Eyv Hák 20^I

Mun óbundinn         á ýta sjǫt
        Fenrisulfr fara,
áðr jafngóðr         á auða trǫð
        konungmaðr komi.

Fenrisulfr mun fara óbundinn á sjǫt ýta, áðr jafngóðr konungmaðr komi á auða trǫð.

The wolf Fenrir, unbound, will enter the abode of men before so good a royal person comes onto the vacant path.

Mss: Kˣ(107r), F(18vb), J1ˣ(64r), J2ˣ(61r-v) (Hkr); FskBˣ(12v), FskAˣ(57) (Fsk); 761bˣ(101v-102v)

Readings: [2] ýta: ‘vta’ J1ˣ    [3] fara: of fara F, um fara FskBˣ    [5] trǫð: ‘traut’ FskBˣ    [6] konung‑: konungr J1ˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 67, Skj BI, 60, Skald I, 37; Hkr 1893-1901, I, 221, IV, 61, ÍF 26, 197, Hkr 1991, I, 129 (HákGóð ch. 31/32), F 1871, 85; Fsk 1902-3, 48 (ch. 12), ÍF 29, 94 (ch. 13); Möbius 1860, 234, Jón Helgason 1968, 28, Krause 1990, 131-4.

Context: In Hkr, as for st. 1. In Fsk, as for st. 19.

Notes: [3] Fenrisulfr ‘the wolf Fenrir’: The release of the wolf marks Ragnarǫk and the end of the world: see Note to Anon Eirm 7/4, and SnE 2005, 27-9 for the binding of Fenrir. Magnus Olsen (1945b, 185) argued that the reference to the release of Fenrir is intended more specifically to invite comparison of Hákon góði to Baldr inn góði, before whose death there were no feiknstafir ‘afflictions’ (compare the hard times described in the next stanza; on Baldr see Note to Anon Eirm 3/5). — [5] trǫð ‘path’: The sense of ll. 4-6 is that no king equal to Hákon will come in his place before Ragnarǫk. Cf. OE on lāst faran ‘go in the footprints’, i.e. ‘follow’. Other, more specific interpretations, are less convincing: Storm (1900, 117) thinks the path is Fenrir’s rather than Hákon’s. Sahlgren (1927-8, I, 79-81) argues that the reference is to the path leading to the king’s manor. Uppström (1919, 49) takes the meaning to be ‘throne’.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
3. Storm, Gustav, trans. 1900. Snorre Sturlasøn: Kongesagaer. 2nd edn. Kristiania (Oslo): Stenersen.
4. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
5. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
6. Hkr 1991 = Bergljót S. Kristjánsdóttir et al., eds. 1991. Heimskringla. 3 vols. Reykjavík: Mál og menning.
7. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
8. Fsk 1902-3 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1902-3. Fagrskinna: Nóregs kononga tal. SUGNL 30. Copenhagen: Møller.
9. ÍF 29 = Ágrip af Nóregskonunga sǫgum; Fagrskinna—Nóregs konungatal. Ed. Bjarni Einarsson. 1985.
10. SnE 2005 = Snorri Sturluson. 2005. Edda: Prologue and Gylfaginning. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2nd edn. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
11. Möbius, Theodor. 1860. Edda Sæmundar hins fróða. Mit einem Anhang bisher ungedruckter Gedichte. Leipzig: Hinrichs.
12. Uppström, Anders, trans. 1919. ‘Visor ur Snorre Sturlesons Konunga Sǫgur’. In Uppström 1914-19, III, 39-49.
13. Jón Helgason, ed. 1968. Skjaldevers. 3rd edn. Copenhagen: Munksgaard.
14. Krause, Arnulf, ed. 1990. Die Dichtung des Eyvindr skáldaspillir: Edition-Kommentar-Untersuchungen. Altnordische Bibliothek 10. Leverkusen: Literaturverlag Norden Mark Reinhardt.
15. Sahlgren, Jöran. 1927-8. Eddica et Scaldica. Fornvästnordiska studier I-II. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
16. Olsen, Magnus. 1945b. ‘Skaldevers om nods-år nordenfjells’. In Festskrift til Konrad Nielsen på 70-årsdagen, 28. august 1945. Studia Septentrionalia 2. Oslo: Brøgger, 176-92.
17. Internal references
18. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Heimskringla’ 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. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=4> (accessed 18 April 2024)
19. R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2012, ‘Anonymous Poems, Eiríksmál 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. 1008.
20. R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2012, ‘Anonymous Poems, Eiríksmál 7’ 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. 1011.
21. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Fagrskinna’ 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. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=56> (accessed 18 April 2024)
22. (forthcoming), ‘ Heimskringla, Hákonar saga góða’ 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. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=130> (accessed 18 April 2024)