Note to Arn Hryn 9II
[8] girzkum malmi ‘Russian metal’: The ms. form ‘g᷎ðzkv̄’ (i.e. gǫrðzkvm, cf. ‘dām᷎k’ beside ‘danmǫrk’ elsewhere in H) is here assumed to be a graphic variant of gerzkr/gerðskr, cf. the variant forms ‘ger(ð)zki’, ‘gærzke’ and ‘gørzci’ for (Guðleikr) gerzki in mss of ÓH 1941, I, 120. Another, less likely, possibility is that it represents the m. dat. sg. of an adj. *garzkr ‘from Garðar’. Girzkr could mean either ‘Russian, from Garðar’ or ‘Greek’ (cf. Note to st. 4/4). The girzkr malmr which adorns the ship could be weapons which the warriors carry on board along with their armour, or perhaps, since málmr elsewhere in ON poetry means ‘gold’, ornament on the prow, stern and / or mast-head. In the main ms., ‘hialmi’ is clearly a case of dittography from ‘hialma’ later in the l.