ESk Geisl 43VII
Martin Chase (ed.) 2007, ‘Einarr Skúlason, Geisli 43’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 42-3.
text and translation
Hneitir, frák, at héti,
hjaldrs at vápna galdri,
Óláfs hjǫrr, þess’s orra
ilbleikum gaf steikar.
Þeim klauf þengill Rauma
þunnvaxin ský gunnar
— rekin bitu stôl — á Stikla-
stǫðum valbastar rǫðli.
Frák, at hjǫrr Óláfs, þess’s gaf steikar {ilbleikum orra hjaldrs} at {galdri vápna}, héti Hneitir. {Þeim rǫðli valbastar} klauf {þengill Rauma} {þunnvaxin ský gunnar} á Stiklastǫðum; rekin stôl bitu.
‘I heard that the sword of Óláfr, who gave meat to the pale-footed blackcock of battle [RAVEN] at the chant of weapons [BATTLE], was called Hneitir. With that sun of the sword-hilt [SWORD] the king of the Raumar [= Óláfr] clove the thin-grown clouds of battle [SHIELDS] at Stiklestad; inlaid steel weapons bit.’
notes and context
Sts 43-50 are occupied with the story of the fate of King Óláfr’s sword Hneitir ‘cutter’. According to Óláfs þáttr Geirstaðaálfs (Flat 1860-8, II, 6-9; Fms 4, 37-8), this sword had belonged to Óláfr Geirstaðaálfr. When he died, it was buried with him, but he later appeared in a dream to Hrani Hróason and instructed him to break into the burial mound, take the sword, and give it to Ásta, then in labour with the birth of her son, S. Óláfr, who received it from his mother at the age of eight. Some versions of Óláfs saga report that after killing a huge boar with the sword, Óláfr changed its name from Bæsingr ‘son of an exiled mother’ to Hneitir ‘cutter’, þvíat honum þótti þat hneita önnur sverð fur hvassleika sakir ‘because it seemed to him to outdo other swords where sharpness is concerned’ (Fms 4, 57-8). The story of what happened to Hneitir after S. Óláfr’s death is the longest miracle account in Geisl and is not found in any of the prose legends. Einarr may well have known of it from oral tradition (see Chase 2005, 41-2 and nn. 121-6) and Snorri Sturluson evidently knew it from Einarr’s drápa, which he mentions specifically in Hkr (ÍF 28, 369-71). Hneitir is there said to have been picked up after the battle at Stiklestad by a Swedish soldier and to have passed down in his family until it came into the possession of a member of the Varangian guard in Byzantium. The sword was bought by the Byzantine emperor after it appeared to have miraculous powers and was hung over the altar of a church the Varangians had dedicated to S. Óláfr.
readings
- [2] at: af Bb
- [3] Óláfs: ǫðlings Bb
- [4] steikar: so Bb, ‘stikar’ Flat
- [6] ‑vaxin: vaxins Bb
- [7] Stikla‑: ‘stika’ Flat, ‘stiklar’ Bb
sources
Text is based on reconstruction from the base text and variant apparatus and may contain alternative spellings and other normalisations not visible in the manuscript text. Transcriptions may not have been checked and should not be cited.
-
GKS 1005 fol (Flat) — 2rb/16 - 2rb/16
Hneitir, frák, at héti,
images
hjaldrs at vápna galdri,
Óláfs hjǫrr, þess’s orra
ilbleikum gaf †stikar†.
Þeim klauf þengill Rauma
þunnvaxin ský gunnar
— rekin bitu stôl — á †stika†-
stǫðum valbastar rǫðli. -
Holm perg 1 fol (Bb) — 117vb/33 - 118ra/1
Hneitir, frák, at héti,
images
hjaldrs af vápna galdri,
ǫðlings hjǫrr, þess’s orra
ilbleikum gaf steikar.
Þeim klauf þengill Rauma
þunnvaxins ský gunnar
— rekin bitu stôl — á †stiklar†-
stǫðum valbastar rǫðli.
editions and texts
Skj: Einarr Skúlason, 6. Geisli 43: AI, 467, BI, 437-8, Skald I, 216, NN §§941, 942; Flat 1860-8, I, 5, Cederschiöld 1873, 6-7, Chase 2005, 93, 153-4.
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