ESk Geisl 11^VII

Þreklynds skulu Þrœndir
þegns prýðibrag hlýða
Krists — lifir hann í hæstri
hǫll — ok Norðmenn allir.
Dýrð es ágæt orðin
eljunhress í þessu
— þjóð né þengill fœðisk
þvílíkr — konungs ríki.

Þrœndir ok allir Norðmenn skulu hlýða prýðibrag {þreklynds þegns Krists}; hann lifir í hæstri hǫll. Eljunhress dýrð es orðin ágæt í þessu konungs ríki; þjóð né þvílíkr þengill fœðisk.

The Þrœndir and all Norwegians should listen to the splendid poem {of the strong-minded thane of Christ} [= Óláfr]; he lives in the highest hall. Energetic fame has become renowned in this king’s realm; neither people nor such a prince will be born [again].

Mss: Flat(2ra), Bb(117rb)

Readings: [2] þegns prýðibrag: ‘þegn prydes brag’ Bb    [3] Krists: Krist Bb    [6] þessu: so Bb, þessum Flat    [8] þvílíkr: so Bb, þvílíkr í Flat;    konungs: konung Bb

Editions: Skj AI, 461, Skj BI, 429-30, Skald I, 212, NN §931; Flat 1860-8, I, 2, Cederschiöld 1873, 2, Chase 2005, 61, 134.

Notes: [All]: Flat and Bb’s versions of st. 11 differ significantly, especially in ll. 2, 6 and 8. — [2] prýðibrag þegns ‘splendid poem of the thane’: Previous eds have based their texts on Bb’s þegnprýðis brag ‘poem of the thane-ornamenter [RULER = Óláfr]’. This interpretation assumes a hap. leg. prýðir cognate with prýða ‘to ornament’. The hap. leg. prýðibrag ‘splendid poem’ is a more likely cpd than þegnprýðir (there are a variety of compounds with prýði-). Þegn (l. 2) is then construed with Krists (l. 3) to give a kenning for Óláfr analogous to the miles Christi ‘soldier of Christ’ familiar from Scripture (2 Tim. II.3) and hagiography (cf. Guðs ríðari ‘God’s knight’ 18/6). — [3-4]: Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) and Kock (Skald) assume an intercalary cl. hann lifir í hæstri hǫll Krists ‘he [Óláfr] lives in the highest hall of Christ’, understanding ‘the highest hall of Christ’ as a kenning for heaven. Here, however, the sup. adj. is redundant so the phrase í hæstri hǫll (cf. œztrar hallar 5/3, 4) offers a better reading. — [5-8]: Most eds (Skj B, Skald and NN §931, and Wisén 1886-9, I, 55) follow Bb’s þessu (l. 6) and omission of í (l. 8), which in Flat’s version is both hypermetrical and unmetrical. Flat’s version also requires a noun to be understood with þessum (l. 6). Eljunhress (adj.) ‘energetic’ may be either f. nom. sg. agreeing with dýrð or m. gen. sg., used substantivally, referring to Óláfr. Alternatively, it can qualify konungs, although this involves reading konungs and ríki in l. 8 separately rather than as comprising a single phrase. Skj B construes ll. 5-8 as: dýrð eljunhress þjóðkonungs es orðin ágæt; né fœðisk þvílíkr þengill í þessu ríki ‘the fame of the energetic people-king has become renowned; there will not be born [again] such a prince in this realm’. This has the advantage of avoiding the rather awkward treatment of þjóð (l. 7), necessitated by Kock’s solution below; instead þjóðkonungs is taken as a cpd with tmesis, as in a similar context in 14/3-4. Kock (NN §931) has dýrð eljunhress es orðin ágæt í þessu konungsríki; þjóð né þvílíkr ðengill fœðisk ‘the fame of the hero has become renowned in this kingdom; neither people nor such a prince will be born [elsewhere]’. Kock’s version, however, is the simplest, as far as word order is concerned, and metrically straightforward, and a variant of it is adopted here.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
3. Cederschiöld, Gustaf J. Chr., ed. 1873b. ‘Bandamanna saga’. Acta Universitatis Lundensis 10.
4. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
6. Cederschiöld, Gustaf J. Chr., ed. 1873a. Geisli eða Óláfs Drápa ens Helga er Einarr orti Skúlason: efter ‘Bergsboken’ utgifven. Acta Universitatis Lundensis 10. Lund: Berling.
7. Chase, Martin, ed. 2005. Einarr Skúlason’s Geisli. A Critical Edition. Toronto Old Norse and Icelandic Studies 1. Toronto, Buffalo and London: Toronto University Press.
8. Wisén, Theodor, ed. 1886-9. Carmina Norrœnæ: Ex reliquiis vetustioris norrœnæ poësis selecta, recognita, commentariis et glossario instructa. 2 vols. Lund: Ohlsson.
9. Flat 1860-8 = Gudbrand Vigfusson [Guðbrandur Vigfússon] and C. R. Unger, eds. 1860-8. Flateyjarbók. En samling af norske konge-sagaer med indskudte mindre fortællinger om begivenheder i og udenfor Norge samt annaler. 3 vols. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.