Cookies on our website

We use cookies on this website, mainly to provide a secure browsing experience but also to collect statistics on how the website is used. You can find out more about the cookies we set, the information we store and how we use it on the cookies page.

Continue

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

Menu Search

Close

ESk Frag 9^III

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.

Einarr Skúlason Fragments

Harðr ‘The strong’

(not checked:)
harðr (adj.; °comp. -ari; superl. -astr): hard, harsh

[1] Harðr: Harð Tˣ

hefr ‘has’

(not checked:)
hafa (verb): have

ǫrt ‘quickly’

(not checked:)
ǫrr (adj.): generous, brave

frá ‘away from’

(not checked:)
frá (prep.): from

[1] frá: fyrir U

jǫrðu ‘the shore’

(not checked:)
jǫrð (noun f.; °jarðar, dat. -u; jarðir/jarðar(DN I (1367) 304)): ground, earth

élvindr ‘storm-wind’

(not checked:)
élvindr (noun m.): [storm-wind]

svana ‘of swans’

(not checked:)
svanr (noun m.; °-s; -ir): swan

kennings

blakkr strindar svana
‘the steed of the land of swans ’
= SHIP
the land of swans → SEA
the steed of the SEA → SHIP

svana ‘of swans’

(not checked:)
svanr (noun m.; °-s; -ir): swan

kennings

blakkr strindar svana
‘the steed of the land of swans ’
= SHIP
the land of swans → SEA
the steed of the SEA → SHIP

strindar ‘of the land’

(not checked:)
strind (noun f.): land

kennings

blakkr strindar svana
‘the steed of the land of swans ’
= SHIP
the land of swans → SEA
the steed of the SEA → SHIP

strindar ‘of the land’

(not checked:)
strind (noun f.): land

kennings

blakkr strindar svana
‘the steed of the land of swans ’
= SHIP
the land of swans → SEA
the steed of the SEA → SHIP

blakkr ‘the steed’

(not checked:)
1. blakkr (noun m.): horse

[3] blakkr lætr: so W, U, 744ˣ, 2368ˣ, 743ˣ, blakkleitr R, ‘bla er letr’ Tˣ

kennings

blakkr strindar svana
‘the steed of the land of swans ’
= SHIP
the land of swans → SEA
the steed of the SEA → SHIP

lætr ‘makes’

(not checked:)
láta (verb): let, have sth done

[3] blakkr lætr: so W, U, 744ˣ, 2368ˣ, 743ˣ, blakkleitr R, ‘bla er letr’ Tˣ

í ‘into’

(not checked:)
í (prep.): in, into

sog ‘the sea’

(not checked:)
sog (noun n.; °; sagir): [keels, sea]

[3] sog: sæ U, ‘seg’ 2368ˣ, segg 743ˣ

søkkva ‘sink’

(not checked:)
1. søkkva (verb): sink, strong intrans.

snæ ‘the snow’

(not checked:)
snjór (noun m.): snow < Snægrund (noun f.)

[4] snæ‑: so all others, sæ‑ R

kennings

snægrund
‘the snow-ground ’
= Iceland
the snow-ground → Iceland

notes

[4] snægrund ‘the snow-ground [= Iceland]’: So all other mss. Sægrund ‘the sea-ground’ (R) could be taken as a periphrasis for the Danish island of Sjælland (ON Sæland or Sjáland; so SnE 1848-87, III), but that is unlikely in view of the reading of the other mss.

grund ‘ground’

(not checked:)
grund (noun f.): earth, land < Snægrund (noun f.)

kennings

snægrund
‘the snow-ground ’
= Iceland
the snow-ground → Iceland

notes

[4] snægrund ‘the snow-ground [= Iceland]’: So all other mss. Sægrund ‘the sea-ground’ (R) could be taken as a periphrasis for the Danish island of Sjælland (ON Sæland or Sjáland; so SnE 1848-87, III), but that is unlikely in view of the reading of the other mss.

skipi ‘the ship’

(not checked:)
skip (noun n.; °-s; -): ship

hrundit ‘pushed’

(not checked:)
1. hrinda (verb): launch, propell

Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses

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 1-2^II and Notes), the pres. tense used by Einarr in this instance speaks against such an attribution.

log in home page info previous up a level next archive and create persistent link on archive.org

© Skaldic Project Academic Body and Brepols, unless otherwise noted. Database structure and interface developed by Tarrin Wills. All users of material on this database are reminded that its content may be either subject to copyright restrictions or is the property of the custodians of linked databases that have given permission for members of the skaldic project to use their material for research purposes. Those users who have been given access to as yet unpublished material are further reminded that they may not use, publish or otherwise manipulate such material except with the express permission of the individual editor of the material in question and the General Editor of the volume in which the material is to be published. Applications for permission to use such material should be made in the first instance to the General Editor of the volume in question. All information that appears in the published volumes has been thoroughly reviewed. If you believe some information here is incorrect please contact Tarrin Wills with full details.

Close

Stanza/chapter/text segment

Use the buttons at the top of the page to navigate between stanzas in a poem.

Information tab

text: if the stanza has been published, the edited text of the stanza and translation are here; if it hasn't been published an old edition (usually Skj) is given for reference
sources: a list of the manuscripts or inscriptions containing this stanza, with page and line references and links (eye button) to images where available, and transcription where available
readings: a list of variant manuscript readings of words in the main text
editions and texts: a list of editions of the stanza with links to the bibliography; and a list of prose works in which the stanza occurs, allowing you to navigate within the prose context
notes and context: notes not linked to individual words are given here, along with the account of the prose context for the stanza, where relevant

Interactive tab

The text and translation are given here, with buttons to toggle whether the text is shown in the verse order or prose word order. Clicking on indiviudal words gives dictionary links, variant readings, kennings and notes, where relevant.

Full text tab

This is the text of the edition in a similar format to how the edition appears in the printed volumes.

Chapter/text segment

This view is also used for chapters and other text segments. Not all the headings shown are relevant to such sections.