HSt Rst 33I
Rolf Stavnem (ed.) 2012, ‘Hallar-Steinn, Rekstefja 33’ 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. 935.
Þengill ‘the prince’
(not checked:)
þengill (noun m.): prince, ruler
kennings
þengill byrtjalds,‘the prince of the wind-tent, ’
= God
the wind-tent, → SKY/HEAVEN
the prince of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
þróttar ‘in valour’
(not checked:)
þróttr (noun m.): strength, might, valour < þróttarstrangr (adj.)
notes
[1] þróttarstrǫngum ‘strong in valour’: (a) The two elements are treated here as a cpd. This seems likely in light of other compounds in which a reference to warlike deeds in the gen. qualifies strangr: Sigv Berv 13/2II heiptarstrangr ‘vengeful’ and Sturl Hryn 7/4II sóknarstrangr ‘war-fierce’; there are also several further compounds in -strangr (LP: strangr). (b) The two elements could alternatively be regarded as a phrase with the adj. strangr governing the gen. (cf. NS §§136-8, though the examples do not include strangr).
strǫngum ‘strong’
(not checked:)
strangr (adj.): strong < þróttarstrangr (adj.)
notes
[1] þróttarstrǫngum ‘strong in valour’: (a) The two elements are treated here as a cpd. This seems likely in light of other compounds in which a reference to warlike deeds in the gen. qualifies strangr: Sigv Berv 13/2II heiptarstrangr ‘vengeful’ and Sturl Hryn 7/4II sóknarstrangr ‘war-fierce’; there are also several further compounds in -strangr (LP: strangr). (b) The two elements could alternatively be regarded as a phrase with the adj. strangr governing the gen. (cf. NS §§136-8, though the examples do not include strangr).
bauð ‘invited’
(not checked:)
bjóða (verb; °býðr; bauð, buðu; boðinn (buð- Thom¹ 5²n.)): offer, order, invite
Kristr ‘Christ’
(not checked:)
Kristr (noun m.; °-s/-, dat. -i; -ar): Christ
af ‘out of’
(not checked:)
af (prep.): from
heimi ‘world’
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heimr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-; -ar): home, abode; world
byr ‘of the wind’
(not checked:)
byrr (noun m.; °-jar/-s; -ir, acc. -i/-u(SigrVal 188¹³)): favourable wind < byrtjald (noun n.)
kennings
þengill byrtjalds,‘the prince of the wind-tent, ’
= God
the wind-tent, → SKY/HEAVEN
the prince of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
byr ‘of the wind’
(not checked:)
byrr (noun m.; °-jar/-s; -ir, acc. -i/-u(SigrVal 188¹³)): favourable wind < byrtjald (noun n.)
kennings
þengill byrtjalds,‘the prince of the wind-tent, ’
= God
the wind-tent, → SKY/HEAVEN
the prince of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
tjalds ‘tent’
(not checked:)
tjald (noun n.; °-s; *-): tent, awning < byrtjald (noun n.)
kennings
þengill byrtjalds,‘the prince of the wind-tent, ’
= God
the wind-tent, → SKY/HEAVEN
the prince of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
tjalds ‘tent’
(not checked:)
tjald (noun n.; °-s; *-): tent, awning < byrtjald (noun n.)
kennings
þengill byrtjalds,‘the prince of the wind-tent, ’
= God
the wind-tent, → SKY/HEAVEN
the prince of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
beztu ‘with the highest’
(not checked:)
betri (adj. comp.; °superl. beztr/baztr; pos. góðr adj.): better, best
notes
[3] beztu heilli ‘with the highest grace’: Lit. ‘with the best grace or fortune’: A specifically Christian sense ‘grace’ is appropriate here as, e.g., in Gamlkan Has 1/1VII.
heilli ‘grace’
(not checked:)
2. heill (noun n.; °; -): fortune
notes
[3] beztu heilli ‘with the highest grace’: Lit. ‘with the best grace or fortune’: A specifically Christian sense ‘grace’ is appropriate here as, e.g., in Gamlkan Has 1/1VII.
bragningi ‘the ruler’
(not checked:)
bragningr (noun m.; °; -ar): prince, ruler
goð ‘may God’
(not checked:)
1. guð (noun m.; °***guðrs, guðis, gus): (Christian) God
fagni ‘receive’
(not checked:)
fagna (verb; °-að-): welcome, rejoice
notes
[4] fagni ‘may … receive’: There are also connotations of welcoming, cf. Skj B’s gud måtte glæde kongen ‘may God cheer the king’.
Ygg ‘without’
(not checked:)
2. yggr (adj.): [a doubt] < ygglauss (adj.): [without fear]
laust ‘fear’
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lauss (adj.; °compar. lausari): loose, free, without < ygglauss (adj.): [without fear]
alla ‘all’
(not checked:)
allr (adj.): all
þiggi ‘receive’
(not checked:)
þiggja (verb): receive, get
eljun ‘May the vigorous’
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eljun (noun f.; °eljunar): energy < eljunfimr (adj.): [May vigorous]
á ‘in’
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3. á (prep.): on, at
himnum ‘the heavens’
(not checked:)
himinn (noun m.; °himins, dat. himni; himnar): heaven, sky
notes
[7] Óláfr: The minor emendation of ms. Óláfi is necessary both in order to provide a nom. sg. subject for þiggi ‘receive’ and because Óláfi is hypermetrical. The emendation is adopted in previous eds.
œzta ‘the highest’
(not checked:)
œðri (adj. comp.): nobler, higher
sælu ‘bliss’
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1. sæla (noun f.; °-u; -ur): bliss
ítr ‘of the splendid’
(not checked:)
ítr (adj.): glorious < ítrból (noun n.): [splendid lair]
kennings
gram ítrbóls sólar.‘the lord of the splendid abode of the sun. ’
= God
the splendid abode of the sun. → SKY/HEAVEN
the lord of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
ítr ‘of the splendid’
(not checked:)
ítr (adj.): glorious < ítrból (noun n.): [splendid lair]
kennings
gram ítrbóls sólar.‘the lord of the splendid abode of the sun. ’
= God
the splendid abode of the sun. → SKY/HEAVEN
the lord of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
bóls ‘abode’
(not checked:)
ból (noun n.; °-s; -): dwelling < ítrból (noun n.): [splendid lair]
kennings
gram ítrbóls sólar.‘the lord of the splendid abode of the sun. ’
= God
the splendid abode of the sun. → SKY/HEAVEN
the lord of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
bóls ‘abode’
(not checked:)
ból (noun n.; °-s; -): dwelling < ítrból (noun n.): [splendid lair]
kennings
gram ítrbóls sólar.‘the lord of the splendid abode of the sun. ’
= God
the splendid abode of the sun. → SKY/HEAVEN
the lord of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
með ‘with’
(not checked:)
með (prep.): with
gram ‘the lord’
(not checked:)
1. gramr (noun m.): ruler
kennings
gram ítrbóls sólar.‘the lord of the splendid abode of the sun. ’
= God
the splendid abode of the sun. → SKY/HEAVEN
the lord of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
sólar ‘of the sun’
(not checked:)
sól (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -u/-; -ir): sun
kennings
gram ítrbóls sólar.‘the lord of the splendid abode of the sun. ’
= God
the splendid abode of the sun. → SKY/HEAVEN
the lord of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
sólar ‘of the sun’
(not checked:)
sól (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -u/-; -ir): sun
kennings
gram ítrbóls sólar.‘the lord of the splendid abode of the sun. ’
= God
the splendid abode of the sun. → SKY/HEAVEN
the lord of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
|
Þengill þróttarstrǫngum |
Christ, the prince of the wind-tent [SKY/HEAVEN > = God (= Christ)], invited the ruler strong in valour out of the world; may God receive [him] with the highest grace. May the vigorous Óláfr receive without fear all the highest bliss in the heavens with the lord of the splendid abode of the sun [SKY/HEAVEN > = God].
[1-4]: The general sense of the helmingr is clearly that Óláfr was summoned by God from this world into heaven; but there are alternative analyses of the kenning elements, and alternative solutions to the fact that there is only one dat. noun, bragningi ‘prince’, but two finite verbs, bauð ‘invited’ and fagni ‘receive, welcome’, requiring a dat. object. (a) In the text above, nom. sg. þengill forms a natural kenning for God with byrtjalds ‘wind-tent [SKY/HEAVEN]’, which is set in apposition to the nom. sg. Kristr ‘Christ’ (so also Skj B). Þróttarstrǫngum ‘strong in valour’ is taken as an attributive adj. with bragningi ‘prince’, and þeim is taken with heimi, hence ‘the world’. Fagni lacks an explicit object, but this is easily understood to be the same bragningi ‘prince’ as in the first clause. (b) In Skj B (following Konráð Gíslason 1895-7) strǫngum ‘strong’ is taken as substantival, hence þeim þróttar strǫngum ‘the one strong in valour/power’. This has the advantage of leaving bragningi available as the explicit object of fagni. (c) Kock (NN §1187) objects to the positioning of Kristr relative to the kenning. He emends þengill to dat. sg. þengil, object of bauð ‘invited’, and takes þeim as a pron. ‘him’ in apposition to it. He takes together af heimi byrtjalds ‘from the world of the wind-tent [HEAVEN]’, qualifying bauð, so that God calls to Óláfr out of heaven. However, the addition of heimi ‘world’ to the heaven-kenning makes it overloaded, and it is more natural to understand af heimi as referring to Óláfr leaving the earth. — [3] -tjalds : heilli: On this rhyme, see Note to st. 32/3.
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