Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2012, ‘Þórðr Særeksson (Sjáreksson), Þórálfs drápa Skólmssonar 1’ 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. 237.
Þars bǫðharðir bǫrðusk
bands jódraugar landa,
lystr gekk herr til hjǫrva
hnits í Storð á Fitjum.
Ok gimsløngvir ganga
gífrs hlémána drífu
nausta blakks it næsta
Norðmanna gram þorði.
Herr gekk lystr til {hnits hjǫrva} á Fitjum í Storð, þars {bǫðharðir {{landa bands} jó}draugar} bǫrðusk. Ok {{{{{{nausta blakks} hlémána} gífrs} drífu} gim}sløngvir} þorði ganga it næsta {gram Norðmanna}.
The army went eager to {the clash of swords} [BATTLE] at Fitjar on Stord, where {the battle-hardened logs {of the steed {of the chain of lands}}} [(lit. ‘steed-logs of the chain of lands’) SEA > SHIP > SEAFARERS] fought. And {the slinger {of the fire {of the storm {of the troll-woman {of the shielding moon {of the horse of boathouses}}}}}} [(lit. ‘fire-slinger of the storm of the troll-woman of the shielding moon of the horse of boathouses’) SHIP > SHIELD > AXE > BATTLE > SWORD > WARRIOR] dared to advance next to {the lord of the Norwegians} [NORWEGIAN KING = Hákon].
Mss: Kˣ(102v), F(18ra), J1ˣ(62r), J2ˣ(58v) (Hkr); 61(6ra), 325IX 1 a(2va), Bb(7vb), Flat(8rb) (ÓT); FskBˣ(11v), FskAˣ(54) (Fsk)
Readings: [1] bǫð‑: borð‑ FskBˣ, barð‑ FskAˣ; ‑harðir: ‘‑hrodir’ 325IX 1 a, Bb [2] bands: brands F; ‑draugar: ‘‑drugr’ J1ˣ, ‘‑drugar’ J2ˣ, ‘‑drangar’ 325IX 1 a, Bb, FskAˣ [4] hnits: h(inn)z(?) 325IX 1 a, hvít Bb [5] Ok: áðr enn FskBˣ, áðr FskAˣ; gim‑: gunn‑ F, gull‑ FskAˣ; ‑sløngvir: ‑slǫngum 61, 325IX 1 a, Bb, Flat, ‑slangar FskBˣ [6] gífrs hlémána: gífr í malma Flat [7] it: er FskAˣ
Editions: Skj AI, 328, Skj BI, 302, Skald I, 153-4; Hkr 1893-1901, I, 213, ÍF 26, 187-8 (HákGóð ch. 30), F 1871, 82; ÓT 1958-2000, I, 43 (ch. 28), Flat 1860-8, I, 60; Fsk 1902-3, 45 (ch. 12), ÍF 29, 91 (ch. 13).
Context: Þórálfr advances next to King Hákon góði at the battle of Fitjar.
Notes: [All]: The prefatory words to this stanza in Hkr and ÓT identify its source: see Introduction. — [All]: For the battle of Fitjar (c. 961), see also sts 2-4 below, Eyv Hák 2-9, Eyv Lv 1-5 and Glúmr Lv. — [1-4]: The clause arrangement in this helmingr (bound clause preceding the main clause) violates the normal sentence structure of skaldic poetry (see Kuhn 1983, 190-1), and it is possible that the couplets have been rearranged or that they originally belonged to different helmingar. — [4] Storð ‘Stord’: Island north of Haugesund in Hordaland, Norway; Fitjar is located on the north-western coast of that island. — [5-8]: The warrior-kenning in the second helmingr is the most complex extended kenning in the extant corpus of skaldic poetry.
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