Arn Þorfdr 20II
Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Arnórr jarlaskáld Þórðarson, Þorfinnsdrápa 20’ 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. 253-4.
Óskepna ‘monstrous thing’
(not checked:)
óskepna (noun f.): [monstrous thing]
varð ‘’
(not checked:)
1. verða (verb): become, be
uppi ‘came to pass’
(not checked:)
uppi (adv.): up, up in
endr ‘At that time’
(not checked:)
endr (adv.): formerly, once, again
þás ‘as’
(not checked:)
þás (conj.): when
mǫrgum ‘many’
(not checked:)
2. margr (adj.; °-an): many
kenndi ‘taught’
(not checked:)
kenna (verb): know, teach
hôligt ‘mighty’
(not checked:)
háligr (adj.): noble
at ‘to’
(not checked:)
5. at (nota): to (with infinitive)
hníga ‘fall’
(not checked:)
hníga (verb): sink, fall
hǫrð ‘a harsh’
(not checked:)
harðr (adj.; °comp. -ari; superl. -astr): hard, harsh
þars ‘where’
(not checked:)
2. er (conj.): who, which, when
jarlar ‘jarls’
(not checked:)
jarl (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): poet, earl
bǫrðusk ‘fought’
(not checked:)
2. berja (verb; °barði; barðr/bariðr/barinn): fight
réðusk ‘destroyed each other’
(not checked:)
ráða (verb): advise, rule, interpret, decide
notes
[5] réðusk ‘destroyed each other’: (a) Ráða occurs with the meaning ‘betray’ or ‘seal another’s fate’, often specifically by killing or causing death (see LP: ráða 9), and ráða e-n can mean ‘plot someone’s death’ (Fritzner: ráða 7). The juxtaposition of ráða in this sense with nær ‘almost’ is matched in ÞjóðA Magnfl 15/8. (b) The alternative translation ‘attacked each other’ is suggested by the context and would be supported by idioms with that sense such as ráða(sk) á and ráða til e-s, or expressions where ráðask implies motion, such as ráðask þangat ‘make one’s way there’, ráðask frá ‘leave’.
ástmenn ‘dear friends’
(not checked:)
ástmaðr (noun m.; °·manns, dat. ·manni; ·menn): [dear friends]
notes
[5] ástmenn órir ‘our [my] dear friends’: Lit. ‘our [my] beloved men’, Arnórr’s patrons Þorfinnr and Rǫgnvaldr.
órir ‘Our [my]’
(not checked:)
várr (pron.; °f. ór/vár; pl. órir/várir): our
notes
[5] ástmenn órir ‘our [my] dear friends’: Lit. ‘our [my] beloved men’, Arnórr’s patrons Þorfinnr and Rǫgnvaldr.
eld ‘the sword’
(not checked:)
eldr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-(HómÍsl¹(1993) 24v²⁴); -ar): fire < eldhríð (noun f.): [sword-blizzard]
kennings
eldhríð‘the sword-blizzard ’
= BATTLE
the sword-blizzard → BATTLE
notes
[6] eldhríð ‘sword-blizzard [BATTLE]’: Eldr, like logi, usually means ‘fire’, but is also a heiti for ‘sword’ in Þul Sverða 8/2III; cf. runnr elda ‘tree of swords [WARRIOR]’ in Anon Óldr 11I (C12th). It would be a strange coincidence if, as Finnur Jónsson assumes in Skj B, an original oddr ‘point’ had been corrupted to eldr both in Óldr 11 and in st. 20 (where emendation to odd- was originally proposed by Gudbrand Vigfusson, Orkn 1887, 59 n. 4).
hríð ‘blizzard’
(not checked:)
hríð (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): time, storm < eldhríð (noun f.): [sword-blizzard]
kennings
eldhríð‘the sword-blizzard ’
= BATTLE
the sword-blizzard → BATTLE
notes
[6] eldhríð ‘sword-blizzard [BATTLE]’: Eldr, like logi, usually means ‘fire’, but is also a heiti for ‘sword’ in Þul Sverða 8/2III; cf. runnr elda ‘tree of swords [WARRIOR]’ in Anon Óldr 11I (C12th). It would be a strange coincidence if, as Finnur Jónsson assumes in Skj B, an original oddr ‘point’ had been corrupted to eldr both in Óldr 11 and in st. 20 (where emendation to odd- was originally proposed by Gudbrand Vigfusson, Orkn 1887, 59 n. 4).
notes
[6] es ‘as’: This reading is adopted in preference to en ‘and, but’, since es varð síðan ‘as (the battle) came about then’ gives immediacy to the description of the onslaught, whereas the conjunction in en varð síðan ‘and then (a battle) came about’ would imply a different conflict and a different temporal frame.
varð ‘came about’
(not checked:)
1. verða (verb): become, be
síðan ‘then’
(not checked:)
síðan (adv.): later, then
notes
[7] ǫld ‘men’: The ‘gracious men’ who ‘received many injuries’ could be Rǫgnvaldr’s own men, or the moderate men of both sides who had no wish for strife.
fekk ‘received’
(not checked:)
2. fá (verb; °fǽr; fekk, fengu; fenginn): get, receive
mein ‘injuries’
(not checked:)
mein (noun n.; °-s; -): harm, injury
in ‘the’
(not checked:)
2. inn (art.): the
milda ‘gracious’
(not checked:)
mildr (adj.; °compar. -ri/-ari, superl. -astr): mild, gentle, gracious, generous
mǫrg ‘many’
(not checked:)
2. margr (adj.; °-an): many
fyr ‘off’
(not checked:)
fyr (prep.): for, over, because of, etc.
Rauðabjǫrgum ‘Rauðabjǫrg’
(not checked:)
Rauðabjǫrg (noun n.): Rauðabjǫrg
notes
[8] Rauðabjǫrgum ‘Rauðabjǫrg’: Lit. ‘red (iron ore?) rocks’, probably Ruberry or Roberry on the east coast of Hoy, Orkney. Both the geographical situation and phonetic form of Roberry are compatible with the Rauðabjǫrg of the st. and the saga, especially if Roberry derives from Rauðabergi, locative sg. of Rauðaberg, a by-form of Rauðabjǫrg (see Taylor 1931, 43-4 for discussion of alternative locations).
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
Stanzas 20 and 24 are first quoted at the end of ch. 32, a summary chapter on the life and death of Þorfinnr. They are introduced as witnesses to the battle between the jarls Rǫgnvaldr Brúsason and Þorfinnr. They occur again, together with st. 19 and BjHall Kálffl 8I, at the end of ch. 56, which concerns Páll, son of Þorfinnr. The sts have no connection with the preceding prose, and there are no introductory words to explain their inclusion at this point.
Stanza/chapter/text segment
Use the buttons at the top of the page to navigate between stanzas in a poem.
Information tab
- text: if the stanza has been published, the edited text of the stanza and translation are here; if it hasn't been published an old edition (usually Skj) is given for reference
- sources: a list of the manuscripts or inscriptions containing this stanza, with page and line references and links (eye button) to images where available, and transcription where available
- readings: a list of variant manuscript readings of words in the main text
- editions and texts: a list of editions of the stanza with links to the bibliography; and a list of prose works in which the stanza occurs, allowing you to navigate within the prose context
- notes and context: notes not linked to individual words are given here, along with the account of the prose context for the stanza, where relevant
Interactive tab
The text and translation are given here, with buttons to toggle whether the text is shown in the verse order or prose word order. Clicking on indiviudal words gives dictionary links, variant readings, kennings and notes, where relevant.
Full text tab
This is the text of the edition in a similar format to how the edition appears in the printed volumes.
Chapter/text segment
This view is also used for chapters and other text segments. Not all the headings shown are relevant to such sections.