Arn Hryn 5^II

Rauðar bôruð randir síðan,
rimmu Yggr, of sœnskar byggðir;
eigi gaztu liðskost lágan;
landsfolk sótti þér til handa.
Austan þurðuð, ulfa ferðar
ǫldum kunnr, með hvíta skjǫldu,
tungurjóðr, til tírarþinga
teknir menn ok dǫrr in reknu.

Síðan bôruð rauðar randir, {Yggr rimmu}, of sœnskar byggðir; eigi gaztu lágan liðskost; landsfolk sótti til handa þér. {Tungurjóðr ferðar ulfa, kunnr ǫldum}, þurðuð austan, menn teknir til tírarþinga, með hvíta skjǫldu ok in reknu dǫrr.

Next you carried red shields, {Yggr <= Óðinn> of battle} [WARRIOR], through Swedish settlements; you did not gain a poor pick of troops; the men of the land put themselves in your hands. {Tongue-reddener of the pack of wolves, renowned to peoples} [WARRIOR], you swept from the east, men chosen for glorious encounters, with white shields and inlaid spears.

Mss: Kˣ(495v), 39(12va), F(37rb), E(3r), J2ˣ(239v-240r) (Hkr); Holm2(73r), 972ˣ(578va), 325VI(41ra), 73aˣ(213r), Holm4(68va), 325VII(41r), 325V(88ra), 61(129va), Bb(205ra), Tóm(160r) (ÓH); Hr(3vb) (H-Hr)

Readings: [1] síðan: síðar 61    [2] rimmu: ‘rymmu’ J2ˣ, runnar 73aˣ;    Yggr: ‘ygr’ F, 325VI, Holm4, ‘ygs’ Tóm;    of (‘um’): í E, J2ˣ, Holm2, 972ˣ, 325VI, 73aˣ, Holm4, 325VII, 325V, 61, Bb, Tóm, Hr;    sœnskar: ‘sonskar’ J2ˣ, þrœnskar 73aˣ    [3] liðskost: liðkost Holm4, 61, Tóm, ‘lidskot’ Bb    [4] landsfolk: landfolk F, Holm2, 61, Bb, land her 325VI, 73aˣ, Hr    [5] þurðuð (‘þurþut’): þurðusk J2ˣ, þorðut 73aˣ, 325VII, 325V, 61, Hr, ‘þyrdvt’ Bb;    ulfa: umla Tóm;    ferðar: skerðir 61, ferðir Bb    [6] ǫldum: ‘olldu’ 61;    með: yfir 61, yfir 61, við Hr;    skjǫldu: ‘sceylldu’(?) Holm2    [7] tungu‑: tuggu‑ 325V;    til: með 325VI, 73aˣ, yfir 61;    tírar‑: ‘tirrar’ Bb;    ‑þinga: þingum 325VI, 73aˣ, unga 325VII, Tóm, ungrar 61    [8] ok: með Holm4, en 61;    reknu: rekna 61

Editions: Skj AI, 333-4, Skj BI, 307, Skald I, 156, NN §816 anm. 1, 1133; Hkr 1893-1901, III, 8, ÍF 28, 8, Hkr 1991, 560 (Mgóð ch. 2), F 1871, 169; ÓH 1941, I, 615 (ch. 252); Fms 6, 23 (Mgóð ch. 10), Fms 12, 127; Whaley 1998, 152-5.

Context: In ÓH and Hkr, Snorri prefaces the st. by a comment that Magnús and his force went overland to Hälsingland (Helsingjaland). In H-Hr, the st. follows Hryn 4, separated only by a remark on the support Magnús won in Sweden.

Notes: [All]: The source poem is named as (dat. sg. following í) ‘hermandini’ (variants ‘hryniandini’, ‘hryneande’) in ÓH and as ‘hrunhendu’ in Hr. — [3-4]: Arnórr’s reference to the Swedes’ willing support of Magnús is illuminated by Sigv Ást 1-3^I, in which the skald praises Ástríðr, widow of Óláfr helgi, for generously helping her stepson Magnús to win Norway. She put his case to a great force of Swedes, assembled at Hangrar (unidentified p. n.), near Sigtuna (Sigtún), and (presumably) won them over. — [5] þurðuð ‘you swept’: 2nd pers. pl. pret. indic. of þyrja. As the only verb in the helmingr, this must be construed as predicate to nom. pl. teknir menn ‘men chosen’ (l. 8, see Note below). — [7] til tírarþinga ‘for glorious encounters’: (a) Although similar in construction to a kenning, tírarþing is not a true kenning. Þing can stand alone in the sense ‘battle’ (as in Sigv Víkv 11/3^I, the only sure example), and tírar ‘of glory’ has here an adjectival rather than substantival role. (b) The variant tirrar is secondary, since preserved only in the unreliable Bb, but it could be gen. sg. of a rare word for ‘sword’ (see Whaley 1998, 154). — [8] menn teknir ‘men chosen’: No recorded use of taka/tekinn, normally ‘take/taken’ suits the present context, but two meanings of taka til are possible if teknir til tírarþinga are construed together. (a) ‘Choose, elect’ occurs, completed either by the name of a position such as konungs ‘king’ or frillu ‘mistress’, by a more abstract term such as gerðar ‘arbitration’, or by an at-cl. (Fritzner: taka til 9). This seems to give the best sense in the present context, although it is not specified by whom Magnús and company are ‘chosen’: presumably God or an abstract destiny. This is Finnur Jónsson’s interpretation in Skj B. Kock accepts the sense ‘chosen’ for teknir, but does not construe it with til tírarþinga, which he takes rather with þurðu ‘rushed’ (NN §1133). (b) Teknir til tírarþinga could alternatively mean ‘famed for glorious encounters’, since taka e-n, e-s til e-s can refer to reputation, as in Hann var til þess tekinn, at honum var verra til hjóna en ǫðrum mǫnnum ‘He had the reputation of being worse off for servants than others’, Grettis saga (Gr, ch. 30, ÍF 7, 101, quoted in Fritzner: taka til 10).

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
3. Fms = Sveinbjörn Egilsson et al., eds. 1825-37. Fornmanna sögur eptir gömlum handritum útgefnar að tilhlutun hins norræna fornfræða fèlags. 12 vols. Copenhagen: Popp.
4. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
6. Whaley, Diana, ed. and trans. 1998. The Poetry of Arnórr jarlaskáld: An Edition and Study. Westfield Publications in Medieval Studies 8. Turnhout: Brepols.
7. Fritzner = Fritzner, Johan. 1883-96. Ordbog over det gamle norske sprog. 3 vols. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske forlagsforening. 4th edn. Rpt. 1973. Oslo etc.: Universitetsforlaget.
8. ÓH 1941 = Johnsen, Oscar Albert and Jón Helgason, eds. 1941. Saga Óláfs konungs hins helga: Den store saga om Olav den hellige efter pergamenthåndskrift i Kungliga biblioteket i Stockholm nr. 2 4^to med varianter fra andre håndskrifter. 2 vols. Det norske historiske kildeskriftfond skrifter 53. Oslo: Dybwad.
9. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
10. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
11. Hkr 1991 = Bergljót S. Kristjánsdóttir et al., eds. 1991. Heimskringla. 3 vols. Reykjavík: Mál og menning.
12. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
13. ÍF 7 = Grettis saga Ásmundarsonar. Ed. Guðni Jónsson. 1936.
14. Internal references
15. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Óláfs saga helga’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=53> (accessed 19 April 2024)
16. 2022, ‘ Anonymous, Grettis saga Ásmundarsonar’ in Margaret Clunies Ross, Kari Ellen Gade and Tarrin Wills (eds), Poetry in Sagas of Icelanders. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 5. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 640-806. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=70> (accessed 19 April 2024)
17. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Hulda-Hrokkinskinna’ 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=84> (accessed 19 April 2024)
18. Judith Jesch (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Poem about Queen Ástríðr 1’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 646.
19. Judith Jesch (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Víkingarvísur 11’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 549.