Eyv Lv 11^I

Skyldak, skerja foldar
skíðrennandi, síðan
þursa týs frá þvísa
þinn góðan byr finna,
es, valjarðar, verðum,
veljandi, þér selja
lyngva mens, þats lengi,
látr, minn faðir átti.

{{{Skerja foldar} skíð}rennandi}, skyldak síðan frá þvísa finna {þinn góðan byr {týs þursa}}, es, {veljandi valjarðar}, verðum selja þér {látr {mens lyngva}}, þats faðir minn átti lengi.

{Runner {of the ski {of the land of skerries}}} [(lit. ‘ski-runner of the land of skerries’) SEA > SHIP > SEAFARER], I should from this time on meet with {your good wind {of the bondwoman of giants}} [GIANTESS > THOUGHT], when, {chooser of the battlefield} [RULER], we [I] have to give you {the resting-place {of the necklace of heathers}} [SNAKE > GOLD] which my father long owned.

Mss: Kˣ(109r), 39(3ra), F(19ra), J1ˣ(65v), J2ˣ(62v-63r) (Hkr); 61(6vb), Bb(8vb) (ÓT); FskBˣ(14v), FskAˣ(63) (Fsk)

Readings: [2] ‑rennandi: ‘rennðandæ’ J1ˣ, J2ˣ;    síðan: um síðir J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 61, Bb    [3] týs: so J1ˣ, J2ˣ, ‘tøs’ Kˣ, 39, F, bæs 61, bæn Bb, ‘tols’ FskBˣ, kaus FskAˣ;    frá: om. 39, enn F, fyr Bb    [4] þinn: þann Bb;    byr: ‘bur’ Bb    [5] es (‘er’): so 39, F, J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 61, Bb, FskAˣ, ef Kˣ;    val‑: vél Bb    [7] lyngva: ‘lynga’ Bb;    þats (‘þat er’): þar er J2ˣ    [8] látr: lattr J1ˣ, J2ˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 74, Skj BI, 64-5, Skald I, 40, NN §1041D; Hkr 1893-1901, I, 228, IV, 64-5, ÍF 26, 202-3, Hkr 1991, I, 134 (HGráf ch. 1), F 1871, 87; Fms 1, 51, Fms 12, 31, ÓT 1958-2000, I, 50 (ch. 31); Fsk 1902-3, 55 (ch. 13), ÍF 29, 100-1 (ch. 14); Krause 1990, 260-5.

Context: Fsk places Lv 11 next after Lv 8 and 9. Haraldr pronounces a death sentence on Eyvindr for his composition of Lv 8 and 9 but Eyvindr’s friends again petition for a reconciliation. The king asks that Eyvindr present him with a gold ring called Moldi, which weighed twelve ounces, and Eyvindr complies. The stanza is placed differently in Hkr and ÓT but the account of the circumstances is similar.

Notes: [2, 3] síðan frá þvísa ‘from this time on’: Lit. ‘afterwards from this’. Þvísa is an early dat. or instr. form of sjá ‘this’ (Finnur Jónsson 1901, 78; ANG §470 Anm. 2). — [3, 4] góðan byr týs þursa ‘good wind of the bondwoman of giants [GIANTESS > THOUGHT]’: Eyvindr hopes that he will now stand in the king’s good grace, having given up his gold to him. Although this kenning pattern is well-attested, its rationale and aetiology are not precisely understood (see SnE 1998, I, 108; Meissner 138-9; Frank 1997, and references there). The determinant týs, probably meaning ‘bondwoman’, ‘concubine’ or ‘enslaved sexual partner’, is obscure and clearly caused confusion in transmission (cf. Hkr 1893-1901, IV; LP: tý; NN §1041D; Olsen 1959, 101). — [5, 6] veljandi valjarðar ‘chooser of the battlefield [RULER]’: This kenning has not been conclusively explained. (a) Adopted in this edn is an analysis due to Sveinbjörn Egilsson (LP (1860): velja, followed by ÍF 26; ÍF 29; Hkr 1991), who sees a reference to the warrior’s role of choosing the locality in which to fight a battle. (b) Finnur Jónsson (Hkr 1893-1901, IV; Skj B) initially suggested that valjǫrð could be ‘falcon-land [ARM]’, part of an incomplete or corrupted kenning for ‘ring’ , but in LP: valjǫrð favoured explanation (a). — [7] mens lyngva ‘of the necklace of heathers [SNAKE]’: I.e. the coiling reptile that inhabits heather moors; cf. Meissner 115 for this pattern of kenning.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
3. Fms = Sveinbjörn Egilsson et al., eds. 1825-37. Fornmanna sögur eptir gömlum handritum útgefnar að tilhlutun hins norræna fornfræða fèlags. 12 vols. Copenhagen: Popp.
4. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
6. Meissner = Meissner, Rudolf. 1921. Die Kenningar der Skalden: Ein Beitrag zur skaldischen Poetik. Rheinische Beiträge und Hülfsbücher zur germanischen Philologie und Volkskunde 1. Bonn and Leipzig: Schroeder. Rpt. 1984. Hildesheim etc.: Olms.
7. 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.
8. LP (1860) = Sveinbjörn Egilsson, ed. 1860. Lexicon poeticum antiquæ linguæ septentrionalis. Copenhagen: Societas Regia antiquariorum septentrionalium.
9. ANG = Noreen, Adolf. 1923. Altnordische Grammatik I: Altisländische und altnorwegische Grammatik (Laut- und Flexionslehre) unter Berücksichtigung des Urnordischen. 4th edn. Halle: Niemeyer. 1st edn. 1884. 5th unrev. edn. 1970. Tübingen: Niemeyer.
10. Finnur Jónsson. 1901. Det norsk-islandske skjaldesprog omtr. 800-1300. SUGNL 28. Copenhagen: Møller.
11. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
12. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
13. Hkr 1991 = Bergljót S. Kristjánsdóttir et al., eds. 1991. Heimskringla. 3 vols. Reykjavík: Mál og menning.
14. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
15. Fsk 1902-3 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1902-3. Fagrskinna: Nóregs kononga tal. SUGNL 30. Copenhagen: Møller.
16. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
17. ÍF 29 = Ágrip af Nóregskonunga sǫgum; Fagrskinna—Nóregs konungatal. Ed. Bjarni Einarsson. 1985.
18. ÓT 1958-2000 = Ólafur Halldórsson, ed. 1958-2000. Saga Óláfs Tryggvasonar en mesta. 3 vols. EA A 1-3. Copenhagen: Munksgaard (Reitzel).
19. Krause, Arnulf, ed. 1990. Die Dichtung des Eyvindr skáldaspillir: Edition-Kommentar-Untersuchungen. Altnordische Bibliothek 10. Leverkusen: Literaturverlag Norden Mark Reinhardt.
20. Frank, Roberta. 1997. ‘The Unbearable Lightness of Being a Philologist’. JEGP 96, 486-513.
21. Olsen, Magnus. 1959. ‘Vetlingavinr’. Saga och sed, 101-7.
22. Internal references
23. (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 25 April 2024)
24. (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 25 April 2024)
25. (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 25 April 2024)
26. (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 25 April 2024)