Note to Hundk Lv 6VIII (HjǪ 38)
[All]: Most previous eds (with the exception of HjǪ 1970 and Valdimar Ásmundarson 1885-9, in part) have taken the opportunity to ‘improve’ this stanza by emending l. 1 (statt replaced with rís ‘rise’ to give regular alliteration, so Skj B and Skald) and by adopting the additional text written above the line in papp6ˣ, replacing l. 4 with ok frekum í ræðu ‘and bold in speech’. If the mss’ original forms are retained in ll. 3-4 there is no alliteration. On the other hand, Hundingi’s deliberate and ironic use of repeated velbornum ‘well-born’ (l. 3) from l. 8 of the previous stanza, is lost. Most previous eds also adopt the additional svinnra ‘wiser, more prudent’ from papp6ˣ in l. 8, again to provide regular alliteration. The additional readings from papp6ˣ make ll. 3-4 and 8 of this stanza metrical and alliteratively regular, viz. furðu farmóðum | ok frekum í ræðu ‘very travel-weary and bold in speech’ (ll. 3-4) and með svinnra bragði ‘more prudent behaviour’ (l. 8).
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.
- Valdimar Ásmundarson, ed. 1885-9. Fornaldarsögur Norðurlanda. 3 vols. Reykjavík: Sigurður Kristjánsson and Sigmundur Guðmundsson. 2nd edn of Vol. I 1891.
- HjǪ 1970 = Harris, Richard L., ed. 1970. ‘Hjálmþérs saga: A Scientific Edition’. Ph.D. thesis. University of Iowa.