ESk Geisl 28VII
Martin Chase (ed.) 2007, ‘Einarr Skúlason, Geisli 28’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 29-30.
Gekk ‘appeared’
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2. ganga (verb; geng, gekk, gengu, genginn): walk, go
sínum ‘to his’
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3. sinn (pron.; °f. sín, n. sitt): (refl. poss. pron.)
bur ‘son’
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burr (noun m.; °; -ir): son
søkkvir ‘The enemy’
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søkkvir (noun m.): [sinker, enemy]
[1] søkkvir: so H, Hr, ‘sueckuir’ Flat, ‘sekir’ Bb
kennings
Søkkvir sólar straums‘The enemy of the sun of the stream ’
= GENEROUS MAN
the sun of the stream → GOLD
The enemy of the GOLD → GENEROUS MAN
sólar ‘of the sun’
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sól (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -u/-; -ir): sun
kennings
Søkkvir sólar straums‘The enemy of the sun of the stream ’
= GENEROUS MAN
the sun of the stream → GOLD
The enemy of the GOLD → GENEROUS MAN
sólar ‘of the sun’
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sól (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -u/-; -ir): sun
kennings
Søkkvir sólar straums‘The enemy of the sun of the stream ’
= GENEROUS MAN
the sun of the stream → GOLD
The enemy of the GOLD → GENEROUS MAN
straums ‘of the stream’
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straumr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-; -ar): stream, current
kennings
Søkkvir sólar straums‘The enemy of the sun of the stream ’
= GENEROUS MAN
the sun of the stream → GOLD
The enemy of the GOLD → GENEROUS MAN
straums ‘of the stream’
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straumr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-; -ar): stream, current
kennings
Søkkvir sólar straums‘The enemy of the sun of the stream ’
= GENEROUS MAN
the sun of the stream → GOLD
The enemy of the GOLD → GENEROUS MAN
í ‘in’
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í (prep.): in, into
drauma ‘a dream’
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draumr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-; -ar): dream
kennings
vald foldar‘the strength of the land ’
= Óláfr
the strength of the land → Óláfr
notes
[3] vald foldar ‘strength of the land’: Bb, H, and Hr read valdr foldar ‘ruler of the land’, a typical kenning which may be the better reading. But the Flat version is appropriate in this context. Abstract nouns were rarely used as base-words in kennings (cf. líf in Geisl 3/6), but Einarr may be imitating Scripture, where God is repeatedly called fortitudo ‘strength’ and robur ‘power’. Cf. especially the circumlocutions in Ps. XXVII.8 (fortitudo plebis suae ‘the strength of his people’) and Joel III.16 (fortitudo filiorum Israhel ‘the strength of the children of Israel’).
fylgja ‘help’
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2. fylgja (verb): follow, accompany
foldar ‘of the land’
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fold (noun f.): land
kennings
vald foldar‘the strength of the land ’
= Óláfr
the strength of the land → Óláfr
notes
[3] vald foldar ‘strength of the land’: Bb, H, and Hr read valdr foldar ‘ruler of the land’, a typical kenning which may be the better reading. But the Flat version is appropriate in this context. Abstract nouns were rarely used as base-words in kennings (cf. líf in Geisl 3/6), but Einarr may be imitating Scripture, where God is repeatedly called fortitudo ‘strength’ and robur ‘power’. Cf. especially the circumlocutions in Ps. XXVII.8 (fortitudo plebis suae ‘the strength of his people’) and Joel III.16 (fortitudo filiorum Israhel ‘the strength of the children of Israel’).
fram ‘the forward-’
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fram (adv.): out, forth, forwards, away < framlyndr (adj.): ambitious
lundum ‘’
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2. lundr (adj.): minded
lyndum ‘striving’
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lyndr (adj.; °superl. -astr): minded < framlyndr (adj.): ambitious
[4] ‑lyndum: ‑lundum Bb
gram ‘prince’
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1. gramr (noun m.): ruler
áðr ‘before’
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áðr (adv.; °//): before
á ‘at’
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3. á (prep.): on, at
notes
[5] á Hlýrskógsheiði ‘at Lyrskovshede’: The name of the battle, fought by Magnús the Good against the Wends on a heath in Southern Jutland between Hedeby and Ribe on 28 September 1043. The Wends were a Slavic tribe who raided and colonised along the southern coast of the Baltic. According to Adam of Bremen, the Wends attacked Denmark to avenge the killing of their chief, Ratibor, by the Danes. Magnús led an army of his own men joined with a Danish force to a great victory: 15,000 Wends were killed, according to Adam, and Heimskringla reports that it was the greatest carnage seen in the North in Christian times (Gesta, II.lxxix in Schmeidler 1917, 136-8; Hkr, ÍF 28, 43-5). Although Adam identifies Ratibor as being Christian, most Wends were not, and battles with the Wends were often regarded as campaigns against paganism. Danes and Saxons fought a series of battles with the Wends in the century following, and they were not subjugated and forcibly converted before 1169 (Helle 2003, 423). Snorri (Hkr, ÍF 28, 43-4) associates Arn Magndr 10II and ÞjóðA Magnfl 7II with this battle, although neither skald mentions the name of the place.
Hlýr ‘Lyr’
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2. hlýr (noun n.; °-s; -): cheek, bow < Hlýrskógsheiðr (noun f.): [skovshede]
[5] Hlýr‑: ‘hly‑’ Hr
notes
[5] á Hlýrskógsheiði ‘at Lyrskovshede’: The name of the battle, fought by Magnús the Good against the Wends on a heath in Southern Jutland between Hedeby and Ribe on 28 September 1043. The Wends were a Slavic tribe who raided and colonised along the southern coast of the Baltic. According to Adam of Bremen, the Wends attacked Denmark to avenge the killing of their chief, Ratibor, by the Danes. Magnús led an army of his own men joined with a Danish force to a great victory: 15,000 Wends were killed, according to Adam, and Heimskringla reports that it was the greatest carnage seen in the North in Christian times (Gesta, II.lxxix in Schmeidler 1917, 136-8; Hkr, ÍF 28, 43-5). Although Adam identifies Ratibor as being Christian, most Wends were not, and battles with the Wends were often regarded as campaigns against paganism. Danes and Saxons fought a series of battles with the Wends in the century following, and they were not subjugated and forcibly converted before 1169 (Helle 2003, 423). Snorri (Hkr, ÍF 28, 43-4) associates Arn Magndr 10II and ÞjóðA Magnfl 7II with this battle, although neither skald mentions the name of the place.
skógsheiði ‘skovshede’
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Hlýrskógsheiðr (noun f.): [skovshede] < Hlýrskógsheiðr (noun f.): [skovshede]
notes
[5] á Hlýrskógsheiði ‘at Lyrskovshede’: The name of the battle, fought by Magnús the Good against the Wends on a heath in Southern Jutland between Hedeby and Ribe on 28 September 1043. The Wends were a Slavic tribe who raided and colonised along the southern coast of the Baltic. According to Adam of Bremen, the Wends attacked Denmark to avenge the killing of their chief, Ratibor, by the Danes. Magnús led an army of his own men joined with a Danish force to a great victory: 15,000 Wends were killed, according to Adam, and Heimskringla reports that it was the greatest carnage seen in the North in Christian times (Gesta, II.lxxix in Schmeidler 1917, 136-8; Hkr, ÍF 28, 43-5). Although Adam identifies Ratibor as being Christian, most Wends were not, and battles with the Wends were often regarded as campaigns against paganism. Danes and Saxons fought a series of battles with the Wends in the century following, and they were not subjugated and forcibly converted before 1169 (Helle 2003, 423). Snorri (Hkr, ÍF 28, 43-4) associates Arn Magndr 10II and ÞjóðA Magnfl 7II with this battle, although neither skald mentions the name of the place.
harð ‘the hard-’
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harðr (adj.; °comp. -ari; superl. -astr): hard, harsh < harðgeðr (adj.): hard-minded
lyndr ‘’
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lyndr (adj.; °superl. -astr): minded
geðr ‘minded’
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-geðr (adj.): -minded < harðgeðr (adj.): hard-minded
[6] ‑geðr: ‘feingr’ Bb, H, lyndr Hr
gramr ‘’
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1. gramr (noun m.): ruler
jǫfurr ‘’
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jǫfurr (noun m.): ruler, prince
konungr ‘king’
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konungr (noun m.; °dat. -i, -s; -ar): king
[6] konungr: jǫfurr Bb, H, gramr Hr
barðisk ‘fought’
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2. berja (verb; °barði; barðr/bariðr/barinn): fight
eldis ‘food’
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eldi (noun n.): fire
fekk ‘’
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2. fá (verb; °fǽr; fekk, fengu; fenginn): get, receive
gyldir ‘the wolf’
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gylðir (noun m.): wolf
gnótt ‘an abundance’
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gnótt (noun f.): abundance
við ‘against’
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2. við (prep.): with, against
heiðnar ‘the heathen’
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heiðinn (adj.): heathen
dróttir ‘hosts’
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1. drótt (noun f.): troop
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
H and Hr quote this st. in their account of the battle of Lyrskovshede. It is introduced as follows: Þess getr Einar Skúlason í Óláfsdrápu, at Óláfr konungr sýndisk Magnúsi konúngi í svefni fyrir þenna bardaga, ok hꜵt at veita honum lið. Hann segir svá ... ‘Einarr Skúlason tells of this in Óláfsdrápa: that King Óláfr showed himself to King Magnús in a dream before this battle, and promised to give him assistance. He says...’.
The miracle of Óláfr’s appearance to his son Magnús in a dream the night before the battle of Hlýrskógsheiðr (Lyrskovshede) is also recounted in C12th historical writings, including Theodoricus’s Historia de Antiquitate Regum Norwagiensium (MHN 48-50), Saxo Grammaticus’s Gesta Danorum (Olrik & Ræder 1931-57, I, 302-3) and Ágr 1929, 37-8; for discussion see Chase 2005, 38-9.
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