Note to Herv Lv 5VIII (Heiðr 19)
[8] kendir Hjörvarði (m. dat. sg.) ‘named afer Hjǫrvarðr’: Hjǫrvarðr is named earlier in Heiðr as the oldest after Angantýr of Arngrímr’s twelve sons, and in the R and U redactions of the saga it is he who challenges Hjálmarr inn hugumstóri ‘the Great-minded’ to the duel over the hand of Ingibjǫrg (cf. Hjálm Lv 8 (Ǫrv 18)), daughter of the Swedish king (named Ingjaldr in R, Yngvi in H and U), in which the brothers are killed. In the H redaction it is Angantýr himself who challenges, but, although in all versions of the saga it is he who ends up fighting Hjálmarr, the duel is twelve against twelve, not single combat, and it is definitely Hjǫrvarðr who is Hjálmarr’s love-rival: he speaks of Ingibjǫrg in his ‘death-song’ (Ǫrv 18), while Angantýr marries someone else soon after the challenge has been made (see also Heiðr 1960, xiii-xiv).
References
- Bibliography
- Heiðr 1960 = Tolkien, Christopher, ed. and trans. 1960. Saga Heiðreks konungs ins vitra / The Saga of King Heidrek the Wise. Nelson Icelandic Texts. London etc.: Nelson.
- Internal references
- 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 367. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=23> (accessed 5 May 2024)
- Not published: do not cite (HjálmVIII)
- Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Ǫrvar-Odds saga 18 (Hjálmarr inn hugumstóri, Lausavísur 8)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 832.