ESk Lv 8^III

Stanzas 8-9 below (ESk Lv 8-9) are recorded without intervening prose in LaufE (mss papp10ˣ, 2368ˣ and 743ˣ). They are printed in RE 1665 and also cited in ms. A of SnE. The stanzas are anonymous in A, but LaufE identifies the poet as Einarr Skúlason, and RE 1665 gives his name as Einarr (Autore Einaro). In LaufE and RE 1665 these two stanzas form a sequence with Lv 14-15 below. There is no direct evidence that these stanzas are lausavísur; rather, they give the impression of being a þula-like exercise inventing kennings for ‘sea’ in which the determinants are islands and the base-words denote something encircling the islands. Many of these islands are also mentioned in Þul Eyja and Þul Islands (see also Fidjestøl 1982, 203-4). It could be, however, that the stanzas are bona fide lausavísur and represent Einarr’s response to a poetic challenge (see ESk Lv 5-6^II). The metre is áttmælt ‘eight-times spoken’, a variant of dróttkvætt in which each line of the stanza forms a separate, independent clause (see SnSt Ht 10).

Brattrs baldrekr Þjóttu;
berr vindr Raðar linda;
víðgyrðill þýtr Vǫrðu;
veltr Fenhringar belti.
Yglisk umbgerð Huglar;
olmrs grásili Stolmar;
fleygir Bóknar baugi;
brakar Lygru men nǫkkvat.

Brattrs {baldrekr Þjóttu}; vindr berr {linda Raðar}; {víðgyrðill Vǫrðu} þýtr; {belti Fenhringar} veltr. {Umbgerð Huglar} yglisk; olmrs {grásili Stolmar}; fleygir {baugi Bóknar}; {men Lygru} brakar nǫkkvat.

Steep is {the baldric of Tjøtta <island>} [SEA]; the wind lifts {the band of Radøy <island>} [SEA]; {the wide girdle of Varða <island>} [SEA] roars; {the belt of Askøy <island>} [SEA] rolls. {The sheath of Huglo <island>} [SEA] becomes fierce; grim is {the grey harness-strap of Stolmen <island>} [SEA]; {the ring of Bokn <island>} [SEA] is flung out; {the necklace of Lygra <island>} [SEA] thunders somewhat.

Mss: A(21v) (SnE); papp10ˣ(40v), 2368ˣ(89), 743ˣ(70r) (LaufE); RE 1665(Ee3)

Readings: [1] Brattrs baldrekr Þjóttu (‘Brattr er balldrækr þióttv’): Blár er baldrekr Sírar all others    [2] Raðar: ‘herdar’ papp10ˣ, 2368ˣ, 743ˣ, ‘herlar’ RE 1665    [3] Vǫrðu: ‘virda’ 743ˣ, RE 1665    [7] Bóknar: so 2368ˣ, 743ˣ, Bolmar A, Bókna papp10ˣ, RE 1665;    baugi: baugur papp10ˣ, 743ˣ, RE 1665, ‘ba[…]gur’ 2368ˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 484, Skj BI, 456, Skald I, 224; SnE 1848-87, II, 491, III, 172; LaufE 1979 267, 342; Resen 1977, Ee3.

Context: The stanza illustrates heiti for ‘islands’.

Notes: [1]: This line is given as l. 1 of Lv 9 in LaufE and RE 1665.  — [1] baldrekr ‘the baldric’: This is a loan-word from ME baldrick, baudrick, balderich that first appears in Old Norse poetry in the C12th (AEW: baldrekr). It is not used in Old Norse prose. — [1] Þjóttu ‘of Tjøtta <island>’: Located off the coast of Nordland (at the mouth of Vefsnfjorden) in North Norway (see also Þul Eyja 3/7 and Þul Islands l. 4). Tjøtta was the home of Hárekr ór Þjóttu ‘from Tjøtta’ Eyvindarson, son of the skald Eyvindr skáldaspillir ‘Plagiarist’ Finnsson (Eyv^I) and one of the opponents of Óláfr Haraldsson at the battle of Stiklestad (29 August 1030). Einarr may have been familiar with the name of the island from stories about S. Óláfr and would not necessarily have visited this location himself.  — [2] Raðar ‘of Radøy <island>’: Located off the coast of Hordaland, northwest of Bergen on the western coast of Norway (see also Þul Eyja 3/2 and Þul Islands l. 5). The variant ‘herdar’ (so LaufE; ‘herlar’ in RE 1665 must be a scribal error) is unmetrical (the syllable in metrical position 3 must be short). There is no island in Norway with such a name (the closest would be Herdla, ON Herðla, but Herðlu is still unmetrical). — [3] Vǫrðu ‘of Varða <island>’: This island has not been identified, but the name is also given in this form (Varða) in Þul Eyja 3/4. The variant ‘virda’ (so LaufE and RE 1665) is of no help here. — [4] Fenhringar ‘of Askøy <island>’: This island is also located off the coast of Hordaland, south of Radøy (see also Þul Eyja 4/4 and Þul Islands l. 6). — [5] Huglar ‘of Huglo <island>’: Located in Hardangerfjorden, Sunnhordland, east of Stord on the western coast of Norway (see also Þul Eyja 1/3). — [6] Stolmar ‘of Stolmen <island>’: This island is also located in Sunnhordland, a little northwest of Stord (see also Þul Eyja 1/8). — [7] Bóknar ‘of Bokn <island>’: So 2368ˣ, 743ˣ. Located in Boknafjorden east of Karmøy in Rogaland on the western coast of Norway (see also Þul Eyja 4/5 and Þul Islands l. 1). Einarr was clearly familiar with this part of Norway (see Lv 9/5 below and ESk Lv 6/4^II, ESk Elfv 1/8^II). Bolm (‘bolmar’) in A could either be Bolmsö in present-day Sweden (but that island is located in a lake, Bolmen) or an island off the coast of Hålogaland, North Norway, mentioned in Hervarar saga (see Hb 1892-6, 351: hann feck ser bvstað i ey þeiri a Halogalandi er Bolm heitir ‘he got a residence in Hålogaland on that island which is called Bolm’). Bolm is also given in Þul Eyja 4/5. — [8] brakar nǫkkvat ‘thunders somewhat’: The root vowel in nǫkkvat ‘somewhat’ (<ǫ> rather than <ø>) is secured by the internal rhyme (-ak- : -ǫkk-) here. See Note to Lv 7/8 above. — [8] Lygru ‘of Lygra <island>’: Located on the north-eastern side of Radøy in Lurefjorden (see Note to l. 2 above and Þul Eyja 3/1, 3/5, Þul Islands l. 5).

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. AEW = Vries, Jan de. 1962. Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch. 2nd rev. edn. Rpt. 1977. Leiden: Brill.
6. Fidjestøl, Bjarne. 1982. Det norrøne fyrstediktet. Universitet i Bergen Nordisk institutts skriftserie 11. Øvre Ervik: Alvheim & Eide.
7. Hb 1892-6 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1892-6. Hauksbók udgiven efter de Arnamagnæanske håndskrifter no. 371, 544 og 675, 4° samt forskellige papirshåndskrifter. Copenhagen: Det kongelige nordiske oldskrift-selskab.
8. Resen 1977 = Faulkes, Anthony. 1977a. Edda Íslandorum. Völuspá. Hávamál. Vol. II of Two Versions of Snorra Edda from the 17th Century. Reykjavík: Stofnun Árna Magnússonar. 1977-9.
9. Internal references
10. Edith Marold 2017, ‘Snorra Edda (Prologue, Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál)’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols [check printed volume for citation].
11. 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.
12. Russell Poole 2012, ‘(Biography of) Eyvindr skáldaspillir Finnsson’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 170.
13. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Eyja heiti 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. 973.
14. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Eyja heiti 3’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 976.
15. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Eyja heiti 4’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 977.
16. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Einarr Skúlason, Elfarvísur 1’ 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. 566-7.
17. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Einarr Skúlason, Lausavísur 8’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 171.
18. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Einarr Skúlason, Lausavísur 5’ 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. 572-3.
19. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Einarr Skúlason, Lausavísur 6’ 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. 573-4.
20. Elena Gurevich 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Heiti for islands’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 994. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=2987> (accessed 27 April 2024)
21. Elena Gurevich 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Eyja heiti’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 972. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=3247> (accessed 27 April 2024)
22. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Snorri Sturluson, Háttatal 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. 1115.
23. (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)