Note to Hallv Knútdr 8III
[All]: These lines, which are likely to be the stef ‘refrain’ in Hallvarðr’s poem, bear an obvious resemblance to the refrains of other poems honouring Knútr. The refrain of Sigv KnútdrI (sts 3/1, 7/1) views Knútr’s position und himnum ‘under the heavens’, while that of Þloft’s TøgdrI (st. 1/1), though incomplete, is similar (und sólar … ‘under the sun’s …’). By far the closest resemblance is with the stef of Þloft HflI: Knútr verr grund sem gætir | Gríklands himinríki ‘Knútr defends the land as the guardian of Greece [= God] [defends] the heavenly kingdom’. Since the likely date for Hfl is c.1027-8, it appears to be Hallvarðr who is the borrower here. As Frank (1994b, 116-17) notes, these four refrains depict Knútr ‘in cosmic high relief’, and in their association of God and king may show influence from Anglo-Saxon royal ideology (see also Fidjestøl 1993b, 106, 118-19).
References
- Bibliography
- Fidjestøl, Bjarne. 1993b. ‘Pagan Beliefs and Christian Impact: The Contribution of Scaldic Studies’. In Faulkes et al. 1993, 100-20.
- Frank, Roberta. 1994b. ‘King Cnut in the Verse of his Skalds’. In Rumble 1994, 106-24.
- Internal references
- Matthew Townend 2012, ‘ Sigvatr Þórðarson, Knútsdrápa’ 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. 649. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1356> (accessed 26 April 2024)
- Matthew Townend 2012, ‘ Þórarinn loftunga, Hǫfuðlausn’ 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. 849. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1453> (accessed 26 April 2024)
- Matthew Townend 2012, ‘ Þórarinn loftunga, Tøgdrápa’ 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. 851. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1454> (accessed 26 April 2024)