Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Rǫgnvaldr jarl and Hallr Þórarinsson, Háttalykill 61’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1070.
Frétts, at Eirekr átti
eggmót, sás rauð spjót,
(frægr gerði val víga)
víðs mǫrg (konungr bjǫrg),
þvít blóðstari bæði
bens nýtti sér fen
— frægr þótti sá flotnum
foldar vǫrðr — ok hold.
Frétts, at Eirekr, sás rauð spjót, átti {mǫrg eggmót} víðs; frægr konungr gerði {val víga} bjǫrg, þvít {blóðstari} nýtti sér bæði {fen bens} ok hold; {sá vǫrðr foldar} þótti frægr flotnum.
‘It is heard that Eiríkr, who reddened spears, had many edge-meetings [BATTLES] far and wide; the famous king provided sustenance for the falcon of battles [RAVEN/EAGLE], because the blood-starling [RAVEN] availed itself of both the fen of the wound [BLOOD] and flesh; that guardian of the earth [RULER] seemed famous to his followers. ’
The heading is alstýft (‘Al styft’) ‘completely apocopated’ (cf. SnSt Ht 50, meiri stúfr ‘greater apocopated’). This metre is a variant of dróttkvætt with catalectic even lines. In Ht 51 (inn mesti stúfr ‘the greatest apocopated (metre)’) all lines are catalectic, and it is possible that the heading in Hl originally was hálfstýft ‘half-apocopated’ (see Nj 1875-8, II, 928 n. 1; Hl 1941).
Other than in Hl and Ht, this metre is attested in Old Norse poetry only in Þórsnep LvIV. — Eiríkr is Eiríkr blóðøx ‘Blood-axe’ Haraldsson, a son of Haraldr hárfagri (see sts 59-60 above) and king of Norway (r. 930-5) (see ÍF 26, 137-54; ÍF 29, 73-80; Anon EirmI; Anon Nkt 10-11II). See his Biography in SkP I.
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.
Frétts, at Eirekr átti
eggmót, sás rauð spjót,
(frægr gerði val víga)
víðs mǫrg (konungs bjǫrg),
þvít blóðstari bæði
†bæins† nýti sér fen
— frægr þótti sá flotnum
foldar vǫrðr — ok hold.
Frétts, at Eirekr átti
eggmót, sás rauð spjót,
(frægr gerði val víga)
víðs mǫrg (konungs bjǫrg),
þvít blóðstari bæði
†bæins† nýtti sér fen
— frægr þótti sá flotnum
foldar vǫrðr — ok hold.
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