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skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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ESk Øxfl 5III

Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Einarr Skúlason, Øxarflokkr 5’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 145.

Einarr SkúlasonØxarflokkr
456

text and translation

Gaf, sás erring ofrar,
ógnprúðr Vana brúðar
þing- Váfaðar -þrøngvir
þróttǫflga mér dóttur.
Ríkr leiddi mey mækis
mótvaldr á beð skaldi
Gefnar glóðum drifna
Gautreks svana brautar.

{Ógnprúðr {Váfaðar þing}þrøngvir}, sás ofrar erring, gaf mér {þróttǫflga dóttur {brúðar Vana}}. {Ríkr {mækis mót}valdr} leiddi {mey Gefnar}, drifna {glóðum {brautar {svana Gautreks}}}, á beð skaldi.
 
‘The battle-proud compeller of the assembly of Váfuðr <= Óðinn> [(lit. ‘Váfuðr’s assembly-compeller’) BATTLE > WARRIOR], who displays courage, gave me the mightily strong daughter of the Vanir’s consort [= Freyja > = Hnoss (hnoss ‘treasure’)]. The powerful controller of the meeting of the sword [(lit. ‘meeting-controller of the sword’) BATTLE > WARRIOR] led the girl of Gefn <= Freyja> [= Hnoss (hnoss ‘treasure’)], covered with embers of the road of Gautrekr’s <sea-king’s> swans [SHIPS > SEA > GOLD], to the poet’s bed.

notes and context

Gefn and brúðr Vana ‘consort, bride of the Vanir’ are given in Skm as a heiti and a kenning for the goddess Freyja.

In both helmingar there seems to be a double entendre of a sexual nature, in which a warrior gives the poet a treasure, Hnoss, a female supernatural being, leading her to his bed (cf. SnSt Ht 49). — As in sts 3 and 4 above, Einarr plays on the name of Freyja’s daughter, Hnoss, in two ofljóst constructions, dóttur brúðar Vana ‘the daughter of the Vanir’s consort’ (ll. 2, 4) and mey Gefnar ‘the girl of Gefn’ (ll. 5, 7). — The stanza follows st. 4 above, connected by ok enn svá ‘and again thus’ (R, , W) or ok enn segir hann ‘and again he says’ (U).

readings

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.

editions and texts

Skj: Einarr Skúlason, 11. Øxarflokkr(?) 5: AI, 478, BI, 450, Skald I, 221, NN §2008H; SnE 1848-87, I, 350-1, II, 320, III, 58, SnE 1931, 126, SnE 1998, I, 44.

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