Eyv Hál 4I
Russell Poole (ed.) 2012, ‘Eyvindr skáldaspillir Finnsson, Háleygjatal 4’ 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. 202.
En ‘But’
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2. en (conj.): but, and
Goðlaugr ‘Guðlaugr’
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Goðlaugr (noun m.): [Guðlaugr]
grimman ‘the savage’
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grimmr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): fierce
kennings
grimman jó Sigars‘the savage horse of Sigarr, ’
= GALLOWS
the savage horse of Sigarr, → GALLOWS
tamði ‘tamed’
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temja (verb): tame
viðr ‘’
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2. við (prep.): with, against
ofrkapp ‘the belligerence’
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ofrkapp (noun n.): [belligerence]
notes
[3] ofrkapp ‘the belligerence’: Lit. ‘excessive competitiveness, aggression’.
austr ‘of the eastern’
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2. austr (noun n.; °-s): the east < austrkonungr (noun m.): [eastern kings]
notes
[4] austrkonunga ‘of the eastern kings’: The kings of Sweden.
sigrs ‘’
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sigr (noun m.; °sigrs/sigrar, dat. sigri; sigrar): victory
konunga ‘kings’
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konungr (noun m.; °dat. -i, -s; -ar): king < austrkonungr (noun m.): [eastern kings]
notes
[4] austrkonunga ‘of the eastern kings’: The kings of Sweden.
hjó ‘’
(not checked:)
hǫggva (verb): to strike, put to death, cut, hew
kennings
grimman jó Sigars‘the savage horse of Sigarr, ’
= GALLOWS
the savage horse of Sigarr, → GALLOWS
notes
[5] jó Sigars ‘the horse of Sigarr <legendary king> [GALLOWS]’: The kenning alludes to the hanging of Hagbarðr by Sigarr, whose daughter Hagbarðr is courting. The story is known best from Saxo Grammaticus (Saxo 2005, I, 7, 7, 1-17, pp. 464-77) but for its currency in skaldic poetry see KormǪ Lv 4V (Korm 4). The kenning has counterparts in Þjóð Yt 9/11-12 and Sigv ErfÓl 1/8. For the image of ‘riding the gallows’, see Þjóð Yt 9/10, 11-12.
enn ‘’
(not checked:)
4. en (conj.): than
kennings
grimman jó Sigars‘the savage horse of Sigarr, ’
= GALLOWS
the savage horse of Sigarr, → GALLOWS
notes
[5] jó Sigars ‘the horse of Sigarr <legendary king> [GALLOWS]’: The kenning alludes to the hanging of Hagbarðr by Sigarr, whose daughter Hagbarðr is courting. The story is known best from Saxo Grammaticus (Saxo 2005, I, 7, 7, 1-17, pp. 464-77) but for its currency in skaldic poetry see KormǪ Lv 4V (Korm 4). The kenning has counterparts in Þjóð Yt 9/11-12 and Sigv ErfÓl 1/8. For the image of ‘riding the gallows’, see Þjóð Yt 9/10, 11-12.
synir ‘the sons’
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sonr (noun m.; °-ar, dat. syni; synir, acc. sonu, syni): son
notes
[6] synir Yngva ‘the sons of Yngvi’: See Context.
Yngva ‘of Yngvi’
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Yngvi (noun m.): Yngvi, prince
notes
[6] synir Yngva ‘the sons of Yngvi’: See Context.
men ‘the ring’
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2. men (noun n.; °; dat. menjum): neck-ring < menglǫtuðr (noun m.): necklace-destroyer
kennings
menglǫtuð‘the ring-destroyer ’
= GENEROUS MAN
the ring-destroyer → GENEROUS MAN
notes
[7] menglǫtuð ‘the ring-destroyer [GENEROUS MAN]’: Also used in Þjóð Yt 3/11.
glǫtuð ‘destroyer’
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glǫtuðr (noun m.): destroyer < menglǫtuðr (noun m.): necklace-destroyer
kennings
menglǫtuð‘the ring-destroyer ’
= GENEROUS MAN
the ring-destroyer → GENEROUS MAN
notes
[7] menglǫtuð ‘the ring-destroyer [GENEROUS MAN]’: Also used in Þjóð Yt 3/11.
við ‘to’
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2. við (prep.): with, against
reiðu ‘’
meið ‘the tree’
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meiðr (noun m.): beam, tree
notes
[8] riðu ‘fastened’: In this edn the reading of J2ˣ and F is adopted and construed as 3rd pers. pl. pret. ind. from the verb ríða (< *vríða) ‘twist, knit, braid, tie’ (cf. CVC: ríða; LP: 2. ríða; AEW: ríða 2). Earlier eds (Hkr 1893-1901; Skj B; ÍF 26; Hkr 1991) based themselves on Kˣ’s ‘reiðo’, emending to reiddu ‘caused to ride’. This would link to an extended image formed by the words tamði ‘tamed’ and jó ‘horse’. However, the reading in the other mss makes sense without emendation, while that of Kˣ may result from the comparative obscurity of ríða in the sense of ‘tie, twist’ etc. (there being only two other attestations in Old Norse poetry, LP: 2. ríða), and perhaps also from the influence of adjacent meið ‘tree’ (l. 8) and náreiðr ‘corpse-bearing’ (st. 5/1). Association by way of paronomasia with the more prevalent sense of ríða ‘ride’ would be very likely in such a context.
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
Stanzas 4 and 5 are cited without a break. Jǫrundr and Eiríkr, sons of Yngvi, meet Guðlaugr, king of Hálogaland, in Denmark, defeat him in a sea-battle and hang him at Straumeyjarnes, where his men build a burial mound.
The death of Guðlaugr at the hands of Jǫrundr is alluded to in Þjóð Yt 12/7.
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