Hallv Knútdr 8III
Matthew Townend (ed.) 2017, ‘Hallvarðr háreksblesi, Knútsdrápa 8’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 239.
Knútr ‘Knútr’
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Knútr (noun m.): Knútr
verr ‘defends’
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3. verja (verb): defend
jǫrð ‘the earth’
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jǫrð (noun f.; °jarðar, dat. -u; jarðir/jarðar(DN I (1367) 304)): ground, earth
ítran ‘the splendid’
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ítr (adj.): glorious
kennings
ítran sal fjalla.‘the splendid hall of the mountains. ’
= HEAVEN
the splendid hall of the mountains. → HEAVEN
alls ‘of all’
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allr (adj.): all
kennings
dróttinn alls‘the lord of all [defends] ’
= God
the lord of all [defends] → God
notes
[2] dróttinn alls ‘the lord of all [= God]’: Alls ‘of all’ is used in the sense ‘of the whole world’, ‘of the universe’. This is the earliest attested occurrence of this word as a determinant in circumlocutions for ‘God’. It was later used by Markús Skeggjason (Mark) in Eirdr 29/2II (c. 1103-7), and again by Einarr Skúlason (ESk) in Geisl 1/2VII, 5/4VII (c. 1153). See LP: allr 2.
dróttinn ‘the lord’
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dróttinn (noun m.; °dróttins, dat. dróttni (drottini [$1049$]); dróttnar): lord, master
[2] dróttinn: so all others, dróttni R
kennings
dróttinn alls‘the lord of all [defends] ’
= God
the lord of all [defends] → God
notes
[2] dróttinn alls ‘the lord of all [= God]’: Alls ‘of all’ is used in the sense ‘of the whole world’, ‘of the universe’. This is the earliest attested occurrence of this word as a determinant in circumlocutions for ‘God’. It was later used by Markús Skeggjason (Mark) in Eirdr 29/2II (c. 1103-7), and again by Einarr Skúlason (ESk) in Geisl 1/2VII, 5/4VII (c. 1153). See LP: allr 2.
sal ‘hall’
(not checked:)
1. salr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -; dat. sǫlum): hall
kennings
ítran sal fjalla.‘the splendid hall of the mountains. ’
= HEAVEN
the splendid hall of the mountains. → HEAVEN
fjalla ‘of the mountains’
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1. fjall (noun n.): mountain
kennings
ítran sal fjalla.‘the splendid hall of the mountains. ’
= HEAVEN
the splendid hall of the mountains. → HEAVEN
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
This stanza is quoted in Skm to illustrate the heaven-kenning salr fjalla ‘hall of the mountains’.
These lines, which are likely to be the stef ‘refrain’ in Hallvarðr’s poem, bear an obvious resemblance to the refrains of other poems honouring Knútr. The refrain of Sigv KnútdrI (sts 3/1, 7/1) views Knútr’s position und himnum ‘under the heavens’, while that of Þloft’s TøgdrI (st. 1/1), though incomplete, is similar (und sólar … ‘under the sun’s …’). By far the closest resemblance is with the stef of Þloft HflI: Knútr verr grund sem gætir | Gríklands himinríki ‘Knútr defends the land as the guardian of Greece [= God] [defends] the heavenly kingdom’. Since the likely date for Hfl is c.1027-8, it appears to be Hallvarðr who is the borrower here. As Frank (1994b, 116-17) notes, these four refrains depict Knútr ‘in cosmic high relief’, and in their association of God and king may show influence from Anglo-Saxon royal ideology (see also Fidjestøl 1993b, 106, 118-19).
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