ESk Frag 1^III

The half-stanza (ESk Frag 1) is attributed to Einarr Skúlason in all mss. Jón Sigurðsson (SnE 1848-87, III, 365) assigned it to Øxarflokkr (see Introduction to ESk Øxfl above). Although the helmingr must have belonged to a panegyric for a magnate who has given (or will give) a gift to the poet, it lacks the mythical imagery that characterises the other stanzas grouped under the heading Øxarflokkr. The helmingr is transmitted in mss R (main ms.), Tˣ, W, U and B of Skm (SnE).

Hvargis Beita borgar
bálgrimmustum skála
hôr of hnossvin órum
heims vafrlogi sveimar.

Hvargis {hôr vafrlogi {skála heims}} sveimar of hnossvin órum, {{{Beita borgar} bál}grimmustum}.

Wherever {the high flickering flame {of the world’s hall}} [SKY > SUN] hovers above our treasure-friend, {most hostile {to the fire {of Beiti’s <sea-king’s> stronghold}}} [(lit. ‘most fire-hostile of Beiti’s stronghold’) SEA > GOLD > GENEROUS MAN].

Mss: R(26v), Tˣ(27v), W(57), U(30r), B(5r) (SnE)

Readings: [2] bál‑: ‘bar‑’ U;    ‑grimmustum: so U, ‑grimmastan all others    [3] of: so all others, af R;    hnossvin: hnossum Tˣ, B, hollum U;    órum: ‘arvm’ U    [4] vafr‑: vafrs‑ Tˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 479, Skj BI, 451, Skald I, 222; SnE 1848-87, I, 330-1, II, 317, 530, III, 54, SnE 1931, 118, SnE 1998, I, 39.

Context: The helmingr illustrates one of several kennings for ‘sun’ (hôr vafrlogi skála heims ‘the high flickering flame of the world’s hall’) in Skm.

Notes: [All]: The helmingr is syntactically incomplete, and the preceding, now-lost four lines must have contained the missing main clause. — [2] -grimmustum (m. dat. sg.) ‘most hostile’: So U. This sup. adj. qualifies hnossvin órum  (m. dat. sg.) ‘our treasure-friend’ (l. 3), and ‑grimmastan (m. acc. sg.) in R, Tˣ, W and B is ungrammatical. — [4] vafrlogi ‘flickering flame’: Usually refers to an impregnable wall of fire surrounding women’s dwellings in myth and legend (see LP: vafrlogi, and e.g. Skí 8/3, 9/3). See also Note to Þul Elds 2/1 and Kommentar I, 57.

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. LP = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1931. Lexicon poeticum antiquæ linguæ septentrionalis: Ordbog over det norsk-islandske skjaldesprog oprindelig forfattet af Sveinbjörn Egilsson. 2nd edn. Copenhagen: Møller.
5. Kommentar = See, Klaus von et al. 1997-2012. Kommentar zu den Liedern der Edda. 7 vols. Heidelberg: Winter.
6. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
7. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
8. Internal references
9. 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].
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 1 May 2024)
12. Kari Ellen Gade 2017, ‘ Einarr Skúlason, Øxarflokkr’ 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. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1149> (accessed 1 May 2024)
13. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Elds 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. 922.
14. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Einarr Skúlason, Fragments 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. 151.
15. Not published: do not cite ()