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skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Lausavísur — ESk LvII

Einarr Skúlason

Kari Ellen Gade 2009, ‘ Einarr Skúlason, Lausavísur’ 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, pp. 568-74. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1154> (accessed 19 March 2024)

 

Þér hefk, þengill Mœra,
— þinns vegr mikill — segja,
(ert) svát eigi skortir,
(allfróðr) sǫgu góða.
Eigis Ívarr, bauga
— enn sitt kyrr hjá henni —
fægirjóðr, af Fljóðum
fingrmjór kominn hingat.
 
‘Lord of the Mœrir [NORWEGIAN KING = Sigurðr], I have good tidings to tell you, so that there is no lack of it; your glory is great; you are most wise. Reddener of shields [WARRIOR], slender-fingered Ívarr af Fljóðum (‘from Fløan’) has not come here; continue to stay quietly with her.
Erlendr hefir undan
allvalds gleði haldit;
gramr, skaltattu, gumna,
Gapamunn of þat kunna.
Hafa munu heiðar jǫfra
hlíðrœkjanda fríðum
— geta verðr þess fyr gotnum —
galdrs nauðsynjar valdit.
 
‘Erlendr has fled from the cheer of the mighty ruler; leader of men, you must not fault Gapamunnr (‘Gaping-mouth’) for that. Necessities must have forced the handsome cultivator of the slope of the chant of the chieftains of the heath [(lit. ‘slope-cultivator of the chant of the chieftains of the heath’) GIANTS > GOLD > WOMAN > MAN]; one must recount that before the people.
Ekki hlaut af ítrum
Einarr gjafa Sveini
— ǫld lofar ǫðlings mildi
æðrustyggs — fyr kvæði.
Danskr harri metr dýrra
— dugir miðlung þat — fiðlur
— ræðr fyr ræsis auði
Rípa-Ulfr — ok pípur.
 
‘Einarr received no gift from precious Sveinn for the poem; people praise the generosity of the fright-shy prince. The Danish lord values fiddles and flutes more highly; that is not good enough; Rípa-Úlfr (‘Úlfr of Ribe’) controls the ruler’s wealth.
Oss lét abbatissa
angri firð of svangann,
dygg þótt víf in vígðu
víti fyrðar, gyrða.
Enn til áts með nunnum
(ógnarrakks) á Bakka,
(drós gladdit vin vísa)
vasat stallarinn kallaðr.
 
‘The abbess, removed from worries, made us [me] tighten the belt around the flank, although men may reproach the faithful consecrated women [for that]. And the marshal was not summoned to eat with the nuns at Bakke; the lady did not cheer the friend of the battle-brave leader.
Austr tók illa kristinn
Jarlmaðr frá búkarli
— grôðr vas kjǫts á kauða —
kiðling, hinns slær fiðlu.
Vǫndr hrǫkk; vámr lá bundinn
(vísmáll) á skip þíslar;
(sǫng leikara lengi
lími harðan príma).
 
‘Jarlmaðr, the bad Christian who plays the fiddle, took a kid from a farmer in the east; greed for meat came upon the churl. The whip coiled; the loathsome fellow lay bound on the ship of the wagon-shaft [WAGON]; the eloquent lash sang a harsh service over the minstrel for a long time.
Hola bôru rístr hlýrum
hreystisprund at sundi
(blæss élreki of ási)
Útsteins (vefi þrútna).
Varla heldr und vildra
víkmarr á jarðríki
— breiðr viðr brimsgang súðum
barmr — lyptingar farmi.
 
‘The spirited woman carves the hollow billow with the bow toward the straits of Utsteinen; the storm-chaser [WIND] fills the swollen sails above the sprit. There is hardly another bay-steed [SHIP] on earth that sails beneath a more precious burden of the deck; the broad rim gains surf-speed for the ship-boards.
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