Arn Þorfdr 16II
Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Arnórr jarlaskáld Þórðarson, Þorfinnsdrápa 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. 247-8.
vas ‘came’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
Engla ‘the English’
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Englar (noun m.): English people
minnir ‘remember’
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1. minna (verb): remind, remember, recall
egg ‘the edge’
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1. egg (noun f.; °-jar, dat. -ju/-): edge, blade < egghríð (noun f.): edge-storm
kennings
egghríð,‘the edge-blizzard ’
= BATTLE
the edge-blizzard → BATTLE
hríð ‘blizzard’
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hríð (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): time, storm < egghríð (noun f.): edge-storm
kennings
egghríð,‘the edge-blizzard ’
= BATTLE
the edge-blizzard → BATTLE
né ‘and never’
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né (conj.): nor
mun ‘will’
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munu (verb): will, must
síðan ‘after’
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síðan (adv.): later, then
hôr ‘a lofty’
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3. hár (adj.; °-van; compar. hǽrri, superl. hǽstr): high
[3] hôr: hátt Flat
kennings
hôr hringdrífr‘a lofty ring-strewer ’
= GENEROUS RULER
a lofty ring-strewer → GENEROUS RULER
við ‘with’
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2. við (prep.): with, against
helming ‘force’
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helmingr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): unit, troop
meira ‘a larger’
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meiri (adj. comp.; °meiran; superl. mestr): more, most
hring ‘ring’
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1. hringr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -; -ar): ring; sword < hringdrífr (noun m.): [ring-distributors]
kennings
hôr hringdrífr‘a lofty ring-strewer ’
= GENEROUS RULER
a lofty ring-strewer → GENEROUS RULER
notes
[4] hringdrífr ‘ring-strewer [GENEROUS RULER]’: The reading of the main ms., ‘hring mi’, makes no sense.
drífr ‘strewer’
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1. drífr (noun m.): [strewer] < hringdrífr (noun m.): [ring-distributors]
[4] ‑drífr: so Flat, ‘(mi)’(?) R702ˣ
kennings
hôr hringdrífr‘a lofty ring-strewer ’
= GENEROUS RULER
a lofty ring-strewer → GENEROUS RULER
notes
[4] hringdrífr ‘ring-strewer [GENEROUS RULER]’: The reading of the main ms., ‘hring mi’, makes no sense.
koma ‘come’
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koma (verb; kem, kom/kvam, kominn): come
[4] koma: ‘komid’ R702ˣ, komit Flat
notes
[4] þingat ‘there’: (a) The variant þingat ‘thither, there’, i.e. ‘to England’ or ‘south of Man’ gives excellent sense and is adopted here. (b) Né mun síðan komit hingat in R702ˣ is interpreted as ‘(it will not henceforth) be made known to us’ (til vor fregnad) in Magnús Ólafsson’s gloss to the st. in R702ˣ, but to take koma in the sense ‘be made known, reported’ is somewhat forced.
Bitu ‘bit’
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bíta (verb; °bítr; beit, bitu; bitinn): bite
sverð ‘swords’
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sverð (noun n.; °-s; -): sword
en ‘and’
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2. en (conj.): but, and
þar ‘there’
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þar (adv.): there
þurði ‘rushed forth’
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þyrja (verb): race, rush, rage
[5] þurði: so Flat, U, þorði R702ˣ, þurðir R, þurðu Tˣ, W
notes
[5, 7] kind Rǫgnvalds … þurði ‘the descendant of Rǫgnvaldr [= Þorfinnr] … rushed forth’: The role of the noun phrases ramlig(t) folk ‘mighty troop/troops’ (l. 8) and kind Rǫgnvalds ‘the descendant of Rǫgnvaldr’ is ambiguous: each could be nom., the subject of þurðu/þurði ‘rushed’, or acc., object of bitu sverð ‘swords bit’. However, the hero Þorfinnr is more likely to be depicted rushing forward than being pierced by swords, and so þurði is adopted here with the kind-phrase as its subject. (b) Finnbogi Guðmundsson (ÍF 34, 61 n.) suggested that kind was dat., hence presumably bitu sverð kind Rǫgnvalds ‘swords bit for Rǫgnvaldr’s descendant’ (and cf. Faulkes in SnE 1998, I, 206). But there is nothing in the syntax to show that kind is not acc. sg., which would yield the sense that the hero was wounded, so this seems unlikely. (c) It appears that the scribes of mss Tˣ and W, and probably of U and Flat, took ‘mighty troop’ as the subject of ‘rushed’, since the two mss (Tˣ and W) which read pl. þurðu also have pl. ramlig folk, while the two (U and Flat) which read sg. þurði also have sg. ramligt folk. Skj B adopts þurðu and ramlig folk. (d) The variant þorði ‘dared’ (so R702ˣ) could make sense, but the ms. evidence is against it.
þunngǫr ‘Slender-wrought’
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þunngǫrr (adj.): [Slender-wrought]
notes
[6] þunngǫr ‘slender-wrought’: The adj. is unique in recorded ON, but þunngjör/-ger is recorded for ModIcel. in Sigfús Blöndal 1920-4, as are fínger(ður) ‘fine-wrought’ and smáger(ður) ‘small-wrought’ and cf. ON þunnsleginn ‘hammered thin’ (Fritzner IV).
notes
[6] Mǫn ‘Man’: Mani (dat. sg.) in the main ms. has no parallel in ON, Mǫn being the usual form. It either represents a misreading or is influenced by the Celtic forms of the name (Manu and variants, Hogan 1910, 536).
sunnan ‘south of’
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sunnan (adv.): (from the) south
Rǫgnvalds ‘of Rǫgnvaldr’
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Rǫgnvaldr (noun m.): Rǫgnvaldr
kennings
kind Rǫgnvalds ins gamla‘the descendant of Rǫgnvaldr inn gamli (‘the Old’) ’
= Þorfinnr
the descendant of Rǫgnvaldr inn gamli (‘the Old’) → Þorfinnr
notes
[5, 7] kind Rǫgnvalds … þurði ‘the descendant of Rǫgnvaldr [= Þorfinnr] … rushed forth’: The role of the noun phrases ramlig(t) folk ‘mighty troop/troops’ (l. 8) and kind Rǫgnvalds ‘the descendant of Rǫgnvaldr’ is ambiguous: each could be nom., the subject of þurðu/þurði ‘rushed’, or acc., object of bitu sverð ‘swords bit’. However, the hero Þorfinnr is more likely to be depicted rushing forward than being pierced by swords, and so þurði is adopted here with the kind-phrase as its subject. (b) Finnbogi Guðmundsson (ÍF 34, 61 n.) suggested that kind was dat., hence presumably bitu sverð kind Rǫgnvalds ‘swords bit for Rǫgnvaldr’s descendant’ (and cf. Faulkes in SnE 1998, I, 206). But there is nothing in the syntax to show that kind is not acc. sg., which would yield the sense that the hero was wounded, so this seems unlikely. (c) It appears that the scribes of mss Tˣ and W, and probably of U and Flat, took ‘mighty troop’ as the subject of ‘rushed’, since the two mss (Tˣ and W) which read pl. þurðu also have pl. ramlig folk, while the two (U and Flat) which read sg. þurði also have sg. ramligt folk. Skj B adopts þurðu and ramlig folk. (d) The variant þorði ‘dared’ (so R702ˣ) could make sense, but the ms. evidence is against it. — [7, 8] kind Rǫgnvalds ins gamla ‘the descendant of Rǫgnvaldr inn gamli (“the Old”) [= Þorfinnr]’: Rǫgnvaldr is called inn ríki ok inn ráðsvinni ‘the powerful and wise-counselled’ in Orkn ch. 3 (ÍF 34, 7), never inn gamli, which may be designed to distinguish him from Rǫgnvaldr Brúsason; see further Note to st. 2/4.
Rǫgnvalds ‘of Rǫgnvaldr’
(not checked:)
Rǫgnvaldr (noun m.): Rǫgnvaldr
kennings
kind Rǫgnvalds ins gamla‘the descendant of Rǫgnvaldr inn gamli (‘the Old’) ’
= Þorfinnr
the descendant of Rǫgnvaldr inn gamli (‘the Old’) → Þorfinnr
notes
[5, 7] kind Rǫgnvalds … þurði ‘the descendant of Rǫgnvaldr [= Þorfinnr] … rushed forth’: The role of the noun phrases ramlig(t) folk ‘mighty troop/troops’ (l. 8) and kind Rǫgnvalds ‘the descendant of Rǫgnvaldr’ is ambiguous: each could be nom., the subject of þurðu/þurði ‘rushed’, or acc., object of bitu sverð ‘swords bit’. However, the hero Þorfinnr is more likely to be depicted rushing forward than being pierced by swords, and so þurði is adopted here with the kind-phrase as its subject. (b) Finnbogi Guðmundsson (ÍF 34, 61 n.) suggested that kind was dat., hence presumably bitu sverð kind Rǫgnvalds ‘swords bit for Rǫgnvaldr’s descendant’ (and cf. Faulkes in SnE 1998, I, 206). But there is nothing in the syntax to show that kind is not acc. sg., which would yield the sense that the hero was wounded, so this seems unlikely. (c) It appears that the scribes of mss Tˣ and W, and probably of U and Flat, took ‘mighty troop’ as the subject of ‘rushed’, since the two mss (Tˣ and W) which read pl. þurðu also have pl. ramlig folk, while the two (U and Flat) which read sg. þurði also have sg. ramligt folk. Skj B adopts þurðu and ramlig folk. (d) The variant þorði ‘dared’ (so R702ˣ) could make sense, but the ms. evidence is against it. — [7, 8] kind Rǫgnvalds ins gamla ‘the descendant of Rǫgnvaldr inn gamli (“the Old”) [= Þorfinnr]’: Rǫgnvaldr is called inn ríki ok inn ráðsvinni ‘the powerful and wise-counselled’ in Orkn ch. 3 (ÍF 34, 7), never inn gamli, which may be designed to distinguish him from Rǫgnvaldr Brúsason; see further Note to st. 2/4.
kind ‘the descendant’
(not checked:)
kind (noun f.; °-ar; -r): offspring, race
kennings
kind Rǫgnvalds ins gamla‘the descendant of Rǫgnvaldr inn gamli (‘the Old’) ’
= Þorfinnr
the descendant of Rǫgnvaldr inn gamli (‘the Old’) → Þorfinnr
notes
[5, 7] kind Rǫgnvalds … þurði ‘the descendant of Rǫgnvaldr [= Þorfinnr] … rushed forth’: The role of the noun phrases ramlig(t) folk ‘mighty troop/troops’ (l. 8) and kind Rǫgnvalds ‘the descendant of Rǫgnvaldr’ is ambiguous: each could be nom., the subject of þurðu/þurði ‘rushed’, or acc., object of bitu sverð ‘swords bit’. However, the hero Þorfinnr is more likely to be depicted rushing forward than being pierced by swords, and so þurði is adopted here with the kind-phrase as its subject. (b) Finnbogi Guðmundsson (ÍF 34, 61 n.) suggested that kind was dat., hence presumably bitu sverð kind Rǫgnvalds ‘swords bit for Rǫgnvaldr’s descendant’ (and cf. Faulkes in SnE 1998, I, 206). But there is nothing in the syntax to show that kind is not acc. sg., which would yield the sense that the hero was wounded, so this seems unlikely. (c) It appears that the scribes of mss Tˣ and W, and probably of U and Flat, took ‘mighty troop’ as the subject of ‘rushed’, since the two mss (Tˣ and W) which read pl. þurðu also have pl. ramlig folk, while the two (U and Flat) which read sg. þurði also have sg. ramligt folk. Skj B adopts þurðu and ramlig folk. (d) The variant þorði ‘dared’ (so R702ˣ) could make sense, but the ms. evidence is against it. — [7, 8] kind Rǫgnvalds ins gamla ‘the descendant of Rǫgnvaldr inn gamli (“the Old”) [= Þorfinnr]’: Rǫgnvaldr is called inn ríki ok inn ráðsvinni ‘the powerful and wise-counselled’ in Orkn ch. 3 (ÍF 34, 7), never inn gamli, which may be designed to distinguish him from Rǫgnvaldr Brúsason; see further Note to st. 2/4.
kind ‘the descendant’
(not checked:)
kind (noun f.; °-ar; -r): offspring, race
kennings
kind Rǫgnvalds ins gamla‘the descendant of Rǫgnvaldr inn gamli (‘the Old’) ’
= Þorfinnr
the descendant of Rǫgnvaldr inn gamli (‘the Old’) → Þorfinnr
notes
[5, 7] kind Rǫgnvalds … þurði ‘the descendant of Rǫgnvaldr [= Þorfinnr] … rushed forth’: The role of the noun phrases ramlig(t) folk ‘mighty troop/troops’ (l. 8) and kind Rǫgnvalds ‘the descendant of Rǫgnvaldr’ is ambiguous: each could be nom., the subject of þurðu/þurði ‘rushed’, or acc., object of bitu sverð ‘swords bit’. However, the hero Þorfinnr is more likely to be depicted rushing forward than being pierced by swords, and so þurði is adopted here with the kind-phrase as its subject. (b) Finnbogi Guðmundsson (ÍF 34, 61 n.) suggested that kind was dat., hence presumably bitu sverð kind Rǫgnvalds ‘swords bit for Rǫgnvaldr’s descendant’ (and cf. Faulkes in SnE 1998, I, 206). But there is nothing in the syntax to show that kind is not acc. sg., which would yield the sense that the hero was wounded, so this seems unlikely. (c) It appears that the scribes of mss Tˣ and W, and probably of U and Flat, took ‘mighty troop’ as the subject of ‘rushed’, since the two mss (Tˣ and W) which read pl. þurðu also have pl. ramlig folk, while the two (U and Flat) which read sg. þurði also have sg. ramligt folk. Skj B adopts þurðu and ramlig folk. (d) The variant þorði ‘dared’ (so R702ˣ) could make sense, but the ms. evidence is against it. — [7, 8] kind Rǫgnvalds ins gamla ‘the descendant of Rǫgnvaldr inn gamli (“the Old”) [= Þorfinnr]’: Rǫgnvaldr is called inn ríki ok inn ráðsvinni ‘the powerful and wise-counselled’ in Orkn ch. 3 (ÍF 34, 7), never inn gamli, which may be designed to distinguish him from Rǫgnvaldr Brúsason; see further Note to st. 2/4.
randir ‘shields’
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rǫnd (noun f.; °dat. -/-u; rendr/randir): shield, shield-rim
ram ‘the might’
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rammr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): mighty < rammligr (adj.): strong
folk ‘troops’
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folk (noun n.): people
ins ‘inn’
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2. inn (art.): the
kennings
kind Rǫgnvalds ins gamla‘the descendant of Rǫgnvaldr inn gamli (‘the Old’) ’
= Þorfinnr
the descendant of Rǫgnvaldr inn gamli (‘the Old’) → Þorfinnr
notes
[7, 8] kind Rǫgnvalds ins gamla ‘the descendant of Rǫgnvaldr inn gamli (“the Old”) [= Þorfinnr]’: Rǫgnvaldr is called inn ríki ok inn ráðsvinni ‘the powerful and wise-counselled’ in Orkn ch. 3 (ÍF 34, 7), never inn gamli, which may be designed to distinguish him from Rǫgnvaldr Brúsason; see further Note to st. 2/4.
gamla ‘gamli (‘the Old’)’
(not checked:)
gamall (adj.; °gamlan; compar. & superl. ellri adj.): old
kennings
kind Rǫgnvalds ins gamla‘the descendant of Rǫgnvaldr inn gamli (‘the Old’) ’
= Þorfinnr
the descendant of Rǫgnvaldr inn gamli (‘the Old’) → Þorfinnr
notes
[7, 8] kind Rǫgnvalds ins gamla ‘the descendant of Rǫgnvaldr inn gamli (“the Old”) [= Þorfinnr]’: Rǫgnvaldr is called inn ríki ok inn ráðsvinni ‘the powerful and wise-counselled’ in Orkn ch. 3 (ÍF 34, 7), never inn gamli, which may be designed to distinguish him from Rǫgnvaldr Brúsason; see further Note to st. 2/4.
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
|
Enn vas, sús Engla minnir, |
Then came the edge-blizzard [BATTLE] which the English remember, and never after will a lofty ring-strewer [GENEROUS RULER] come there with a larger force. Slender-wrought swords bit the mighty troops beneath their shields, and the descendant of Rǫgnvaldr inn gamli (‘the Old’) [= Þorfinnr] rushed forth there south of Man.
In Orkn, Þorfinnr successfully wins a grim battle in England, supported by Rǫgnvaldr Brúsason and troops from Orkney, Caithness and elsewhere in Scotland, Ireland and the Hebrides. The jarls then plunder, kill and burn widely. In SnE, the second helmingr occurs in the same context as Arn Rǫgndr 2 and Þorfdr 4, and is quoted to illustrate the kenning kind Rǫgnvalds ‘descendant of Rǫgnvaldr’.
SnE explicitly states that the st. concerns Þorfinnr jarl.
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