Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Poems, Bjarkamál in fornu 4’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 500.
Gramr inn gjǫflasti gœddi hirð sína
Fenju forverki, Fáfnis miðgarði,
Glasis glóbarri, Grana fagrbyrði,
Draupnis dýrsveita, dúni Grafvitnis.
Inn gjǫflasti gramr gœddi hirð sína {forverki Fenju}, {miðgarði Fáfnis}, {glóbarri Glasis}, {fagrbyrði Grana}, {dýrsveita Draupnis}, {dúni Grafvitnis}.
‘The most munificent prince enriched his retinue with Fenja’s <giantess’s> toil [GOLD], Fáfnir’s <dragon’s> land [GOLD], Glasir’s <grove’s> glowing foliage [GOLD], Grani’s <horse’s> fair burden [GOLD], Draupnir’s <mythical ring’s> precious sweat [GOLD], Grafvitnir’s <snake’s> feather-bed [GOLD]. ’
The three stanzas 4, 5 and 6 are introduced thus in mss of Skm (SnE 1998, I, 60): Í Bjarkamálum inum fornum eru tǫ<l>ð mǫrg gulls heiti ‘In Bjarkamál in fornu many terms for gold are listed’. The stanzas then follow without further prose intervention.
The three stanzas 4, 5 and 6 list kennings for gold. All but one are dependent on mythological or legendary narratives for their rationale. Many of these kennings are either not recorded elsewhere or are only found in poetry from the mid-twelfth century onwards (cf. Olrik 1903-10, I, 98-101; Guðrún Nordal 2001, 329-30). There are close parallels between the gold-kennings deployed in these stanzas and those used by Einarr Skúlason in ESk Øxfl (especially sts 1-3, 6 and 9) and by Snorri Sturluson, both as advocated in SnE and as used in SnSt Ht 41-2. Given that Snorri knew and quoted these stanzas from Bjark, they may have served him as a model in Ht 41-2, as the subject of those stanzas is the generosity of Skúli jarl Bárðarson, which may be compared implicitly in Ht with that of Hrólfr kraki (see also SnSt Ht 94/2). — [5-6]: The lines are fornyrðislag (Type D) rather than málaháttr.
Text is based on reconstruction from the base text and variant apparatus and may contain alternative spellings and other normalisations not visible in the manuscript text. Transcriptions may not have been checked and should not be cited.
Gramr | hiɴ gioflazti gæddi hirð sina feniv forverki fafnis miðgarþi glasis | globaʀi grana fagrbyrði drꜹpnis dyrsveita dvni grafvitnis.
(HA)
†G[…] […] […]sti†
gladdi hirð sína
Fenju forverki,
†fafnis miðgarþ[…]† ,
†[…]† glóbarri,
Grana fagrbyrði,
Draupnis dýrsveita,
dúni †[…]fvitnis†.
Gramr gjǫflasti
gladdi hirð sína
Fenju forverki,
Fáfnis miðgarði,
Glasis glóbarri,
Grana fagrbyrði,
Draupnis dýrsveita,
dúni Grafvitnis.
Gramr giǫflazti gladdi | hirð sina fæniv for verki fáfnis miðgarði glasis glóbarri grana fagr | byrði drꜹpnis dyr svæita dv́ni graf vitnís .
(VEÞ)
Gramr inn gjǫflasti
gladdi †[…]†
†[…]† ,
†[…]† ,
Glasis glóbarri,
Grana fagrbyrði,
Draupnis †[…]†,
†[…] […]†.
Gramr inn gjǫflasti
gœddi hirð sína
†feníu foruerke† ,
†fafniss miðgarde† ,
Glasis glóbarri,
Grana fagrbyrði,
Draupnis †dy᷎r sueíta†,
†dune grafvítniss†.
Gramr inn †gioflatti†
gladdi hirð sína
Fenju forverki,
Fáfnis miðgarði,
Glasis glóbarri,
Grana fagrbyrði,
†[…]raupnis† dýrsveita,
dúni Grafvitnis.
Gramr inn gjǫflasti
gœddi hirð sína
Fenju forverki,
Fáfnis miðgarði,
Glasis glóbarri,
Grana fagrbyrði,
Drupnis dýrsveita,
dúni Grafvitnis.
Gramr inn gjǫflasti
gladdi hirð sína
Fenju forverki,
Fáfnis miðgarði,
Glasis glóbarri,
Grana fagrbyrði,
Drupnis dýrsveita,
dúni Grafvitnis.
Gramr inn gjǫflasti
gœddi hirð sína
Fenju forverki,
Fáfnis miðgarði,
Glasis glóbarri,
Grana fagrbyrði,
Drupnis dýrsveita,
dúni Grafvitnis.
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