HSt Rst 17I
Rolf Stavnem (ed.) 2012, ‘Hallar-Steinn, Rekstefja 17’ 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. 917.
Grár ‘The grey’
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grár (adj.; °gráan/grán): grey
[1] Grár: so 53, Flat, gjá Bb(112ra), 54, Bb(100ra)
kennings
Grár trǫllmarr‘The grey troll-woman’s steed ’
= WOLF
The grey troll-woman’s steed → WOLF
reif ‘tore’
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rífa (verb): tear
gerðu ‘engaged in’
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1. gera (verb): do, make
[1] gerðu: so 54, Bb(100ra), gjǫrði Bb(112ra), 53, gerðisk Flat
kennings
drífu randa;‘a snow-storm of shields; ’
= BATTLE
a snow-storm of shields; → BATTLE
gall ‘resounded’
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gjalla (verb): to scream, shriek; to repay, return, pay for
brandr ‘the sword’
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brandr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): sword, prow; fire
slǫg ‘weapons’
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slag (noun n.; °-s; *-): weapon
randa ‘of shields’
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rǫnd (noun f.; °dat. -/-u; rendr/randir): shield, shield-rim
kennings
drífu randa;‘a snow-storm of shields; ’
= BATTLE
a snow-storm of shields; → BATTLE
trǫll ‘troll-woman’s’
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troll (noun n.; °-s; -): troll < trollmarr (noun m.): [troll-woman steed]
[3] trǫllmarr: so 53, ‘trollz matr’ Bb(112ra), ‘traullan’ 54, Bb(100ra), ‘tro᷎ll maarr’ Flat
kennings
Grár trǫllmarr‘The grey troll-woman’s steed ’
= WOLF
The grey troll-woman’s steed → WOLF
notes
[3] trǫllmarr ‘troll-woman’s steed [WOLF]’: Trǫll can refer to both male and female trolls (LP: troll, trǫll), but a troll-woman or giantess is indicated here. The wolf-kenning follows a common pattern whose mythological prototype is the mount of the giantess Hyrrokkin in the myth of Baldr’s funeral (see Meissner 124-5; SnE 2005, 46).
marr ‘steed’
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2. marr (noun m.): horse < trollmarr (noun m.): [troll-woman steed]
[3] trǫllmarr: so 53, ‘trollz matr’ Bb(112ra), ‘traullan’ 54, Bb(100ra), ‘tro᷎ll maarr’ Flat
kennings
Grár trǫllmarr‘The grey troll-woman’s steed ’
= WOLF
The grey troll-woman’s steed → WOLF
notes
[3] trǫllmarr ‘troll-woman’s steed [WOLF]’: Trǫll can refer to both male and female trolls (LP: troll, trǫll), but a troll-woman or giantess is indicated here. The wolf-kenning follows a common pattern whose mythological prototype is the mount of the giantess Hyrrokkin in the myth of Baldr’s funeral (see Meissner 124-5; SnE 2005, 46).
sollin ‘swollen’
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1. svella (verb): swell
tveir ‘the two’
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tveir (num. cardinal): two
notes
[4] tveir nafnar ‘the two namesakes’: Óláfr Tryggvason and Óláfr sœnski ‘the Swede’ Eiríksson (r. c. 995-c. 1021).
nafnar ‘namesakes’
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nafni (noun m.; °-a; -ar): namesake
notes
[4] tveir nafnar ‘the two namesakes’: Óláfr Tryggvason and Óláfr sœnski ‘the Swede’ Eiríksson (r. c. 995-c. 1021).
hræ ‘corpses’
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hræ (noun n.; °; -): corpse, carrion
[4] hræ: so 53, Flat, þar Bb(112ra), 54, Bb(100ra)
notes
[4] hræ ‘corpses’: This, the reading of 53 and Flat, provides the necessary object for reif ‘tore’. The alternative reading, þar ‘there’, would necessitate the implausible assumption that sollin ‘swollen’ is substantival, ‘swollen ones’ hence ‘corpses’.
jafnan ‘steadily’
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jafnan (adv.): always
notes
[4] jafnan ‘steadily’: Here taken with reif ‘tore’, following Kock (NN §1178), whereas Konráð Gíslason (1895-7) and Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) read it with gall ‘resounded’.
notes
[5] sœnskr herr þorrinn sigri ‘the Swedish army [was] deprived of victory’: The clause lacks a verb, and ‘was’ seems to be implied. Mss 54 and Bb(100ra) have vas ‘was’, but this results in too many syllables. See also Note to l. 7, flýðu.
herr ‘army’
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herr (noun m.; °-s/-jar, dat. -; -jar, gen. -ja/herra): army, host
notes
[5] sœnskr herr þorrinn sigri ‘the Swedish army [was] deprived of victory’: The clause lacks a verb, and ‘was’ seems to be implied. Mss 54 and Bb(100ra) have vas ‘was’, but this results in too many syllables. See also Note to l. 7, flýðu.
sigri ‘of victory’
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sigr (noun m.; °sigrs/sigrar, dat. sigri; sigrar): victory
[5] sigri: var sigri 54, Bb(100ra)
notes
[5] sœnskr herr þorrinn sigri ‘the Swedish army [was] deprived of victory’: The clause lacks a verb, and ‘was’ seems to be implied. Mss 54 and Bb(100ra) have vas ‘was’, but this results in too many syllables. See also Note to l. 7, flýðu.
þorrinn ‘deprived’
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1. þverra (verb): diminish
notes
[5] sœnskr herr þorrinn sigri ‘the Swedish army [was] deprived of victory’: The clause lacks a verb, and ‘was’ seems to be implied. Mss 54 and Bb(100ra) have vas ‘was’, but this results in too many syllables. See also Note to l. 7, flýðu.
sverð ‘sword’
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sverð (noun n.; °-s; -): sword
beit ‘bit’
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bíta (verb; °bítr; beit, bitu; bitinn): bite
en ‘and’
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2. en (conj.): but, and
peita ‘spear’
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peita (noun f.): spear
hríð ‘the onslaught’
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hríð (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): time, storm
notes
[7] hríð ‘the onslaught’: See Note to Edáð Banddr 6/2, where the predicate is also óx ‘grew’.
óx ‘grew’
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vaxa (verb): grow, increase
hǫlðar ‘men’
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hǫlðr (noun m.; °-s; -ar): man
flýðu ‘fled’
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flýja (verb): to flee, take flight
[7] flýðu: so 53, Bb(100ra), ‘flvdę’ Bb(112ra), flýði 54, Flat
notes
[7] flýðu ‘fled’: The reading is taken from 53 and Bb(100ra), whereas Bb(112ra), 54 and Flat all have readings that should probably be normalised as sg. flýði ‘fled’. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) and Kock (NN §1179) read flýði and link it to sœnskr herr, hence Sœnskr herr flýði, þorrinn sigri ‘the Swedish army fled, deprived of victory’. However, this relies on an emendation of hǫlðar (nom. pl.) ‘men’ to hǫlða (acc. pl.), which becomes the object to beit ‘bit’, and furthermore, it disturbs the patterning of ll. 6-7, which approximate to the so-called sextánmælt ‘sixteen-times spoken’ characterized by two clauses per line (cf. SnSt Ht 9III, and Context and Note; SnE 2007, 9).
Hollr ‘Faithful’
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hollr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): loyal
[8] Hollr: ‘holl’ all
ok ‘and’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
fremstr ‘foremost’
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framr (adj.; °compar. framari/fremri, superl. framastr/fremstr): outstanding, foremost
at ‘in’
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3. at (prep.): at, to
ǫllu ‘all things’
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allr (adj.): all
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
The grey troll-woman’s steed [WOLF] tore swollen corpses steadily with its snout; the two namesakes engaged in a snow-storm of shields [BATTLE]; the sword resounded against weapons. The Swedish army [was] deprived of victory; sword bit and spear flew; the onslaught grew; men fled. Faithful and foremost in all things …
The stanza is quoted to verify the fierceness of the battle between Óláfr Tryggvason and Óláfr sœnski.
[8]: For this line of the refrain, see Note to st. 9/8. Hollr ‘faithful’ is an emendation here, but it is the reading of Bb(111vb) in st. 11/8.
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