Kálfsvísa — Þul Kálfv^III

Kálfsvísa ‘Kálfr’s poem’ (Anon Kálf), which is an enumeration of names of legendary horses and their riders, is transmitted in mss R (the main ms. for the present edition), Tˣ, U, A, C of SnE (Skm) and sts 1, 2, 3/1 and 4 are also found in papp10ˣ, 2368ˣ and 743ˣ of LaufE (papp10ˣ has st. 3/2 as well). The text of LaufE shows that this version derives from a ms. closely related to ms. A of SnE. Stanzas 1, 2, 3/1 and 4 were copied in RE 1665(Ff3) from a ms. of the LaufE Y redaction, but readings from RE 1665 have not been included in the present edition. In SnE, Kálfv is recorded directly after Þorgrímsþula (Anon Þorgþ I 1-3, also a list of horse-names), and it is followed by another stanza from that þula (Þorgþ II), which contains names of oxen. The poem is called Alsvinnsmál in mss R, Tˣ and C (SnE 1998, I, 89): Þessir ró enn talðir í Alsvinnsmálum ‘Moreover, these are enumerated in Alsvinnsmál’. In U, the heading is frá hestum ‘about horses’, and A(14v) introduces the poem as follows: Þæssir hæstar ærv taldir i kalfs vísv ‘These horses are enumerated in Kálfsvísa’ (closely similar in LaufE and RE 1665). As Finnur Jónsson points out (LH 1894-1901, II, 171 n. 2), the name Alsvinnsmál in R, Tˣ and C was likely occasioned by a stanza from the eddic Alvíssmál (Alv 20), which is recorded in R, Tˣ, A, C after Þorgþ II and called Alsvinnsmál in R, Tˣ and, correctly, Alvíssmál in A, C (the stanza is omitted in U). In all mss, the poem is recorded as a block, and because the stanzas are of uneven length, previous editions differ as far as the stanzaic divisions are concerned. In the present edition, which follows Skj and Skald, sts 1 and 4 have eight lines, st. 2 has four, and st. 3 has six lines. SnE 1848-87 and SnE 1998 have three stanzas and give our sts 2-3 as one. The metre is fornyrðislag. The poem is anonymous in all mss, but the name Kálfsvísa suggests that the poet’s name may have been Kálfr. Finnur Jónsson (LH 1894-1901, II, 171) believes that he was an Icelander, but that cannot be ascertained.

References

1. Bibliography
2. SnE 1848-87 = Snorri Sturluson. 1848-87. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar: Edda Snorronis Sturlaei. Ed. Jón Sigurðsson et al. 3 vols. Copenhagen: Legatum Arnamagnaeanum. Rpt. Osnabrück: Zeller, 1966.
3. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
5. LH 1894-1901 = Finnur Jónsson. 1894-1901. Den oldnorske og oldislandske litteraturs historie. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Gad.
6. Internal references
7. Edith Marold 2017, ‘Snorra Edda (Prologue, Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál)’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols [check printed volume for citation].
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 18 April 2024)
9. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Þorgrímsþula I 1’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 670.
10. Not published: do not cite ()
11. Elena Gurevich 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Þorgrímsþula II’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 675. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=3181> (accessed 18 April 2024)
12. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Laufás Edda’ 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=10928> (accessed 18 April 2024)