Rolf Stavnem (ed.) 2012, ‘Hallar-Steinn, Rekstefja 35’ 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. 938.
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3. eigi (adv.): not
[1] eigi einkar lága ‘not extremely poor’: Lágr is more literally ‘low’. The poet’s reference to his own work is, at least superficially, modest in tone, as typical of skaldic poetry of the Christian era (cf. st. 24/3 and Note). It may also be noted that the line is not tvískelft or skjálfhent.
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einkar (adv.): extremely
[1] eigi einkar lága ‘not extremely poor’: Lágr is more literally ‘low’. The poet’s reference to his own work is, at least superficially, modest in tone, as typical of skaldic poetry of the Christian era (cf. st. 24/3 and Note). It may also be noted that the line is not tvískelft or skjálfhent.
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lágr (adj.; °comp. lǽgri, superl. lǽgstr): low
[1] eigi einkar lága ‘not extremely poor’: Lágr is more literally ‘low’. The poet’s reference to his own work is, at least superficially, modest in tone, as typical of skaldic poetry of the Christian era (cf. st. 24/3 and Note). It may also be noted that the line is not tvískelft or skjálfhent.
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
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2. fá (verb; °fǽr; fekk, fengu; fenginn): get, receive
[2, 3] fæ … stœrða ‘increase’: Lit. ‘get ... increased’.
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2. inn (art.): the
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þriði (num. ordinal): third
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hyrr (noun m.): fire < hyrnjǫrðr (noun m.)
[3, 4] hóps hyr-Njǫrðr ‘Njǫrðr <god> of the fire of the bay [(lit. ‘fire-Njǫrðr of the bay’) GOLD > MAN]’: (a) This edn follows Konráð Gíslason (1895-7) and Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) in emending the nonsensical ms. reading ‘morðr’ to Njǫrðr, which is only a matter of reading <ni> instead of <m>, and ms. ‘hofs’ to hóps. The kenning is taken here as a vocative directed to the recipient of the poem, but it is uncertain whether this would be Óláfr or an unknown commissioner of the poem. Alternatively it could be appositional to ek ‘I’ (l. 2), as seemingly assumed in Skj B. (b) Kock (NN §2097) argued against a vocative warrior-kenning instoppad mitt ibland fruntimren ‘squeezed in among the women’, as he puts it, and emends Njǫrðr to an endingless dat. sg. form Njǫrð (a younger variant on Nirði; cf. ANG §§394, 395.3). He sees the kenning as elaborating on drôpu and referring to the recipient of the praise-poem, King Óláfr; he cites parallels in st. 1/3 and st. 34/5-6, and further parallels in NN §2543A, C.
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hyrr (noun m.): fire < hyrnjǫrðr (noun m.)
[3, 4] hóps hyr-Njǫrðr ‘Njǫrðr <god> of the fire of the bay [(lit. ‘fire-Njǫrðr of the bay’) GOLD > MAN]’: (a) This edn follows Konráð Gíslason (1895-7) and Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) in emending the nonsensical ms. reading ‘morðr’ to Njǫrðr, which is only a matter of reading <ni> instead of <m>, and ms. ‘hofs’ to hóps. The kenning is taken here as a vocative directed to the recipient of the poem, but it is uncertain whether this would be Óláfr or an unknown commissioner of the poem. Alternatively it could be appositional to ek ‘I’ (l. 2), as seemingly assumed in Skj B. (b) Kock (NN §2097) argued against a vocative warrior-kenning instoppad mitt ibland fruntimren ‘squeezed in among the women’, as he puts it, and emends Njǫrðr to an endingless dat. sg. form Njǫrð (a younger variant on Nirði; cf. ANG §§394, 395.3). He sees the kenning as elaborating on drôpu and referring to the recipient of the praise-poem, King Óláfr; he cites parallels in st. 1/3 and st. 34/5-6, and further parallels in NN §2543A, C.
[3, 4] hóps hyr-Njǫrðr ‘Njǫrðr <god> of the fire of the bay [(lit. ‘fire-Njǫrðr of the bay’) GOLD > MAN]’: (a) This edn follows Konráð Gíslason (1895-7) and Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) in emending the nonsensical ms. reading ‘morðr’ to Njǫrðr, which is only a matter of reading <ni> instead of <m>, and ms. ‘hofs’ to hóps. The kenning is taken here as a vocative directed to the recipient of the poem, but it is uncertain whether this would be Óláfr or an unknown commissioner of the poem. Alternatively it could be appositional to ek ‘I’ (l. 2), as seemingly assumed in Skj B. (b) Kock (NN §2097) argued against a vocative warrior-kenning instoppad mitt ibland fruntimren ‘squeezed in among the women’, as he puts it, and emends Njǫrðr to an endingless dat. sg. form Njǫrð (a younger variant on Nirði; cf. ANG §§394, 395.3). He sees the kenning as elaborating on drôpu and referring to the recipient of the praise-poem, King Óláfr; he cites parallels in st. 1/3 and st. 34/5-6, and further parallels in NN §2543A, C.
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hróðr (noun m.): encomium, praise
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stœra (verb): increase, strengthen
[2, 3] fæ … stœrða ‘increase’: Lit. ‘get ... increased’.
[3, 4] hóps hyr-Njǫrðr ‘Njǫrðr <god> of the fire of the bay [(lit. ‘fire-Njǫrðr of the bay’) GOLD > MAN]’: (a) This edn follows Konráð Gíslason (1895-7) and Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) in emending the nonsensical ms. reading ‘morðr’ to Njǫrðr, which is only a matter of reading <ni> instead of <m>, and ms. ‘hofs’ to hóps. The kenning is taken here as a vocative directed to the recipient of the poem, but it is uncertain whether this would be Óláfr or an unknown commissioner of the poem. Alternatively it could be appositional to ek ‘I’ (l. 2), as seemingly assumed in Skj B. (b) Kock (NN §2097) argued against a vocative warrior-kenning instoppad mitt ibland fruntimren ‘squeezed in among the women’, as he puts it, and emends Njǫrðr to an endingless dat. sg. form Njǫrð (a younger variant on Nirði; cf. ANG §§394, 395.3). He sees the kenning as elaborating on drôpu and referring to the recipient of the praise-poem, King Óláfr; he cites parallels in st. 1/3 and st. 34/5-6, and further parallels in NN §2543A, C.
[3, 4] hóps hyr-Njǫrðr ‘Njǫrðr <god> of the fire of the bay [(lit. ‘fire-Njǫrðr of the bay’) GOLD > MAN]’: (a) This edn follows Konráð Gíslason (1895-7) and Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) in emending the nonsensical ms. reading ‘morðr’ to Njǫrðr, which is only a matter of reading <ni> instead of <m>, and ms. ‘hofs’ to hóps. The kenning is taken here as a vocative directed to the recipient of the poem, but it is uncertain whether this would be Óláfr or an unknown commissioner of the poem. Alternatively it could be appositional to ek ‘I’ (l. 2), as seemingly assumed in Skj B. (b) Kock (NN §2097) argued against a vocative warrior-kenning instoppad mitt ibland fruntimren ‘squeezed in among the women’, as he puts it, and emends Njǫrðr to an endingless dat. sg. form Njǫrð (a younger variant on Nirði; cf. ANG §§394, 395.3). He sees the kenning as elaborating on drôpu and referring to the recipient of the praise-poem, King Óláfr; he cites parallels in st. 1/3 and st. 34/5-6, and further parallels in NN §2543A, C.
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tvískelfðr (adj./verb p.p.): [tvískelft]
[4] tvískelfða ‘in tvískelft’: On this metre, see Introduction.
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drápa (noun f.; °-u): poem with refrains
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2. slíkr (adj.): such
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1. háttr (noun m.; °-ar, dat. hætti; hættir, acc. háttu): behaviour, measure, verse-form
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svá (adv.): so, thus
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munu (verb): will, must
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vátta (verb): affirm, attest
[6] sjaldstundum ‘rarely’: Ms. ‘siall-’; cf. Note to st. 32/3.
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stundum (adv.): at times, sometimes < sjaldstundum (adv.)
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1. verða (verb): become, be
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2. finna (verb): find, meet
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herr (noun m.; °-s/-jar, dat. -; -jar, gen. -ja/herra): army, host
[7] herr prúðr hǫrvi ‘the troop splendid in linen [women]’: Apparently the same group of women addressed in st. 1/1-2; see Note. Though not structurally a kenning, this phrase resembles the kenning in st. 1/1, and cf. Meissner 415 for further examples in which linen (hǫr or lín) is the distinguishing attribute of women.
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prúðr (adj.; °superl. -astr): magnificent, proud
[7] herr prúðr hǫrvi ‘the troop splendid in linen [women]’: Apparently the same group of women addressed in st. 1/1-2; see Note. Though not structurally a kenning, this phrase resembles the kenning in st. 1/1, and cf. Meissner 415 for further examples in which linen (hǫr or lín) is the distinguishing attribute of women.
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hǫrr (noun m.): linen
[7] herr prúðr hǫrvi ‘the troop splendid in linen [women]’: Apparently the same group of women addressed in st. 1/1-2; see Note. Though not structurally a kenning, this phrase resembles the kenning in st. 1/1, and cf. Meissner 415 for further examples in which linen (hǫr or lín) is the distinguishing attribute of women.
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kvæði (noun n.; °-s; -): poem
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hafa (verb): have
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1. gagn (noun n.): victory
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2. en (conj.): but, and
[8] en ek þagna ‘and I fall silent’: The same phrase also closes Geisli (ESk Geisl 71/8VII).
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
[8] en ek þagna ‘and I fall silent’: The same phrase also closes Geisli (ESk Geisl 71/8VII).
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þagna (verb): be silent
[8] en ek þagna ‘and I fall silent’: The same phrase also closes Geisli (ESk Geisl 71/8VII).
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Eigi einkar lága |
Njǫrðr <god> of the fire of the bay [(lit. ‘fire-Njǫrðr of the bay’) GOLD > MAN], I increase with praise the third not extremely poor drápa in tvískelft. Such a metre is rarely found; I can attest to that; may the troop splendid in linen [women] have benefit from the poem [lit. poems], and I fall silent.
[2]: The line lacks hending, but since there is no other reason to suspect corruption, and no obvious alternative, it is retained without emendation. — [4]: For the rhyme hóps : drôp-, see Note to st. 3/8.
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