Cite as: Richard L. Harris (ed.) 2017, ‘Hjálmþés saga ok Ǫlvis 28 (Hjálmþér Ingason, Lausavísur 9)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 520.
Heill sittu, Hundingi, hef ek engan
þér æðra hitt undir heims skauti. |
Ferr þín frægð um fégjafir;
því kom ek hingat hilmis at vitja. |
Heill sittu, Hundingi, ek hef engan hitt æðra þér undir {skauti heims}. Frægð þín um fégjafir ferr; því kom ek hingat at vitja hilmis.
May you have good health, Hundingi, I have met no one more distinguished than you under {the cover of the world} [SKY]. Your reputation for gifts of money travels; and so I have come here to visit the ruler.
Mss: 109a IIIˣ(273v), papp6ˣ(53r-v), ÍBR5ˣ(95) (HjǪ)
Readings: [1] Hundingi: Hunding ÍBR5ˣ [3] æðra: æðra hilmi ÍBR5ˣ; hitt: hittan ÍBR5ˣ [5] frægð: frægð víða ÍBR5ˣ
Editions: Skj: Anonyme digte og vers [XIII], E. 16. Vers af Fornaldarsagaer: Af Hjálmþérs saga ok Ǫlvis IV 7: AII, 338, BII, 359, Skald II, 194, NN §125; HjǪ 1720, 48, FSN 3, 492, FSGJ 4, 217, HjǪ 1970, 40, 95, 156.
Context: Hjálmþér
and his men now enter the hall, with the exception of Hǫrðr, who remains at the
entrance. Hjálmþér makes himself known to King Hundingi with this
stanza.
Notes: [All]: Cf. Hjálmþérsrímur V, 23 (Finnur Jónsson 1905-22, II, 39). — [All]: Hjálmþér
follows Hervǫr’s instructions in this and subsequent stanzas in behaving in a
formally correct fashion to her father. — [2] ek hef engan hitt ‘I have met no one’: Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) adds gram ‘prince’ after engan ‘no’, and is followed in this by FSGJ. — [6] um fégjafir ‘for gifts of money’: Most eds change ‑gjafir ‘gifts’, the reading of all mss, to the earlier form gjafar. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) emends the mss’ um to ok, and understands frægð þín ok fégjafar ‘your fame and generosity’ (ll. 6-7), but, as Kock notes (NN §125), this emendation is unnecessary and changes the emphasis of the lines away from the topic of gift-giving.
