Arn Hryn 12^II

Skjǫldungr, fórt of óþjóð eldi;
auðit vas þá flotnum dauða;
hæstan kynduð, hlenna þrýstir,
hyrjar ljóma sunnr at Jómi.
Hvergi þorði hallir varða
heiðit folk í virki breiðu;
buðlungr, unnuð borgarmǫnnum
bjǫrtum eldi stalldræp hjǫrtu.

Skjǫldungr, fórt eldi of óþjóð; þá vas dauða auðit flotnum; {þrýstir hlenna}, kynduð hæstan ljóma hyrjar sunnr at Jómi. Heiðit folk þorði hvergi varða hallir í breiðu virki; buðlungr, unnuð borgarmǫnnum stalldræp hjǫrtu bjǫrtum eldi.

King, you went with flame through the evil tribe; then death was fated to men; {crusher of thieves} [JUST RULER], you kindled a towering blaze of fire south in Wollin. The heathen host dared not at all to defend halls in the broad stronghold; royal one, you caused terror-struck hearts in the townsmen, by means of bright flame.

Mss: Kˣ(509v), 39(15vb), F(39vb), E(7r), J2ˣ(249r) (Hkr); R(39r), Tˣ(41r), B(7r), 744ˣ(46v-47r), C(8v) (SnE, ll. 1-4)

Readings: [1] Skjǫldungr: Mildingr R, Tˣ, C, ‘Milldinn[...]’ B, Mildingr 744ˣ;    fórt (‘fortu’): fór R, Tˣ, C, ‘[...]ortu’ B, fórtu 744ˣ;    óþjóð eldi: ‘þ[...]de’ B, óþjóð eldi 744ˣ    [2] vas: varð R, Tˣ, B, C;    dauða: ‘da[...]’ B, dauða 744ˣ    [3] hæstan: ‘[...]’ B, ‘…..’ 744ˣ, ‘hesta’ C;    þrýstir: þrýsti 39, þreytir J2ˣ    [4] hyrjar ljóma: ‘[...]oma’ B, hyrjar ljóma 744ˣ;    at: so all others, á Kˣ;    Jómi: ‘romí’ C    [8] stalldræp hjǫrtu: so F, E, J2ˣ, stall hjǫrtu Kˣ, ‘stall drap hiart(az)’(?) 39

Editions: Skj AI, 335-6, Skj BI, 309, Skald I, 157; Hkr 1893-1901, III, 44, ÍF 28, 39-40, Hkr 1991, 582 (Mgóð ch. 24), F 1871, 181, E 1916, 22; SnE 1848-87, I, 514-15, II, 546, 605, SnE 1931, 180, SnE 1998, I, 100; Whaley 1998, 166-8.

Context: In Hkr, the st. is paraphrased and then cited. In SnE, Snorri is listing poetic terms which can be applied equally to emperor, king or jarl, here mildingr ‘generous one’.

Notes: [1-4]: In SnE the helmingr is introduced, Mildingr, sem Markús kvað ‘Mildingr, as Markús said’. — [1] skjǫldungr ‘king’: Lit.’ descendant of Skjǫldr’: Skjǫldungr is assumed here to be the primary reading, and mildingr the secondary one, since mildingr could have entered the SnE tradition through influence of the similar l. mildingr fór of munka veldi lit. ‘the generous one went through the monks’ empire’ in Mark Eirdr 10/5, 6. — [4] at Jómi ‘in Wollin’: The variant at, being the agreement of all mss except Kˣ, and the reading of H and Hr in Arn Magndr 8/3 at Jómi, is likely to be the skald’s original. ON Jóm or Jómsborg is identified with present-day Wollin, set on an island at the mouth of the Oder. — [7, 8] unnuð borgarmǫnnum stalldræp hjǫrtu ‘you caused terror-struck hearts in the townsmen’: The variant stalldræp hjǫrtu is certainly correct, for the Kˣ reading, stall hjǫrtu, is metrically deficient. Vinna e-m stalldræpt hjǫrtu is probably a secondary variant of the phrase hjarta drepr stall ‘the heart is stopped/struck (with terror)’ which Arnórr uses in Þorfdr 7 (see Note to ll. 5 and 8). Halldór Halldórsson (1965, 41 and 62) suggests that the adj. stalldræpr was formed by Arnórr himself. It otherwise only occurs in RvHbreiðm Hl 30/4^III, composed a century later.

References

1. Bibliography
2. SnE 1848-87 = Snorri Sturluson. 1848-87. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar: Edda Snorronis Sturlaei. Ed. Jón Sigurðsson et al. 3 vols. Copenhagen: Legatum Arnamagnaeanum. Rpt. Osnabrück: Zeller, 1966.
3. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. Halldór Halldórsson. 1965. ‘Hjarta drepr stall and some other Icelandic Metaphorical Phrases Pertaining to the Heart and Courage’. Íslenzk tunga 6, 38-70.
5. Whaley, Diana, ed. and trans. 1998. The Poetry of Arnórr jarlaskáld: An Edition and Study. Westfield Publications in Medieval Studies 8. Turnhout: Brepols.
6. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
7. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
8. Hkr 1991 = Bergljót S. Kristjánsdóttir et al., eds. 1991. Heimskringla. 3 vols. Reykjavík: Mál og menning.
9. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
10. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
11. E 1916 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1916. Eirspennill: AM 47 fol. Nóregs konunga sǫgur: Magnús góði – Hákon gamli. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske historiske kildeskriftskommission.
12. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
13. Internal references
14. Edith Marold 2017, ‘Snorra Edda (Prologue, Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál)’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols [check printed volume for citation].
15. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Heimskringla’ 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, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=4> (accessed 26 April 2024)
16. Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Arnórr jarlaskáld Þórðarson, Magnússdrápa 8’ 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, p. 217.
17. Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Arnórr jarlaskáld Þórðarson, Þorfinnsdrápa 7’ 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. 237-8.
18. Jayne Carroll (ed.) 2009, ‘Markús Skeggjason, Eiríksdrápa 10’ 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, p. 442.
19. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Rǫgnvaldr jarl and Hallr Þórarinsson, Háttalykill 30’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1039.