Ásgr Lv 1^III

Láðs rupla fé fríðu
fornbauga hyrdraugar
sverða sœki-Njǫrðu
sér veslari heslis.

{{{Fornbauga heslis} hyr}draugar} rupla fríðu fé {sœki-Njǫrðu {láðs sverða}} veslari sér.

{Trees {of the fire {of the hazel-tree of ancient rings}}} [(lit. ‘fire-trees of the hazel-tree of ancient rings’) ARM > GOLD > MEN] are plundering splendid riches {from attack-Nirðir <gods> {of the land of swords}} [SHIELD > WARRIORS] poorer than themselves.

Mss: W(168) (SnE); 2368ˣ(111), 743ˣ(85r) (LaufE)

Readings: [2] hyr‑: her‑ all

Editions: Skj AII, 129, Skj BII, 137, Skald II, 73, NN §1371; SnE 1848-87, II, 497, III, 176; LaufE 1979, 369.

Context: The helmingr is cited to illustrate how words for ‘tree’ and similar terms may be used in kennings designating men.

Notes: [All]: If the compiler understood -draugar ‘trees’ (lit. ‘(tree) trunks’) as the base-word referring to men (and this seems likely, as he offers draugr in the preceding prose as an example of this usage), the helmingr does illustrate the point. Heslis ‘of the hazel-tree’ could be misconstrued as such a base-word (and it is in LaufE), however, though it actually belongs to an (albeit unusual) arm-kenning (see Translation). — [All]: Kock (NN §1371) argues that láðs ‘of the land’ (l. 1) should be construed with hyrdraugar fornbauga ‘fire-trees of ancient rings’ (l. 2), yielding the sense ‘trees of the fire of the land of ancient rings [(lit. ‘fire-trees of the land of ancient-rings’) ARM > GOLD > MEN]’. As a consequence, heslis ‘of the hazel-tree’ (l. 4) must be construed with sœki-Njǫrðu sverða ‘attack-Njǫrðs of swords’ (l. 3), but this does not make for a very satisfactory kenning: sœki-Njǫrðu heslis sverða ‘attack-Nirðir of the hazel-tree of swords [WARRIOR > WARRIORS]’. — [2] hyrdraugar ‘fire-trees’: The mss all read herdraugar ‘army-trees’, which would be unparalleled as a kenning or part-kenning, whereas hyrdraugar, as part of an inverted man- or warrior-kenning, is comparable to hyrlundr ‘fire-tree’ in Karl Lv 2/2^V (Svarfd 10) and Anon Pl 16/3^VII (though the latter is not fully legible in the ms.). In addition, there does not seem to be any very convincing way to interpret the kenning containing the word if herdraugar is accepted. The emendation appears to have originated with Skj B, and it is accepted by Kock (Skald).

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. 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.
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. 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.
7. Internal references
8. Jonna Louis-Jensen and Tarrin Wills (eds) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Plácitusdrápa 16’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 192.
9. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2022, ‘Svarfdœla saga 10 (Þorleifr jarlsskáld Rauðfeldarson, Lausavísur 3)’ 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, p. 1356.
10. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2022, ‘Svarfdœla saga 12 (Karl inn rauði, Lausavísur 2)’ 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, p. 1360.
11. (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 2 May 2024)