Eskál Lv 3I
Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2012, ‘Einarr skálaglamm Helgason, Lausavísur 3’ 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. 333.
kvað ‘said’
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2. kveðja (verb; kvaddi): (dd) request, address, greet
ullr ‘’
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Ullr (noun m.): Ullr
jarl ‘The jarl’
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jarl (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): poet, earl
[1] jarl: ullr Flat, 2368ˣ, 743ˣ
at ‘to’
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3. at (prep.): at, to
orði ‘’
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orð (noun n.; °-s; -): word
væri ‘’
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væri (noun n.): abode, shelter
æri ‘the messenger’
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1. árr (noun m.; °dat. ár; ǽrir/árar, acc. áru): messenger
[1] æri: væri 510, orði FskBˣ, 51ˣ
kennings
æri unnviggs‘the messenger of the wave-steed ’
= SEAFARER = Þorleifr skúma
the wave-steed → SHIP
the messenger of the SHIP → SEAFARER = Þorleifr skúma
unn ‘of the wave’
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2. unnr (noun f.): wave < unnviggr (noun m.): wave-steed
[2] unnviggs: ‘unduígs’ Flat, ‘brenuígs’ 510
kennings
æri unnviggs‘the messenger of the wave-steed ’
= SEAFARER = Þorleifr skúma
the wave-steed → SHIP
the messenger of the SHIP → SEAFARER = Þorleifr skúma
unn ‘of the wave’
(not checked:)
2. unnr (noun f.): wave < unnviggr (noun m.): wave-steed
[2] unnviggs: ‘unduígs’ Flat, ‘brenuígs’ 510
kennings
æri unnviggs‘the messenger of the wave-steed ’
= SEAFARER = Þorleifr skúma
the wave-steed → SHIP
the messenger of the SHIP → SEAFARER = Þorleifr skúma
undvígs ‘’
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undvíg (noun n.)
brenvígs ‘’
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brennvíg (noun n.)
viggs ‘steed’
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vigg (noun n.): steed < unnviggr (noun m.): wave-steed
[2] unnviggs: ‘unduígs’ Flat, ‘brenuígs’ 510
kennings
æri unnviggs‘the messenger of the wave-steed ’
= SEAFARER = Þorleifr skúma
the wave-steed → SHIP
the messenger of the SHIP → SEAFARER = Þorleifr skúma
viggs ‘steed’
(not checked:)
vigg (noun n.): steed < unnviggr (noun m.): wave-steed
[2] unnviggs: ‘unduígs’ Flat, ‘brenuígs’ 510
kennings
æri unnviggs‘the messenger of the wave-steed ’
= SEAFARER = Þorleifr skúma
the wave-steed → SHIP
the messenger of the SHIP → SEAFARER = Þorleifr skúma
fyr ‘of’
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fyr (prep.): for, over, because of, etc.
haf ‘the sea’
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haf (noun n.; °-s; *-): sea
sunnan ‘south’
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sunnan (adv.): (from the) south
þás ‘when’
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þás (conj.): when
semja ‘’
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2. semja (verb): befit
á ‘upon’
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3. á (prep.): on, at
seima ‘of riches’
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2. seimr (noun m.; °dat. -i): gold
[3] seima: sama FskAˣ, semja 2368ˣ, 743ˣ
kennings
særi seima:‘the wounder of riches: ’
= GENEROUS MAN
the wounder of riches: → GENEROUS MAN
sárr ‘’
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sárr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): sore, painful; wounded
særi ‘wounder’
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særir (noun m.): wounder
kennings
særi seima:‘the wounder of riches: ’
= GENEROUS MAN
the wounder of riches: → GENEROUS MAN
sár ‘of wound’
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2. sár (noun n.; °-s; -): wound < sáreldr (noun m.)
[4] sár‑: so all others, sárr 291
kennings
spor sárelda‘tracks of wound-fires ’
= WOUNDS
wound-fires → SWORDS
tracks of SWORDS → WOUNDS
sár ‘of wound’
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2. sár (noun n.; °-s; -): wound < sáreldr (noun m.)
[4] sár‑: so all others, sárr 291
kennings
spor sárelda‘tracks of wound-fires ’
= WOUNDS
wound-fires → SWORDS
tracks of SWORDS → WOUNDS
spioll ‘’
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2. spjall (noun n.; °; -*): destruction, loss
spiorr ‘’
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spjǫrr (noun f.; °; dat. -um): °strimmel, (hose)bånd, vikler; klæde, tøj, las
spaur ‘’
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1. spǫrr (noun m.; °sparrar): °spurv
spior ‘’
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spjǫr (noun n.): spear
elda ‘fires’
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eldr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-(HómÍsl¹(1993) 24v²⁴); -ar): fire < sáreldr (noun m.)
kennings
spor sárelda‘tracks of wound-fires ’
= WOUNDS
wound-fires → SWORDS
tracks of SWORDS → WOUNDS
elda ‘fires’
(not checked:)
eldr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-(HómÍsl¹(1993) 24v²⁴); -ar): fire < sáreldr (noun m.)
kennings
spor sárelda‘tracks of wound-fires ’
= WOUNDS
wound-fires → SWORDS
tracks of SWORDS → WOUNDS
spor ‘tracks’
(not checked:)
spor (noun n.; °-s; -): track
[4] spor: so 7, ‘spior’ 291, ‘spaur’ Flat, ‘spo᷎r’ 510, ‘spioll’ FskBˣ, 51ˣ, ‘spiorr’ FskAˣ
kennings
spor sárelda‘tracks of wound-fires ’
= WOUNDS
wound-fires → SWORDS
tracks of SWORDS → WOUNDS
ǫlldungis ‘’
vôru ‘were’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
hefi ‘’
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hafa (verb): have
notes
[5, 8] faðir þinn hefr haldit ǫllungis illa ‘your father has undergone extreme hardship’: Lit. ‘has undergone hardship completely’. This depends upon the ON idiom halda illa ‘to undergo hardship’, which also occurs in Anon (MH) 1/5II (and cf. Hollander 1917, 198).
illa ‘extreme’
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illr (adj.): bad, evil, unwell
ey ‘of the island’
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1. ey (noun f.; °-jar, dat. -ju/-; -jar): island < eybaugr (noun m.): island-ring
kennings
valdr viggja eybaugs;‘ruler of steeds of the island-ring; ’
= SEAFARER
the island-ring; → SEA
steeds of the SEA → SHIPS
ruler of SHIPS → SEAFARER
ey ‘of the island’
(not checked:)
1. ey (noun f.; °-jar, dat. -ju/-; -jar): island < eybaugr (noun m.): island-ring
kennings
valdr viggja eybaugs;‘ruler of steeds of the island-ring; ’
= SEAFARER
the island-ring; → SEA
steeds of the SEA → SHIPS
ruler of SHIPS → SEAFARER
ey ‘of the island’
(not checked:)
1. ey (noun f.; °-jar, dat. -ju/-; -jar): island < eybaugr (noun m.): island-ring
kennings
valdr viggja eybaugs;‘ruler of steeds of the island-ring; ’
= SEAFARER
the island-ring; → SEA
steeds of the SEA → SHIPS
ruler of SHIPS → SEAFARER
skal ‘’
(not checked:)
skulu (verb): shall, should, must
þú ‘’
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þú (pron.; °gen. þín, dat. þér, acc. þik): you
baugs ‘ring’
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baugr (noun m.; °dat. -i/-; -ar): ring < eybaugr (noun m.): island-ring
kennings
valdr viggja eybaugs;‘ruler of steeds of the island-ring; ’
= SEAFARER
the island-ring; → SEA
steeds of the SEA → SHIPS
ruler of SHIPS → SEAFARER
baugs ‘ring’
(not checked:)
baugr (noun m.; °dat. -i/-; -ar): ring < eybaugr (noun m.): island-ring
kennings
valdr viggja eybaugs;‘ruler of steeds of the island-ring; ’
= SEAFARER
the island-ring; → SEA
steeds of the SEA → SHIPS
ruler of SHIPS → SEAFARER
baugs ‘ring’
(not checked:)
baugr (noun m.; °dat. -i/-; -ar): ring < eybaugr (noun m.): island-ring
kennings
valdr viggja eybaugs;‘ruler of steeds of the island-ring; ’
= SEAFARER
the island-ring; → SEA
steeds of the SEA → SHIPS
ruler of SHIPS → SEAFARER
ef ‘if’
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3. ef (conj.): if
vér ‘’
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vér (pron.; °gen. vár, dat./acc. oss): we, us, our
skalt ‘must’
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skulu (verb): shall, should, must
[6] skalt: skal 7, Flat, FskBˣ, 51ˣ, þú skalt 510
deyja ‘die’
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1. deyja (verb; °deyr; dó, dó(u); dá(i)nn): die
víst ‘certainly’
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1. víss (adj.): wise, certain(ly)
[7] víst: so 510, FskBˣ, 51ˣ, FskAˣ, vér 291, 7, Flat
viggjar ‘’
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viggr (noun m.): horse
uígea ‘’
hyggjum ‘we [I] think’
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2. hyggja (verb): think, consider
vældr ‘’
viggja ‘of steeds’
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vigg (noun n.): steed
[7] viggja: ‘uígea’ Flat, viggjar 510, FskBˣ, 51ˣ
kennings
valdr viggja eybaugs;‘ruler of steeds of the island-ring; ’
= SEAFARER
the island-ring; → SEA
steeds of the SEA → SHIPS
ruler of SHIPS → SEAFARER
viggja ‘of steeds’
(not checked:)
vigg (noun n.): steed
[7] viggja: ‘uígea’ Flat, viggjar 510, FskBˣ, 51ˣ
kennings
valdr viggja eybaugs;‘ruler of steeds of the island-ring; ’
= SEAFARER
the island-ring; → SEA
steeds of the SEA → SHIPS
ruler of SHIPS → SEAFARER
kennings
valdr viggja eybaugs;‘ruler of steeds of the island-ring; ’
= SEAFARER
the island-ring; → SEA
steeds of the SEA → SHIPS
ruler of SHIPS → SEAFARER
þinn ‘Your’
(not checked:)
þinn (pron.; °f. þín, n. þitt): your
notes
[5, 8] faðir þinn hefr haldit ǫllungis illa ‘your father has undergone extreme hardship’: Lit. ‘has undergone hardship completely’. This depends upon the ON idiom halda illa ‘to undergo hardship’, which also occurs in Anon (MH) 1/5II (and cf. Hollander 1917, 198).
faðir ‘father’
(not checked:)
faðir (noun m.): father
notes
[5, 8] faðir þinn hefr haldit ǫllungis illa ‘your father has undergone extreme hardship’: Lit. ‘has undergone hardship completely’. This depends upon the ON idiom halda illa ‘to undergo hardship’, which also occurs in Anon (MH) 1/5II (and cf. Hollander 1917, 198).
haldit ‘undergone’
(not checked:)
halda (verb): hold, keep
notes
[5, 8] faðir þinn hefr haldit ǫllungis illa ‘your father has undergone extreme hardship’: Lit. ‘has undergone hardship completely’. This depends upon the ON idiom halda illa ‘to undergo hardship’, which also occurs in Anon (MH) 1/5II (and cf. Hollander 1917, 198).
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
|
Þat kvað jarl at æri |
The jarl said that to the messenger of the wave-steed [SHIP > SEAFARER = Þorleifr skúma] south of the sea, when tracks of wound-fires [SWORDS > WOUNDS] were upon the wounder of riches [GENEROUS MAN]: ‘Your father has undergone extreme hardship if you must die, ruler of steeds of the island-ring [SEA > SHIPS > SEAFARER]; we [I] think so certainly.’
After the battle of Hjǫrungavágr (Liavågen), many men on both sides are killed or wounded. The Icelandic skald Þorleifr skúma Þorkelsson has hit the Jómsvíkingr Vagn Ákason a blow with his club, and in return Vagn has wounded Þorleifr with a spear. Þorleifr is dying of this wound in a tent, where he is visited by Eiríkr jarl Hákonarson (or, in Fsk, Hákon jarl), who exclaims that Þorleifr’s father would suffer a great loss if he died. Einarr skálaglamm hears these words and they move him to compose a verse (þá verðr honum Einari vísa á munni ‘then a verse is in Einarr’s mouth’). After he declaims it, Þorleifr falls down dead. In Fsk, the stanza is attributed to Þorleifr skúma himself, but this is unlikely to be correct, if the narrative of the majority mss is heeded. In LaufE, ll. 1-4 are cited in a section illustrating terms for wounds.
For the sea-battle at Hjǫrungavágr (c. 985) and other skaldic poetry associated with it, see the entry on Hákon jarl Sigurðarson in ‘Ruler biographies’ in Introduction to this volume. — [2] fyr sunnan haf ‘south of the sea’: Although Liavågen is south of Hákon jarl’s power-base at Lade (ON Hlaðir) in Trøndelag, the phrase is more likely to refer to Norway, across the sea from Iceland (Skj B adds the explanation i Norge ‘in Norway’). This is appropriate to the Icelandic origins of both Einarr and Þorleifr skúma, but does not sit well with the claim of the prose sources that the stanza was uttered at the battle itself. — [4] spor sárelda ‘tracks of wound-fires [SWORDS > WOUNDS]’: Adopting 7’s reading spor ‘tracks’ for the base-word of this tvíkent (‘doubly modified’) kenning allows one to construe it as referring to wounds (which are already in play in sárelda ‘of wound-fires’). This is evidently how it was understood by Magnús Óláfsson in LaufE, since ll. 1-4 are preceded there by a remark that wounds can be referred to as fet eda spór jarnana ‘feet or tracks of iron (weapons)’. Ólafur Halldórsson (Jvs 1969, 217) has argued that the other ms. variants perhaps suggest an original reading more like spôr ‘prophecies’. This could form a battle-kenning with sárelda, but ‘battle’ would fit the context less well, and spôr, as a noun consisting of a long syllable in metrical position 4 in the line, would be irregular. Ólafur suggests a punning connection (ofljóst) with a base-word for ‘wave’, from spô via boði ‘messenger, announcer’, a word that has another sense ‘breaker on hidden rocks’, hence ‘wave’. A kenning with the sense ‘wave of wound-fires’ could then have the referent ‘blood’, giving ll. 3-4 the sense ‘when blood flowed (lit. was) around him’.
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