ESk Geisl 18^VII

Fúss emk, þvít vann vísir,
— vas hann mestr konungr flestra —
— drótt nemi mærð — ef mættak,
manndýrðir, stef vanda.
Greitt má gumnum létta
guðs ríðari stríðum;
rǫskr þiggr allt, sem œskir,
Óláfr af gram sólar.

Fúss emk vanda stef, ef mættak, þvít vísir vann manndýrðir; hann vas mestr konungr flestra; drótt nemi mærð. {Guðs ríðari} má greitt létta stríðum gumnum; rǫskr Óláfr þiggr allt, sem œskir, af {gram sólar}.

I am eager to compose a refrain, if I can, because the prince attained manly qualities; he was the greatest king among most [rulers]; may the court receive the praise poem. {God’s knight} [SAINT = Óláfr] can easily alleviate afflictions for men; brave Óláfr gets all he desires from {the king of the sun} [= God].

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

Readings: [1] emk (‘em ek’): so Bb, ‘er ek’ Flat;    vísir: vísi Bb    [2] flestra: flestar Bb    [6] ríðari: so Bb, ‘ridadri’ Flat    [7] rǫskr: hraustr Bb;    œskir: æstir Bb

Editions: Skj AI, 462, Skj BI, 431, Skald I, 213; Flat 1860-8, I, 3, Cederschiöld 1873, 3, Chase 2005, 68, 138-9.

Notes: [2] flestra ‘among most [rulers]’: The Bb reading, flestar, allows for smoother syntax. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) construes þvít vísi vann flestar manndýrðir; hann vas mestr konungr ‘because the king was in possession of most splendid qualities; he was the greatest king’. — [3] drótt nemi mærð ‘may the court receive the praise poem’: This cl. may mean ‘may the court receive the poem’ in the sense of giving the poet a hearing, or, more actively, ‘may the court learn the praise poem’. — [5-8]: These ll. constitute the drápa’s stef or refrain, and appear again at 21/5-8, 24/5-8, 27/5-8, 30/5-8, 33/5-8, 36/5-8, 39/5-8, 42/5-8 and 45/5-8. The section between sts 18-45 is the stefjabálkr. A small cross symbol appears in the right margin of Flat beside or above each repetition of the stef. — [6] ríðari ‘knight’: This is one of the earliest instances of the word in poetry, though see Mberf Lv 2/2^II, which is earlier. The kenning Guðs ríðari ‘God’s knight’ also occurs in Árni Gd 32/1^IV. — [8] gram sólar ‘king of the sun’: Einarr introduced this image (which has no precise analogues in Scripture or in Lat. hymns) into skaldic poetry, and it was widely imitated (cf. Meissner, 381-2).

References

1. Bibliography
2. Cederschiöld, Gustaf J. Chr., ed. 1873b. ‘Bandamanna saga’. Acta Universitatis Lundensis 10.
3. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. Meissner = Meissner, Rudolf. 1921. Die Kenningar der Skalden: Ein Beitrag zur skaldischen Poetik. Rheinische Beiträge und Hülfsbücher zur germanischen Philologie und Volkskunde 1. Bonn and Leipzig: Schroeder. Rpt. 1984. Hildesheim etc.: Olms.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. Internal references
10. Not published: do not cite (HSt Sk^I)
11. Not published: do not cite (Árni Gd 32^IV)
12. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Magnús berfœttr Óláfsson, Lausavísur 2’ 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, p. 386.