ESk Frag 9III
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.
introduction
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).
text and translation
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. ’
notes and 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.
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.
readings
- [1] Harðr: Harð Tˣ
- [1] frá: fyrir U
- [3] blakkr lætr: so W, U, 744ˣ, 2368ˣ, 743ˣ, blakkleitr R, ‘bla er letr’ Tˣ
- [3] sog: sæ U, ‘seg’ 2368ˣ, segg 743ˣ
- [4] snæ‑: so all others, sæ‑ R
sources
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.
-
GKS 2367 4° (R) — 26v/11 - 26v/12
Harðr hefr ǫrt frá jǫrðu
images
élvindr — svana strindar
blakkleitr í sog søkkva
sæ-grund — skipi hrundit. -
Traj 1374x (Tx) — 27v/1 - 27v/1
Harð hefr ǫrt frá jǫrðu
images
élvindr — svana strindar
†bla er letr† í sog søkkva
snægrund — skipi hrundit. -
AM 242 fol (W) — 57/17 - 57/18
Harðr hefr ǫrt frá jǫrðu
images
élvindr — svana strindar
blakkr lætr í sog søkkva
snægrund — skipi hrundit. -
DG 11 (U) — 29v/20 - 29v/22
Harðr hefr ǫrt fyrir jǫrðu
images
élvindr — svana strindar
blakkr lætr í sæ søkkva
snægrund — skipi hrundit. -
AM 757 a 4° (B) — 5r/33 - 5r/34
images -
AM 744 4°x (744x) — 31v - 31v
Harðr hefr ǫrt frá jǫrðu
images
élvindr — svana strindar
blakkr lætr í sog søkkva
snægrund — skipi hrundit. -
GKS 2368 4°x (2368x) — 126 - 126
Harðr hefr ǫrt frá jǫrðu
images
élvindr — svana strindar
blakkr lætr í †seg† søkkva
snægrund — skipi hrundit. -
AM 743 4°x (743x) — 95r/4 - 95r/7
Harðr hefr ǫrt frá jǫrðu
images
élvindr — svana strindar
blakkr lætr í segg søkkva
snægrund — skipi hrundit.
editions and texts
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.