Bjbp Jóms 1I
Emily Lethbridge (ed.) 2012, ‘Bjarni byskup Kolbeinsson, Jómsvíkingadrápa 1’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 959.
text and translation
Engan kveðk at óði
órum málma rýri
(þó gatk hróðr of hugðan)
hljóðs (atferðar prýði).
Framm mun ek fyr ǫldum
Yggjar bjór of fœra,
þó at engir ýtar
ættgóðir mér hlýði.
Kveðk engan {rýri málma} hljóðs at óði órum; þó gatk hróðr of {hugðan prýði atferðar}. Ek mun of fœra framm {bjór Yggjar} fyr ǫldum, þó at engir ættgóðir ýtar hlýði mér.
‘I call upon no diminisher of metal weapons [WARRIOR] for a hearing for our [my] poem; nonetheless, I have produced a praise-poem about the courageous adorner of action [MAN]. I will bring forth the beer of Yggr <= Óðinn> [POEM] before people, although no well-born men may listen to me. ’
notes and context
The stanza is preserved only as part of a continuous text of Jóms in R and hence, together with sts 2-9, 13-16, 19, 21-5, 27, 28, 31, 35-7, 39 and 40, is not embedded in a narrative context.
On the use of 65ˣ and the diplomatic texts in Jvs 1879 (siglum RCP when cited in Readings) and Skj A (siglum RFJ) as supplementary witnesses to the R reading, see Introduction to this poem. — The poet humorously inverts the conventional call for a hearing which opens many skaldic praise-poems (e.g. Eskál Vell 1; cf. Wood 1960a), calling for no-one’s attention, and anticipating that no-one will listen to his composition (though st. 5/7 envisages an audience). The subject of glorious martial deeds is paradigmatic but this, too, is shortly to be undercut by the abrupt change of subject to the poet’s disappointment in love (sts 2, 3, 6, and the stef). — [1-4]: Kveðja e-n e-s ‘to call on sby for sth.’ is well attested. In Fms 11 and 12, each couplet is taken as a syntactic unit and hljóðs ‘a hearing’ is not construed with kveðk ‘I call’; but the remainder of the interpretation departs unnecessarily from the legible text.
readings
- [4] prýði: ‘p[…]yði’ R, ‘fnvdi’ 65ˣ, ‘(p)[…](y)ði’(?) RCP, prýði RFJ
- [6] bjór: ‘bi[…]’ R, bjór 65ˣ, RCP, RFJ
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) — 53r/29 - 53r/31
imagesEngan kveðk at óði
órum málma rýri
(þó gatk hróðr of hugðan)
hljóðs (atferðar †p[…]yði†).
Framm mun ek fyr ǫldum
Yggjar †bi[…]† of fœra,
þó at engir ýtar
ættgóðir mér hlýði.Avngan qveþ ec at oði orvm malma ryri þo gat ec hroðr vm hvgþan hlioðs | at ferþar p[…]yði fram mvn ek fyrir avlldum yɢiar bi[...] vm færa þo at | einigir ytar ætgoðir mer hlyþi
(DW)
-
AM 65 folx (65x) — 380r - 380r
Engan kveðk at óði
images
órum málma rýri
(þó gatk hróðr of hugðan)
hljóðs (atferðar †fnvdi†).
Framm mun ek fyr ǫldum
Yggjar bjór of fœra,
þó at engir ýtar
ættgóðir mér hlýði.
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