ESk Geisl 53^VII

Myndi mest und fjǫndum
Miklagarðr ok jarðir
(hryggs dugði lið) liggja
(lagar eldbrota) veldi,
nema rǫnd í byr branda
(barðraukns) fáir harða
(rǫðuls bliku vôpn í veðri)
Væringjar framm bæri.

Mest veldi, Miklagarðr ok jarðir, myndi liggja und fjǫndum — lið {hryggs {lagar eld}brota} dugði —, nema harða fáir Væringjar bæri rǫnd framm í {byr branda}; vôpn bliku í {veðri {rǫðuls {barðraukns}}}.

Most of the kingdom, Constantinople and the territories, would have lain under enemies — the army {of the sorrowful breaker {of the flame of the sea}} [(lit. ‘sorrowful flame-breaker of the sea’) GOLD > GENEROUS RULER = Byzantine king] did well —, except that a very few Varangians pushed [their] shields forward in {the fair breeze of swords} [BATTLE]; weapons gleamed in {the storm {of the sun {of the prow-ox}}} [SHIP > SHIELD > BATTLE].

Mss: Flat(2rb), Bb(118ra)

Readings: [2] ‑garðr: garðs Bb;    jarðir: jarðar Bb    [3] dugði: dugðit Bb    [6] barðraukns: ‘barraugn’ Flat, ‘bard ravgns’ Bb;    fáir: so Bb, ‘fꜳit’ Flat

Editions: Skj AI, 469, Skj BI, 440, Skald I, 217, NN §944; Flat 1860-8, I, 5-6, Cederschiöld 1873, 8, Chase 2005, 103, 158.

Notes: [3-4] lið hryggs lagar eldbrota dugði ‘the army of the sorrowful flame-breaker of the sea did well’: The reference is probably to the Byzantine army and its leader. The structure of this intercalary cl. follows Skald and NN §944 rather than Skj B, which fragments l. 3 syntactically. However, both Skj B and Skald adopt Bb’s dugðit ‘did not do well’, with suffixed negative, rather than the positive 3rd pers. sg. pret. of Flat. Both readings are possible, and it could be argued that Bb’s is better on grounds of sense, viz. the Byzantine army did not do well but was saved by the brave Varangians.

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. 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.