[4] írsk*ar þjóðir ‘Irish troops’: The gen. sg. form írskrar þjóðar in the mss can be taken with drótt, hence ‘troop of Irish people’, but this produces a more complex word order and entails difficulty with the kennings (see Note to ll. 1-4). The phrase is therefore emended here (as in Skj B and Skald) to form the acc. pl. object of rak ‘pursued’. The reference to Irish opponents produced by either interpretation supports the account in Hkr (see Context to st. 2 above) of raids undertaken by Haraldr and his brothers í vestrvíking ‘on expeditions to the West’, i.e. the British Isles.
References
- Bibliography
- Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
- Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
- Internal references
- (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Heimskringla’ 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=4> (accessed 25 April 2024)