ESk Øxfl 8^III

Dœgr þrymr hvert, en hjarta
hlýrskildir ræðr mildu
Heita blakks, of hvítum
hafleygr digulskafli.
Aldri má fyr eldi
áls hrynbrautar skála
— ǫll viðr folka fellir
framræði — snæ bræða.

Hvert dœgr þrymr {hafleygr} of {hvítum digulskafli}, en {{Heita blakks hlýr}skildir} ræðr mildu hjarta. Aldri má bræða {snæ skála} fyr {eldi {hrynbrautar áls}}; {fellir folka} viðr ǫll framræði.

Every day {the sea-flame} [GOLD] rests on {the white crucible-snowdrift} [SILVER], and {the shield-provider {of the prow of Heiti’s <sea-king’s> horse}} [(lit. ‘prow-shield-provider of Heiti’s horse’) SHIP > SEA-WARRIOR] has a generous heart. Never can {snow of scales} [SILVER] be melted by {fire {of the eel’s resounding road}} [SEA > GOLD]; {the feller of armies} [WARRIOR] performs all glorious deeds.

Mss: W(75), R(32v-33r), Tˣ(34r-v), U(31v), A(10r), B(3v), 744ˣ(18r-v), C(4r) (SnE); 2368ˣ(92), 743ˣ(72v-73r) (LaufE)

Readings: [1] þrymr: so R, U, þrumir W, Tˣ, A, B, C, 2368ˣ, 743ˣ;    hvert: ‘huortt’ 2368ˣ;    en hjarta: ‘[…]’ R    [2] hlýrskildir ræðr mildu: ‘[…]’ R;    ‑skildir: ‑skildis C;    ræðr: réðu Tˣ;    mildu: mildum U, mildi C    [3] Heita blakks of hvítum: ‘[…]’ R;    hvítum: ‘hv[…]’ U    [4] hafleygr digulskafli: ‘[…]’ R;    ‑leygr: ‘‑læyr’ A, ‘‑ley’ B    [6] hryn‑: ‘h[…]n‑’ U, dyn‑ C;    skála: ‘[…]ala’ R    [7] viðr: so R, Tˣ, A, veðr W, 2368ˣ, 743ˣ, vinnr U, ‘[…]’ B, við 744ˣ, C;    fellir: ‘[…]’ R, ‘follir’ Tˣ, fellis C    [8] framræði snæ: ‘[…]’ R;    ‑ræði: ‑ræða C;    bræða: breiða Tˣ, hræða C

Editions: Skj AI, 479, Skj BI, 451, Skald I, 222; SnE 1848-87, I, 404-7, II, 322-3, 433, 517, 582, III, 70, SnE 1931, 144, SnE 1998, I, 62; LaufE 1979, 347.

Context: As st. 7 above. Snær skála ‘snow of scales’ is given as an example of a kenning for ‘gold’ in Skm, and in LaufE that kenning and digulskafl ‘crucible-snowdrift’ are listed as examples of kennings for ‘gold’. See Note to ll. 4, 6, 8 below.

Notes: [All]: This stanza follows st. 7 above in Skm, and it is preceded by Ok enn sem hann kvað ‘And again as he said’. In LaufE the stanza is mistakenly attributed to Einarr skálaglamm ‘Tinkle-scales’ Helgason (Eskál^I), the poet who composed the stanza (Eskál Hardr 1^I) which precedes this stanza in that compilation. In 2368ˣ the stanza is presented as two separate helmingar. — [All]: Ms. R is damaged at the top of fol. 33r, and W, which offers the best readings, has been chosen as the main ms. Because B is almost impossible to read, 744ˣ has been used selectively here. — [2, 3] Heita blakks hlýrskildir ‘the shield-provider of the prow of Heiti’s <sea-king’s> horse [(lit. ‘prow-shield-provider of Heiti’s horse’) SHIP > SEA-WARRIOR]’: For a similar kenning for ‘sea-warrior’, see skildir brands skeiðar ‘shield-provider of the warship’s prow’ (Arn Hryn 7/3, 4^II). — [4, 6, 8] digulskafli; snæ skála ‘the crucible-snowdrift [SILVER]; snow of scales [SILVER]’: The referent for both of these kennings is ‘silver’, but in Skm the second (and in LaufE both) is taken as a kenning for ‘gold’ (see also Note to Rv Lv 17/2^II). — [8] bræða ‘be melted’: The verb is used impersonally. The sense of the clause ‘never can snow of scales [SILVER] be melted by fire of the eel’s resounding road [SEA > GOLD]’ is that cold silver (‘snow’) cannot be melted by hot gold (‘fire’) because, unlike fire, gold does not give off any heat.

References

1. Bibliography
2. 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.
3. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. 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.
5. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
6. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
7. Internal references
8. Edith Marold 2017, ‘(Biography of) Einarr skálaglamm Helgason’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 137.
9. (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 25 April 2024)
10. Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Arnórr jarlaskáld Þórðarson, Hrynhenda, Magnússdrápa 7’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 191-2.
11. R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2017, ‘Einarr skálaglamm Helgason, Haraldsdrápa blátannar 1’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 137.
12. Judith Jesch (ed.) 2009, ‘Rǫgnvaldr jarl Kali Kolsson, Lausavísur 17’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 595-6.
13. (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 25 April 2024)