Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Snorri Sturluson, Háttatal 25’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1131.
Rǫst gefr ǫðlingr jastar
— ǫl virðik svá — firðum;
þǫgn fellir brim bragna
— bjórr forn es þat — horna.
Máls kann mildingr heilsu
— mjǫðr heitir svá — veita;
strúgs kømr í val veiga
— vín kallak þat — galli.
Ǫðlingr gefr firðum {rǫst jastar}; svá virðik ǫl; {brim horna} – þat es forn bjórr – fellir þǫgn bragna. Mildingr kann veita {heilsu máls}; mjǫðr heitir svá; {galli strúgs} – þat kallak vín – kømr í val veiga.
The ruler gives men {the whirlpool of yeast} [ALE]; that I consider ale; {the surf of horns} [BEER] – that is ancient beer – removes people’s silence. The generous one provides {the cure of speech} [MEAD]; mead is called thus; {the destruction of dignity} [WINE] – that I call wine – joins the selection of strong drinks.
Mss: R(47v), Tˣ(50r), W(143), U(47r) (l. 1), U(52r) (SnE)
Readings: [1] Rǫst: ‘Ræst’ U(52r); gefr: gaf U(52r); jastar: ástar U(47r), U(52r) [2] ǫl: ‘oll’ U(52r); svá: so W, U(52r), by correction R, þat Tˣ; firðum: ‘fi[…]ðum’ W [3] þǫgn: þegn U(52r) [7] strúgs: ‘stryks’ U(52r); í val veiga: valr á veigar W [8] galli: ‘gallda’ U(52r)
Editions: Skj AII, 59, Skj BII, 67, Skald II, 38-9, NN §§1306, 2992B; SnE 1848-87, I, 634-7, II, 371, 385, III, 116, SnE 1879-81, I, 4, 77, II, 13, SnE 1931, 227, SnE 2007, 15; Konráð Gíslason 1895-7, I, 16-17.
Context: The dróttkvætt variant illustrated by this stanza is tilsagt ‘annotated’, in which the kennings in each couplet are explained in an embedded clause occupying positions 1-4 in the even lines.
Notes: [All]: The headings are xviij. háttr ‘the eighteenth verse-form’ (Tˣ) and tilsagt (U(47r)). — [All]: This variant is also used in RvHbreiðm Hl 67-8. The syntactic pattern is otherwise not uncommon in dróttkvætt poetry, but the ‘annotations’ are usually not of an explanatory nature (cf. also SnE 2007, 79). — [2] svá ‘that’: The result of a correction in R (perhaps by R*), but it is difficult to see the original word (perhaps an abbreviated þat ‘that’; cf. Tˣ). — [7] strúgs ‘of dignity’: For the meaning of this word, see Fritzner: strúgr and LP: strúgr. Kock (NN §1306) gives an alternate meaning forbitrelse, vrede ‘grudge, resentment’ based on ModIcel. strjúgur ‘swollen jaws’.
Use the buttons at the top of the page to navigate between stanzas in a poem.
The text and translation are given here, with buttons to toggle whether the text is shown in the verse order or prose word order. Clicking on indiviudal words gives dictionary links, variant readings, kennings and notes, where relevant.
This is the text of the edition in a similar format to how the edition appears in the printed volumes.
This view is also used for chapters and other text segments. Not all the headings shown are relevant to such sections.