Magnússdrápa Erlingssonar — HSn Magndr^III

This half-stanza, Magnússdrápa Erlingssonar ‘Drápa about Magnús Erlingsson’ (HSn Magndr), clearly belongs to an encomium about a ruler, and it is attributed to ‘Hallr’ in most mss. His patronymic is not given, but the only other Hallr mentioned in Skáldatal (SnE 1848-87, III, 276) is Hallr múnkr ‘Monk’, who allegedly composed about Haraldr gillikristr ‘Servant of Christ’ Magnússon (r. 1130-6). No poetry of his survives. Hallr Snorrason, on the other hand, was one of King Magnús Erlingsson’s (r. 1161-84) skalds, and two of his lausavísur are preserved in Sverris saga (HSn Lv 1-2^II; on Hallr Snorrason, see his Biography in SkP II). The title of the poem to which the present half-stanza is assigned (Skj: Af en drape om Magnus Erlingsson(?) ‘From a drápa about Magnús Erlingsson(?)’; Skald: Drápa) is a modern construct. The helmingr is a typical ‘beast of prey’ stanza (likdyrstrofe, Fidjestøl 1982, 160), playing on the imagery of wolves feasting on corpses. Hallr employs two heiti for ‘wolf’, and the translation given below retains the literal translations of these heiti. The half-stanza is preserved in mss R (main ms.), Tˣ, U, A, B, C of Skm (SnE), in LaufE (mss papp10ˣ, 2368ˣ, 743ˣ) and in RE 1665(Ll3). The latter is copied from LaufE and not considered in this edition. In LaufE the half-stanza is given as ll. 5-8 of Ill Har 1^II, and the entire stanza (ll. 1-8) is attributed to Illugi.

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. Fidjestøl, Bjarne. 1982. Det norrøne fyrstediktet. Universitet i Bergen Nordisk institutts skriftserie 11. Øvre Ervik: Alvheim & Eide.
5. SkP II = Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Ed. Kari Ellen Gade. 2009.
6. Internal references
7. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Sverris saga’ 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, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=2> (accessed 19 April 2024)
8. 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].
9. Kari Ellen Gade 2017, ‘(Biography of) Hallr Snorrason’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 228.
10. (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 19 April 2024)
11. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Hallr Snorrason, Lausavísur 1’ 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. 636-7.
12. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Illugi bryndœlaskáld, Poem about Haraldr harðráði 1’ 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. 282-3.
13. Not published: do not cite ()
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 19 April 2024)