[5-8]: These lines constitute the stef or ‘refrain’ of Mhkv and appear again at sts 14/5-8, 17/5-8, and 20/5-8. The refrain also occurs in Flat (Flat 1860-8, I, 583) at the end of Haralds saga hárfagra, which tells of the king’s bewitchment by the beautiful Snjófríðr (Snæfríðr ‘snow-beautiful’). The text of the two refrains differs slightly here, suggesting that the scribe of Flat may have written it out from memory. The story of Snjófríðr is told in Ágrip (Ágr chs 3-4, ÍF 29, 5-7) and Haralds saga hárfagra (HhárfHkr ch. 25, ÍF 26, 125-7); see Mundal (1997). See also Hhárf SnædrI. On the relationship between these tales and Ormr Woman, see Poole (1982); on Saami in Old Norse literature, Hermann Pálsson (1997 and 1999b).
References
- Bibliography
- Ágr = [Anonymous] Ágrip af Nóregs konunga sögum.
- Flat 1860-8 = Gudbrand Vigfusson [Guðbrandur Vigfússon] and C. R. Unger, eds. 1860-8. Flateyjarbók. En samling af norske konge-sagaer med indskudte mindre fortællinger om begivenheder i og udenfor Norge samt annaler. 3 vols. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
- ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
- ÍF 29 = Ágrip af Nóregskonunga sǫgum; Fagrskinna—Nóregs konungatal. Ed. Bjarni Einarsson. 1985.
- Hermann Pálsson. 1997. Úr landnorðri: Samar og ystu rætur íslenskrar menningar. Reykjavík: Bókmenntafræðistofnun Háskóla Íslands.
- Poole, Russell. 1982. ‘Ormr Steinþórsson and the Snjófríðardrápa’. ANF 97, 122-37.
- Mundal, Else. 1997. ‘Kong Harald hårfagre og samejenta Snøfrid. Samefolket sin plass i den norske rikssaminsmyten’. Nordica Bergensia 14, 39-53.
- Internal references
- (forthcoming), ‘ Heimskringla, Haralds saga hárfagra’ 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. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=140> (accessed 7 May 2024)
- Roberta Frank 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Málsháttakvæði’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1213. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1029> (accessed 7 May 2024)
- Russell Poole 2012, ‘ Haraldr hárfagri Hálfdanarson, Snæfríðardrápa’ 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. 67. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1262> (accessed 7 May 2024)