Cite as: Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Snorri Sturluson, Háttatal 62’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1173.
context: This metre is called hrynjandi háttr ‘the flowing verse-form’. According to the
commentary, the regular dróttkvætt has
been expanded by two syllables per line (making the lines octosyllabic; see st.
61 above): in the odd lines, a disyllabic word has been added at the beginning
of the line; in the even lines, a disyllabic word has been inserted after
position 4.
notes: For this metre, see also RvHbreiðm Hl 31-2 as well as Section 4 of the General Introduction in SkP I. Snorri’s explanation for the creation of hrynhent ‘flowing-rhymed’ (see Context above) is reflected in the syntactic structure of this stanza. If the words in positions 1-2 (odd lines) and 5-6 (even lines) are omitted, we are left with a metrically and syntactically correct dróttkvætt stanza, a variant of tilsagt ‘annotated’ (st. 25) in the even lines: snýr á ógnar áru | — undgagl veit þat — hagli; | drífr at hreggi hlífa | — hjǫrr vélir fjǫr — éli; | heldr of fjǫrnis foldir | — fólk skipta svá — driptum; | lýstr of hilmi hraustan | — hans fregnum styr — regni ‘hail snows on envoys of battle [WARRIORS]; the wound-gosling [RAVEN/EAGLE] knows that; the blizzard drifts in the gale of shields [BATTLE]; the sword entraps lives; snow-drifts endure around lands of the helmet [HEADS]; the armies arrange it thus; rain strikes down around the brave hero; we hear of his warfare’. — [3, 4]: In the first helmingr, Skj B (with Konráð Gíslason 1895-7), takes at hreggi hlífa ‘in the gale of shields’ (l. 3) with hjǫrr vélir fjǫr ‘the sword ensnares lives’ (l. 4). — [5-8]: The present edn follows Skald and SnE 2007. Skj B, following Sveinbjörn Egilsson (SnE 1848-87, III), renders the second helmingr as follows: Mistar regni heldr of fjǫrnis foldir – vísi skiptir [W variant] svá boga driptum –, folkskúrum lýstr of hilmi hraustan; fregnum hans styr, translated as valkyriens regn raser omkring hovederne; – fyrsten styrer således buens hagl –; sværdbygerne slår ned omkring den tapre fyrste; vi hører fortælle om hans kamp ‘the valkyrie’s rain rages around the heads; the lord controls the bow’s hail thus; the sword-showers beat down around the brave lord; we hear of his battle’. This results in a highly tortuous word order (see the discussion in SnE 2007, 65).
texts: ‹Ht 65›,
‹SnE 657›
editions: Skj Snorri Sturluson: 2. Háttatal 62 (AII, 68; BII, 78); Skald II, 43, NN §191; SnE 1848-87, I, 676-7, III, 127, SnE 1879-81, I, 10, 81, II, 24, SnE 1931, 241, SnE 2007, 27; Konráð Gíslason 1895-7, I, 38-9.
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