HSt Rst 24^I

Hjǫr*fl*óðs hnykkimeiðum
hérs of slœm at dœma
hnigreyrs harða starran;
hefk þar lokit stefjum.
Íðvands aðrar dáðir
ek fýsumk nú lýsa
gnýbjóðs geysitíðar
geira hóti fleiri.

Hérs {hnykkimeiðum {hnigreyrs {hjǫr*fl*óðs}}} at dœma of harða starran slœm; hefk þar lokit stefjum. Ek fýsumk nú lýsa hóti fleiri aðrar geysitíðar dáðir {íðvands {geira gný}bjóðs}.

Now it is {for the snatching trees {of the descending reed {of the sword-flood}}} [BLOOD > SWORD > WARRIORS] to judge the very stiff slœmr; I have concluded the refrains there. I am now eager to describe a great deal more the other much talked-about deeds {of the carefully-acting inviter {of the din of spears}} [(lit. ‘din-inviter of spears’) BATTLE > WARRIOR].

Mss: Bb(112rb)

Readings: [1] Hjǫr*fl*óðs: ‘Hiordfliods’ Bb    [3] starran: ‘staran’ Bb

Editions: Skj AI, 549, Skj BI, 531, Skald I, 258; SHI 3, 260-1, CPB II, 298-9, Wisén 1886-9, I, 49, Finnur Jónsson 1893b, 164, Konráð Gíslason 1895-7, I, 264-8.

Notes: [All]: The stanza concludes the section of the poem containing the refrain lines (sts 9-23) and prepares for the slœmr (l. 2; see Note below). Contrary to the first and last stanzas of Rst, the audience addressed in ll. 1, 3 is obviously not a group of women. — [1] hjǫr*fl*óðs ‘of the sword-flood [BLOOD]’: This emendation, also made by previous eds, is necessary since the Bb reading ‘Hiordfliods’ would seemingly mean ‘herd-woman’. — [2] slœm ‘slœmr’: Together with the C12th Gamlkan Has 46/6^VII, this constitutes the earliest evidence for the term, which refers to the third and last part of the poem. — [3] hnig- ‘descending’: From hníga ‘to bow down, sink’. The image is presumably of a sword slashing with a downward motion. — [3] starran ‘stiff’:  Suggested by Konráð Gíslason (1895-7); the ms. reads ‘staran’. In a conventional topos, the poem’s narrator downplays his own achievement by calling it stiff and encourages the audience to judge its quality (cf. Kreutzer 1977, 177, 238, 274). — [4] stefjum ‘the refrains’: Presumably pl. because the stef ‘refrain’ lines occur in fifteen stanzas. — [5]: The line has three hendingar (Íð- : að- : áð). — [5] íðvands ‘carefully-acting’: Konráð Gíslason (1895-7), with Finnur Jónsson (Skj A), reads nom. sg. íðvandr, referring to the skald, but gen. sg. íðvands, qualifying the kenning for Óláfr, is equally possible as the graphs representing <r> and <s> are often identical in Bb.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skj A = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15a. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. A: Tekst efter håndskrifterne. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1967. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
3. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. Kreutzer, Gert. 1977. Die Dichtungslehre der Skalden: Poetologische Terminologie und Autorenkommentare als Grundlage einer Gattungspoetik. 2nd edn. Hochschulschriften: Literaturwissenschaft 1. Meisenheim am Glan: Hain.
5. CPB = Gudbrand Vigfusson [Guðbrandur Vigfússon] and F. York Powell, eds. 1883. Corpus poeticum boreale: The Poetry of the Old Northern Tongue from the Earliest Times to the Thirteenth Century. 2 vols. Oxford: Clarendon. Rpt. 1965, New York: Russell & Russell.
6. Wisén, Theodor, ed. 1886-9. Carmina Norrœnæ: Ex reliquiis vetustioris norrœnæ poësis selecta, recognita, commentariis et glossario instructa. 2 vols. Lund: Ohlsson.
7. Finnur Jónsson. 1893b. Carmina Norrœna: Rettet Tekst. Copenhagen: Nielsen & Lydiche.
8. Konráð Gíslason. 1895-7. Efterladte skrifter. 2 vols. I: Forelæsninger over oldnordiske skjaldekvad. II: Forelæsninger og videnskablige afhandlinger. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
9. SHI = Sveinbjörn Egilsson, ed. 1828-46. Scripta historica islandorum de rebus gestis veterum borealium, latine reddita et apparatu critico instructa, curante Societate regia antiquariorum septentrionalium. 12 vols. Copenhagen: Popp etc. and London: John & Arthur Arch.
10. Internal references
11. 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 13 May 2024)
12. Katrina Attwood (ed.) 2007, ‘Gamli kanóki, Harmsól 46’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 113-14.