[2] þegnum (m. dat. pl.) ‘of his men’: This is a dat. of possession. Þegnar ‘men, retainers, subjects’ has been translated here as ‘his men’, reflecting the loyal relationship between a ruler and his men (for the various meanings of this word, see Goetting 2006). For other stanzas describing a king adorning the arms of his men with gold and silver, see e.g. Þblǫnd Sigdr 2 and Sturl Hákkv 31-3II.
References
- Bibliography
- Goetting, Lauren. 2006. ‘Þegn and drengr in the Viking Age’. SS 78, 375-404.
- Internal references
- Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Sturla Þórðarson, Hákonarkviða 31’ 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. 722.
- Vivian Busch (ed.) 2017, ‘Þorvaldr blǫnduskáld, Sigurðardrápa 2’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 488.