Cookies on our website

We use cookies on this website, mainly to provide a secure browsing experience but also to collect statistics on how the website is used. You can find out more about the cookies we set, the information we store and how we use it on the cookies page.

Continue

skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

Menu Search

Arn Hardr 16II

Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Arnórr jarlaskáld Þórðarson, Haraldsdrápa 16’ 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. 278-9.

Arnórr jarlaskáld ÞórðarsonHaraldsdrápa
151617

Haraldr ‘Haraldr’

(not checked:)
Haraldr (noun m.): Haraldr

Close

vissi ‘knew’

(not checked:)
1. vita (verb): know

Close

hverjum ‘than any’

(not checked:)
2. hverr (pron.): who, whom, each, every

Close

harðgeðr ‘Harsh-minded’

(not checked:)
harðgeðr (adj.): hard-minded

Close

und ‘under’

(not checked:)
3. und (prep.): under, underneath

Close

Miðgarði ‘Miðgarðr’

(not checked:)
miðgarðr (noun m.): Miðgarðr

notes

[2] Miðgarði: Lit. ‘the middle enclosure’; in Norse cosmography, the home of men, which lies between Ásgarðr, the realm of the gods, and Niflheim, the dark abode of Hel or the dead. The juxtaposition of this phrase with a reference to heaven (see next Note) might suggest that some mythological resonance is active here (cf. Note to Arn Magndr 10/7 Hel). Otherwise, it could be taken simply as ‘on earth’; cf. Þfagr Sveinn 7/2 and Note.

Close

dǫglingr ‘the monarch’

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

Close

réð ‘commanded’

(not checked:)
ráða (verb): advise, rule, interpret, decide

Close

til ‘till’

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

Close

dauða ‘death’

(not checked:)
dauði (noun m.; °-a; -ar): death

Close

slíkri ‘such’

(not checked:)
2. slíkr (adj.): such

Close

gram ‘lord’

(not checked:)
1. gramr (noun m.): ruler

Close

ríkra ‘mightier’

(not checked:)
ríkr (adj.): mighty, powerful, rich

[4] ríkra: ríkar Hr

Close

Hefr ‘has’

(not checked:)
hafa (verb): have

Close

afreka ‘the hero’

(not checked:)
afreki (noun m.): [hero]

Close

in* ‘on’

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

[5] in*: ins all

notes

[5, 8] heilǫg fold in* øfra ‘the holy land on high [lit. the holy, higher land]’: There is no m. or n. noun which ‘ens ofra’ (ins øfra ‘of the higher’) in the mss could qualify. (a) The emendation produces what seems a natural expression for ‘heaven’, and it is supported by the occurrence of fold ‘land, earth’ in later heaven-kennings: fold éls ‘storm’s ground’ (Anon Pl 26/5, 7VII) and skýfold ‘cloud-land’ (Anon Mgr 43/6VII). In øfra is also partially paralleled by ofar lǫndum meaning ‘in heaven’ in a similar context in Hfr ErfÓl 27/8I. (b) Kock retains the ms. reading, taking heilǫg fold ens øfra to mean ‘the holy land of the High One (God)’ (NN §842), but it seems unlikely that a mere comparative would be applied to God, and there is no evidence for this. (c) Finnur Jónsson in Skj B emends to et øfra, which he takes with heilǫg fold in the sense ‘up there’ (deroppe). Adverbial it øfra most usually means ‘by the inland route’ and is accompanied by a verb of motion and some indication of destination, but ‘up there, in the air’ does find some support, albeit slight: see Fritzner: efri 1a.

Close

øfra ‘high’

[5] øfra: ǫrva Flat

notes

[5, 8] heilǫg fold in* øfra ‘the holy land on high [lit. the holy, higher land]’: There is no m. or n. noun which ‘ens ofra’ (ins øfra ‘of the higher’) in the mss could qualify. (a) The emendation produces what seems a natural expression for ‘heaven’, and it is supported by the occurrence of fold ‘land, earth’ in later heaven-kennings: fold éls ‘storm’s ground’ (Anon Pl 26/5, 7VII) and skýfold ‘cloud-land’ (Anon Mgr 43/6VII). In øfra is also partially paralleled by ofar lǫndum meaning ‘in heaven’ in a similar context in Hfr ErfÓl 27/8I. (b) Kock retains the ms. reading, taking heilǫg fold ens øfra to mean ‘the holy land of the High One (God)’ (NN §842), but it seems unlikely that a mere comparative would be applied to God, and there is no evidence for this. (c) Finnur Jónsson in Skj B emends to et øfra, which he takes with heilǫg fold in the sense ‘up there’ (deroppe). Adverbial it øfra most usually means ‘by the inland route’ and is accompanied by a verb of motion and some indication of destination, but ‘up there, in the air’ does find some support, albeit slight: see Fritzner: efri 1a.

Close

ætt ‘of men’

(not checked:)
1. ætt (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): family < ættstýrandi (noun m.)

[6] ætt‑: átt‑ H, Hr

notes

[6] ættstýrǫndum ‘ruler of men’: Lit. ‘rulers of generations’ or ‘rulers among their kin’. This dat. pl. form is difficult to place in the syntax of the helmingr, but since it could make no sense with the first cl. it must belong with the second, dýrri, frægri hilmir hnígrat til moldar ‘(no) prince more precious, more renowned, will sink to the soil’. (a) It is taken here to be a grammatical pl. used for sg., cf. Arn Hryn 19/1 and Note. In the present context the pl. form affords no metrical advantage, so the motivation may be Arnórr’s desire to flatter. Ættstýrǫndum, interpreted thus, fits very well as a dat. of comparison referring to Haraldr in the sentence ‘no prince more precious, more renowned than that ruler of men’. (b) Ættstýrǫndum could alternatively be construed, as by Kock, as a loosely used dat. meaning ‘among rulers of men’ (NN §842). There is no trace of such a usage among Nygaard’s entries for the dat. case (NS §§100-20), but since the use of the dat. is more flexible in skaldic verse than in prose, this interpretation may be considered possible.

Close

stýrǫndum ‘than that ruler’

(not checked:)
stýrandi (noun m.; °-a; -endr): ruler, steerer < ættstýrandi (noun m.)

notes

[6] ættstýrǫndum ‘ruler of men’: Lit. ‘rulers of generations’ or ‘rulers among their kin’. This dat. pl. form is difficult to place in the syntax of the helmingr, but since it could make no sense with the first cl. it must belong with the second, dýrri, frægri hilmir hnígrat til moldar ‘(no) prince more precious, more renowned, will sink to the soil’. (a) It is taken here to be a grammatical pl. used for sg., cf. Arn Hryn 19/1 and Note. In the present context the pl. form affords no metrical advantage, so the motivation may be Arnórr’s desire to flatter. Ættstýrǫndum, interpreted thus, fits very well as a dat. of comparison referring to Haraldr in the sentence ‘no prince more precious, more renowned than that ruler of men’. (b) Ættstýrǫndum could alternatively be construed, as by Kock, as a loosely used dat. meaning ‘among rulers of men’ (NN §842). There is no trace of such a usage among Nygaard’s entries for the dat. case (NS §§100-20), but since the use of the dat. is more flexible in skaldic verse than in prose, this interpretation may be considered possible.

Close

dýrri ‘more precious’

(not checked:)
dýrr (adj.; °compar. -ri/-ari, superl. -str/-astr): precious

[6] dýrri: so H, Hr, dýri Mork, dýrum Flat

notes

[6, 7] frægri; dýrri ‘more renowned; more precious’: These comp. adjectives must be grammatically parallel, qualifying hilmir ‘prince’, the only m. nom. sg. noun in the helmingr. Dýrri cannot qualify afreka ‘hero’, as seemingly assumed in Skj B, since the m. acc. sg. comp. form would be dýrra.

Close

hnígrat ‘will sink’

(not checked:)
hníga (verb): sink, fall

[7] hnígrat: hingað Flat, ‘hní gratt’ or ‘huí gratt’ Hr

Close

hilmir ‘prince’

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

Close

frægri ‘more renowned’

(not checked:)
frægr (adj.; °-jan/-an; compar. -ri, superl. -jastr/-astr/-str): famous, renowned

notes

[6, 7] frægri; dýrri ‘more renowned; more precious’: These comp. adjectives must be grammatically parallel, qualifying hilmir ‘prince’, the only m. nom. sg. noun in the helmingr. Dýrri cannot qualify afreka ‘hero’, as seemingly assumed in Skj B, since the m. acc. sg. comp. form would be dýrra.

Close

heilǫg ‘The holy’

(not checked:)
heilagr (adj.; °helgan; compar. -ari, superl. -astr): holy, sacred

notes

[5, 8] heilǫg fold in* øfra ‘the holy land on high [lit. the holy, higher land]’: There is no m. or n. noun which ‘ens ofra’ (ins øfra ‘of the higher’) in the mss could qualify. (a) The emendation produces what seems a natural expression for ‘heaven’, and it is supported by the occurrence of fold ‘land, earth’ in later heaven-kennings: fold éls ‘storm’s ground’ (Anon Pl 26/5, 7VII) and skýfold ‘cloud-land’ (Anon Mgr 43/6VII). In øfra is also partially paralleled by ofar lǫndum meaning ‘in heaven’ in a similar context in Hfr ErfÓl 27/8I. (b) Kock retains the ms. reading, taking heilǫg fold ens øfra to mean ‘the holy land of the High One (God)’ (NN §842), but it seems unlikely that a mere comparative would be applied to God, and there is no evidence for this. (c) Finnur Jónsson in Skj B emends to et øfra, which he takes with heilǫg fold in the sense ‘up there’ (deroppe). Adverbial it øfra most usually means ‘by the inland route’ and is accompanied by a verb of motion and some indication of destination, but ‘up there, in the air’ does find some support, albeit slight: see Fritzner: efri 1a.

Close

fold ‘land’

(not checked:)
fold (noun f.): land

notes

[5, 8] heilǫg fold in* øfra ‘the holy land on high [lit. the holy, higher land]’: There is no m. or n. noun which ‘ens ofra’ (ins øfra ‘of the higher’) in the mss could qualify. (a) The emendation produces what seems a natural expression for ‘heaven’, and it is supported by the occurrence of fold ‘land, earth’ in later heaven-kennings: fold éls ‘storm’s ground’ (Anon Pl 26/5, 7VII) and skýfold ‘cloud-land’ (Anon Mgr 43/6VII). In øfra is also partially paralleled by ofar lǫndum meaning ‘in heaven’ in a similar context in Hfr ErfÓl 27/8I. (b) Kock retains the ms. reading, taking heilǫg fold ens øfra to mean ‘the holy land of the High One (God)’ (NN §842), but it seems unlikely that a mere comparative would be applied to God, and there is no evidence for this. (c) Finnur Jónsson in Skj B emends to et øfra, which he takes with heilǫg fold in the sense ‘up there’ (deroppe). Adverbial it øfra most usually means ‘by the inland route’ and is accompanied by a verb of motion and some indication of destination, but ‘up there, in the air’ does find some support, albeit slight: see Fritzner: efri 1a.

Close

til ‘to’

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

Close

moldar ‘the soil’

(not checked:)
mold (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -u; -ir): earth, soil

Close

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

As for sts 14 and 15.

Close

Log in

This service is only available to members of the relevant projects, and to purchasers of the skaldic volumes published by Brepols.
This service uses cookies. By logging in you agree to the use of cookies on your browser.

Close

Stanza/chapter/text segment

Use the buttons at the top of the page to navigate between stanzas in a poem.

Information tab

Interactive tab

The text and translation are given here, with buttons to toggle whether the text is shown in the verse order or prose word order. Clicking on indiviudal words gives dictionary links, variant readings, kennings and notes, where relevant.

Full text tab

This is the text of the edition in a similar format to how the edition appears in the printed volumes.

Chapter/text segment

This view is also used for chapters and other text segments. Not all the headings shown are relevant to such sections.