Cite as: Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Snorri Sturluson, Háttatal 97’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1206.
context: The heading, added by R*, is bálkarlag ‘section’s metre’. It is a
regularised variant of fornyrðislag
(see st. 96 above) with two alliterating staves in the odd lines (Types A1 (ll.
1, 3, 5) and D2 (l. 7)). In the even lines, the main stave is placed in position
1 as in dróttkvætt (Types A (l. 8),
A2k (l. 4) and D2 (ll. 2, 6)).
notes: It is not quite clear what is implied by the name of this metre, bálkarlag ‘section’s metre’, and Faulkes (SnE 2007, 100-1: bálkr) suggests that Bálkr may have been a personal name. It is more likely, however, that the name is derived from longer, narrative poems (bálkar) in fornyrðislag, such as Sigurðar bálkr (Ív SigII) and Skaufhala bálkr (Svartr SkaufVIII), whose content can be divided into clearly delineated sections. For this metre, see also RvHbreiðm Hl 37-8. The name of the metre is also given in TGT (TGT 1884, 68), where the sample stanza (StarkSt Frag) lacks double alliteration in the first line. — Again,
both rulers are included in the praise (see st. 96 above).
texts: ‹Ht 100›,
‹SnE 692›
editions: Skj Snorri Sturluson: 2. Háttatal 97 (AII, 76; BII, 87); Skald II, 48; SnE 1848-87, I, 712-13, III, 134, SnE 1879-81, I, 15, 85, II, 33, SnE 1931, 251, SnE 2007, 38; Konráð Gíslason 1895-7, I, 65-6.
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