Cite as: Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Ǫrvar-Odds saga 138 (Ǫrvar-Oddr, Ævidrápa 68)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 944.

Færðum seggi frá svikaráðum ok trégoðum tynda ek þeira. Barða ek Bjálka í borghliði eikikylfu, áðr hann önd um lét. Færðum seggi frá svikaráðum ok trégoðum tynda ek þeira. Barða ek Bjálka í borghliði eikikylfu, áðr hann önd um lét. Færðum seggi frá svikaráðum ok ek tynda trégoðum þeira. Ek barða Bjálka eikikylfu í borghliði, áðr hann um lét önd.

text prose order   We [I] turned men away from a deceitful state of life and I destroyed their wooden gods. I hit Bjálki with an oaken club in the fortress gateway before he gave up the ghost.

notes: For the background to this stanza, see Introduction to Ǫrv 59-70. In 7 the stanza is cited at the end of the Bjálkaland episode and immediately after Oddr has killed this pagan country’s king, Álfr bjálki, with a club made of oak wood. In the other mss the stanza is not cited at this point, but appears in the continuous Ævdr as st. 68. — The first helmingr of the stanza has a somewhat different wording in the younger mss, as follows: Sóttum sverði | seggja kindir | ok trégoðum | týndum þeira ‘We [I] attacked the sons of men with the sword and destroyed their wooden gods’. This version is printed by Skj B and Skald, but they follow a mixed text in the second helmingr. — [3-4]: See the very similar lines in Ǫrv 60/3-4 and Note to l. 3.

texts: ‹Ǫrv 138›

editions: Skj Anonyme digte og vers [XIII]: E. 10. Vers af Fornaldarsagaer: Af Ǫrvar-Oddssaga IX 68 (AII, 318; BII, 338); Skald II, 181; Ǫrv 1888, 185, 207-8, Ǫrv 1892, 92, 99, FSGJ 2, 361; Edd. Min. 58.

sources

Holm perg 7 4° (7)	56r, 35 - 56v, 2	(Ǫrv)
AM 343 a 4° (343a)	81v, 8 - 81v, 9	(Ǫrv)
AM 471 4° (471)	96r - 96r	(Ǫrv)
AM 173 folx (173x)	65ra, 5 - 65ra, 12	(Ǫrv)
AM 344 b 4°x (344bx)	34v, 19 - 34v, 21	(Ǫrv)