From a poem about Þorsteinn — Refr Þorst^III

The three dróttkvætt stanzas in SnE (Skm) edited here (Refr Þorst) are generally assumed to be from a poem about a man called Þorsteinn, because this name appears in all three of them. SnE gives ‘Refr’ as the poet. Stanzas 2 and 3 are also found in LaufE. Þorsteinn is possibly a son of Snorri goði ‘the Priest’ Þorgrímsson (de Vries 1964-7, I, 262; SnE 1998, I, 161-2; LH I, 599). Other men called Þorsteinn for whom Refr could have composed a praise poem are the following: Refr’s neighbour Þorsteinn Gíslason, Þorsteinn Kuggason and Þorsteinn Síðu-Hallsson (Guðmundur Þorláksson 1882, 101). The content of sts 1 and 2 indicates that they belong to the beginning of the poem. Two other stanzas, Refr Frag 1 (CPB II, 167; SnE 1848-87, III, 543) and Refr Frag 5 (Skj; Skald; SnE 1998, I, 161-2), have been assigned to this poem in the past, but since the assignment is not well justified, they have been treated as fragments in the present edition. The mss relevant for this edition are the SnE mss R (main ms.), Tˣ, W, U for all stanzas, and B for st. 1, A and C for st. 2 and A for st. 3; the LaufE ms. 2368ˣ for sts 2 and 3, and 743ˣ for st. 3.

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. CPB = Gudbrand Vigfusson [Guðbrandur Vigfússon] and F. York Powell, eds. 1883. Corpus poeticum boreale: The Poetry of the Old Northern Tongue from the Earliest Times to the Thirteenth Century. 2 vols. Oxford: Clarendon. Rpt. 1965, New York: Russell & Russell.
5. Vries, Jan de. 1964-7. Altnordische Literaturgeschichte. 2 vols. 2nd edn. Grundriss der germanischen Philologie 15-16. Berlin: de Gruyter.
6. LH = Finnur Jónsson. 1920-4. Den oldnorske og oldislandske litteraturs historie. 3 vols. 2nd edn. Copenhagen: Gad.
7. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
8. Guðmundur Þorláksson. 1882. Udsigt over de norsk-islandske skjalde fra 9de til 14de århundrede. SUGNL 8. Copenhagen: Møller.
9. Internal references
10. 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].
11. (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 25 April 2024)
12. Edith Marold (ed.) 2017, ‘Hofgarða-Refr Gestsson, Fragments 5’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 264.
13. Edith Marold (ed.) 2017, ‘Hofgarða-Refr Gestsson, Fragments 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. 259.
14. (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 25 April 2024)