Hannah Burrows (ed.) 2017, ‘Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks 61 (Gestumblindi, Heiðreks gátur 14)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 424.
Hvat er þat undra, er ek úti sá
fyrir Dellings durum?
Fætr hefir átta en fjögur augu,
ok berr ofar kné en kvið.
Heiðrekr konungr, hyggðu at gátu.
Hvat er undra þat, er ek sá úti fyrir durum Dellings? Hefir átta fætr en fjögur augu, ok berr kné ofar en kvið. Heiðrekr konungr, hyggðu at gátu.
‘What is the wonder that I saw outside before Dellingr’s doors? It has eight feet and four eyes, and bears its knees higher than its belly. King Heiðrekr, think about the riddle. ’
Heiðrekr’s response is (Heiðr 1960, 35): Þat er kǫngurváfur ‘Those are spiders’. The H redaction includes more dialogue, hinting at Heiðrekr’s suspicions (Heiðr 1924, 68): er nú bæði, at þú hefir hǫttinn síðan, enda sér þú niðr undan fleira en flestir menn aðrir, er þú hugsar hvert skrípi jarðarinnar, en þat er kǫngurváfa ‘It is now both: that you have your hood low over your face, and yet that you see more than most other men from under it when you think of every weird creature on the earth; but that is the spider’. The hood was a favourite disguise of Óðinn’s. — [1]: See Note to Heiðr 55/1.
Text is based on reconstruction from the base text and variant apparatus and may contain alternative spellings and other normalisations not visible in the manuscript text. Transcriptions may not have been checked and should not be cited.
Hvat er þat †u†,
er ek †u sa†
?
Fætr hefir átta
en fjögur augu,
ok berr ofar kné en kvið.
,
.
huat er þat undra er ek uti sa fyrir dellings fætur he | fir uííí eɴn fíogur ꜹgu ok ber ofar kne enn kuid h k h þ a g
(HB)
Hvat er þat undra,
at ek úti sá
?
Fætr hefir átta
en augu fjögur ,
berr þat ofar kné en kvið.
Heiðrekr konungr,
hyggðu at gátu.
hvad er þad vndra ad eg vti sa fyrir Døglings dӳrum⸝ fætur hefir viij enn | augu iiij ber þad ofar kne enn kuid⸝ heidrekur kongur
(HB)
Hvat er þat undra,
at er úti sá
?
Fætr hefir átta
en fjögur augu,
berr þat ofar kné en kvið.
,
.
hvad er þad | undra (ad er ute sa̋) fyrer dóglings dyrum fætur hefur atta⸝ en fiógúr augu ber þad ofar kne en kvid | heidreckur Kongur hygg
(HB)
Hvat er þat undra,
er úti sá
?
Fætr hefir †5†
en fjögur augu,
berr ofar †hnie† en kvið.
Heiðrekr konungr,
hyggðu at gátu.
huort er þad vndra er vti sa fyrir dellingz | dӳr fætur hefur 5 enn 4 augu ber of | ar hnie enn kuid
(HB)
Skj: Anonyme digte og vers [XIII], D. 5. Heiðreks gátur 6: AII, 222, BII, 241, Skald II, 125; Heiðr 1672, 146, FSN 1, 468, Heiðr 1873, 245, 335, Heiðr 1924, 61-2, 67, 133, FSGJ 2, 40, Heiðr 1960, 35; Edd. Min. 111.
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