Arn Magndr 19^II

Ungr skjǫldungr stígr aldri
jafnmildr á við skildan
(þess vas grams) und gǫmlum
(gnóg rausn) Ymis hausi.

Jafnmildr ungr skjǫldungr stígr aldri und {gǫmlum hausi Ymis} á skildan við; rausn þess grams vas gnóg.

Never beneath {the ancient skull of Ymir <giant>} [SKY/HEAVEN] will an equally bounteous young king step aboard a shield-hung vessel; the magnificence of that lord was ample.

Mss: R(26r), Tˣ(26v), W(56), U(29r), B(4v), 744ˣ(28r) (SnE); 2368ˣ(93), 743ˣ(73v) (LaufE)

Readings: [1] Ungr: ‘O’gr’ Tˣ, Engr U;    stígr: stíg Tˣ, sitr U    [2] skildan: so U, skjaldar R, W, B, 743ˣ, ‘scildar’ Tˣ, skjalda 2368ˣ    [3] þess: ‘[...]’ B, þess 744ˣ;    vas (‘var’): varð U, er B

Editions: Skj AI, 343, Skj BI, 315, Skald I, 160, NN §§806, 825; SnE 1848-87, I, 318-19, II, 313, 526, SnE 1931, 113, SnE 1998, I, 33; LaufE 1979, 349-50; Whaley 1998, 219-20.

Context: This is the first of many skaldic quotations in SnE (and LaufE) which illustrate kennings for ‘sky’, here hauss Ymis ‘skull of Ymir’.

Notes: [2] skildan ‘shield-hung’: (a) This reading, although only in ms. U, is supported by the similar scildar in Tˣ. It is m. acc. sg. p. p. from skilda ‘array with shields’, and it qualifies við ‘(timber) ship, bark’ (so Björn Magnússon Ólsen 1909a, 293-4). (b) Skjaldar ‘of the shield’ does not make sense in the context, nor does it supply the necessary aðalhending with mildr. — [3] vas ‘was’: The past tense, in all mss except B (er ‘is’), is an important indicator that the poem was an erfidrápa ‘memorial drápa’.

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. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. LaufE 1979 = Faulkes, Anthony, ed. 1979. Edda Magnúsar Ólafssonar (Laufás Edda). RSÁM 13. Vol. I of Two Versions of Snorra Edda from the 17th Century. Reykjavík: Stofnun Árna Magnússonar, 1977-9.
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. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
8. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
9. Björn Magnússon Ólsen. 1909a. ‘Om nogle vers af Arnórr jarlaskáld’. ANF 25, 289-302.
10. Internal references
11. 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].
12. Elena Gurevich 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Skjaldar heiti’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 823. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=3201> (accessed 26 April 2024)
13. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Laufás Edda’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=10928> (accessed 26 April 2024)
14. Not published: do not cite ()