Hfr Óldr 2^I

Hættr vas hersa dróttinn
hjǫrdjarfr Gota fjǫrvi;
gollskerði frák gerðu
geirþey á Skáneyju.
Bǫðserkjar hjó birki
barklaust í Danmǫrku
hleypimeiðr fyr Heiða-
hlunnviggja -bý sunnan.

{Hjǫrdjarfr dróttinn hersa} vas hættr fjǫrvi Gota; frák {gollskerði} gerðu {geirþey} á Skáneyju. {Hleypimeiðr {hlunnviggja}} hjó {barklaust birki {bǫðserkjar}} í Danmǫrku fyr sunnan Heiðabý.

{The sword-bold lord of hersar} [RULER] was dangerous to the life of the Gotar; I have learned that {the gold-diminisher} [GENEROUS MAN] made {spear-breeze} [BATTLE] in Skåne. {The impelling tree {of the roller-steeds}} [SHIPS > SEAFARER] cut down {the barkless birches {of the battle-shirt}} [MAIL-SHIRT > WARRIORS] in Denmark south of Hedeby.

Mss: Kˣ(146v) (ll. 1-4), Kˣ(149v) (ll. 5-8), 39(6ra) (ll. 5-8), F(24rb) (ll. 1-4), F(25ra) (ll. 5-8), J1ˣ(86r) (ll. 1-4), J1ˣ(88v) (ll. 5-8) (Hkr); 61(14vb) (ll. 1-4), 61(15rb) (ll. 5-8), 53(13ra) (ll. 1-4), 54(9va) (ll. 1-4), 54(10rb) (ll. 5-8), Bb(19vb) (ll. 1-4), Bb(20va) (ll. 5-8), 62(7rb) (ll. 1-4), 62(8ra) (ll. 5-8), Flat(14v) (ll. 1-4), Flat(15rb) (ll. 5-8) (ÓT); FskBˣ(33r), FskAˣ(120) (Fsk); 310(98) (ÓTOdd)

Readings: [1] vas: om. Flat;    hersa: Hǫrða FskBˣ, FskAˣ, 310    [2] ‑djarfr: ‘darfr’ J1ˣ    [3] ‑skerði: ‑skerðir J1ˣ, ‘sker[…]’ 62, ‘skeyde’ Flat;    gerðu: ‘geyrðo’ F, ‘g[…]u’ 62, ‘garðꝍy’ FskBˣ    [4] ‑eyju: eyri F, 54, Bb, Flat    [5] hjó: lét 62, Flat;    birki: ‘birk[…]’ 39    [6] bark‑: bǫrk‑ Bb;    ‑laust: ‑rjóðr J1ˣ;    í: til Flat;    ‑mǫrku: ‑markar Flat    [7] ‑meiðr: ‘mꝍyðrs’ FskAˣ    [8] ‑viggja: viggja fyr J1ˣ, ‑veggja 54, Bb;    bý: bú 54

Editions: Skj AI, 157, Skj BI, 149, Skald I, 81; Hkr 1893-1901, I, 298, 305, IV, 80, 84, ÍF 26, 255, 263, Hkr 1991, I, 171, 176 (ÓTHkr chs 25, 28), F 1871, 111, 114; ÓT 1958-2000, I, 138, 145 (ch. 70), Flat 1860-8, I, 110, 114; Fsk 1902-3, 109 (ch. 21), ÍF 29, 142 (ch. 23); ÓTOdd 1932, 247.

Context: See Introduction.

Notes: [All]: The pairing of helmingar follows Fsk and 310 (see Introduction); in Hkr and ÓT, st. 1/5-8 and st. 2/1-4 form a stanza, while st. 2/5-8 stands as an isolated helmingr.  — [1] dróttinn hersa ‘lord of hersar [RULER]’: I.e. of noblemen, district chieftains. The reading of Fsk and 310, dróttinn Hǫrða ‘lord of the Hǫrðar’, is equally viable. — [2] Gota ‘of the Gotar’: The people of the large island of Gotland, south-east Sweden. — [5-8]: The title of the source poem is given as Óláfsdrápa ‘Drápa about Óláfr’ in Hkr and ÓT; cf. Note to st. 4/1-4. — [5, 6] barklaust birki bǫðserkjar ‘the barkless birches of the battle-shirt [MAIL-SHIRT > WARRIORS]’: Birki n. is a collective noun, hence the sg. refers in this kenning to several warriors. The epithet barklaust ‘barkless’ helps to clarify the referent: not trees but men, but it may also imply that the victorious Óláfr strips the enemy of their armour like a tree of its bark (so ÍF 26; ÍF 29; Hkr 1991).  — [7, 8] Heiðabý ‘Hedeby’: A major Viking trading centre in the south of Jutland. This is an early example of the skalds’ practice of fitting place names into the dróttkvætt lines using tmesis; cf. Þfagr Sveinn 1/3, 4^II for a similar tmesis on this p. n., and for another example see Þloft Tøgdr 1/5, 6 and Note; also Kuhn (1983, 111-12).

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
3. Flat 1860-8 = Gudbrand Vigfusson [Guðbrandur Vigfússon] and C. R. Unger, eds. 1860-8. Flateyjarbók. En samling af norske konge-sagaer med indskudte mindre fortællinger om begivenheder i og udenfor Norge samt annaler. 3 vols. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
4. ÓTOdd 1932 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1932. Saga Óláfs Tryggvasonar af Oddr Snorrason munk. Copenhagen: Gad.
5. Kuhn, Hans (1899). 1983. Das Dróttkvætt. Heidelberg: Winter.
6. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
7. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
8. Hkr 1991 = Bergljót S. Kristjánsdóttir et al., eds. 1991. Heimskringla. 3 vols. Reykjavík: Mál og menning.
9. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
10. Fsk 1902-3 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1902-3. Fagrskinna: Nóregs kononga tal. SUGNL 30. Copenhagen: Møller.
11. ÍF 29 = Ágrip af Nóregskonunga sǫgum; Fagrskinna—Nóregs konungatal. Ed. Bjarni Einarsson. 1985.
12. ÓT 1958-2000 = Ólafur Halldórsson, ed. 1958-2000. Saga Óláfs Tryggvasonar en mesta. 3 vols. EA A 1-3. Copenhagen: Munksgaard (Reitzel).
13. Internal references
14. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Heimskringla’ 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=4> (accessed 20 April 2024)
15. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Fagrskinna’ 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=56> (accessed 20 April 2024)
16. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=60> (accessed 20 April 2024)
17. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Þorleikr fagri, Flokkr about Sveinn Úlfsson 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, p. 313.
18. Matthew Townend (ed.) 2012, ‘Þórarinn loftunga, Tøgdrápa 1’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 852.