Note to Gestumbl Heiðr 9VIII (Heiðr 56)
[4] ókyrrir ‘unquiet’: A hap. leg. in poetry. The main ms. has here ókvikvir ‘unliving’, which is an acceptable alternative and favoured by Skj B, Skald, FSGJ and Heiðr 1960. However, the H-redaction texts and R715ˣ are in agreement on the reading chosen here, which is also preferable in terms of sense, referring to the noise made by bellows and creating a more effective riddling paradox with l. 5, in that the object is ‘unquiet’ but andalausir ‘without breath’. This reading is also preferred in Edd. Min. It corresponds less well with the solution given in 2845 (eru þeir dauðir ‘they are dead’), but the argument is circular since the prose in the H-redaction texts and R715ˣ does not specifically state the bellows are dead; indeed the prose in R715ˣ repeats the word ókyrrir (Heiðr 1924, 137) – although this, equally, could be influenced by the verse.
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.
- FSGJ = Guðni Jónsson, ed. 1954. Fornaldar sögur norðurlanda. 4 vols. [Reykjavík]: Íslendingasagnaútgáfan.
- Edd. Min. = Heusler, Andreas and Wilhelm Ranisch, eds. 1903. Eddica Minora: Dichtungen eddischer Art aus den Fornaldarsögur und anderen Prosawerken. Dortmund: Ruhfus. Rpt. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft.
- Heiðr 1924 = Jón Helgason, ed. 1924. Heiðreks saga. Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks konungs. SUGNL 48. Copenhagen: Jørgensen.
- 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.