Note to Eil Frag 1III
[4] lǫndum banda ‘in the lands of the gods’: Bǫnd n. pl. is a term for the heathen gods who protect the land from evil, and they seem to have had a special connection to the jarls of Lade (ON Hlaðir); see Marold (1992, 705-7) and Note to Eskál Vell 8/2I. Eilífr was a skald at the court of Hákon jarl Sigurðarson, and there are several indications that his Þdr was a praise poem to Hákon jarl (see Introduction to Þdr). Therefore lǫndum banda most likely refers to Norway, till then still heathen, and in particular to those parts of Norway under the domain of the jarls of Lade (cf. Tindr Hákdr 7/7, 8I, where Norway is called mǫrk heiðins dóms ‘forest of heathendom’).
References
- Bibliography
- Marold, Edith. 1992. ‘Die Skaldendichtung als Quelle der Religionsgeschichte’. In Beck et al. 1992, 685-719.
- Internal references
- Edith Marold with the assistance of Vivian Busch, Jana Krüger, Ann-Dörte Kyas and Katharina Seidel, translated from German by John Foulks 2017, ‘ Eilífr Goðrúnarson, Þórsdrápa’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 68. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1170> (accessed 27 April 2024)
- Edith Marold (ed.) 2012, ‘Einarr skálaglamm Helgason, Vellekla 8’ 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. 292.
- Russell Poole (ed.) 2012, ‘Tindr Hallkelsson, Hákonardrápa 7’ 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. 350.