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Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Bjbp Jóms 30^I

Emily Lethbridge (ed.) 2012, ‘Bjarni byskup Kolbeinsson, Jómsvíkingadrápa 30’ 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. 985.

Bjarni byskup Kolbeinsson Jómsvíkingadrápa

Hver ‘every’

(not checked:)
2. hverr (pron.): who, whom, each, every < hvervetna (adv.): everywhere

[1] Hver‑: huar‑ 61, ‘Hvo᷎r‑’ Bb

vetna ‘where’

(not checked:)
-vetna (adv.): [where] < hvervetna (adv.): everywhere

[1] ‑vetna: so 54, Bb, ‑vitna R, 61

frák ‘I have heard’

(not checked:)
1. fregna (verb): hear of

hǫlða ‘men’

(not checked:)
hǫlðr (noun m.; °-s; -ar): man

[1] hǫlða: haulda 54, ‘huo᷎lda’ Bb

herr ‘the army’

(not checked:)
herr (noun m.; °-s/-jar, dat. -; -jar, gen. -ja/herra): army, host

œxti ‘to increase’

(not checked:)
vaxa (verb): grow, increase

[2] œxti: ‘ægsti’ 61, æsti 54, Bb

gný ‘the din’

(not checked:)
gnýr (noun m.): din, tumult

kennings

gný darra —,
‘the din of spears ’
= BATTLE
the din of spears → BATTLE

darra ‘of spears’

(not checked:)
darr (noun n.; °; *-um): spear

kennings

gný darra —,
‘the din of spears ’
= BATTLE
the din of spears → BATTLE

fyr ‘before’

(not checked:)
fyr (prep.): for, over, because of, etc.

hregg ‘of the storm’

(not checked:)
hregg (noun n.): storm < hreggviðr (noun m.)

kennings

hjǫrva hreggviðum
‘storm-trees of swords’
= WARRIORS
the storm of swords → BATTLE
trees of the BATTLE → WARRIORS

notes

[3, 4] hjǫrva hreggviðum rǫkkum gunnar ‘trees of the storm of swords [(lit. ‘storm-trees of swords’) BATTLE > WARRIORS] bold in battle’: The cpd hreggviðir ‘storm-trees’ also forms part of an inverted warrior-kenning in st. 20/5. Rekkum (m. dat. pl.) ‘warriors’, the variant to rǫkkum in 61 and Bb, does not fit the context since another noun is superfluous.

hregg ‘of the storm’

(not checked:)
hregg (noun n.): storm < hreggviðr (noun m.)

kennings

hjǫrva hreggviðum
‘storm-trees of swords’
= WARRIORS
the storm of swords → BATTLE
trees of the BATTLE → WARRIORS

notes

[3, 4] hjǫrva hreggviðum rǫkkum gunnar ‘trees of the storm of swords [(lit. ‘storm-trees of swords’) BATTLE > WARRIORS] bold in battle’: The cpd hreggviðir ‘storm-trees’ also forms part of an inverted warrior-kenning in st. 20/5. Rekkum (m. dat. pl.) ‘warriors’, the variant to rǫkkum in 61 and Bb, does not fit the context since another noun is superfluous.

viðum ‘trees’

(not checked:)
1. viðr (noun m.; °-ar, dat. -i/-; -ir, acc. -u/-i): wood, tree < hreggviðr (noun m.)

kennings

hjǫrva hreggviðum
‘storm-trees of swords’
= WARRIORS
the storm of swords → BATTLE
trees of the BATTLE → WARRIORS

notes

[3, 4] hjǫrva hreggviðum rǫkkum gunnar ‘trees of the storm of swords [(lit. ‘storm-trees of swords’) BATTLE > WARRIORS] bold in battle’: The cpd hreggviðir ‘storm-trees’ also forms part of an inverted warrior-kenning in st. 20/5. Rekkum (m. dat. pl.) ‘warriors’, the variant to rǫkkum in 61 and Bb, does not fit the context since another noun is superfluous.

hjǫrva ‘of swords’

(not checked:)
hjǫrr (noun m.): sword

kennings

hjǫrva hreggviðum
‘storm-trees of swords’
= WARRIORS
the storm of swords → BATTLE
trees of the BATTLE → WARRIORS

notes

[3, 4] hjǫrva hreggviðum rǫkkum gunnar ‘trees of the storm of swords [(lit. ‘storm-trees of swords’) BATTLE > WARRIORS] bold in battle’: The cpd hreggviðir ‘storm-trees’ also forms part of an inverted warrior-kenning in st. 20/5. Rekkum (m. dat. pl.) ‘warriors’, the variant to rǫkkum in 61 and Bb, does not fit the context since another noun is superfluous.

hjǫrva ‘of swords’

(not checked:)
hjǫrr (noun m.): sword

kennings

hjǫrva hreggviðum
‘storm-trees of swords’
= WARRIORS
the storm of swords → BATTLE
trees of the BATTLE → WARRIORS

notes

[3, 4] hjǫrva hreggviðum rǫkkum gunnar ‘trees of the storm of swords [(lit. ‘storm-trees of swords’) BATTLE > WARRIORS] bold in battle’: The cpd hreggviðir ‘storm-trees’ also forms part of an inverted warrior-kenning in st. 20/5. Rekkum (m. dat. pl.) ‘warriors’, the variant to rǫkkum in 61 and Bb, does not fit the context since another noun is superfluous.

hrøkkva ‘recoiled’

(not checked:)
1. hrøkkva (verb): coil

gunnar ‘in battle’

(not checked:)
gunnr (noun f.): battle

[4] gunnar: ‘guínari’ 54

notes

[3, 4] hjǫrva hreggviðum rǫkkum gunnar ‘trees of the storm of swords [(lit. ‘storm-trees of swords’) BATTLE > WARRIORS] bold in battle’: The cpd hreggviðir ‘storm-trees’ also forms part of an inverted warrior-kenning in st. 20/5. Rekkum (m. dat. pl.) ‘warriors’, the variant to rǫkkum in 61 and Bb, does not fit the context since another noun is superfluous.

rǫkkum ‘bold’

(not checked:)
rakkr (adj.; °compar. -ari): bold

[4] rǫkkum: rekkum 61, Bb, rokkum 54

notes

[3, 4] hjǫrva hreggviðum rǫkkum gunnar ‘trees of the storm of swords [(lit. ‘storm-trees of swords’) BATTLE > WARRIORS] bold in battle’: The cpd hreggviðir ‘storm-trees’ also forms part of an inverted warrior-kenning in st. 20/5. Rekkum (m. dat. pl.) ‘warriors’, the variant to rǫkkum in 61 and Bb, does not fit the context since another noun is superfluous.

áðr ‘before’

(not checked:)
áðr (adv.; °//): before

í ‘in’

(not checked:)
í (prep.): in, into

notes

[5] í drífu ǫrva ‘in the snow-storm of arrows [BATTLE]’: This phrase is taken here with grimmr ýtum ‘cruel to men’. It could alternatively modify blóta ‘make a sacrifice’ if it refers to the overall course of the battle, rather than the thick of the fighting. According to the ÓT account (see Context above) Hákon went ashore to sacrifice.

ǫrva ‘of arrows’

(not checked:)
ǫr (noun f.; °dat. -/-u; ǫrvar/ǫrar): arrow

kennings

drífu ǫrva,
‘the snow-storm of arrows, ’
= BATTLE
the snow-storm of arrows, → BATTLE

notes

[5] í drífu ǫrva ‘in the snow-storm of arrows [BATTLE]’: This phrase is taken here with grimmr ýtum ‘cruel to men’. It could alternatively modify blóta ‘make a sacrifice’ if it refers to the overall course of the battle, rather than the thick of the fighting. According to the ÓT account (see Context above) Hákon went ashore to sacrifice.

drífu ‘the snow-storm’

(not checked:)
1. drífa (noun f.; °-u): snow-storm

kennings

drífu ǫrva,
‘the snow-storm of arrows, ’
= BATTLE
the snow-storm of arrows, → BATTLE

notes

[5] í drífu ǫrva ‘in the snow-storm of arrows [BATTLE]’: This phrase is taken here with grimmr ýtum ‘cruel to men’. It could alternatively modify blóta ‘make a sacrifice’ if it refers to the overall course of the battle, rather than the thick of the fighting. According to the ÓT account (see Context above) Hákon went ashore to sacrifice.

ýtum ‘to men’

(not checked:)
ýtr (noun m.): man; launcher

grimmr ‘cruel’

(not checked:)
grimmr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): fierce

at ‘to’

(not checked:)
5. at (nota): to (with infinitive)

blóta ‘make a sacrifice’

(not checked:)
2. blóta (verb; °-að-): sacrifice

framm ‘’

(not checked:)
fram (adv.): out, forth, forwards, away

kom ‘proceeded’

(not checked:)
koma (verb; kem, kom/kvam, kominn): come

heipt ‘violence’

(not checked:)
heift (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): hatred, enmity

notes

[7] heipt ‘violence’: It is unclear what sense of heipt is intended here, and hence whether the line refers to Hákon jarl’s sacrifice of his young son for victory (see Context) or the progress of the battle. Its normal senses of ‘hate, enmity’ and actions arising from those (LP: heipt 1) or ‘battle-fury, aggression’ (LP: heipt 2), seem inadequate to the situation. Skj B offers for l. 7, det hårde sind viste sig i gærningen ‘the ruthless mind showed itself in the action’.

in ‘the’

(not checked:)
2. inn (art.): the

harða ‘harsh’

(not checked:)
harðr (adj.; °comp. -ari; superl. -astr): hard, harsh

Hákun ‘Hákon’

(not checked:)
Hákun (noun m.): [Hákon]

[8] Hákun: ‘hallkæm’ 54, ‘halkæm’ Bb

notes

[8] Hákun: The variant ‘hal(l)kæm’ in 54 and Bb could be an assimilated form of the adj. haldkvæm(r) ‘fit, meet, convenient’, but this could only qualify f. nom. sg. heipt ‘violence’, which is already qualified by the weak adj. harða ‘harsh’, and the clause would lack a nominal subject.

þegar ‘at once’

(not checked:)
þegar (adv.): at once, then

[8] þegar: syni all others

notes

[8] þegar ‘at once’: This, the R reading, makes sense in context. The ÓT variant syni ‘son’ also gives good sense and makes explicit reference to Hákon’s alleged human sacrifice (otherwise lacking in the stanza) by providing a grammatical (dat.) object for at blóta ‘to sacrifice’. It is adopted in Jvs 1879, Skj B and Skald.

tœki ‘proceeded’

(not checked:)
2. taka (verb): take

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verse
prose

Hákon jarl sees that the battle is not going his way; he goes ashore and sacrifices his seven-year-old son Erlingr in order to attain victory.

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