Bragi Rdr 3III
Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Bragi inn gamli Boddason, Ragnarsdrápa 3’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 31.
notes
[1, 2, 4] knátti at vakna við illan draum ‘awakened with an evil dream’: An Old and Modern Icelandic idiom used of someone who awakes from sleep to a nightmarish reality over which he has no control (cf. Wood 1960b). Some scholars (e.g. Vogt 1930b, 3-5) maintain that Jǫrmunrekkr was asleep and woke from a bad dream. In Skm Guðrún advises the brothers to attack Jǫrmunrekkr at night while he is asleep.
við ‘with’
(not checked:)
2. við (prep.): with, against
notes
[1, 2, 4] knátti at vakna við illan draum ‘awakened with an evil dream’: An Old and Modern Icelandic idiom used of someone who awakes from sleep to a nightmarish reality over which he has no control (cf. Wood 1960b). Some scholars (e.g. Vogt 1930b, 3-5) maintain that Jǫrmunrekkr was asleep and woke from a bad dream. In Skm Guðrún advises the brothers to attack Jǫrmunrekkr at night while he is asleep.
illan ‘an evil’
(not checked:)
illr (adj.): bad, evil, unwell
notes
[1, 2, 4] knátti at vakna við illan draum ‘awakened with an evil dream’: An Old and Modern Icelandic idiom used of someone who awakes from sleep to a nightmarish reality over which he has no control (cf. Wood 1960b). Some scholars (e.g. Vogt 1930b, 3-5) maintain that Jǫrmunrekkr was asleep and woke from a bad dream. In Skm Guðrún advises the brothers to attack Jǫrmunrekkr at night while he is asleep.
Jǫrmun ‘Jǫrmun’
(not checked:)
jǫrmun- ((prefix)): [Jǫrmun, mighty] < jǫrmunrekr (noun m.)
[2] Jǫrmun‑: ermen‑ C, ermin‑ W
rekkr ‘rekkr’
(not checked:)
rekkr (noun m.; °; -ar): man, champion < jǫrmunrekr (noun m.)
at ‘’
(not checked:)
5. at (nota): to (with infinitive)
notes
[1, 2, 4] knátti at vakna við illan draum ‘awakened with an evil dream’: An Old and Modern Icelandic idiom used of someone who awakes from sleep to a nightmarish reality over which he has no control (cf. Wood 1960b). Some scholars (e.g. Vogt 1930b, 3-5) maintain that Jǫrmunrekkr was asleep and woke from a bad dream. In Skm Guðrún advises the brothers to attack Jǫrmunrekkr at night while he is asleep.
vakna ‘awakened’
(not checked:)
vakna (verb): wake, awake
notes
[1, 2, 4] knátti at vakna við illan draum ‘awakened with an evil dream’: An Old and Modern Icelandic idiom used of someone who awakes from sleep to a nightmarish reality over which he has no control (cf. Wood 1960b). Some scholars (e.g. Vogt 1930b, 3-5) maintain that Jǫrmunrekkr was asleep and woke from a bad dream. In Skm Guðrún advises the brothers to attack Jǫrmunrekkr at night while he is asleep.
með ‘among’
(not checked:)
með (prep.): with
dreyrfáar ‘the blood-stained’
(not checked:)
dreyrfár (adj.): blood-stained
draum ‘dream’
(not checked:)
draumr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-; -ar): dream
notes
[1, 2, 4] knátti at vakna við illan draum ‘awakened with an evil dream’: An Old and Modern Icelandic idiom used of someone who awakes from sleep to a nightmarish reality over which he has no control (cf. Wood 1960b). Some scholars (e.g. Vogt 1930b, 3-5) maintain that Jǫrmunrekkr was asleep and woke from a bad dream. In Skm Guðrún advises the brothers to attack Jǫrmunrekkr at night while he is asleep.
í ‘in’
(not checked:)
í (prep.): in, into
notes
[4] í flaumi sverða ‘in the eddy of swords [BATTLE]’: The base-word, flaumr ‘eddy, torrent’, of this battle-kenning connotes the flowing of blood as well as the melée of swords.
sverða ‘of swords’
(not checked:)
sverð (noun n.; °-s; -): sword
kennings
flaumi sverða.‘the eddy of swords. ’
= BATTLE
the eddy of swords. → BATTLE
notes
[4] í flaumi sverða ‘in the eddy of swords [BATTLE]’: The base-word, flaumr ‘eddy, torrent’, of this battle-kenning connotes the flowing of blood as well as the melée of swords.
flaumi ‘the eddy’
(not checked:)
flaumr (noun m.; °dat. -): eddy
kennings
flaumi sverða.‘the eddy of swords. ’
= BATTLE
the eddy of swords. → BATTLE
notes
[4] í flaumi sverða ‘in the eddy of swords [BATTLE]’: The base-word, flaumr ‘eddy, torrent’, of this battle-kenning connotes the flowing of blood as well as the melée of swords.
notes
[5] rósta varð í ranni ‘there was tumult in the hall’: Cf. Hamð 23/1 (NK 272) Styrr varð í ranni ‘There was uproar in the hall’ and Old English Beowulf l. 1302a Hrēam wearð on Heorote ‘There was uproar in Heorot’ (Beowulf 2008, 45), formulaic introductions to the topic of a hall-fight.
notes
[5] rósta varð í ranni ‘there was tumult in the hall’: Cf. Hamð 23/1 (NK 272) Styrr varð í ranni ‘There was uproar in the hall’ and Old English Beowulf l. 1302a Hrēam wearð on Heorote ‘There was uproar in Heorot’ (Beowulf 2008, 45), formulaic introductions to the topic of a hall-fight.
í ‘in’
(not checked:)
í (prep.): in, into
notes
[5] rósta varð í ranni ‘there was tumult in the hall’: Cf. Hamð 23/1 (NK 272) Styrr varð í ranni ‘There was uproar in the hall’ and Old English Beowulf l. 1302a Hrēam wearð on Heorote ‘There was uproar in Heorot’ (Beowulf 2008, 45), formulaic introductions to the topic of a hall-fight.
ranni ‘the hall’
(not checked:)
rann (noun n.): house, hall
notes
[5] rósta varð í ranni ‘there was tumult in the hall’: Cf. Hamð 23/1 (NK 272) Styrr varð í ranni ‘There was uproar in the hall’ and Old English Beowulf l. 1302a Hrēam wearð on Heorote ‘There was uproar in Heorot’ (Beowulf 2008, 45), formulaic introductions to the topic of a hall-fight.
kennings
hǫfuðniðja Randvés,‘of the chief kinsmen of Randvér, ’
= the dynasty of the Goths
the chief kinsmen of Randvér, → the dynasty of the Goths
notes
[6] hǫfuðniðja Randvés ‘of the chief kinsmen of Randvér [= the dynasty of the Goths]’: Some scholars (so Skj B) consider this kenning to refer to Jǫrmunrekkr himself, the father of Randvér, believing that the pl. hǫfuðniðjar is intended to have a sg. referent. But there is no reason to abandon the pl. sense, which then denotes the Gothic royal house as a whole and its ancestral hall.
hǫfuðniðja ‘of the chief kinsmen’
(not checked:)
hǫfuðniðr (noun m.): [chief kinsmen]
kennings
hǫfuðniðja Randvés,‘of the chief kinsmen of Randvér, ’
= the dynasty of the Goths
the chief kinsmen of Randvér, → the dynasty of the Goths
notes
[6] hǫfuðniðja Randvés ‘of the chief kinsmen of Randvér [= the dynasty of the Goths]’: Some scholars (so Skj B) consider this kenning to refer to Jǫrmunrekkr himself, the father of Randvér, believing that the pl. hǫfuðniðjar is intended to have a sg. referent. But there is no reason to abandon the pl. sense, which then denotes the Gothic royal house as a whole and its ancestral hall.
þás ‘when’
(not checked:)
þás (conj.): when
hrafn ‘the raven’
(not checked:)
hrafn (noun m.; °hrafns; dat. hrafni; hrafnar): raven < hrafnblár (adj.)
notes
[7] hrafnbláir ‘raven-black’: Hamðir and Sǫrli were linked in Old Norse legend with the Niflungar, traditionally supposed to have been dark in colour (cf. ON nifl- ‘mist, darkness’ (only in compounds like Niflhel, part of the underworld), OHG nebul, OE nifol, Lat. nebula ‘fog, mist, cloud’).
blám ‘’
(not checked:)
blár (adj.): black
bláir ‘black’
(not checked:)
blár (adj.): black < hrafnblár (adj.)
[7] ‑bláir: so Tˣ, C, corrected from ‘blarir’ R, blám W
notes
[7] hrafnbláir ‘raven-black’: Hamðir and Sǫrli were linked in Old Norse legend with the Niflungar, traditionally supposed to have been dark in colour (cf. ON nifl- ‘mist, darkness’ (only in compounds like Niflhel, part of the underworld), OHG nebul, OE nifol, Lat. nebula ‘fog, mist, cloud’).
hefndu ‘avenged’
(not checked:)
hefna (verb): avenge
harma ‘injuries’
(not checked:)
1. harmr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): sorrow, grief
Erps ‘of Erpr’
(not checked:)
Erpr (noun m.): Erpr
kennings
barmar Erps‘brothers of Erpr ’
= Hamðir and Sǫrli
brothers of Erpr → Hamðir and Sǫrli
notes
[8] of barmar Erps ‘the brothers of Erpr [= Hamðir and Sǫrli]’: This kenning for Hamðir and Sǫrli depends upon a knowledge of the role played by a third brother, Erpr, in the lead-up to their attack on Jǫrmunrekkr. Erpr ‘the Dark-brown One’, the son of Jónakr by a different mother (inn sundrmœðri, Hamð 13/1, NK 271), offers to help his brothers kill Jǫrmunrekkr as an arm helps a leg, but his cryptically phrased offer is scornfully refused, Hamðir and Sǫrli killing him on the road. According to both Hamð and Skm, this fratricidal act means that they cannot succeed in killing Jǫrmunrekkr outright. Bragi’s use in this kenning of the poetic noun barmi, meaning a child fed at the same breast as another, is deeply ironic.
notes
[8] of barmar Erps ‘the brothers of Erpr [= Hamðir and Sǫrli]’: This kenning for Hamðir and Sǫrli depends upon a knowledge of the role played by a third brother, Erpr, in the lead-up to their attack on Jǫrmunrekkr. Erpr ‘the Dark-brown One’, the son of Jónakr by a different mother (inn sundrmœðri, Hamð 13/1, NK 271), offers to help his brothers kill Jǫrmunrekkr as an arm helps a leg, but his cryptically phrased offer is scornfully refused, Hamðir and Sǫrli killing him on the road. According to both Hamð and Skm, this fratricidal act means that they cannot succeed in killing Jǫrmunrekkr outright. Bragi’s use in this kenning of the poetic noun barmi, meaning a child fed at the same breast as another, is deeply ironic.
kennings
barmar Erps‘brothers of Erpr ’
= Hamðir and Sǫrli
brothers of Erpr → Hamðir and Sǫrli
notes
[8] of barmar Erps ‘the brothers of Erpr [= Hamðir and Sǫrli]’: This kenning for Hamðir and Sǫrli depends upon a knowledge of the role played by a third brother, Erpr, in the lead-up to their attack on Jǫrmunrekkr. Erpr ‘the Dark-brown One’, the son of Jónakr by a different mother (inn sundrmœðri, Hamð 13/1, NK 271), offers to help his brothers kill Jǫrmunrekkr as an arm helps a leg, but his cryptically phrased offer is scornfully refused, Hamðir and Sǫrli killing him on the road. According to both Hamð and Skm, this fratricidal act means that they cannot succeed in killing Jǫrmunrekkr outright. Bragi’s use in this kenning of the poetic noun barmi, meaning a child fed at the same breast as another, is deeply ironic.
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
This stanza is preserved in two sources, the Skm section of SnE (R, Tˣ, C) and FoGT (W). In Skm (SnE 1998, I, 50-1) the stanza is the first of a sequence of four stanzas and a stef, specifically ascribed to Rdr, and these stanzas are cited at the end of a long passage recounting various narratives about the legendary Niflungar and their descendants, among whom were the brothers Hamðir and Sǫrli. The Rdr stanzas are introduced thus: Eptir þessum sǫgum hafa flest skáld ort ok tekit ymsa þáttu. Bragi hinn gamli orti um fall Sǫrla ok Hamðis í drápu þeiri er hann orti um Ragnar loðbrók ‘Most poets have composed [poetry] based on these stories, and have used various parts [of them]. Bragi the Old composed about the death of Sǫrli and Hamðir in the drápa that he composed about Ragnarr loðbrók’. In FoGT (FoGT 1884, 129), which is only preserved in W, its anonymous author cites the stanza on its own as an example of the rhetorical figure of ekbasis, or digression, and introduces it with the words (normalised): Ebasis er af ganga efnisins, þá er skaldit reikar afvegis, sem Bragi skald gerði, þá er hann setti í þá drápu, er hann orti um Ragnar konung, þær vísur er segja um fall Sǫrla ok Hamðis sona Jónakrs konungs ok Guðrúnar Gjúkadóttur, er þeir fellu fyrir mǫnnum Erminreks konungs, ok er sjá vísa ein af þeim ‘Ekbasis is a departure from the subject-matter, when the poet drifts off course, as Bragi the poet did, when he inserted into the drápa that he composed about King Ragnarr, those stanzas that tell about the death of Sǫrli and Hamðir, sons of King Jónakr and Guðrún daughter of Gjúki, when they fell before the men of King Jǫrmunrekkr, and this stanza is one of them’.
The first of four stanzas in which Bragi depicts the vengeance carried out by the brothers Hamðir and Sǫrli, sons of Guðrún Gjúkadóttir and King Jónakr, upon the Gothic king Jǫrmunrekkr, the historical Ostrogothic ruler Ermanaric (d. 375 AD), because he had their sister, his wife Svanhildr, put to death for supposed adultery with his own son Randvér. The brothers attack Jǫrmunrekkr in his hall and maim him, but fail to kill him, whereupon the Goths turn upon Hamðir and Sǫrli, and kill them by pelting them with stones. This legend is also the subject of the eddic poem Hamð (see Dronke 1969, 159-242 for a comparison of this and other sources), which tells that Svanhildr was torn apart by wild horses and Randvér was hanged (Hamð 2-3, 17). Skm prefaces the citation of Bragi’s stanzas with a prose account of the legend (SnE 1998, I, 49-50). See Vǫls chs 41-4 (Vǫls 1965, 74-8) and Saxo 2005, I, 8, 10, 9-14, pp. 550-4, for other accounts. Finch (1993a) details the linking of this legend to the Vǫlsung-Niflung family, with which Ragnarr loðbrók was sometimes connected. For the historical record, see Ammianus Marcellinus, Rerum gestarum libri qui supersunt XXXI, ch. 3 (Rolfe 1948-52, III, 394-6) and Jordanes, Getica (Mommsen 1882, ch. XXIV, §§129-30). Rdr reveals a somewhat anti-heroic attitude to its subject-matter, st. 3 beginning in medias res with Jǫrmunrekkr awakening from a drunken sleep to chaos in his own hall.
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