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skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Arn Hardr 11II

Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Arnórr jarlaskáld Þórðarson, Haraldsdrápa 11’ 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. 272-3.

Arnórr jarlaskáld ÞórðarsonHaraldsdrápa
101112

Hafðit ‘had no’

(not checked:)
hafa (verb): have

[1] Hafðit: so Mork, Flat, H, Hr, Hafði Kˣ, F, E, J2ˣ, ‘Hafðeð’ FskAˣ

notes

[1, 4] hafðit lítit brjóst fyr sér ‘had no small courage in himself’: Brjóst can mean ‘breast, chest’, hence figuratively ‘courage’ or ‘defence, defender(s)’, and fyr sér can mean ‘in front of him(self)’, or ‘in, of him(self)’ as in the phrase mikill/lítill fyrir sér ‘great/insignificant in himself’. These alternative senses combine with the alternative readings hafði and hafðit to yield several possible interpretations of this st., the most satisfactory of which are: (a) The reading adopted here (and so Jón Þorkelsson 1884, 41, and Skj B), with the suffix -t negating lítit. (b) Reading hafði: ‘He had little defence in front of him’ (so ÍF 28), implying that Haraldr was in the forefront of the fighting.

Close

brjóst ‘courage’

(not checked:)
brjóst (noun n.; °-s; -): breast, chest

notes

[1, 4] hafðit lítit brjóst fyr sér ‘had no small courage in himself’: Brjóst can mean ‘breast, chest’, hence figuratively ‘courage’ or ‘defence, defender(s)’, and fyr sér can mean ‘in front of him(self)’, or ‘in, of him(self)’ as in the phrase mikill/lítill fyrir sér ‘great/insignificant in himself’. These alternative senses combine with the alternative readings hafði and hafðit to yield several possible interpretations of this st., the most satisfactory of which are: (a) The reading adopted here (and so Jón Þorkelsson 1884, 41, and Skj B), with the suffix -t negating lítit. (b) Reading hafði: ‘He had little defence in front of him’ (so ÍF 28), implying that Haraldr was in the forefront of the fighting.

Close

‘and’

(not checked:)
né (conj.): nor

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bifðisk ‘did not tremble’

(not checked:)
2. bifa (verb; °-að-): shudder, tremble

[1] bifðisk: bifðusk Hr

Close

snart ‘swift’

(not checked:)
snarr (adj.): gallant, bold < bǫðsnarr (adj.)

[2] ‑snart: ‑svart FskAˣ

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konungs ‘of the king’

(not checked:)
konungr (noun m.; °dat. -i, -s; -ar): king

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hjarta ‘heart’

(not checked:)
hjarta (noun n.; °-; *-u): heart

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í ‘in’

(not checked:)
í (prep.): in, into

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hjalm ‘the helmet’

(not checked:)
1. hjalmr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): helmet < hjalmþrima (noun f.): [helmet-crash]

kennings

hjalmþrimu,
‘the helmet-din, ’
   = BATTLE

the helmet-din, → BATTLE
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þrimu ‘din’

(not checked:)
þrima (noun f.): battle, din < hjalmþrima (noun f.): [helmet-crash]

[3] ‑þrimu: ‑þrumu FskAˣ

kennings

hjalmþrimu,
‘the helmet-din, ’
   = BATTLE

the helmet-din, → BATTLE
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hilmir ‘The prince’

(not checked:)
hilmir (noun m.): prince, protector

[3] hilmir: fylkir FskAˣ

Close

hlít ‘shunning’

(not checked:)
hlít (noun f.; °-ar): sufficiency < hlítstyggr (adj.)

[4] hlít‑: lið‑ FskAˣ

notes

[4] hlítstyggr ‘shunning mediocrity’: This cpd adj. occurs in only one other context, Steinþ Frag l. 4III, where it is applied to Óðinn. Styggr ‘shy of, shunning’ is recorded in compounds with first elements meaning ‘delay’ (bilstyggr), ‘flight’ (flóttstyggr, flugstyggr) or ‘guile/harm’ (læstyggr, meinstyggr). The meaning of hlít- is more elusive. (a) Hlít f. ‘sufficiency’ and hlíta við ‘suffice, do’ suggest the meaning ‘shunning (mere) sufficiency, mediocrity’, i.e. ‘energetic, zealous’, adopted above for hlítstyggr, and this finds support in the adj. óhlítuligr ‘not trivial, great’ applied to the battle of Århus (Áróss) in Okík Magn 1/6. (b) The verb hlíta, governing the dat., can mean ‘rely on’. Hlítstyggr could therefore mean ‘shunning reliance (on others), relying solely on himself’, as in the adj. einhlítr, lit. ‘one-reliant, sole-relying’.

Close

styggr ‘mediocrity’

(not checked:)
styggr (adj.): shy < hlítstyggr (adj.)

notes

[4] hlítstyggr ‘shunning mediocrity’: This cpd adj. occurs in only one other context, Steinþ Frag l. 4III, where it is applied to Óðinn. Styggr ‘shy of, shunning’ is recorded in compounds with first elements meaning ‘delay’ (bilstyggr), ‘flight’ (flóttstyggr, flugstyggr) or ‘guile/harm’ (læstyggr, meinstyggr). The meaning of hlít- is more elusive. (a) Hlít f. ‘sufficiency’ and hlíta við ‘suffice, do’ suggest the meaning ‘shunning (mere) sufficiency, mediocrity’, i.e. ‘energetic, zealous’, adopted above for hlítstyggr, and this finds support in the adj. óhlítuligr ‘not trivial, great’ applied to the battle of Århus (Áróss) in Okík Magn 1/6. (b) The verb hlíta, governing the dat., can mean ‘rely on’. Hlítstyggr could therefore mean ‘shunning reliance (on others), relying solely on himself’, as in the adj. einhlítr, lit. ‘one-reliant, sole-relying’.

Close

fyr ‘in’

(not checked:)
fyr (prep.): for, over, because of, etc.

[4] fyr sér: ok þó Flat

notes

[1, 4] hafðit lítit brjóst fyr sér ‘had no small courage in himself’: Brjóst can mean ‘breast, chest’, hence figuratively ‘courage’ or ‘defence, defender(s)’, and fyr sér can mean ‘in front of him(self)’, or ‘in, of him(self)’ as in the phrase mikill/lítill fyrir sér ‘great/insignificant in himself’. These alternative senses combine with the alternative readings hafði and hafðit to yield several possible interpretations of this st., the most satisfactory of which are: (a) The reading adopted here (and so Jón Þorkelsson 1884, 41, and Skj B), with the suffix -t negating lítit. (b) Reading hafði: ‘He had little defence in front of him’ (so ÍF 28), implying that Haraldr was in the forefront of the fighting.

Close

sér ‘himself’

(not checked:)
sik (pron.; °gen. sín, dat. sér): (refl. pron.)

[4] fyr sér: ok þó Flat

notes

[1, 4] hafðit lítit brjóst fyr sér ‘had no small courage in himself’: Brjóst can mean ‘breast, chest’, hence figuratively ‘courage’ or ‘defence, defender(s)’, and fyr sér can mean ‘in front of him(self)’, or ‘in, of him(self)’ as in the phrase mikill/lítill fyrir sér ‘great/insignificant in himself’. These alternative senses combine with the alternative readings hafði and hafðit to yield several possible interpretations of this st., the most satisfactory of which are: (a) The reading adopted here (and so Jón Þorkelsson 1884, 41, and Skj B), with the suffix -t negating lítit. (b) Reading hafði: ‘He had little defence in front of him’ (so ÍF 28), implying that Haraldr was in the forefront of the fighting.

Close

lítit ‘small’

(not checked:)
lítill (adj.; °lítinn): little

notes

[1, 4] hafðit lítit brjóst fyr sér ‘had no small courage in himself’: Brjóst can mean ‘breast, chest’, hence figuratively ‘courage’ or ‘defence, defender(s)’, and fyr sér can mean ‘in front of him(self)’, or ‘in, of him(self)’ as in the phrase mikill/lítill fyrir sér ‘great/insignificant in himself’. These alternative senses combine with the alternative readings hafði and hafðit to yield several possible interpretations of this st., the most satisfactory of which are: (a) The reading adopted here (and so Jón Þorkelsson 1884, 41, and Skj B), with the suffix -t negating lítit. (b) Reading hafði: ‘He had little defence in front of him’ (so ÍF 28), implying that Haraldr was in the forefront of the fighting.

Close

þars ‘where’

(not checked:)
2. er (conj.): who, which, when

[5] þars: ‘þas er’ Flat

Close

til ‘’

(not checked:)
til (prep.): to

[5] til: er Flat, því at Hr

Close

þengils ‘the lord’

(not checked:)
þengill (noun m.): prince, ruler

[5] þengils: þarfar Mork, Flat, H, Hr

kennings

þengils hersa,
‘the lord of hersar, ’
   = RULER

the lord of hersar, → RULER
Close

hersa ‘of hersar

(not checked:)
hersir (noun m.; °-is; -ar): cheiftan

[5] hersa: herjar F

kennings

þengils hersa,
‘the lord of hersar, ’
   = RULER

the lord of hersar, → RULER
Close

‘saw’

(not checked:)
2. sjá (verb): see

[6] herr at: ‘siatnade’ Hr

Close

herr ‘the army’

(not checked:)
herr (noun m.; °-s/-jar, dat. -; -jar, gen. -ja/herra): army, host

[6] herr at: ‘siatnade’ Hr;    herr: menn Mork, Flat, H

Close

at ‘that’

(not checked:)
4. at (conj.): that

[6] herr at: ‘siatnade’ Hr

Close

hjǫrr ‘sword’

(not checked:)
hjǫrr (noun m.): sword

Close

ins ‘of the’

(not checked:)
2. inn (art.): the

[7] ins: en Hr

kennings

ins barra hneitis dǫglinga
‘of the zealous subduer of princes ’
   = RULER

the zealous subduer of princes → RULER
Close

barra ‘zealous’

(not checked:)
3. barr (adj.): ready

[7] barra: bara Flat

kennings

ins barra hneitis dǫglinga
‘of the zealous subduer of princes ’
   = RULER

the zealous subduer of princes → RULER
Close

dǫglinga ‘of princes’

(not checked:)
dǫglingr (noun m.; °; -ar): king, ruler

kennings

ins barra hneitis dǫglinga
‘of the zealous subduer of princes ’
   = RULER

the zealous subduer of princes → RULER
Close

hneitis ‘subduer’

(not checked:)
hneitir (noun m.): sword

kennings

ins barra hneitis dǫglinga
‘of the zealous subduer of princes ’
   = RULER

the zealous subduer of princes → RULER
Close

Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses

In Hkr and H-Hr, the Norwegians are deceived by the apparent flight of the English into breaking their shield-wall. Seeing what straits his men are in, Haraldr plunges into the thick of the fighting with such vigour that the English (in Hkr) are on the point of fleeing. In Fsk, Mork and Flat, the Engl. cavalry gain the upper hand by sheer force of numbers, so that the Norwegians break ranks.

The st. is attributed in Mork and Flat to Arnórr ‘in his poem’ (í sínu kvæði).

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