Gestumbl Heiðr 14^VIII (Heiðr 61)

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.

Mss: 2845(71r), 281ˣ(99v) (ll. 1-6), 597bˣ(50r), R715ˣ(27v) (ll. 1-6) (Heiðr)

Readings: [1] undra: so 281ˣ, 597bˣ, R715ˣ, ‘u’ 2845    [2] er: at 281ˣ, at inserted in the margin in another hand 597bˣ;    ek: er inserted in the margin in another hand 597bˣ, om. R715ˣ;    úti sá: so 281ˣ, R715ˣ, ‘u sa’ 2845, úti sá inserted in the margin in another hand 597bˣ    [3] abbrev. as ‘fⁱ d’ 2845, abbrev. as ‘f Døgl dÿrū’ 281ˣ, abbrev. as ‘f^r d d:’ 597bˣ, abbrev. as ‘f dellīgz dÿr’ R715ˣ    [4] átta (‘uííí’): ‘5’ R715ˣ    [5] fjögur augu: augu fjögur 281ˣ    [6] ok: om. 281ˣ, 597bˣ, R715ˣ;    berr: berr þat 281ˣ, 597bˣ;    kné: ‘hnie’ R715ˣ    [7-8] abbrev. as ‘h k̄ h þ ā ḡ’ 2845, abbrev. as ‘h: K h:’ 597bˣ

Editions: Skj AII, 222, Skj 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.

Notes: [All]: 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.

References

1. Bibliography
2. FSN = Rafn, Carl Christian, ed. 1829-30. Fornaldar sögur nordrlanda. 3 vols. Copenhagen: Popp.
3. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. Heiðr 1672 = Verelius, Olaus, ed. 1672. Hervarar Saga på Gammel Gotska. Uppsala: Curio.
5. FSGJ = Guðni Jónsson, ed. 1954. Fornaldar sögur norðurlanda. 4 vols. [Reykjavík]: Íslendingasagnaútgáfan.
6. Edd. Min. = Heusler, Andreas and Wilhelm Ranisch, eds. 1903. Eddica Minora: Dichtungen eddischer Art aus den Fornaldarsögur und anderen Prosawerken. Dortmund: Ruhfus. Rpt. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft.
7. Heiðr 1924 = Jón Helgason, ed. 1924. Heiðreks saga. Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks konungs. SUGNL 48. Copenhagen: Jørgensen.
8. Heiðr 1960 = Tolkien, Christopher, ed. and trans. 1960. Saga Heiðreks konungs ins vitra / The Saga of King Heidrek the Wise. Nelson Icelandic Texts. London etc.: Nelson.
9. Heiðr 1873 = Bugge, Sophus, ed. 1873. Hervarar saga ok Heidreks. Det Norske oldskriftselskabs samlinger 17. Christiania (Oslo): Brøgger.
10. Internal references
11. Hannah Burrows (ed.) 2017, ‘Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks 55 (Gestumblindi, Heiðreks gátur 8)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 417.