ESk Frag 9^III

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 I^II; see Introduction to Frag 2) and Frag 9, 12 and 13 to his poem about Haraldr gilli (Hardr I^II; 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.

Mss: R(26v), Tˣ(27v), W(57), U(29v), B(5r), 744ˣ(31v) (SnE); 2368ˣ(126), 743ˣ(95r) (LaufE)

Readings: [1] Harðr: Harð Tˣ;    frá: fyrir U    [3] blakkr lætr: so W, U, 744ˣ, 2368ˣ, 743ˣ, blakkleitr R, ‘bla er letr’ Tˣ;    sog: sæ U, ‘seg’ 2368ˣ, segg 743ˣ    [4] snæ‑: so all others, sæ‑ R

Editions: Skj AI, 481, Skj BI, 453, Skald I, 223; SnE 1848-87, I, 326-7, II, 316, 529, III, 52, SnE 1931, 117, SnE 1998, I, 37; LaufE 1979, 389.

Context: 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.

Notes: [All]: 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. — [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.

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. 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. 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.
10. (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 6 May 2024)
11. Kari Ellen Gade 2009, ‘ Einarr Skúlason, Haraldsdrápa 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. 542-4. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1145> (accessed 6 May 2024)
12. Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Arnórr jarlaskáld Þórðarson, Hrynhenda, Magnússdrápa 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, p. 183.
13. 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.
14. (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 6 May 2024)