Bjbp Jóms 17^I

Sagt var, at rauðra randa
reynendr flota sínum
jólanótt at Jaðri
Jómsvíkingar kœmi.
Váru heldr á harðan
hernuð firar gjarnir;
rjóðendr buðu ríki
randorma Geirmundi.

Sagt var, at {reynendr rauðra randa}, Jómsvíkingar, kœmi flota sínum at Jaðri jólanótt. Firar váru heldr gjarnir á harðan hernuð; {rjóðendr {randorma}} buðu ríki Geirmundi.

It was said that {the testers of red shields} [WARRIORS], the Jómsvíkingar, brought their fleet to Jæren on Yule-night. Men were rather eager for a hard raiding campaign; {the reddeners {of shield-snakes}} [SWORDS > WARRIORS] offered force to Geirmundr.

Mss: R(53v); 61(19rb), 54(15rb), Bb(25vb) (ÓT)

Readings: [1] Sagt var at: segja 61, Bb, seggja 54    [2] reynendr: reyfendr 54, Bb    [3] at: á 54, Bb    [4] kœmi: so all others, kómu R    [8] Geir‑: ‘gier‑’ Bb

Editions: Skj AII, 4, Skj BII, 4, Skald II, 3; Fms 11, 167, Fms 12, 243, Jvs 1879, 110-11; Fms 1, 166-7, Fms 12, 41, ÓT 1958-2000, I, 183 (ch. 88), Ólafur Halldórsson 2000, 24, 78. 

Context: The Jómsvíkingar sail north and surge ashore in Jaðarr (Jæren), where the young, well-born Geirmundr and his men are sleeping in a loft. Geirmundr leaps into action and his hand is cut off by Vagn Ákason. Geirmundr escapes but stops a short distance from the farm in order to ascertain the identity of the warband that has just attacked.

Notes: [1-2]: (a) Sagt var ‘it is said’ is retained here as the reading of the main ms, and it echoes st. 16/1. The kenning reynendr rauðra randa ‘testers of red shields [WARRIORS]’ is taken in apposition to Jómsvíkingar (l. 4), as the joint subject of kœmi ‘brought’ (l. 4). (b) An alternative is to take the kenning as an apostrophe to the audience (so Fms 12, 243). (c) The ÓT reading segja ‘tell’ in l. 1 avoids the double subject for kœmi since the kenning for ‘warriors’ can then be the subject of segja (so Fms 12, 41), though the graphic warrior-kenning would seem more likely to refer to the Jómsvíkingar than to anyone else. — [4] Jómsvíkingar ‘the Jómsvíkingar’: This collective name for the warriors based in Jóm or Jómsborg (see Note to st. 6/2) is not found in contemporary poetry, and this led Lauritz Weibull to dispute their existence; see ÍF 26, cxi-cxii for a summary of the debate. — [4] kœmi (3rd pers. pl. pret. subj.) ‘brought’: This produces skothending in the even line, which is normal within the munnvǫrp metre of Jóms. The indic. form kómu in R is also possible. It produces aðalhending, which is rare in the even lines of Jóms, but not unparalleled (see Introduction). — [7] buðu ríki ‘offered force’: The phrase appears to be equivalent to bjóða ofríki ‘offer excessive force, overcome’ (Fritzner: bjóða 1), and perhaps bella ríki ‘use strength’, attested in Ótt Knútdr 5/3, 4. — [8] Geirmundi ‘to Geirmundr’: See Context. The attack on Geirmundr appears to be part of the general hostilities as the Jómsvíkingar reach Norway: no specific reason is given in the poem or its prose context.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Fms = Sveinbjörn Egilsson et al., eds. 1825-37. Fornmanna sögur eptir gömlum handritum útgefnar að tilhlutun hins norræna fornfræða fèlags. 12 vols. Copenhagen: Popp.
3. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. Fritzner = Fritzner, Johan. 1883-96. Ordbog over det gamle norske sprog. 3 vols. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske forlagsforening. 4th edn. Rpt. 1973. Oslo etc.: Universitetsforlaget.
5. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
6. ÓT 1958-2000 = Ólafur Halldórsson, ed. 1958-2000. Saga Óláfs Tryggvasonar en mesta. 3 vols. EA A 1-3. Copenhagen: Munksgaard (Reitzel).
7. Jvs 1879 = Petersens, Carl af, ed. 1879. Jómsvíkinga saga (efter Cod. AM. 510, 4:to) samt Jómsvíkinga drápa. Lund: Gleerup.
8. Ólafur Halldórsson. 2000a. Danish Kings and the Jomsvikings in the Greatest Saga of Óláfr Tryggvason. London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
9. Internal references
10. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=60> (accessed 25 April 2024)
11. Matthew Townend 2012, ‘(Biography of) Vagn Ákason’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 365.
12. Emily Lethbridge 2012, ‘ Bjarni byskup Kolbeinsson, Jómsvíkingadrápa’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 954. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1122> (accessed 25 April 2024)
13. Matthew Townend (ed.) 2012, ‘Óttarr svarti, Knútsdrápa 5’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 772.