HSt Rst 7^I

Frónb*ands fœriǫndrum
fríðr til Nóregs síðan
sker-Baldr Skǫglar elda
skjaldbúnum lét haldit.
Heiðinn heiman flýði
hildingr, né þar vildi,
áðr, enn Óláfs bíða
jarl, af sínu hjarli.

Síðan lét {fríðr {{Skǫglar elda} sker-}Baldr} haldit {skjaldbúnum fœriǫndrum {frónb*ands}} til Nóregs. Heiðinn hildingr flýði áðr heiman af hjarli sínu, né vildi jarl enn bíða Óláfs þar.

Then {the handsome Baldr <god> {of the skerry {of the fires of Skǫgul <valkyrie>}}} [(lit. ‘skerry-Baldr of the fires of Skǫgul’) SWORDS > SHIELDS > WARRIOR = Óláfr] steered {the shield-adorned travelling skis {of the land-bond}} [SEA > SHIPS] to Norway. The heathen ruler had already fled away from his territory, and the jarl did not wish to wait any longer for Óláfr there.

Mss: Bb(111vb)

Readings: [1] ‑b*ands: ‑brands or ‑brandr Bb

Editions: Skj AI, 545, Skj BI, 526-7, Skald I, 256, NN §§1171, 1853A; SHI 3, 248-9, CPB II, 296, Wisén 1886-9, I, 47, Finnur Jónsson 1893b, 164, Konráð Gíslason 1895-7, I, 205-7.

Notes: [All]: Óláfr’s return to Norway is also the subject of Anon Óldr 9.  — [1-4]: The placing of the verb phrase lét haldit ‘steered’ at the end of the helmingr would be abnormal in standard dróttkvætt poetry, where the finite verb appears second or first in independent clauses (Gade 1995a, 213), but it is not uncommon in skjálfhent poetry; see also sts 18/5-6, 22/1 and Notes. — [1] frónb*ands ‘of the land-bond [SEA]’: Ms. -brand- ‘fire, sword’ does not make sense, while emendation to -band- ‘bond’ produces a well-attested type of sea-kenning. The final letter is unclear, and eds disagree whether it is <z>, i.e. gen. sg. -s (so Skj A) or <r>, hence nom. sg. (so Konráð Gíslason 1895-7). — [4] skjaldbúnum ‘shield-adorned’: A phrase similar to hôla tǫrguð ‘splendidly equipped with shields’ in st. 3/3. — [5-8]: The displaced heathen jarl would be Hákon jarl Sigurðarson, though the tradition is that he fled from a rebellion of his subjects, but never left Norway (see ‘Ruler biographies’ in Introduction to this volume). This is compatible with the story here if hjarl (l. 8) means ‘territory’, but not if it refers to the whole land of Norway. — [7] áðr ‘already’: The adv. áðr ‘before’ here, as elsewhere, seems to give pluperfect force to the verb, hence flýði áðr ‘had already fled’. It would give less good sense, though smoother syntax, if taken as qualifying né vildi, hence ‘and had not wished’ (l. 6). — [8] jarl ‘the jarl’: Kock (NN §1171) prefers to take this in apposition to hildingr ‘ruler’ (l. 6).

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skj A = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15a. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. A: Tekst efter håndskrifterne. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1967. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
3. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. Gade, Kari Ellen. 1995a. The Structure of Old Norse dróttkvætt Poetry. Islandica 49. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
6. CPB = Gudbrand Vigfusson [Guðbrandur Vigfússon] and F. York Powell, eds. 1883. Corpus poeticum boreale: The Poetry of the Old Northern Tongue from the Earliest Times to the Thirteenth Century. 2 vols. Oxford: Clarendon. Rpt. 1965, New York: Russell & Russell.
7. Wisén, Theodor, ed. 1886-9. Carmina Norrœnæ: Ex reliquiis vetustioris norrœnæ poësis selecta, recognita, commentariis et glossario instructa. 2 vols. Lund: Ohlsson.
8. Finnur Jónsson. 1893b. Carmina Norrœna: Rettet Tekst. Copenhagen: Nielsen & Lydiche.
9. Konráð Gíslason. 1895-7. Efterladte skrifter. 2 vols. I: Forelæsninger over oldnordiske skjaldekvad. II: Forelæsninger og videnskablige afhandlinger. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
10. SHI = Sveinbjörn Egilsson, ed. 1828-46. Scripta historica islandorum de rebus gestis veterum borealium, latine reddita et apparatu critico instructa, curante Societate regia antiquariorum septentrionalium. 12 vols. Copenhagen: Popp etc. and London: John & Arthur Arch.
11. Internal references
12. Kate Heslop (ed.) 2012, ‘Anonymous Poems, Óláfs drápa Tryggvasonar 9’ 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. 1040.