Arn Hardr 9II
Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Arnórr jarlaskáld Þórðarson, Haraldsdrápa 9’ 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. 270-1.
Gagn ‘victory’
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1. gagn (noun n.): victory
fekk ‘gained’
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2. fá (verb; °fǽr; fekk, fengu; fenginn): get, receive
kennings
Gjǫfvinr vildra Sygna‘The gift-friend of prized Sygnir ’
= NORWEGIAN KING = Haraldr
The gift-friend of prized Sygnir → NORWEGIAN KING = Haraldr
notes
[1, 2] gjǫfvinr vildra Sygna ‘the gift-friend of prized Sygnir [NORWEGIAN KING = Haraldr]’: The variant gjafvinr would be equally acceptable; either reading is a hap. leg. The Sygnir are the people of Sogn, the district around Sognefjorden in western Norway. Skj B takes vildra as a comp. adj. qualifying n. acc. sg. gagn, hence ‘a better victory’, which is possible but assumes a more disjointed w. o. (and see NN §1135)
vinr ‘friend’
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vinr (noun m.; °-ar, dat. -/(-i OsvReyk 92.17); -ir): friend < gjǫfvinr (noun m.)
[1] ‑vinr: ‘‑vínnr’ Hr
kennings
Gjǫfvinr vildra Sygna‘The gift-friend of prized Sygnir ’
= NORWEGIAN KING = Haraldr
The gift-friend of prized Sygnir → NORWEGIAN KING = Haraldr
notes
[1, 2] gjǫfvinr vildra Sygna ‘the gift-friend of prized Sygnir [NORWEGIAN KING = Haraldr]’: The variant gjafvinr would be equally acceptable; either reading is a hap. leg. The Sygnir are the people of Sogn, the district around Sognefjorden in western Norway. Skj B takes vildra as a comp. adj. qualifying n. acc. sg. gagn, hence ‘a better victory’, which is possible but assumes a more disjointed w. o. (and see NN §1135)
kennings
Gjǫfvinr vildra Sygna‘The gift-friend of prized Sygnir ’
= NORWEGIAN KING = Haraldr
The gift-friend of prized Sygnir → NORWEGIAN KING = Haraldr
notes
[1, 2] gjǫfvinr vildra Sygna ‘the gift-friend of prized Sygnir [NORWEGIAN KING = Haraldr]’: The variant gjafvinr would be equally acceptable; either reading is a hap. leg. The Sygnir are the people of Sogn, the district around Sognefjorden in western Norway. Skj B takes vildra as a comp. adj. qualifying n. acc. sg. gagn, hence ‘a better victory’, which is possible but assumes a more disjointed w. o. (and see NN §1135)
gekk ‘went’
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2. ganga (verb; geng, gekk, gengu, genginn): walk, go
hildr ‘the battle’
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1. hildr (noun f.): battle
at ‘to’
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3. at (prep.): at, to
mun ‘his wish’
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munr (noun m.; °-ar/-s, dat. -/-i; -ir, acc. -i): mind, pleasure
vildra ‘of prized’
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vilðr (adj.): desirable
kennings
Gjǫfvinr vildra Sygna‘The gift-friend of prized Sygnir ’
= NORWEGIAN KING = Haraldr
The gift-friend of prized Sygnir → NORWEGIAN KING = Haraldr
notes
[1, 2] gjǫfvinr vildra Sygna ‘the gift-friend of prized Sygnir [NORWEGIAN KING = Haraldr]’: The variant gjafvinr would be equally acceptable; either reading is a hap. leg. The Sygnir are the people of Sogn, the district around Sognefjorden in western Norway. Skj B takes vildra as a comp. adj. qualifying n. acc. sg. gagn, hence ‘a better victory’, which is possible but assumes a more disjointed w. o. (and see NN §1135)
hinns ‘he who’
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2. er (conj.): who, which, when
á ‘to’
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3. á (prep.): on, at
hæl ‘his heels’
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1. hæll (noun m.; °hǽls, dat. hǽli; hǽlar): heel
[3] hæl: so all others, hel Mork
fyr ‘before’
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fyr (prep.): for, over, because of, etc.
mǫnnum ‘men’
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maðr (noun m.): man, person
hrein ‘bright’
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2. hreinn (adj.; °compar. hreinari/hreinni, superl. hreinastr/hreinstr): pure < hreinskjaldaðr (adj./verb p.p.)
notes
[4] hreinskjaldaðr ‘bright-shielded’: I.e. equipped with a bright shield. (a) Although a hap. leg., the Hr reading hreinskjaldaðr resembles the phrase hreinir þremir randa ‘shining rims of shields’ (SnSt Ht 8/7, 8III) and the adjectival past participles skjaldaðr and fagrskjaldaðr ‘equipped with a (beautiful) shield’, and makes excellent sense as an epithet qualifying hinn ‘he’, i.e. Haraldr. This reading is adopted here, as in Skj B and Skald. (b) However, it is possible that hreinskjaldaðr is a happy emendation by the scribe of Hr, and that hreinskjaldar ‘of the bright shield’ is the original reading. It is the lectio difficilior, and has the stronger ms. support, but it is difficult to place within the syntax of the helmingr. The possible constructions are gagn hreinskjaldar ‘victory of the bright shield’, hildr hreinskjaldar ‘battle of the bright shield’ and fyr mǫnnum hreinskjaldar ‘before the men of the bright shield’ (presumably ‘warriors’), but none of these expressions can be paralleled.
skjaldaðr ‘shielded’
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skjalda (verb): shield < hreinskjaldaðr (adj./verb p.p.)
[4] ‑skjaldaðr: so Hr, skaldar Mork, Flat, H
notes
[4] hreinskjaldaðr ‘bright-shielded’: I.e. equipped with a bright shield. (a) Although a hap. leg., the Hr reading hreinskjaldaðr resembles the phrase hreinir þremir randa ‘shining rims of shields’ (SnSt Ht 8/7, 8III) and the adjectival past participles skjaldaðr and fagrskjaldaðr ‘equipped with a (beautiful) shield’, and makes excellent sense as an epithet qualifying hinn ‘he’, i.e. Haraldr. This reading is adopted here, as in Skj B and Skald. (b) However, it is possible that hreinskjaldaðr is a happy emendation by the scribe of Hr, and that hreinskjaldar ‘of the bright shield’ is the original reading. It is the lectio difficilior, and has the stronger ms. support, but it is difficult to place within the syntax of the helmingr. The possible constructions are gagn hreinskjaldar ‘victory of the bright shield’, hildr hreinskjaldar ‘battle of the bright shield’ and fyr mǫnnum hreinskjaldar ‘before the men of the bright shield’ (presumably ‘warriors’), but none of these expressions can be paralleled.
fór ‘took’
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fara (verb; ferr, fór, fóru, farinn): go, travel
aldri ‘never’
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aldri (adv.): never
jarlar ‘The earls’
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jarl (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): poet, earl
notes
[5] jarlar ‘the earls’: The Engl. earls are named in the ASC as Morcere and Eadwine (versions C, D and E, s. a. 1066), but in Norse prose sources as Morcere (Mǫrukári) and, erroneously, Waltheof (Valþjófr).
eir ‘mercy’
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eir (noun f.): mercy
fekka ‘did not receive’
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2. fá (verb; °fǽr; fekk, fengu; fenginn): get, receive
lið ‘troop’
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lið (noun n.; °-s; -): retinue, troop
þeira ‘their’
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hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...
mannkyn ‘the race of men’
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mannkyn (noun n.): mankind
at ‘in’
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3. at (prep.): at, to
minnum ‘memory’
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1. minni (noun n.; °-s; -): memory
morgun ‘morning’
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morginn (noun m.; °morgins, dat. morgni; morgnar): morning
[8] morgun: morgin Hr
til ‘to’
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til (prep.): to
notes
[8] til borgar ‘to the stronghold’: This is York (Jórvík). Fulford, the site of the battle, lies about two miles downriver from the city.
borgar ‘the stronghold’
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borg (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -; -ir): city, stronghold
notes
[8] til borgar ‘to the stronghold’: This is York (Jórvík). Fulford, the site of the battle, lies about two miles downriver from the city.
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
In Mork and Flat, the st. follows sts 7 and 8 directly. In H-Hr, it is prefaced by a few summary comments about the battle, including the statement that Earl Waltheof (Valþjófr), with the Engl. survivors, fled to the stronghold at York.
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