ESk Geisl 50VII
Martin Chase (ed.) 2007, ‘Einarr Skúlason, Geisli 50’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 48.
Môs frák jarðar eisu
alls vald fyr hjǫr gjalda,
(sléttik óð) þanns átti
Óláfr (bragar tólum).
Yfirskjǫldungr lét jǫfra
oddhríðar þar síðan
garðs of golli vǫrðu
grand altári standa.
Frák {vald alls} gjalda {eisu {môs jarðar}} fyr hjǫr, þanns Óláfr átti; sléttik óð {tólum bragar}. {Yfirskjǫldungr jǫfra} lét síðan {grand {garðs {oddhríðar}}} standa þar of altári vǫrðu golli.
I heard [that] {the ruler of all} [= Byzantine emperor] paid {with the fire {of the gull’s land}} [SEA > GOLD] for the sword which Óláfr had owned; I smooth [my] poem {with the tools of poetry} [ORGANS OF SPEECH]. {The supreme king of princes} [= Byzantine emperor] then caused {the harm {of the yard {of the point-storm}}} [BATTLE > SHIELD > SWORD] to stand there over the altar adorned with gold.
Mss: Flat(2rb), Bb(118ra)
Readings: [1] Môs: Meiðs Bb; frák (‘frá ek’): so Bb, lét Flat [2] alls vald: so Bb, allvalds Flat [7] of: af Flat, á Bb
Editions: Skj AI, 468, Skj BI, 439, Skald I, 216; Flat 1860-8, I, 5, Cederschiöld 1873, 7, Chase 2005, 100, 157.
Notes: [1-4]: Bb’s readings have been followed here for the most part; Flat’s allvalds (l. 2) would have to be taken with hjǫr ‘(for the) sword of the all-ruler’, and that would then make the rel. cl. þanns Óláfr átti ‘which Óláfr owned’ (ll. 3, 4) redundant. — [4] tólum bragar ‘with the tools of poetry [ORGANS OF SPEECH]’: A kenning for the tongue and possibly the other speech organs (lips, teeth) and the voice. Cf. st. 19/8 máltól ‘speech-tools’. — [5-8]: These ll. refer to the Byzantine emperor’s purchase of Óláfr’s sword for a high price and his causing it to be hung over the altar of a church the Varangians had dedicated to Óláfr (see Chase 2005, 42 and references for the possible identity of this church).
References
- Bibliography
- Cederschiöld, Gustaf J. Chr., ed. 1873b. ‘Bandamanna saga’. Acta Universitatis Lundensis 10.
- Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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