ESk Frag 15^III

The helmingr (ESk Frag 15) describes a sea-voyage, and it is recorded in mss R (main ms.), Tˣ, A and C of Skm (SnE). The poet is identified as Einarr (without a patronymic) in all mss. Jón Sigurðsson (SnE 1848-87, III, 354) assigned the stanza to Einarr’s panegyric about Sigurðr jórsalafari (ESk Sigdr I^II, see Introduction to Frag 2 above), but it is not clear whether it belonged to an encomium, although the references to weather-vanes and gold suggest that the ship may have been a royal vessel.

Lǫgr þvær flaust, en fagrir,
— flóðs vaskar brim glóðum —
þars sær á hlið hvára
hlymr, veðrvitar glymja.

Lǫgr þvær flaust, en fagrir veðrvitar glymja, þars sær hlymr á hvára hlið; brim vaskar {glóðum flóðs}.

The ocean washes the ships, and fair weather-vanes resound where the sea roars on each side; the surf cleanses {embers of the flood} [GOLD].

Mss: R(38r), Tˣ(39v), A(13r), C(7r) (SnE)

Readings: [1] þvær: so Tˣ, A, er R, C;    flaust: flausts A, C    [2] flóðs vaskar: ‘flodaskar’ C    [4] hlymr: hrynr A

Editions: Skj AI, 482, Skj BI, 453, Skald I, 223; SnE 1848-87, I, 494-5, II, 449-50, 598, III, 102, SnE 1931, 174, SnE 1998, I, 93.

Context: Lǫgr is given as one of several heiti for ‘sea’ in Skm.

Notes: [1] flaust ‘the ships’: This can either be grammatically n. nom. sg. or pl. — [2] glóðum flóðs ‘embers of the flood [GOLD]’: Earlier eds emend to stóðum flóðs ‘stud-horses of the flood’, i.e. ‘ships’. That reading is not supported by any of the ms. witnesses, and the gold that is washed by the ocean must be the golden ornaments on the ships (see Fidjestøl 1982, 208). For similar imagery of such ornaments being sprayed by the sea, see Valg Har 11^II and Gísl Magnkv 16^II. — [4] veðrvitar ‘weather-vanes’: These could be fastened to the mast or the prow of a ship to indicate the direction of the wind. Merchant ships did not usually carry weather-vanes. See Note to Ív Sig 16/1^II.

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. Fidjestøl, Bjarne. 1982. Det norrøne fyrstediktet. Universitet i Bergen Nordisk institutts skriftserie 11. Øvre Ervik: Alvheim & Eide.
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, ‘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].
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 3 May 2024)
10. Kari Ellen Gade 2009, ‘ Einarr Skúlason, Sigurðardrápa I’ 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. 538-42. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1151> (accessed 3 May 2024)
11. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Einarr Skúlason, Fragments 15’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 165.
12. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Gísl Illugason, Erfikvæði about Magnús berfœttr 16’ 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. 427-8.
13. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Ívarr Ingimundarson, Sigurðarbálkr 16’ 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. 511-12.
14. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Valgarðr á Velli, Poem about Haraldr harðráði 11’ 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. 309-10.