Hǫrðr Lv 4VIII (HjǪ 43)
Richard L. Harris (ed.) 2017, ‘Hjálmþés saga ok Ǫlvis 43 (Hǫrðr/Hringr, Lausavísur 4)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 534.
text and translation
Eyðaz mun sæmd þín, ef líkr skal ek vera
aumum illþræli, er ekki prýðir,
ragr í hverja taug, nema vakta mat svínum,
halr inn hrafnsvarti í hrævar skrúði.
Sæmd þín mun eyðaz, ef ek skal vera líkr aumum illþræli, er ekki prýðir, ragr í hverja taug, nema vakta svínum mat, inn hrafnsvarti halr í skrúði hrævar.
‘Your honour will be destroyed, if I must be like a poor wretched slave, whom sobbing adorns, craven in every fibre, only good to look after food for swine, the raven-black fellow in the clothing of a corpse. ’
notes and context
The prose text prefaces this stanza by stating that King Hringr becomes angry at the stanza Hjálmþér had just spoken and utters this one in response.
Compare Hjálmþérsrímur IX, 70-1 (Finnur Jónsson 1905-22, II, 65) with this stanza. — Presumably this stanza is to be understood semi-humorously, but the idea that Hjálmþér’s honour would have been destroyed if his companion was really a swineherd rather than a king depends on a set of beliefs about early Nordic society that was deeply held (cf. Meulengracht Sørensen 1983). These would normally inhibit men of high social status from consorting with the lower orders, who were deemed to be inherently cowardly and craven (ragr, l. 5). However, according to the saga, Hjálmþér had treated Hǫrðr as his trusted companion during a series of adventures and had been carrying the corpse of his supposed slave on his back for two days. In this stanza there are several allusions to the supposed slave’s cowardly and unmanly behaviour that could have dishonoured Hjálmþér.
readings
- [1] Eyðaz: lægjast corrected from Eyðaz below the line in another hand papp6ˣ
- [2] ef líkr skal ek vera: ef skal ek líkr vera ÍBR5ˣ
- [6] vakta: reiða corrected from vakta above the line in another hand papp6ˣ
- [6] svínum: svína papp6ˣ, ÍBR5ˣ
- [8] í hrævar: so with í written above the line in another hand papp6ˣ, ‘hræduar’ 109a IIIˣ, ÍBR5ˣ
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.
-
AM 109 a III 8°x (109a IIIx) — 280v/26 - 280v/29
imagesEyðaz mun sæmd þín,
ef líkr skal ek vera
aumum illþræli,
er ekki prýðir,
ragr í hverja taug,
nema vakta mat svínum,
halr inn hrafnsvarti
†hræduar† skrúði.eydaz | mun sæmd þyn ef lijkr skal ec vera aumum jllþræle er ecki | prydir ʀagr j huoria taug nema vakta mat svynum | halrinn hrafnsuarte hræduar skrvde
(RH)
-
Holm papp 6 4°x (papp6x) — 59r - 59v
lægjast mun sæmd þín,
images
ef líkr skal ek vera
aumum illþræli,
er ekki prýðir,
ragr í hverja taug,
nema reiða mat svína,
halr inn hrafnsvarti
í hrævar skrúði. -
ÍBR 5 folx (ÍBR5x) — 104 - 104
Eyðaz mun sæmd þín,
images
ef skal ek líkr vera
aumum illþræli,
er ekki prýðir,
ragr í hverja taug,
nema vakta mat svína,
halr inn hrafnsvarti
†hræduar† skrúði.
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