Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Sneglu-Halli, Lausavísur 2’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 325.
Hirðik eigi, hvat Haraldr klappar;
lætk gnauða grǫn; gengk fullr at sofa.
Hirðik eigi, hvat Haraldr klappar; lætk grǫn gnauða; gengk fullr at sofa.
‘I do not care how Haraldr knocks; I let my mouth crunch; I go full to sleep.’
King Haraldr has finished eating, and he knocks on the table with his knife and tells the servants to clear away the dishes. Halli takes a piece of food from his plate and recites this ditty.
It is not specified that to continue eating after the king had finished his meal was in violation of courtly custom, but Konungs skuggsjá (Holm-Olsen 1983, 58), indicates that this could have been the case: En þat spillir eigi siðum þinum at þú nœytir matar þins / væl. oc skiott æptir þinni nauðsyn oc sva drykkia yfir borðum ‘And that does not spoil your conduct if you enjoy your food well and quickly according to your needs, and so also your drink at the table’. — The metre is fornyrðislag.
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.
Hirðik ei,
hvat Haraldr klappar;
lætk †gnvada† grǫn;
gengk fullr at sofa.
Hirðik ei,
hvat Haraldr klappar;
lætk gnauða grǫn;
gengk fullr at sofa.
Hirðik ei,
hvat hinn klappar;
lætk gnauða grǫn;
gengk fullr at sofa.
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