Bragi Rdr 12^III

Þá má sókn á Svǫlnis
salpenningi kenna.
Ræs gǫfumk reiðar mána
Ragnarr ok fjǫl sagna.

Þá sókn má kenna á {{Svǫlnis sal}penningi}. Ragnarr gǫfumk {mána {reiðar Ræs}} ok fjǫl sagna.

That attack can be recognised on {the penny {of the hall of Svǫlnir <= Óðinn>}} [(lit. ‘hall-penny of Svǫlnir’) = Valhǫll > SHIELD]. Ragnarr gave me {a moon {of the chariot of Rær <sea-king>}} [SHIP > SHIELD] and a multitude of stories.

Mss: R(34v-35r), Tˣ(36r), W(79) (SnE)

Readings: [3-4] abbrev. as ‘ręs gafvmk reiþar. m. e.’ R, ‘res ga fomc reidarm.’ Tˣ, ‘Ræs gafvmk reiðar. m.’ W

Editions: Skj AI, 3, Skj BI, 3, Skald I, 2; SnE 1848-87, I, 438-9, III, 85, SnE 1931, 155, SnE 1998, I, 73.

Context: See Context of st. 11.

Notes: [All]: It is clear that ll. 3-4 form a refrain (stef), as they are exactly the same, to judge by the scribes’ abbreviations of the stef, as ll. 3-4 of st. 7, which come at the end of the stanzas of Rdr dealing with the legend of Jǫrmunrekkr. Lines 1-2 of each stanza are also similar, in that the narrating voice draws attention to the fact that images of these two legends can be seen on a shield, and employs an elaborate kenning for it. — [1-2] á Svǫlnis salpenningi ‘on the penny of the hall of Svǫlnir <= Óðinn> [(lit. ‘hall-penny of Svǫlnir’) = Valhǫll > SHIELD]’: The understanding of this inverted kenning depends on one’s knowledge of an Old Norse mythological ‘fact’, that Valhǫll, Óðinn’s hall, was roofed with shields, as is recorded in Gylf (SnE 2005, 7), where it is stated that the shields were gilded. Cf. the similar shield-kenning Sváfnis salnæfrar ‘the hall-shingles of Sváfnir <= Óðinn>’ in Þhorn Harkv 11/3^I. Viking-Age shields were round, and often painted in bright colours, hence the appropriateness of the coin analogy. The reference to Valhǫll may also be intentionally pointed in this narrative of a valkyrie-like woman, possibly aided by Óðinn, sending a group of warriors to their deaths.

References

1. Bibliography
2. 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.
3. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
5. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
6. SnE 2005 = Snorri Sturluson. 2005. Edda: Prologue and Gylfaginning. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2nd edn. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
7. Internal references
8. (forthcoming), ‘ Snorri Sturluson, Gylfaginning’ 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=113> (accessed 26 April 2024)
9. Margaret Clunies Ross 2017, ‘ Bragi inn gamli Boddason, Ragnarsdrápa’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 27. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1130> (accessed 26 April 2024)
10. R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2012, ‘Þorbjǫrn hornklofi, Haraldskvæði (Hrafnsmál) 11’ 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. 106.