Glúmr Gráf 13I
Alison Finlay (ed.) 2012, ‘Glúmr Geirason, Gráfeldardrápa 13’ 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. 263.
Þar ‘There’
(not checked:)
þar (adv.): there
váru ‘’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
þrafna ‘of the stave’
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þrafni (noun m.): [stave]
kennings
þeim Beima þrafna byrjar.‘that Beimi <sea-king> of the stave of the fair wind. ’
= SEA-WARRIOR = Haraldr
the stave of the fair wind. → SHIP
that Beimi <sea-king> of the SHIP → SEA-WARRIOR = Haraldr
notes
[1] þrafna ‘of the stave’: The ON word þrafni ‘stave’ (see AEW: þrafni) is recorded only here, though it occurs in ModIcel. and some eds have introduced it by emendation into KormǪ Lv 27/8V (Korm 31) and KormǪ Lv 63/7V (Korm 84).
þrafna ‘of the stave’
(not checked:)
þrafni (noun m.): [stave]
kennings
þeim Beima þrafna byrjar.‘that Beimi <sea-king> of the stave of the fair wind. ’
= SEA-WARRIOR = Haraldr
the stave of the fair wind. → SHIP
that Beimi <sea-king> of the SHIP → SEA-WARRIOR = Haraldr
notes
[1] þrafna ‘of the stave’: The ON word þrafni ‘stave’ (see AEW: þrafni) is recorded only here, though it occurs in ModIcel. and some eds have introduced it by emendation into KormǪ Lv 27/8V (Korm 31) and KormǪ Lv 63/7V (Korm 84).
bynjar ‘’
hyrjar ‘’
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hyrr (noun m.): fire
byrjar ‘of the fair wind’
(not checked:)
byrr (noun m.; °-jar/-s; -ir, acc. -i/-u(SigrVal 188¹³)): favourable wind
[1] byrjar: hyrjar U, ‘byniar’ B
kennings
þeim Beima þrafna byrjar.‘that Beimi <sea-king> of the stave of the fair wind. ’
= SEA-WARRIOR = Haraldr
the stave of the fair wind. → SHIP
that Beimi <sea-king> of the SHIP → SEA-WARRIOR = Haraldr
byrjar ‘of the fair wind’
(not checked:)
byrr (noun m.; °-jar/-s; -ir, acc. -i/-u(SigrVal 188¹³)): favourable wind
[1] byrjar: hyrjar U, ‘byniar’ B
kennings
þeim Beima þrafna byrjar.‘that Beimi <sea-king> of the stave of the fair wind. ’
= SEA-WARRIOR = Haraldr
the stave of the fair wind. → SHIP
that Beimi <sea-king> of the SHIP → SEA-WARRIOR = Haraldr
er ‘’
(not checked:)
2. er (conj.): who, which, when
þeim ‘that’
[2] þeim: so Tˣ, U, B, þeim er R, W
kennings
þeim Beima þrafna byrjar.‘that Beimi <sea-king> of the stave of the fair wind. ’
= SEA-WARRIOR = Haraldr
the stave of the fair wind. → SHIP
that Beimi <sea-king> of the SHIP → SEA-WARRIOR = Haraldr
stýrðu ‘guided’
(not checked:)
stýra (verb): steer, control
notes
[2] goð stýrðu ‘the gods guided’: The verb stýra ‘steer, guide’ is similarly used to affirm that Hákon jarl was guided by the gods in Eskál Vell 14/7 and 31/6 (noted in Marold 2005a, 127).
kyn ‘’
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1. kyn (noun n.; °-s; -): kin
notes
[2] goð stýrðu ‘the gods guided’: The verb stýra ‘steer, guide’ is similarly used to affirm that Hákon jarl was guided by the gods in Eskál Vell 14/7 and 31/6 (noted in Marold 2005a, 127).
beina ‘’
(not checked:)
bein (noun n.; °-s; -): bone
kennings
þeim Beima þrafna byrjar.‘that Beimi <sea-king> of the stave of the fair wind. ’
= SEA-WARRIOR = Haraldr
the stave of the fair wind. → SHIP
that Beimi <sea-king> of the SHIP → SEA-WARRIOR = Haraldr
notes
[2] Beima ‘Beimi <sea-king>’: The name Beimi is otherwise only attested in Þul Sea-kings 1/4III (see Note) and Þul Sækonunga 4/6III. The use of the name of a legendary hero or king, rather than a god’s name, as the base-word of a man-kenning is also rare (Meissner 263).
sjalfr ‘himself’
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sjalfr (adj.): self
í ‘in’
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í (prep.): in, into
alfur ‘’
sókti ‘’
sœkialfi ‘the attacking elf’
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sœkialfr (noun m.): [attacking elf]
[3] sœkialfi: ‘sókti alfor’ Tˣ
kennings
sœkialfi dýra Atals;‘the attacking elf of the animals of Atall <sea-king>; ’
= SEA-WARRIOR = Haraldr
the animals of Atall <sea-king>; → SHIPS
the attacking elf of SHIPS → SEA-WARRIOR = Haraldr
sig ‘the victory’
kennings
sigtýr‘the victory-god ’
= Óðinn
the victory-god → Óðinn
notes
[4] sigtýr ‘the victory-god [= Óðinn]’: The word týr is probably best regarded here as a common noun meaning ‘god’, though it could alternatively be the god-name Týr (see Note to Eyv Hák 1/2 Gautatýr).
týs ‘’
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Týr (noun m.): Týr < 1. sig (noun n.): [battle]
kennings
sigtýr‘the victory-god ’
= Óðinn
the victory-god → Óðinn
notes
[4] sigtýr ‘the victory-god [= Óðinn]’: The word týr is probably best regarded here as a common noun meaning ‘god’, though it could alternatively be the god-name Týr (see Note to Eyv Hák 1/2 Gautatýr).
Atals ‘of Atall <sea-king>’
(not checked:)
Atall (noun m.): Atall (sea-king)
kennings
sœkialfi dýra Atals;‘the attacking elf of the animals of Atall <sea-king>; ’
= SEA-WARRIOR = Haraldr
the animals of Atall <sea-king>; → SHIPS
the attacking elf of SHIPS → SEA-WARRIOR = Haraldr
Atals ‘of Atall <sea-king>’
(not checked:)
Atall (noun m.): Atall (sea-king)
kennings
sœkialfi dýra Atals;‘the attacking elf of the animals of Atall <sea-king>; ’
= SEA-WARRIOR = Haraldr
the animals of Atall <sea-king>; → SHIPS
the attacking elf of SHIPS → SEA-WARRIOR = Haraldr
dýra ‘of the animals’
(not checked:)
1. dýr (noun n.; °-s (spec.: dyʀiɴs KonrA 66⁴, etc., cf. Seip 1955 188-189); -): animal
kennings
sœkialfi dýra Atals;‘the attacking elf of the animals of Atall <sea-king>; ’
= SEA-WARRIOR = Haraldr
the animals of Atall <sea-king>; → SHIPS
the attacking elf of SHIPS → SEA-WARRIOR = Haraldr
dýra ‘of the animals’
(not checked:)
1. dýr (noun n.; °-s (spec.: dyʀiɴs KonrA 66⁴, etc., cf. Seip 1955 188-189); -): animal
kennings
sœkialfi dýra Atals;‘the attacking elf of the animals of Atall <sea-king>; ’
= SEA-WARRIOR = Haraldr
the animals of Atall <sea-king>; → SHIPS
the attacking elf of SHIPS → SEA-WARRIOR = Haraldr
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
The stanza occurs in a list in SnE (Skm) exemplifying heiti and kennings for Óðinn.
The conception of Óðinn inhabiting the warrior is unique (LH I, 526), and leads Fidjestøl (1982, 91) to doubt whether the stanza belongs in a poem about Haraldr, who was nominally Christian, Eiríkr and all his family having been baptised in England, according to Hkr (ÍF 26, 152, 203). Some support for the idea of Haraldr as a devotee of Óðinn may be found in the unique occurrence of the god’s name as the base-word of a kenning in st. 8/2. Further possibilities are that Haraldr is perceived as having an Odinic ferocity in battle, or (Marold 2005a, 127-8) that the reference is to Óðinn possessing not Haraldr, but the one who deals him his death-blow. This would resonate with legends in which Óðinn presides over the death of a hero he has favoured, often claiming him as a sacrifice, but it would imply that the warrior guided by the gods (l. 2) was also Haraldr’s enemy, which seems unlikely in the light of the parallels from Eskál Vell mentioned below. — [3, 4] sœkialfi dýra Atals ‘the attacking elf of the animals of Atall <sea-king> [SHIPS > SEA-WARRIOR = Haraldr]’: The addition of the verbal element sœki- ‘attacking’ to the kenning alfr dýra Atals [SHIPS > SEAFARER] defines the referent as a warrior. For further examples of expressions for ‘sea-warrior’ claimed by Kock, see NN §1021.
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