Note to KormǪ Sigdr 1^III

[1, 2, 3, 4] á mína jastrín aurgreppa Sýrar fentanna ‘to my yeast-Rhine [ALE] of the mud-men of the Sýr <= Freyja> of fen-teeth [ROCKS > GIANTESS > GIANTS > POEM]’: This extended poem-kenning is based on the pattern ‘liquid of the giants/dwarfs’ derived from the narrative of how the mead of poetry came into being and was stolen. ‘Liquid’ is represented by ‘yeast-Rhine [ALE]’ (for this kenning type see Meissner 432-3). The Rhine, a river in Germany, was presumably known in the North from the Nibelung legend. The first element jast- (cf. jǫstr ‘yeast’) refers to the origin of the mead of poetry (see SnE 1998, I, 3); cf. the poem-kenning in Eskál Vell 1/3, 4^I dreggjar fyrða fjarðleggjar ‘the dregs of the men of the fjord-bone [ROCK > DWARFS > POEM]’, which clearly corresponds to this one (dreggjar and jastrín, fyrða and aurgreppa, fentanna and fjarðleggjar). ‘Giants’ in Kormákr’s kenning is replaced by ‘the men of the giantess’, and ‘giantess’ by the typical giantess-kenning ‘goddess of rocks’. Giants are often referred to periphrastically as inhabitants (people, animals, mythical beings) of rocks and mountains. Sýr, the base-word here, is a name for Freyja. The use of a goddess’s name in a giantess-kenning is rare but not unprecedented (cf. Freyja bjarga ‘Freyja of cliffs [GIANTESS]’, ǪrvOdd Ævdr 21/8^VIII (Ǫrv 91)). Sýrar in the present kenning is actually redundant, but must be incorporated nonetheless (see Note to l. 1 below). Kock (NN §2510) opts for a simpler solution: he emends sannreynis (gen.) to sannreyni (dat.) (against all mss) and takes it with Sýrar to form an ofljóst kenning for ‘poem’. According to him, sannreynir Sýrar ‘the true friend of Sýr <= Freyja>’ is Freyja’s husband Óðr (see LP: 3. Óðr), a name homonymous with the noun óðr ‘poem’. Based on this emendation, Kock construes the helmingr as follows (adopting ǫr- ‘bold’ rather than aur- ‘mud-’; see Note to l. 3): Sonr Haralds heyri á sannreyni Sýrar, lætk uppi mina jastrín ǫrgreppa fentanna ‘May the son of Haraldr listen to the true friend of Sýr <= Freyja> [= Óðr (óðr ‘poem’)], I recite the yeast-Rhine [ALE] of the bold men of fen-teeth [ROCKS > GIANTS > POETRY]’. This interpretation has the advantage of producing two poem-kennings – one (sannreyni Sýrar) in the main clause and another (mína jastrín ǫrgreppa fentanna) in the parenthetic clause – and a simpler word order. The drawback is that it requires emendation against all the mss and runs contrary to the interpretation given in Skm. It also remains unclear who the son of Haraldr might be. Hálfdan svarti, a petty king in Trondheim, comes to mind, as does Sigrøðr, his successor. Hálfdan svarti died after ruling for just two years, however, and Sigrøðr fell in battle against his brother Eiríkr blóðøx ‘Blood-axe’ at Tønsberg (932?) (see HHárfHkr ch. 43, ÍF 26, lxxiii, 149). Because both died before Kormákr was born, the only possible addressee of the helmingr is Hákon góði ‘the Good’ Haraldsson, the youngest son of Haraldr hárfagri, who, with the support of Sigurðr jarl, succeeded his brothers as king in Trondheim.

References

1. Bibliography
2. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
3. Meissner = Meissner, Rudolf. 1921. Die Kenningar der Skalden: Ein Beitrag zur skaldischen Poetik. Rheinische Beiträge und Hülfsbücher zur germanischen Philologie und Volkskunde 1. Bonn and Leipzig: Schroeder. Rpt. 1984. Hildesheim etc.: Olms.
4. LP = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1931. Lexicon poeticum antiquæ linguæ septentrionalis: Ordbog over det norsk-islandske skjaldesprog oprindelig forfattet af Sveinbjörn Egilsson. 2nd edn. Copenhagen: Møller.
5. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
6. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
7. Internal references
8. (forthcoming), ‘ Snorri Sturluson, Skáldskaparmál’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=112> (accessed 23 April 2024)
9. (forthcoming), ‘ Heimskringla, Haralds saga hárfagra’ 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=140> (accessed 23 April 2024)
10. Edith Marold (ed.) 2012, ‘Einarr skálaglamm Helgason, Vellekla 1’ 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. 283.
11. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Ǫrvar-Odds saga 91 (Ǫrvar-Oddr, Ævidrápa 21)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 903.