Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Einarr Skúlason, Øxarflokkr 10’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 150.
Sjá megu rétt, hvé, Ræfils
ríðendr, við brô Gríðar
fjǫrnis fagrt of skornir,
foldviggs, drekar liggja.
Megu sjá rétt, hvé drekar, fagrt of skornir, liggja við {brô {Gríðar fjǫrnis}}, {{{Ræfils fold}viggs} ríðendr}.
They can rightly see how dragons, beautifully engraved, lie near {the eyelash {of the Gríðr <giantess> of the helmet}} [AXE > AXE-BLADE], {riders {of the horse {of Ræfill’s <sea-king’s> land}}} [(lit. ‘riders of Ræfill’s land-horse’) SEA > SHIP > SEAFARERS].
Mss: R(34r), Tˣ(35v), W(78), U(33v), A(11v) (SnE); 2368ˣ(122), 743ˣ(92v) (LaufE)
Readings: [2] Gríðar: ‘griþ[…]’ U [3] fjǫrnis: ‘fiórinz’ 2368ˣ; skornir: skornar A, ‘‑kórner’ 2368ˣ [4] fold‑: ‘fiol‑’ A; ‑viggs: so W, U, A, 2368ˣ, 743ˣ, ‘vigs’ R, Tˣ
Editions: Skj AI, 479, Skj BI, 451, Skald I, 222, NN §959; SnE 1848-87, I, 430-1, II, 330, 441, III, 82-3, SnE 1931, 153, SnE 1998, I, 71; LaufE 1979, 384.
Context: Gríðr fjǫrnis ‘the Gríðr of the helmet’ is listed as an example of an axe-kenning in Skm and LaufE.
Notes: [All]: In both Skm and LaufE this stanza follows st. 9 above, and the poet is identified as ‘Einarr’ in all mss. — [1] megu sjá ‘they can ... see’: Megu (3rd pers. pl. pres. indic.) ‘can’ is construed with a suppressed subject ‘they’ (see NN §959; NS §15). — [1-2, 4] Ræfils foldviggs ríðendr ‘riders of the horse of Ræfill’s <sea-king’s> land [(lit. ‘riders of Ræfill’s land-horse’) SEA > SHIP > SEAFARERS]’: This kenning is taken as a form of address (see NN §959). Following Sveinbjörn Egilsson (SnE 1848-87, III), Skj B construes it as the subject of megu sjá ‘can see’, which creates a syntactically awkward, tripartite odd line. For the sea-king Ræfill, see Note to Þul Sækonunga 4/3. — [2] Gríðar ‘of the Gríðr <giantess>’: For Gríðr, see Note to Þul Trollkvenna 1/3. — [4] drekar ‘dragons’: This refers to the ornamental dragon- or serpent-pattern engraved on the blade of an axe (see Falk 1914b, 118-19).
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