Anon Mhkv 11III
Roberta Frank (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Poems, Málsháttakvæði 11’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1225.
text and translation
Stefjum verðr at stæla brag,
— stuttligt hefk á kvæði lag —
ella mun þat þykkja þula
þannig nær, sem ek henda mula.
Ekki var þat forðum farald;
Finnan gat þó œrðan Harald;
hánum þótti sólbjǫrt sú;
slíks dœmi verðr mǫrgum nú.
Verðr at stæla brag stefjum – hefk stuttligt lag á kvæði –, ella mun þat þykkja þula, þannig nær, sem ek henda mula. Ekki var þat farald forðum; Finnan gat þó Harald œrðan; hánum þótti sú sólbjǫrt; mǫrgum verðr nú dœmi slíks.
‘Poetry has to be fitted with refrains – I have an abrupt verse-form in this poem – else it will seem a rigamarole, almost as if I were grabbing at crumbs. It wasn’t a malady in the old days; still, the Saami girl drove Haraldr out of his mind; to him she seemed bright as the sun; instances of such happen to many now. ’
notes and context
In Flat, ll. 5-8 (the poem’s refrain) is transmitted at the end of Hauks þáttr hábrókar, in the section Fra yfirlitum Haralldz konungs ok vexti ‘Concerning King Haraldr’s appearance and stature’, which describes Haraldr’s sorrow at the death of Snjófríðr (see Note to ll. 5-8 below).
[1-4]: The poet warns his hearers that the central section (stefjabálkr) of the poem is imminent, that the first occurrence of the refrain (stef) is approaching. Such notification is otherwise restricted to the great Christian drápur: cf. Fúss emk vanda stef ‘I am eager to compose a refrain’ (ESk Geisl 18/1, 4VII), Emk fúss smíða … fritt stef ‘I am eager to compose an attractive refrain’ (Anon Pl 11/1, 2, 4VII), Róm skyldir vanda greitt stef ‘We are obliged to fashion a free-flowing refrain’ (Gamlkan Has 20/1, 3, 4VII) and Hátt stef skal smíðat … fljótt ‘A loud refrain shall be made quickly’ (Anon Leið 13/1, 3, 4VII). See Kreutzer (1977, 211). — [5-8]: These lines constitute the stef or ‘refrain’ of Mhkv and appear again at sts 14/5-8, 17/5-8, and 20/5-8. The refrain also occurs in Flat (Flat 1860-8, I, 583) at the end of Haralds saga hárfagra, which tells of the king’s bewitchment by the beautiful Snjófríðr (Snæfríðr ‘snow-beautiful’). The text of the two refrains differs slightly here, suggesting that the scribe of Flat may have written it out from memory. The story of Snjófríðr is told in Ágrip (Ágr chs 3-4, ÍF 29, 5-7) and Haralds saga hárfagra (HhárfHkr ch. 25, ÍF 26, 125-7); see Mundal (1997). See also Hhárf SnædrI. On the relationship between these tales and Ormr Woman, see Poole (1982); on Saami in Old Norse literature, Hermann Pálsson (1997 and 1999b).
readings
sources
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.
-
GKS 2367 4° (R) — 54v/27 - 54v/29
imagesStefjum verðr at stæla brag,
— stuttligt hefk á kvæði lag —
ella mun þat þykkja þula
þannig nær, sem ek henda mula.
Ekki varðat forðum farald;
Finnan gat þó œrðan Harald;
hánum þótti sólbjǫrt sú;
slíks dœmi verðr mǫrgum nú.Stefiom verþr at stæla brag stvttlikt hefi ek aqvæþi lag ella mvn | þat þickia þvla þaɴig nær sem ek henda mvla ecki varðat forþvm faralld fiɴan gat | þo ærþan harald hanvm þotti solbiort sv sliks dæmi verþr morgvm nv |
(VEÞ)
-
GKS 1005 fol (Flat) — 78ra/31 - 78ra/32 [5-8]
Stefjum verðr at stæla brag,
images
— stuttligt hefk á kvæði lag —
ella mun þat þykkja þula
þannig nær, sem ek henda mula.
Ekki var þat forðum farald;
Finnan gat þá œrðan Harald;
hánum sýndisk sólbjǫrt sú;
slíks dœmi verðr mǫrgu nú.
editions and texts
Skj: Anonyme digte og vers [XIII], A. [1]. Málsháttakvæði 11: AII, 132-3, BII, 140-1, Skald II, 75; Flat 1860-8, I, 583; Möbius 1874, 6, Wisén 1886-9, I, 74.
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