Kate Heslop (ed.) 2017, ‘Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld Óttarsson, Hákonardrápa 2’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 216.
Ólítit brestr úti
unndýrs sumum runnum
hart á Hamðis skyrtum
hryngráp Egils vápna.
Þaðan verða fǫt fyrða
— fregnk gǫrla þat — Sǫrla
rjóðask bjǫrt í blóði
benfúr méilskúrum.
{Ólítit hryngráp {vápna Egils}} brestr hart á {skyrtum Hamðis} {sumum runnum {unndýrs}} úti. Þaðan verða {bjǫrt fǫt Sǫrla} rjóðask í blóði fyrða {benfúr} {méilskúrum}; fregnk þat gǫrla.
‘Not a little ringing hail of Egill’s <legendary archer’s> weapons [BOWS > ARROWS] crashes hard against Hamðir’s <legendary hero’s> shirts [MAIL-SHIRTS] of some bushes of the wave-beast [SHIP > SEAFARERS] out at sea. As a result the bright garments of Sǫrli <legendary hero> [MAIL-SHIRTS] must be reddened in the blood of men by wound-fire [SWORD] in missile-showers [BATTLE]; I learn clearly of that.’
Skm quotes the helmingar of this stanza in succession as instances of kennings for weapons and armour, here skyrtur Hamðis ‘Hamðir’s shirts’ and fǫt Sǫrla ‘Sǫrli’s garments’. In ms. A, the second helmingr follows directly with no intervening prose.
[5-8]: The crucial issue here is the gender of benfúr ‘wound-fire’ in l. 8 (ms. R’s ben fyr spoils the aðalhending and must be rejected). (a) If the second element is taken as (an inflected form of) fúrr m. ‘fire’, as is conventional, it must be acc. or dat. sg., so it cannot be the subject of rjóðask ‘are reddened’. The interpretation in the Text, that of Faulkes (SnE 1998), solves this by taking benfúr as instr. with verða rjóðask (ll. 5, 7), where rjóðask is an inf. (b) Following Konráð Gíslason (1895-7, I, 114-15), Reichardt (1928, 62-4) suggests that fúr is n. (and so nom. pl.). He also adopts C’s fyr in l. 8, and reads: Þaðan verða Sǫrla fǫt fyrða fyr méilskúrum; fregnk gǫrla þat; bjǫrt benfúr rjóðask í blóði ‘As a result the mail-shirts of the warriors are exposed to missiles; I learn clearly of that; bright swords are reddened with blood’. Reichardt’s reading is undeniably attractive (NN §1834 and Davidson follow him), but there are several problems with it: ms. C’s ‘fvr fyrir’ is unsupported by the other mss and looks like dittography; the identity of disyllabic méil with monosyllabic mél is questionable (see Note to l. 8 below); and there are a few unambiguous instances of fúrr m. but none, save the one Reichardt posits in the present verse, of fúr n. (c) Skj B takes l. 8 as part of the stef, and so does not include it in the syntax of the helmingr (ll. 5-7 are interpreted as above): this is unsatisfactory.
Text is based on reconstruction from the base text and variant apparatus and may contain alternative spellings and other normalisations not visible in the manuscript text. Transcriptions may not have been checked and should not be cited.
Ólítit brestr úti
unndýrs sumum runnum
hart á Hamðis skyrtum
hryngráp Egils vápna.
Þaðan verða fǫt fyrða
— fregnk gǫrla þat — Sǫrla
rjóðask bjǫrk í blóði
benfyrir méilskúrum.
Ólitit brestr vti vndyrs svmvm rvɴvm hart | ahamþis skyrtvm hryngrap egils vapna. Þaþan | verþa fꜹtt fyrða fregn ec gerla þat sꜹrla rioþaz biork ibloþi ben fyr meilskv | rvm.
(TW)
Ólítit brestr úti
unndýrs svinnum †runom†
hart á Hamðis skyrtum
hryn-gráps Egils vápna.
Þaðan verða fǫt fyrða
— fregnk gǫrla þat — Sǫrla
rjóðask bjǫrt í blóði
benfúr méilskúrum.
Olitid brestr vti undyrs suinnom | runom hart a hamdiz scyrtom hryngraps egils vapna. Þa- | dan verda faut firda fregn ek gorla þat saurla rioduz biort j blodi benfur m- | eil scurom.
(TW)
Ólítit brestr úti
unndýrs sumum runnum
hart á Hamðis skyrtum
hryngráp Egils vápna.
Þaðan verða fǫt fyrða
— fregnk gǫrla þat — Sǫrla
rjóðask bjǫrt í blóði
benfúr méilskúrum.
Olitið brestr uti unn dyrs sumvm runnvm hart a hamðis skyrtvm | hryngrap egils vapna. Þaðan uerða fǫt fyrða fregn ek giorla | þat sǫrla rioðaz biort i bloði ben fvr meil skvrum.
(TW)
Ólítinn brestr úti
und fúrs †[…]vls […]unnvm†
hart á Hamðis skyrtur
hryngjalp †eg[…]ls† vápna.
Þaðan verða fǫt fyrða
— fregnk †[…]orla† þat — Sǫrla
rjóðask bjǫrt í blóði
benfúr méilskúrum.
Olitinn brestr vti vnd | fvrs [...] [...]vls [...]nnvm hart a hamþis skyrtur hryn gialp eg[...]s vap | na þaþan verþa faut fyrþa fregn | [...]orla þat saurla rioþaz biort i bloþi ben fvr meils skvrvm
(TW)
Ólítit brestr úti
†unn dvrs† frǫmum runnum
hart á Hamðis skyrtum
hryngráp Egils vápna.
Þaðan verða fǫr fyrða
— fregnk gǫrla þat — Sǫrla
rjóðask bjǫrt í blóði
benfúr við méilskúrum.
Olitit bræstr vti vnn | dvrs frø̨mvm rvnnvm hart a hamdis skyrtvm hryngráp ægils vapna þa | þan verða fǫr fyrða frægn æk gærla þat sǫrla rioðaz biǫrt iblóði bæn bæn | fv́vr við mæil skvrvm .
(VEÞ)
Ólítit brestr úti
unndýrs sumum runnum
hart í Hamðis skyrtum
hryn†-grapn† Egils vápna.
Þaðan verða fǫt fyrða
— fregnk gǫrla þat — Sǫrla
rjóðask bjǫrk í blóði
ben-fúr fyrir méils,†mell†skúrum.
Vlitid brestr vti vnndyrs sumum ruɴum hart í hamdis skyrtum hry | ngrapn egils vapna · Þaþan verda faut fyrda fre | gn ek giorla þat saurla rioþaz bíork í blodi benfur fyr mellskurum ·
(TW)
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