Bjbp Jóms 8^I

Geta skal hins, hverr hvatra
hǫfðingi var drengja;
sá gat sigri at hrósa
snjallastr at gǫrvǫllu.
Hverr var hóti minni
hreystimaðr at flestu
heldr í herðiraunum
hauklyndum syni Áka.

Geta skal hins, hverr var hǫfðingi hvatra drengja; sá, snjallastr at gǫrvǫllu, gat at hrósa sigri. Hverr hreystimaðr var heldr hóti minni at flestu í herðiraunum {hauklyndum syni Áka}.

Mention shall be made of this, who was the leader of the valiant warriors; he, boldest in everything, was able to boast of victory. Every courageous man was greatly inferior in most ways in tough trials {to the hawk-tempered son of Áki} [= Vagn].

Mss: R(53v)

Editions: Skj AII, 3, Skj BII, 2-3, Skald II, 2, NN §2566; Fms 11, 165, Fms 12, 242, Jvs 1879, 106-7.

Notes: [5, 7] heldr hóti minni ‘greatly inferior’: Lit. ‘a rather great deal less’. Even the bravest amongst the Jómsvíkingar could not come close to Vagn in prowess; cf. Kock’s similar suggestion in NN §2566. — [7] herðiraunum ‘tough trials’: A cpd noun that is unique to Jóms. — [8] hauklyndum ‘hawk-tempered’: Also used in st. 42/6 and Steinn Niz 1/2^II; cf. haukligr ‘hawk-like’ in sts 11/5 and 41/6. On the comparison of warriors with hawks, see Note to Arn Hryn 3/5^II. — [8] syni Áka ‘son of Áki [= Vagn]’: Áki is described as ruler of Fjón (Fyn) and son of Pálna-Tóki, leader of the Jómsvíkingar (e.g. Jóms 1879, 31). Vagn is prodigiously strong, bold and violent from a very early age (ibid. 31-2, 40). The skald emphasises his peerlessness by delaying his identification to l. 8 and then using a kenning.

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. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. Jvs 1879 = Petersens, Carl af, ed. 1879. Jómsvíkinga saga (efter Cod. AM. 510, 4:to) samt Jómsvíkinga drápa. Lund: Gleerup.
6. Internal references
7. 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 26 April 2024)
8. Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Arnórr jarlaskáld Þórðarson, Hrynhenda, Magnússdrápa 3’ 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. 185-6.
9. Emily Lethbridge (ed.) 2012, ‘Bjarni byskup Kolbeinsson, Jómsvíkingadrápa 18’ 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. 974.