ESk Øxfl 6^III

Frák, at Fróða meyjar
fullgóliga mólu
(lætr stillir grið golli)
Grafvitnis beð (slitna).
Mjúks (bera mínar øxar
meldr þann við hlyn feldrar)
konungs dýrkar fé (Fenju
fǫgr hlýr) bragar stýri.

Frák, at {meyjar Fróða} mólu fullgóliga {beð Grafvitnis}; stillir lætr grið slitna golli. Fé mjúks konungs dýrkar {stýri bragar}; fǫgr hlýr øxar mínar, feldrar við hlyn, bera {þann meldr Fenju}.

I heard that {Fróði’s <legendary king’s> girls} [= Fenja and Menja] very splendidly ground {Grafvitnir’s <serpent’s> bed} [GOLD]; the ruler lets the truce for the gold be broken. The wealth of the kind king celebrates {the controller of praise} [POET]; the fair cheeks of my axe, attached to the shaft, bear {that flour of Fenja <giantess>} [GOLD].

Mss: R(31v), Tˣ(33r) (SnE); 2368ˣ(92-93), 743ˣ(73r) (LaufE)

Readings: [1] at: om. 2368ˣ, 743ˣ    [2] ‑góliga: ‑góligar Tˣ, 2368ˣ, 743ˣ    [5] mínar: mínir 2368ˣ, 743ˣ    [6] meldr: mildr 2368ˣ;    feldrar: so Tˣ, 743ˣ, feldrat R, feldra 2368ˣ    [7] konungs: hann 2368ˣ, 743ˣ    [8] stýri: stýrir 2368ˣ, 743ˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 478, Skj BI, 450, Skald I, 222, NN §958; SnE 1848-87, I, 390-3, III, 66, SnE 1931, 138, SnE 1998, I, 57; LaufE 1979, 348.

Context: The stanza is recorded immediately after Grott in Skm, and the imagery and kennings are used to illustrate the story told in that poem. In LaufE, beð Grafvitnis ‘Grafvitnir’s <serpent’s> bed’ is given as one of several examples of kennings for ‘gold’.

Notes: [All]: For the story of the giantesses Fenja and Menja grinding gold for King Fróði of Denmark see Note to st. 3/5, 6, 7 above. — [All]: The poet is identified as Einarr Skúlason in all mss of Skm. In 2368ˣ (LaufE) the stanza is given as two helmingar with a brief insert of prose in between, and the poet is Einarr and same ‘the same’; in 743ˣ (LaufE) the stanza is given as one and the poet’s name is added in the margin (Einarr, with Skúlason in another hand). — [3, 4] lætr grið slitna golli ‘lets the truce for the gold be broken’: This means ‘wage war on gold’, i.e. ‘be generous’. — [3] stillir ‘the ruler’: The ruler is the person who gave the weapon to Einarr. — [4] Grafvitnis ‘Grafvitnir’s <serpent’s>’: For this serpent, see Note to Þul Orma 2/1. — [5] mjúks (m. gen. sg.) ‘of the kind’: The adj. mjúks ‘kind, gentle, smooth’ could also be construed with bragar (m. gen. sg.) ‘of praise’ (l. 8): stýri mjúks bragar ‘the controller of smooth praise’ (so Skj B). — [6] feldrar við hlyn ‘attached to the shaft’: Lit. ‘attached to the maple’, i.e. a shaft made from maple. — [7] fé ‘the wealth’: Kock (NN §958) connects this with Fenju (l. 7): fé Fenju mjúks konungs dýrkar stýri bragar ‘Fenja’s wealth (i.e. ‘gold’) of the kind king extols the controller of praise’. That reading is less attractive because it leaves meldr ‘flour’ (l. 6) without a determinant.

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. SnE 1848-87 = Snorri Sturluson. 1848-87. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar: Edda Snorronis Sturlaei. Ed. Jón Sigurðsson et al. 3 vols. Copenhagen: Legatum Arnamagnaeanum. Rpt. Osnabrück: Zeller, 1966.
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. LaufE 1979 = Faulkes, Anthony, ed. 1979. Edda Magnúsar Ólafssonar (Laufás Edda). RSÁM 13. Vol. I of Two Versions of Snorra Edda from the 17th Century. Reykjavík: Stofnun Árna Magnússonar, 1977-9.
7. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
8. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
9. Internal references
10. Kari Ellen Gade 2017, ‘(Biography of) Einarr Skúlason’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 140.
11. (forthcoming), ‘ Snorri Sturluson, Skáldskaparmál’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=112> (accessed 27 April 2024)
12. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Orma heiti 2’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 929.
13. Not published: do not cite ()
14. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Laufás Edda’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=10928> (accessed 27 April 2024)