Russell Poole (ed.) 2012, ‘Eyjólfr dáðaskáld, Bandadrápa 1’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 456.
Meita fór at móti
mjǫk síð of dag skíði
ungr með jǫfnu gengi
útvers frǫmum hersi,
þás riðloga reiðir
randvallar lét falla
— ulfteitir gaf ôtu
opt blóðvǫlum — Skopta.
Ungr fór at {móti Meita} mjǫk síð of dag {skíði útvers} með jǫfnu gengi frǫmum hersi, þás {reiðir {riðloga {randvallar}}} lét Skopta falla; {ulfteitir} gaf opt {blóðvǫlum} ôtu.
‘[When] young, he went to an encounter of Meiti <sea-king> [BATTLE] very late in the day on the ski of the fishing ground [SHIP] with a following equal to the noble hersir, when the brandisher of the swinging flame of the rim-plain [SHIELD > SWORD > WARRIOR = Eiríkr] caused Skopti to fall; the wolf-gladdener [WARRIOR] often gave the blood-falcons [RAVENS/EAGLES] food. ’
In Fsk and Hkr, st. 1 is preceded by a description of Eiríkr’s first recorded exploit, at age ten or eleven. Rivalry develops between him and Tíðenda-Skopti (‘News-Skopti’), son-in-law of his father Hákon jarl Sigurðarson. Hákon rebukes Eiríkr for trying to take over Skopti’s mooring place. The following year, Eiríkr brings a ship to meet Skopti as he travels from one estate to another and in the ensuing battle kills him (see Note to l. 6). In SnE (Skm), the first helmingr is cited to illustrate the use of skíð ‘ski’ in ship-kennings.
The stanza is cited explicitly from Banddr in Hkr, and from ‘the poem (kvæði) that Eyjólfr dáðaskáld composed about Eiríkr’ in Fsk. — [1-4]: (a) The construal adopted here (as also in ÍF 26) gives the most straightforward word order and the most regular kenning structure; the battle-kenning mót Meita is directly paralleled in HÁsbj Lv 1/5V (Dpl 1). A minor drawback is that in taking frǫmum hersi as a comp. with jǫfnu gengi a slight ellipsis is assumed: ‘with a following equal to [that of] the noble hersir’. (b) The main alternative is to read (in prose order): Ungr fór með jǫfnu gengi skíði útvers Meita mjǫk síð of dag útvers at móti frǫmum hersi ‘[When] young he went with an equal following on the ski of the fishing ground of Meiti <sea-king> [SEA > SHIP] very late in the day to an encounter with the noble hersir’ (so Hkr 1893-1901, IV; Skj B). Here, útvers ‘of the fishing ground’ is pleonastic in that skíð Meita ‘ski of Meiti’ already forms a ship-kenning. Other explanations of útvers are possible: (c) Kock (NN §550) combines útvers with hersi, hence ‘lord of the fishing-ground’ (referring to Skopti). (d) Útvers could be construed as gen. of direction, ‘to the fishing-ground’ (see Poole 2004, 129). Guðbrandur Vígfússon (CPB II, 51, 570) similarly took útvers as an adverbial gen. of place, but as a p. n., ‘at Útver’, explaining Útver as an island off Sogn. — [1]: Evidently an emulation of Eskál Vell 22/1 (de Vries 1964-7, I, 183).
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.
Meita[1] for at moti | mioc síþ um dag scíþe[2] | ungr með jófno gengi | ut vers frꜹ⸌o⸍mom hersi | þá er ríðloga[3] reiþir[4] | randvallar[5] let falla | (ulfteítir[6] ⸌er⸍ gaf ⸌fecc⸍ ato | opt bloðvǫlum) scopta |
(VEÞ)
Meita fór at móti
mjǫk síð of dag skíði
ungr með jǫfnu gengi
útvers frǫmum hersi,
þás riðloga reiðir
randvallar lét falla
— ulfteitir fekk ôtu
opt blóðvǫlum — Skopta.
Meíta for at móti míog sið vm dag skiði vngr með iof | nv gengí v́t vers fromvm hersi · þa er riðloga reiðir rand | vallar let falla vlfteítir feck áto óppt bloð vꜹlvm skop | ta ·
(VEÞ)
Meita fór at móti
mjǫk síð of dag skíði
ungr með jǫfnu gengi
út†vars† frǫmum hersi,
þás riðloga reið
rann†-vallr† lét falla
— ulf-réttir gaf ôtu
opt blóðvǫlum — Skopta.
Mæ⸌i⸍ta for at moti miog sið vm dag skide vn | gr með iofnu gengi vt vars frꜹmum hersi þa er | rid loga reið Rann vallr let falla vlfrettir g | af atu optt bloð volum skopta ·
(VEÞ)
Meita fór at móti
mjǫk síð of dag skíði
ungr með jǫfnu gengi
útvers frǫmum hersi,
þás riðloga reiðir
rand†-vallr† lét falla
— ulf-reiðir fekk ôtu
opt blóðvǫlum — Skopta.
Meíta fór at motí · míok sið vm | dag skiði · vngr með íofnv gengí · vt vers fromvm | hersí · þa er riðloga reiðir randvallr let falla | vlfreiðir fekk atv · opt bloðvolvm skopta · ||
(VEÞ)
Meita fór at móti
mjǫk síð of dag skíði
ungr með jǫfnu gengi
útvers frǫmum hersi,
þás rauðvita reiðir
†ramu†vallar lét falla
— ulfteitir gaf ôtu
opt blóðvǫlum — Skopta.
Mæíta for at mote | miok sið um dag skiði || ungr með iamnu gængi | ut værs framum hærsi | þa er rauðvita ræiðir | ramn vallar let falla | ulf tæítir gaf ato | oft bloð volum skofta. |
(VEÞ)
Mæíta for at mote | miok sið um dag skiði | ungr með iamnu gængi | ut værs framum hǽrsi | þa er rauðvita ræiðir | ramn vallar let falla. | ulf teítir gaf ato | opt bloð volum skofta. |
(VEÞ)
Meita fór at móti
mjǫk síð of dag skíði
ungr með jǫfnu gengi
útvers frǫmum hersi,
þás rauðvita †rꝍydder†
rannvallar lét falla
— ulfteitir gaf ôtu
opt blóðvǫlum — Skopta.
Meita for at mote | mioc sið um dagh skiðe | unngr með jafnu genge | ut værs fromum hersi | þa er rauðvita rꝍydder | rannvallar let falla | ulftæitir gaf atu | oft bloð volom scopta |
(VEÞ)
Meita for at moti , mioc sið um | dagh skiðe , ungr með jafnu gengi ut værs fromum | hærsi þa er rauðvita rꝍydder rannvallar let falla | ulftæitir gaf atu oft bloð volom scopta . |
(VEÞ)
Meita var at móti
mjǫk síð of dag †skiþ(a)†
ungr með jǫfnu gengi
útvers frǫmum hersi,
þás riðloga reiðir
randvallar lét falla
— ulfteitir gaf ôtu
opt blóðvǫlum — Skopta.
Meita var at moti mioc sið vm dag skiþa | vngr með iofnv gengi vt vers fravmvm hersi .
(VEÞ)
Meita for at moti mioc sid, of dag scidi ungr med jofno ge | ngi ut uers fraumom hersi.
(VEÞ)
Meita for at motí mio᷎k sið vm dag skiðí vngr með iofnv gengí vt vers fromvm hersi . |
(VEÞ)
Meita fór at móti
mjǫk síð of dag skíði
ungr með jǫfnu gengi
útver †formvm† hersi,
þás riðloga reiðir
randvallar lét falla
— ulfteitir gaf ôtu
opt blóðvǫlum — Skopta.
Mæita fór at móti miǫk síð vm | dag skiði vngr með iǫfnv gængi v́t vers frǫmvm hersi .
(VEÞ)
Use the buttons at the top of the page to navigate between stanzas in a poem.
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.
This is the text of the edition in a similar format to how the edition appears in the printed volumes.
This view is also used for chapters and other text segments. Not all the headings shown are relevant to such sections.