Arn Hardr 13II
Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Arnórr jarlaskáld Þórðarson, Haraldsdrápa 13’ 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. 274-5.
Eigi ‘not’
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3. eigi (adv.): not
varð ‘was’
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1. verða (verb): become, be
ins ‘of the’
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2. inn (art.): the
œgja ‘fearsome’
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œgr (adj.): awe-inspiring, fearsome
[1] œgja: so E, J2ˣ, FskAˣ, Mork, Flat, yggja Kˣ, ‘ygía’ F, H, ‘yga’ Hr
auðligr ‘unadorned’
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2. auðligr (adj.): [unadorned]
notes
[2] auðligr ‘unadorned’: The statement that the king’s death was not auðligr is capable of some four interpretations, of which (a) has been chosen since it rests on the only other occurrence of the word. (a) Auðligr is recorded in Sturl Hákkv 12/7-8 varat auðligr | allvalds floti ‘the prince’s fleet was not paltry/bare’ i.e. ‘not lacking in fine trappings’. The adj. here may well be a doublet of the i-mutated eyðiligr which appears in Þloft Tøgdr 4/7-8I vasa eyðilig | ǫrbeiðis fǫr ‘not empty/fruitless was the arrow-bidder’s [WARRIOR] expedition’. Auðligr thus seems to derive from the adj. auðr ‘empty, void, desolate’, cf. auðn f. and eyði, n. ‘waste, desert’, and in st. 13 would imply that the king’s death was not without splendour, i.e. that it was dignified by the presence of gilded weapons and by the loyalty of Haraldr’s war-band, both mentioned in the st. Alternatively, the meaning could be ironic: the king’s death was not void, unproductive, for many died with him (so Flo 1902, 131). (b) An alternative interpretation of ll. 1-2, that Haraldr’s death was ‘not fated’, is adopted in Skj B. It is based on the possibility that auðligr is related to the adj. auðinn ‘determined by fate’, auðr m. and auðna f. ‘destiny, fate, fortune’ (cf. skapligr ‘suitable, fit’, related to skap ‘condition’ and skǫp ‘fate’). The skald could perhaps be hinting that the king’s death was due not to an inexorable destiny but to his own stubborn thirst for glory. Compare Note to st. 12/1 ofrausn, including the citation from Þjóðólfr. (c) Auð- could be connected with auðr m. ‘riches, prosperity’ as in auðigr ‘wealthy’ and many compounds, including Arn Þorfdr 21/4 auðgjafi ‘wealth-giver’. Eigi auðligr, hence, could mean ‘not profitable’ (so Fms 12, 166), perhaps referring to death curtailing a relationship of patronage (cf. Glúmr Gráf 11I). (d) Auð- could mean ‘easy/easily’ as in auðkenndr ‘easily recognised’ or auðfenginn ‘easily obtained’. Eigi auðligr would mean in this case ‘not easy’, implying by understatement that Haraldr’s death came about in a bitter or painful way (so Kock, NN §1136). Compare Beowulf 2586, where the OE cognate ēaðe is used in an ironic understatement about the hero’s death, beginning, Ne wæs þæt ēðe [ēaðe] sīð ‘It was no easy journey’ (Beowulf 2008, 88).
konungs ‘king’
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konungr (noun m.; °dat. -i, -s; -ar): king
dauði ‘The death’
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dauði (noun m.; °-a; -ar): death
notes
[3] hlífðut ‘did not protect’: (a) The meaning of oddar hlífðut sœfi hlenna could be straightforwardly, ‘the [Norwegians’] spear-points did not protect the slayer of robbers [Haraldr]’, i.e. the row of spears afforded no defence. (b) On the other hand, hlífðut could well be an ironic understatement: ‘the [enemy] points did not spare him’—indeed, they were the death of him.
kennings
sœfi hlenna.‘the slayer of robbers. ’
= JUST RULER
the slayer of robbers. → JUST RULER
kennings
sœfi hlenna.‘the slayer of robbers. ’
= JUST RULER
the slayer of robbers. → JUST RULER
reknir ‘inlaid’
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2. reka (verb): drive, force
[4] reknir broddar: so FskAˣ, Mork, Flat, Hr, roðnir oddar Kˣ, F, E, J2ˣ, reknir broddan H
broddar ‘spear-points’
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broddr (noun m.; °dat. -i; -ar): point of spear or arrow
[4] reknir broddar: so FskAˣ, Mork, Flat, Hr, roðnir oddar Kˣ, F, E, J2ˣ, reknir broddan H
Heldr ‘rather’
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heldr (adv.): rather
køru ‘chose’
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kjósa (verb): choose
meir ‘much’
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meiri (adj. comp.; °meiran; superl. mestr): more, most
[5] meir ins: om. Hr; meir: menn Flat, menn meirr H
milda ‘gracious’
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mildr (adj.; °compar. -ri/-ari, superl. -astr): mild, gentle, gracious, generous
[5] milda: mæra E, J2ˣ, FskAˣ
mildings ‘prince’
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mildingr (noun m.; °-s): ruler, generous one
an ‘than’
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2. an (conj.): than
grið ‘quarter’
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grið (noun n.): truce
vildi ‘wishing’
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vilja (verb): want, intend
of ‘beside’
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3. of (prep.): around, from; too
folksnaran ‘the battle-swift’
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folksnarr (adj.): [battle-swift]
fylki ‘commander’
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fylkir (noun m.): leader
falla ‘to fall’
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falla (verb): fall
liðsmenn ‘the liegemen’
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liðsmaðr (noun m.): liegeman
allir ‘All’
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allr (adj.): all
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Once Haraldr Sigurðarson has fallen, the Engl. Harold Godwineson (Haraldr Guðinason) offers peace to his brother Tostig (Tósti) and the surviving Norwegians, but all declare they would rather fall one on top of another than make peace with the English, and they raise a battle-cry, which leads into the second phase of fighting.
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