Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2012, ‘Halldórr ókristni, Eiríksflokkr 7’ 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. 482.
Drógusk vítt at vígi
Vinða skeiðr, ok ginðu
Þriðja hauðrs á þjóðir
þunn gǫlkn éarnmunnum.
Gnýr varð á sæ sverða;
sleit ǫrn Gera beitu;
dýrr vá drengja stjóri;
drótt kom mǫrg á flótta.
Skeiðr Vinða drógusk vítt at vígi, ok {þunn gǫlkn {hauðrs Þriðja}} ginðu éarnmunnum á þjóðir. {Gnýr sverða} varð á sæ; ǫrn sleit {beitu Gera}; {dýrr stjóri drengja} vá; mǫrg drótt kom á flótta.
The warships of Wends came from afar to the fight, and {slender monsters {of the land of Þriði <= Óðinn>}} [SHIELD > AXES] yawned with iron-mouths at people. There was {a din of swords} [BATTLE] at sea; an eagle tore {the food of Geri <wolf>} [CORPSES]; {the worthy leader of warriors} [RULER = Eiríkr] fought; many a company took to flight.
Mss: Kˣ(216r), F(36vb), J1ˣ(134r), J2ˣ(116v-117r) (Hkr); 61(69rb), 53(65vb), 54(67ra), 325VIII 2 g(1ra), Bb(102va), Flat(65vb) (ÓT)
Readings: [1] Drógusk: drógu 61; vítt: vitr 325VIII 2 g, Bb; vígi: so J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 61, 53, 54, 325VIII 2 g, Bb, Flat, vági Kˣ, F [3] hauðrs: auðs Flat; þjóðir: þjóði F [4] þunn: ‘þun‑’ J1ˣ, J2ˣ, Flat; ‑gǫlkn: gálkn ok F, ‘galkv’ 325VIII 2 g, ‘galk’ Bb; éarn‑: ‘aiarn‑’ Kˣ, ok jarn‑ F, í jarn‑ J1ˣ, J2ˣ, vafit 61, varit 53, 54, 325VIII 2 g, Bb, varin Flat; ‑munnum: ‑mǫnnum Bb, Flat [5] varð: var 54, 325VIII 2 g, Bb [6] Gera: geira 54, 325VIII 2 g, Bb; beitu: ‘beitꜹ’ Bb [7] stjóri: ‘stiorri’ Bb
Editions: Skj AI, 204, Skj BI, 194, Skald I, 102; Hkr 1893-1901, I, 454, IV, 101, ÍF 26, 367 (ÓTHkr ch. 112), F 1871, 166; ÓT 1958-2000, II, 289 (ch. 256), Flat 1860-8, I, 494.
Context: During the battle, the ships with Sigvaldi jarl and his Wendish troops wait at a distance and do not engage in the fighting. When Óláfr Tryggvason jumps overboard from Ormr inn langi, there is a shout of victory from the enemy army, and at that Sigvaldi and his men row towards the battle.
Notes: [All]: Ms. 61 attributes this stanza to Hallfreðr, and 54, 325VIII 2 g and Bb give Hallar-Steinn as the poet. — [1] vítt ‘from afar’: This adv. usually means ‘far and wide, widely’ (see LP: víðr), but the prose implies that Sigvaldi and his troops waited together for the battle to end. Vítt in the sense ‘from afar’ could have been used ironically here. — [1] at vígi ‘to the fight’: The Kˣ, F variant at vági ‘to the bay’ is also possible, but it is the minority reading and could have been prompted by the fact that, according to some traditions, Svǫlðr was a bay and not an island (see Note to st. 3/7 above). — [2] ginðu ‘yawned’: This is the 3rd pers. pret. pl. indic. of a weak verb *gina ‘yawn’ (cf. OHG ginēn ‘yawn’; see ANG §482 Anm. 2). Cf. Arn Þorfdr 13/7II. — [3, 4] gǫlkn hauðrs Þriðja ‘monsters of the land of Þriði <= Óðinn> [SHIELD > AXES]’: Þriði is a name for Óðinn (see Note to Þul Óðins 5/3III). The kenning for ‘axe’ (‘monster of the shield’) is modelled on the pattern ‘troll-woman of the shield’, but it is untraditional (see Meissner 148). — [4] éarnmunnum ‘with iron-mouths’: This refers to axe-blades. The metre requires the older, disyllabic form of the word jarn ‘iron’ (see ANG §133b2; cf. also FGT 1972b, 20-1, Ótt Hfl 8/8 and Note). The cpd occurs in Hfr ErfÓl 6/6 as well. The scribes of the Hkr mss used the later form (jarn-) and added an extra syllable (á ‘on’ Kˣ, ok ‘and’ F, í ‘in’ J1ˣ, J2ˣ) for metrical reasons, but the resulting phrases cannot be accommodated syntactically. That is also the case with the ÓT variants vafit/varit munnum ‘wrapped with mouths’ (61, 53, 54, 325VIII 2 g). — [5-8]: This helmingr is composed in the dróttkvætt variant áttmælt ‘eight-times spoken’ (SnSt Ht 10III), in which each line forms an independent clause. — [5] gnýr sverða ‘a din of swords [BATTLE]’: Given the emphasis on the sound of weapons in the poem, this phrase could also be taken literally here. — [6]: The identical line is found in ESk Frag 8/2III. Geri was one of Óðinn’s wolves (see Note to ÞKolb Eirdr 17/2, 3). The variant geira ‘of spears’ (54, 325VIII 2 g, Bb) is unmetrical since the metre requires a short first syllable. — [7]: This line recalls Hfr ErfÓl 23/3 dýrr hné dróttar stjóri. — [8]: Cf. Hfr ErfÓl 1/2 mǫrg kom drótt á flótta.
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