Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Einarr Skúlason, Fragments 9’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 160.
These fragments (ESk Frag 9-13) belong to a sequence of stanzas cited without intervening prose commentary. The poet is identified as ‘Einarr Skúlason’ in all mss. Frag 9 does not appear to be a part of an encomium; rather, the poet describes a journey away from Iceland. The content of Frag 10, 12 and 13, which are also devoted to sea-voyages, gives no indication about the nature of the poem or poems to which they belong, but Frag 11 describes the journey of a ruler. Jón Sigurðson (SnE 1848-87, III, 354-6) assigned Frag 10 and 11 to Einarr’s panegyric about Sigurðr jórsalafari (Sigdr III; see Introduction to Frag 2) and Frag 9, 12 and 13 to his poem about Haraldr gilli (Hardr III; see Introduction to Frag 4). All stanzas are found in mss R (main ms.), Tˣ and B of SnE (Skm). Because B is now almost illegible, 744ˣ has been used in its place. Frag 9-11 are also transmitted in W and U, Frag 13 in U, and Frag 9 and 11 are found in LaufE (mss 2368ˣ, 743ˣ) and RE(Kk2).
Harðr hefr ǫrt frá jǫrðu
élvindr — svana strindar
blakkr lætr í sog søkkva
snægrund — skipi hrundit.
Harðr élvindr hefr hrundit skipi ǫrt frá jǫrðu; {blakkr {strindar svana}} lætr {snægrund} søkkva í sog.
‘The strong storm-wind has pushed the ship quickly away from the shore; the steed of the land of swans [SEA > SHIP] makes the snow-ground [= Iceland] sink into the sea. ’
In Skm the stanza is found among several stanzas that contain kennings for ‘sea’, and in LaufE, strind svana ‘land of swans’ is given as an example of a sea-kenning.
Einarr must have composed the stanza while travelling from Iceland (to Norway?) on a ship. There is no evidence that it was part of an encomium. Although there are instances in which the opening stanzas of a panegyric detail the poet’s own journeys (e.g. Arn Hryn 1-2II and Notes), the pres. tense used by Einarr in this instance speaks against such an attribution.
Text is based on reconstruction from the base text and variant apparatus and may contain alternative spellings and other normalisations not visible in the manuscript text. Transcriptions may not have been checked and should not be cited.
Harðr hefr ǫrt frá jǫrðu
élvindr — svana strindar
blakkleitr í sog søkkva
sæ-grund — skipi hrundit.
Harð hefr ǫrt frá jǫrðu
élvindr — svana strindar
†bla er letr† í sog søkkva
snægrund — skipi hrundit.
Harðr hefr ǫrt frá jǫrðu
élvindr — svana strindar
blakkr lætr í sog søkkva
snægrund — skipi hrundit.
Harðr hefr ǫrt fyrir jǫrðu
élvindr — svana strindar
blakkr lætr í sæ søkkva
snægrund — skipi hrundit.
Harðr hefr ǫrt frá jǫrðu
élvindr — svana strindar
blakkr lætr í sog søkkva
snægrund — skipi hrundit.
Harðr hefr ǫrt frá jǫrðu
élvindr — svana strindar
blakkr lætr í †seg† søkkva
snægrund — skipi hrundit.
Harðr hefr ǫrt frá jǫrðu
élvindr — svana strindar
blakkr lætr í segg søkkva
snægrund — skipi hrundit.
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