Arn Hryn 3II
Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Arnórr jarlaskáld Þórðarson, Hrynhenda, Magnússdrápa 3’ 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. 185-6.
Magnús ‘Magnús’
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2. Magnús (noun m.): Magnús
til ‘’
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til (prep.): to
máttigs ‘a mighty’
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máttigr (adj.; °compar. -ari/-ri, superl. -astr): mighty
notes
[1] máttigs óðar ‘a mighty poem’: Kreutzer’s survey (1977, 239) of epithets used by skalds to describe their work includes only one other instance of a ‘strong, mighty poem’, Jór Send 5/1, 2I ramman hróðr ‘mighty praise-poem’.
óðar ‘poem’
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1. óðr (noun m.): poem
notes
[1] máttigs óðar ‘a mighty poem’: Kreutzer’s survey (1977, 239) of epithets used by skalds to describe their work includes only one other instance of a ‘strong, mighty poem’, Jór Send 5/1, 2I ramman hróðr ‘mighty praise-poem’.
manngi ‘no’
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manngi (pron.): no
veit ‘know’
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1. vita (verb): know
ek ‘I’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
fremra ‘more outstanding’
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framr (adj.; °compar. framari/fremri, superl. framastr/fremstr): outstanding, foremost
annan ‘other’
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1. annarr (pron.; °f. ǫnnur, n. annat; pl. aðrir): (an)other, second
yppa ‘to raise up’
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yppa (verb): extol, lift up
rôðumk ‘I mean’
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ráða (verb): advise, rule, interpret, decide
[3] rôðumk: ‘raduzt’ Flat, rðum W(115)
yðru ‘your’
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yðvarr (pron.; °f. yður; pl. yðrir): your
kappi ‘prowess’
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1. kappi (noun m.; °-a; -ar): champion
Jóta ‘of the Jótar’
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Jóti (noun m.; °; -ar): one of the Jótar
kennings
gramr Jóta,‘prince of the Jótar, ’
= DANISH KING = Magnús
prince of the Jótar, → DANISH KING = Magnús
notes
[4, 5] gramr Jóta; dróttinn Hǫrða ‘prince of the Jótar [DANISH KING = Magnús]; lord of the Hǫrðar [NORWEGIAN KING = Magnús]’: Fittingly for the opening of an encomium, Magnús’s legitimate rule of Denmark and Norway is proclaimed; cf. references to lordship of Hordaland (Hǫrðaland) in Arn Magndr 1, 10, 16, of Møre (Mœrr) in Hryn 8 and of Sogn in Arn Magndr 6.
gramr ‘prince’
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1. gramr (noun m.): ruler
kennings
gramr Jóta,‘prince of the Jótar, ’
= DANISH KING = Magnús
prince of the Jótar, → DANISH KING = Magnús
notes
[4, 5] gramr Jóta; dróttinn Hǫrða ‘prince of the Jótar [DANISH KING = Magnús]; lord of the Hǫrðar [NORWEGIAN KING = Magnús]’: Fittingly for the opening of an encomium, Magnús’s legitimate rule of Denmark and Norway is proclaimed; cf. references to lordship of Hordaland (Hǫrðaland) in Arn Magndr 1, 10, 16, of Møre (Mœrr) in Hryn 8 and of Sogn in Arn Magndr 6.
í ‘in’
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í (prep.): in, into
notes
[4] í fljótu kvæði ‘in a swift poem’: Kreutzer (1977, 58-9) notes that Arnórr is the first skald to use the word kvæði (here and in st. 14 below), older skalds having preferred the more elevated, specifically poetic, bragr and óðr. The epithet fljótr ‘swift’ would be apt if hrynhent poetry had a faster tempo than dróttkvætt (Heusler 1925-9, I, 304), or it could refer to its tendency to fall into a regular trochaic pulse. Kreutzer (1977, 206) seems instead to link this with the comments of other (mainly later) skalds on their swiftness in composing, e.g. Egill in Arkv 1V.
kvæði ‘poem’
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kvæði (noun n.; °-s; -): poem
notes
[4] í fljótu kvæði ‘in a swift poem’: Kreutzer (1977, 58-9) notes that Arnórr is the first skald to use the word kvæði (here and in st. 14 below), older skalds having preferred the more elevated, specifically poetic, bragr and óðr. The epithet fljótr ‘swift’ would be apt if hrynhent poetry had a faster tempo than dróttkvætt (Heusler 1925-9, I, 304), or it could refer to its tendency to fall into a regular trochaic pulse. Kreutzer (1977, 206) seems instead to link this with the comments of other (mainly later) skalds on their swiftness in composing, e.g. Egill in Arkv 1V.
notes
[4] í fljótu kvæði ‘in a swift poem’: Kreutzer (1977, 58-9) notes that Arnórr is the first skald to use the word kvæði (here and in st. 14 below), older skalds having preferred the more elevated, specifically poetic, bragr and óðr. The epithet fljótr ‘swift’ would be apt if hrynhent poetry had a faster tempo than dróttkvætt (Heusler 1925-9, I, 304), or it could refer to its tendency to fall into a regular trochaic pulse. Kreutzer (1977, 206) seems instead to link this with the comments of other (mainly later) skalds on their swiftness in composing, e.g. Egill in Arkv 1V.
Haukr ‘hawk’
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1. haukr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-; -ar): hawk
notes
[5] estu réttr haukr ‘you are a just hawk’: A rare instance of a metaphor that is not a kenning. The hawk image presumably conveys the hero’s boldness (see Whaley 1998, 147-8 and references there). Cf. the simile in st. 16 and other ‘hawk’ metaphors in ÞjóðA Lv 10 and Anon (MErl) l. 7.
réttr ‘a just’
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3. réttr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): right, straight, direct
notes
[5] estu réttr haukr ‘you are a just hawk’: A rare instance of a metaphor that is not a kenning. The hawk image presumably conveys the hero’s boldness (see Whaley 1998, 147-8 and references there). Cf. the simile in st. 16 and other ‘hawk’ metaphors in ÞjóðA Lv 10 and Anon (MErl) l. 7.
estu ‘You are’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
notes
[5] estu réttr haukr ‘you are a just hawk’: A rare instance of a metaphor that is not a kenning. The hawk image presumably conveys the hero’s boldness (see Whaley 1998, 147-8 and references there). Cf. the simile in st. 16 and other ‘hawk’ metaphors in ÞjóðA Lv 10 and Anon (MErl) l. 7.
Hǫrða ‘of the Hǫrðar’
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Hǫrðar (noun m.): the Hǫrðar
kennings
dróttinn Hǫrða;‘lord of the Hǫrðar; ’
= NORWEGIAN KING = Magnús
lord of the Hǫrðar; → NORWEGIAN KING = Magnús
notes
[4, 5] gramr Jóta; dróttinn Hǫrða ‘prince of the Jótar [DANISH KING = Magnús]; lord of the Hǫrðar [NORWEGIAN KING = Magnús]’: Fittingly for the opening of an encomium, Magnús’s legitimate rule of Denmark and Norway is proclaimed; cf. references to lordship of Hordaland (Hǫrðaland) in Arn Magndr 1, 10, 16, of Møre (Mœrr) in Hryn 8 and of Sogn in Arn Magndr 6.
dróttinn ‘lord’
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dróttinn (noun m.; °dróttins, dat. dróttni (drottini [$1049$]); dróttnar): lord, master
kennings
dróttinn Hǫrða;‘lord of the Hǫrðar; ’
= NORWEGIAN KING = Magnús
lord of the Hǫrðar; → NORWEGIAN KING = Magnús
notes
[4, 5] gramr Jóta; dróttinn Hǫrða ‘prince of the Jótar [DANISH KING = Magnús]; lord of the Hǫrðar [NORWEGIAN KING = Magnús]’: Fittingly for the opening of an encomium, Magnús’s legitimate rule of Denmark and Norway is proclaimed; cf. references to lordship of Hordaland (Hǫrðaland) in Arn Magndr 1, 10, 16, of Møre (Mœrr) in Hryn 8 and of Sogn in Arn Magndr 6.
hverr ‘every’
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2. hverr (pron.): who, whom, each, every
gramr ‘prince’
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1. gramr (noun m.): ruler
es ‘is’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
þér ‘you’
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þú (pron.; °gen. þín, dat. þér, acc. þik): you
notes
[6] stóru ‘far’: Stóru (verri) ‘far (below you)’, lit. ‘(worse) by much’, is a n. dat. sg. indicating degree of comparison, cf., e.g., litlu síðarr ‘a little later’, miklu meira ‘much more’.
verri ‘below’
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verri (adj. comp.): worse, worst
meiri ‘greater’
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meiri (adj. comp.; °meiran; superl. mestr): more, most
verði ‘be’
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1. verða (verb): become, be
an ‘than’
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2. an (conj.): than
þeira ‘theirs’
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hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...
þrifnuðr ‘success’
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þrifnuðr (noun m.; °þrifnaðar, dat. þrifnaði): prosperity
[8] þrifnuðr: ‘þrif naudr’ Flat
notes
[8] allr ‘whole’: Construed here with þrifnuðr ‘success’ (l. 8). It could alternatively qualify himinn (l. 8), hence ‘whole sky’, but the interruption of attributive adj. and noun by a conj. would be exceptional in Arnórr’s poetry.
notes
[8] unz himinn rifnar ‘until the sky tears apart’: A variant of a formula also found on Swed. rune-stones, e.g. (normalised) jǫrð skal rifna ok upphiminn ‘the earth and the upper heaven shall tear apart’ on the early C11th Skarpåker stone (Jansson 1977, 142-4; Run Sö154VI).
himinn ‘the sky’
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himinn (noun m.; °himins, dat. himni; himnar): heaven, sky
[8] himinn: heimr Flat, himininn H, Hr
notes
[8] unz himinn rifnar ‘until the sky tears apart’: A variant of a formula also found on Swed. rune-stones, e.g. (normalised) jǫrð skal rifna ok upphiminn ‘the earth and the upper heaven shall tear apart’ on the early C11th Skarpåker stone (Jansson 1977, 142-4; Run Sö154VI).
rifnar ‘tears apart’
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rifna (verb): to tear apart
notes
[8] unz himinn rifnar ‘until the sky tears apart’: A variant of a formula also found on Swed. rune-stones, e.g. (normalised) jǫrð skal rifna ok upphiminn ‘the earth and the upper heaven shall tear apart’ on the early C11th Skarpåker stone (Jansson 1977, 142-4; Run Sö154VI).
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
Magnús, hear a mighty poem; I know no other [to be] more outstanding; I mean to raise up your prowess, prince of the Jótar [DANISH KING = Magnús], in a swift poem. You are a just hawk, lord of the Hǫrðar [NORWEGIAN KING = Magnús]; every prince is far below you [lit. worse by much than you]; may your whole success be greater than theirs, until the sky tears apart.
In Mork, H-Hr and Flat, the st. is quoted within the anecdote about Arnórr’s audience with Magnús and Haraldr of Norway (see Introduction). In TGT ll. 3-4 are cited to exemplify change of number as a form of solecism, and are followed by an explanation that pl. is here used in place of sg. In FoGT the same ll. are cited to illustrate lepos—the honorific use of the pl., here yðru ‘your’, to compliment a man in authority; it is explained that using the pl. for a common man is a solecism.
[1]: A classic instance of the skald’s ‘bid/call for a hearing’ (see Wood 1960).
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