baldr is elsewhere the name of one of the gods, son of Óðinn and Frigg (but Víðarr is the ‘silent’ god; cf. SnE 1998, I, 19: hinn þǫgla Ás) or the base-word of a man-kenning (cf. LP: Baldr). It is possible, as suggested by Faulkes (SnE 1998, I, 189), that the Baldr of this line was originally part of a warrior-kenning or that the variant readings vakði/vakti ‘awakened’ and þeygi ‘not at all, by no means’ might be the remains of an allusion to the episode of the apparently inactive Bǫðvarr bjarki in Hrólfr’s last battle, whose body lay inert in his tent but who participated in the fighting in the shape of a bear (cf. Hrólf 1960, 118). Skj B and Skald adopt the mixed-reading version varði hann Baldr þeygi ‘Baldr did not defend him at all’.
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þeygi (adv.): not at all
[8] þeygi: so Tˣ, W, U, A, papp10ˣ, 2368ˣ, 743ˣ, þǫgli R, C, ‘[…]’ B, ‘þeyge’ 744ˣ
[8] hann vakði Baldr þeygi ‘he did not wake Baldr at all’: Or Baldr vakði hann þeygi ‘Baldr did not wake him at all’. However these words are construed, this is the reading of the majority mss against R’s Baldr þǫgli varði hann ‘Baldr the Silent defended him’. The sense of all three possible readings is unclear. A hero by the name of Baldr is not known from any Old Norse source for the legend of Hrólfr kraki’s last battle. In skaldic poetry Baldr is elsewhere the name of one of the gods, son of Óðinn and Frigg (but Víðarr is the ‘silent’ god; cf. SnE 1998, I, 19: hinn þǫgla Ás) or the base-word of a man-kenning (cf. LP: Baldr). It is possible, as suggested by Faulkes (SnE 1998, I, 189), that the Baldr of this line was originally part of a warrior-kenning or that the variant readings vakði/vakti ‘awakened’ and þeygi ‘not at all, by no means’ might be the remains of an allusion to the episode of the apparently inactive Bǫðvarr bjarki in Hrólfr’s last battle, whose body lay inert in his tent but who participated in the fighting in the shape of a bear (cf. Hrólf 1960, 118). Skj B and Skald adopt the mixed-reading version varði hann Baldr þeygi ‘Baldr did not defend him at all’.
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Gladdi gunnveitir |
The battle-granter [WARRIOR], the battle-bold prince, gladdened the very numerous troops – we went beautifully adorned – with Þjazi’s <giant’s> assembly declarations [GOLD], with the red metal of the Rhine <river> [GOLD], with the strife of the Niflungar <legendary heroes> [GOLD]; he did not wake Baldr at all.
As for st. 4.
This stanza differs from sts 4 and 5 because it introduces an intercalary l. 2 in direct, 1st pers. pl. speech, seemingly spoken by one of Hrólfr kraki’s men. In addition, the catalogue of gold-kennings concludes at l. 6, with ll. 7-8 being added as commentary on the situation of the leader by the poet-narrator (see Notes to ll. 7 and 8 below).
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