Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Arnórr jarlaskáld Þórðarson, Lausavísa 1’ 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. 280-1.
Drengrs í gegn at ganga
— gótts fylgja vel dróttni —
— ǫld leynik því aldri —
ófúss syni Brúsa.
Oss’s, ef jarlar þessir
ógnbráðir til ráðask,
— hǫrð mun vinraun verða —
vandligr kostr fyr hǫndum.
Drengrs ófúss at ganga í gegn {syni Brúsa}; leynik aldri því ǫld; gótts fylgja dróttni vel. Oss’s vandligr kostr fyr hǫndum, ef þessir ógnbráðir jarlar ráðask til; hǫrð vinraun mun verða.
[This] warrior is not keen to go against {the son of Brúsi} [= Rǫgnvaldr]; I shall never conceal that from men; it is good to support one’s lord well. I [lit. we] have a hard choice on my hands, if these battle-hasty jarls attack one another; a harsh ordeal of friendship will come about.
Mss: R702ˣ(39v), Flat(132rb) (Orkn)
Readings: [1] Drengrs (‘Drengr er’): Dreng er Flat [2] gótts (‘gott er’): gott er at Flat; vel: om. Flat [3] ǫld: eld Flat
Editions: Skj AI, 354, Skj BI, 326-7, Skald I, 165; Flat 1860-8, II, 415, Orkn 1913-16, 69-70, ÍF 34, 66-7 (ch. 26); Whaley 1998, 301-2.
Context: Part-way through the sea-battle off Rauðabjǫrg between the jarls Þorfinnr and Rǫgnvaldr, Arnórr is put ashore along with the dead and wounded and speaks the st.
Notes: [All]: For this battle, see also Arn Þorfdr 19-22 (as mentioned above) and BjHall Kálffl 8I. — [1] drengr ‘[this] warrior’: Arnórr, following a recognised skaldic convention, here uses drengr to refer to himself in the 3rd pers. The semantics of drengr and þegn are examined in Jesch 1993 and Goetting 2006. — [2] fylgja vel ‘support well’: The reading of Flat, (gótts) at fylgja (dróttni) ‘(it is good) to support (one’s lord)’, also makes good sense. — [3] leynik aldri því ǫld ‘I shall never conceal that from men’: The l. is identical with Sigv Lv 23/7I. — [4] syni Brúsa ‘the son of Brúsi [= Rǫgnvaldr]’: Jarl Rǫgnvaldr Brúsason, nephew of Jarl Þorfinnr Sigurðarson, and dedicatee of Arnórr’s Rǫgndr.
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