Eyv Lv 10^I

Einn dróttin hefk áttan,
jǫfurr dýrr, an þik fyrra;
bellir, bragningr, elli;
biðkat mér ins þriðja.
Trúr vask tyggja dýrum;
tveim skjǫldum lékk aldri;
fyllik flokk þinn, stillir;
fellr á hendr mér elli.

Hefk áttan einn dróttin fyrra an þik, dýrr jǫfurr; elli bellir, bragningr; biðkat mér ins þriðja. Vask trúr dýrum tyggja; lékk aldri tveim skjǫldum; fyllik flokk þinn, stillir; elli fellr á hendr mér.

I have had one lord before you, dear king; old age presses, prince; I do not ask for a third for myself. I was true to the prized leader; I never played with two shields; I fill up your following, ruler; old age descends on me.

Mss: Kˣ(109r), F(19ra), J1ˣ(65r-v), J2ˣ(62v) (Hkr); 61(6va), Bb(8vb) (ÓT); FskBˣ(13v), FskAˣ(60-61) (Fsk)

Readings: [2] fyrra: so J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 61, fyrri Kˣ, F, Bb, FskBˣ, FskAˣ    [3] bellir: so FskBˣ, FskAˣ, belli Kˣ, F, J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 61, Bb;    bragningr: ‘bragingr’ FskBˣ    [4] biðkat: bið ek Bb;    mér: mér ok Bb    [5] Trúr: tryggr F, ‘tryr’ J1ˣ;    vask (‘var ec’): vil ek Bb    [6] lékk: leik ek J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 61, Bb    [8] fellr: fellsk FskBˣ;    á: í 61

Editions: Skj AI, 73-4, Skj BI, 64, Skald I, 40, NN §2218; Hkr 1893-1901, I, 227, IV, 63-4, ÍF 26, 202, Hkr 1991, I, 134 (HGráf ch. 1), F 1871, 86; Fms 1, 50-1, Fms 12, 31, ÓT 1958-2000, I, 49-50 (ch. 31); Fsk 1902-3, 52 (ch. 13), ÍF 29, 98 (ch. 14); Krause 1990, 255-9.

Context: Fsk places the stanza directly after Lv 7, as part of a dialogue exchange dramatising the continued pressure on Eyvindr to placate Haraldr gráfeldr. The narration is less elaborate in Hkr and ÓT: Haraldr accuses Eyvindr of bad faith in composing hostile stanzas after having pledged allegiance.

Notes: [2] fyrra an ‘before’: Fyrra is a comp. adj., hence einn dróttin fyrra an þik is lit. ‘one earlier lord than you’. — [3] bellir ‘presses’: This is the weak verb bella ‘to deal, display, use’, which most often takes an object (in the dat.) referring to negative entities such as treachery or force; the strong bella normally means ‘hurt, harm, affect’, with dat. of the person affected (CVC, Fritzner, AEW: bella; also NN §2218A). The present instance seems to combine aspects of both usages. There is no explicit object, but from the context, including mér ‘for myself’ in l. 4 and the second reference to elli ‘old age’ in l. 8, it is clear that the skald has his own advancing age in mind. — [6] lékk aldri tveim skjǫldum ‘I never played with two shields’: The line apparently contains an idiom leika tveim skjǫldum ‘play with two shields’ denoting duplicity (cf. Am 74/8), perhaps based on the idea of swiftly exchanging one shield for another (LP: 3. leika 2).  — [7] fyllik flokk þinn, stillir ‘I fill up your following, ruler’: Sentiments declaring or reaffirming loyalty may have been a skaldic commonplace (cf. Sigv Lv 3).  — [8] á hendr mér ‘on me’: More literally, ‘on my hands/arms’.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Fms = Sveinbjörn Egilsson et al., eds. 1825-37. Fornmanna sögur eptir gömlum handritum útgefnar að tilhlutun hins norræna fornfræða fèlags. 12 vols. Copenhagen: Popp.
3. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. AEW = Vries, Jan de. 1962. Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch. 2nd rev. edn. Rpt. 1977. Leiden: Brill.
6. LP = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1931. Lexicon poeticum antiquæ linguæ septentrionalis: Ordbog over det norsk-islandske skjaldesprog oprindelig forfattet af Sveinbjörn Egilsson. 2nd edn. Copenhagen: Møller.
7. CVC = Cleasby, Richard, Gudbrand Vigfusson [Guðbrandur Vigfússon] and W. A. Craigie. 1957. An Icelandic-English Dictionary. 2nd edn. Oxford: Clarendon.
8. Fritzner = Fritzner, Johan. 1883-96. Ordbog over det gamle norske sprog. 3 vols. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske forlagsforening. 4th edn. Rpt. 1973. Oslo etc.: Universitetsforlaget.
9. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
10. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
11. Hkr 1991 = Bergljót S. Kristjánsdóttir et al., eds. 1991. Heimskringla. 3 vols. Reykjavík: Mál og menning.
12. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
13. Fsk 1902-3 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1902-3. Fagrskinna: Nóregs kononga tal. SUGNL 30. Copenhagen: Møller.
14. ÍF 29 = Ágrip af Nóregskonunga sǫgum; Fagrskinna—Nóregs konungatal. Ed. Bjarni Einarsson. 1985.
15. ÓT 1958-2000 = Ólafur Halldórsson, ed. 1958-2000. Saga Óláfs Tryggvasonar en mesta. 3 vols. EA A 1-3. Copenhagen: Munksgaard (Reitzel).
16. Krause, Arnulf, ed. 1990. Die Dichtung des Eyvindr skáldaspillir: Edition-Kommentar-Untersuchungen. Altnordische Bibliothek 10. Leverkusen: Literaturverlag Norden Mark Reinhardt.
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 19 April 2024)
19. (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 19 April 2024)
20. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta’ 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. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=60> (accessed 19 April 2024)
21. (forthcoming), ‘ Heimskringla, Haralds saga gráfeldar’ 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=138> (accessed 19 April 2024)
22. Not published: do not cite ()
23. R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, 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. 702.