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skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Note to Þhorn Gldr 5I

[All]: Several commentators note this stanza’s artfully convoluted sentence structure. It is composed of a main clause in the first helmingr and a subordinate clause in the second, each of which contains an intercalary clause located in the third line of the helmingr (ll. 3 and 7 respectively). Further, each helmingr contains an additional syntactic unit: another subordinate clause in ll. 1 and 4, and a separate main clause in ll. 6 and 8 (Engster 1983, 189-90; Kuhn 1969b, 68). Reichardt (1928, 226) sees in this the poet’s attempt to convey the turmoil of battle, and Holtsmark (1927, 34-5) perceives a representation of the battle in the rhythm of the short sentences. These trace the battle’s development from engagement to victory, with sigri ‘victory’ as the last word of the stanza.

References

  1. Bibliography
  2. Engster, Hermann. 1983. Poesie einer Achsenzeit: Der Ursprung der Skaldik im gesellschaftlichen Systemwandel der Wikingerzeit. Europäische Hochschulschriften 667. Frankfurt am Main: Lang.
  3. Reichardt, Konstantin. 1928. Studien zu den Skalden des 9. und 10. Jahrhunderts. Palaestra 159. Leipzig: Mayer & Müller.
  4. Kuhn, Hans (1899). 1969b. ‘Die Dróttkvættstrophe als Kunstwerk’. In Gellinek 1969, 63-72. Rpt. in Kuhn (1899) 1969-78, IV, 95-104.
  5. Holtsmark, Anne. 1927. Þórbjørn Hornklofes Glymdrápa. Oslo: Aschehoug & Co.

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