Bkrepp Magndr 11II
Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Bjǫrn krepphendi, Magnússdrápa 11’ 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. 404-5.
Lífspelli ‘the death’
(not checked:)
lífspell (noun n.): [death]
notes
[1] lífspelli ‘the death’: Lit. ‘the life-destruction’.
Laufa ‘of Laufi’
(not checked:)
Laufi (noun m.; °-a): Laufi
kennings
Lundr Laufa‘The tree of Laufi ’
= WARRIOR
The tree of Laufi → WARRIOR
lundr ‘The tree’
(not checked:)
1. lundr (noun m.; °-ar, dat. -i/-; -ar): grove, tree
[2] lundr: ‘lꜹndr’ 42ˣ
kennings
Lundr Laufa‘The tree of Laufi ’
= WARRIOR
The tree of Laufi → WARRIOR
í ‘in’
(not checked:)
í (prep.): in, into
Ǫngulssundi ‘the Menai Strait’
(not checked:)
Ǫngulssund (noun n.): [Menai Strait]
broddr ‘the arrow-point’
(not checked:)
broddr (noun m.; °dat. -i; -ar): point of spear or arrow
notes
[3] fló ‘flew’: See Note to st. 3/8 above.
slǫg ‘weapons’
(not checked:)
slag (noun n.; °-s; *-): weapon
snuddu ‘soared’
(not checked:)
snyðja (verb): soar, hasten, dart
ins ‘inn prúði’
(not checked:)
2. inn (art.): the
prúða ‘(‘the Proud’)’
(not checked:)
prúðr (adj.; °superl. -astr): magnificent, proud
Ǫll ‘all’
(not checked:)
allr (adj.): all
notes
[5, 6] hefr farit ǫll eylǫnd brandi ‘has advanced throughout all the islands with the sword’: For this meaning of fara, see Note to st. 1/4 above.
hefr ‘has’
(not checked:)
hafa (verb): have
notes
[5, 6] hefr farit ǫll eylǫnd brandi ‘has advanced throughout all the islands with the sword’: For this meaning of fara, see Note to st. 1/4 above.
Jóta ‘of the Jótar’
(not checked:)
Jóti (noun m.; °; -ar): one of the Jótar
kennings
Fellir Jóta‘The slayer of the Jótar ’
= Magnús
The slayer of the Jótar → Magnús
notes
[5] fellir Jóta ‘the slayer of the Jótar [= Magnús]’: It is not quite clear why Magnús is referred to as ‘the slayer of the Jótar’, but this could allude to his early campaign in Halland (then a part of Denmark) mentioned in st. 1 above. If Magnús made incursions in Dan. territories, he may also have have fought against the Jótar (the Jutes, people of Jylland).
fellir ‘The slayer’
(not checked:)
fellir (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i): slayer, feller
kennings
Fellir Jóta‘The slayer of the Jótar ’
= Magnús
The slayer of the Jótar → Magnús
notes
[5] fellir Jóta ‘the slayer of the Jótar [= Magnús]’: It is not quite clear why Magnús is referred to as ‘the slayer of the Jótar’, but this could allude to his early campaign in Halland (then a part of Denmark) mentioned in st. 1 above. If Magnús made incursions in Dan. territories, he may also have have fought against the Jótar (the Jutes, people of Jylland).
eylǫnd ‘the islands’
(not checked:)
eyland (noun n.; °-s; *-): island
notes
[5, 6] hefr farit ǫll eylǫnd brandi ‘has advanced throughout all the islands with the sword’: For this meaning of fara, see Note to st. 1/4 above.
farit ‘advanced throughout’
(not checked:)
fara (verb; ferr, fór, fóru, farinn): go, travel
notes
[5, 6] hefr farit ǫll eylǫnd brandi ‘has advanced throughout all the islands with the sword’: For this meaning of fara, see Note to st. 1/4 above.
brandi ‘with the sword’
(not checked:)
brandr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): sword, prow; fire
notes
[5, 6] hefr farit ǫll eylǫnd brandi ‘has advanced throughout all the islands with the sword’: For this meaning of fara, see Note to st. 1/4 above.
vítt ‘far and wide’
(not checked:)
víðr (adj.): far
liggr ‘is’
(not checked:)
liggja (verb): lie
dyggs ‘of the worthy’
(not checked:)
dyggr (adj.; °dyggvan/dyggan; compar. -vari/-ari/-ri, superl. -vastr/-astr/-str): trustworthy
dróttum ‘by the retainers’
(not checked:)
1. drótt (noun f.): troop
dǫglings ‘ruler’
(not checked:)
dǫglingr (noun m.; °; -ar): king, ruler
grund ‘the earth’
(not checked:)
grund (noun f.): earth, land
of ‘for’
(not checked:)
3. of (prep.): around, from; too
stundir ‘some time’
(not checked:)
stund (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -u/-; -ir): time, hour
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
|
Lífspelli réð Laufa |
The tree of Laufi <sword> [WARRIOR] caused the death of Hugh inn prúði (‘the Proud’) in the Menai Strait; the arrow-point flew fast where weapons soared. The slayer of the Jótar [= Magnús] has advanced throughout all the islands with the sword for some time; far and wide the earth is controlled by the retainers of the worthy ruler.
The battle of the Menai Strait between Anglesey and Wales in which Magnús fought with the Norman earls Hugh of Montgomery, Earl of Shrewsbury (Hugh the Proud (Hugi inn prúði)) and Hugh of Avranches, Earl of Chester (Hugh the Stout (Hugi inn digri)). Hugh of Shrewsbury was killed by an arrow, apparently shot by Magnús himself.
This battle is also commemorated in Þham Magndr 3 and in Gísl Magnkv 10-13. Hugh’s death is documented widely in ON and foreign sources (see the literature cited in Anderson 1922, II, 111 n. 2 and Power 1986, 109-10). There is dispute in Theodoricus and the ON prose sources as to the identity of the person who shot Hugh (and also about which of the two Hughs was killed). Theodoricus (MHN 62) says that Magnús killed Hugh the Stout (cognomento grossum), which corresponds to the account of Ágr (ÍF 29, 46), with the exception that, in the latter narrative, Hugh was shot by a man standing next to Magnús. After that man had made the fatal shot, he threw his bow to Magnús and dedicated the shot to him. According to Mork (1928-32, 319), the Hugh who was killed was Hugh the Proud, who was shot in the eye. Magnús and another shooter, a man from Hålogaland who stood next to him, shot simultaneously. Later there was dispute about whose arrow had killed Hugh, and Þham Magndr 3 is cited in support of Magnús being the killer (so also Fsk, ÍF 29, 308). Hkr (ÍF 28, 222) gives a similar account, except that Snorri states the the shot was konunginum kennt ‘attributed to the king’ (so also Orkn, ÍF 34, 96). In his Itinerarium Kambriae (in Geraldi Cambrensis Opera, VI, 129), Gerald of Wales gives a detailed account of this incident. He mistakenly identifies Hugh of Chester (comes Hugo Cestrensis) as the victim, but he states that Magnús was the one who shot him in the right eye and killed him (Hugh was entirely clad in iron except for his eyes). According to Gerald, Magnús, standing in the prow of his ship, looked insolently down at the dying man, shouting in Dan. leit loupe ‘let him leap’. Hugh of Avranches, Earl of Chester, died in 1101.
Stanza/chapter/text segment
Use the buttons at the top of the page to navigate between stanzas in a poem.
Information tab
- text: if the stanza has been published, the edited text of the stanza and translation are here; if it hasn't been published an old edition (usually Skj) is given for reference
- sources: a list of the manuscripts or inscriptions containing this stanza, with page and line references and links (eye button) to images where available, and transcription where available
- readings: a list of variant manuscript readings of words in the main text
- editions and texts: a list of editions of the stanza with links to the bibliography; and a list of prose works in which the stanza occurs, allowing you to navigate within the prose context
- notes and context: notes not linked to individual words are given here, along with the account of the prose context for the stanza, where relevant
Interactive tab
The text and translation are given here, with buttons to toggle whether the text is shown in the verse order or prose word order. Clicking on indiviudal words gives dictionary links, variant readings, kennings and notes, where relevant.
Full text tab
This is the text of the edition in a similar format to how the edition appears in the printed volumes.
Chapter/text segment
This view is also used for chapters and other text segments. Not all the headings shown are relevant to such sections.