Hár Lv 1^I

Ráðit hefk at ríða
Rínleygs heðan mínum
láðs dynmari, leiðar,
lǫngum, heldr an ganga,
þótt leggfjǫturs liggi
lundr í Eyrarsundi
— kann þjóð kerski minni —
Knútr herskipum úti.

Hefk ráðit at ríða heðan {lǫngum dynmari {láðs {Rínleygs}} mínum}, heldr an ganga leiðar, þótt {lundr {leggfjǫturs}}, Knútr, liggi herskipum úti í Eyrarsundi; þjóð kann kerski minni.

I have resolved to ride from here {my long resounding steed {of the land {of Rhine-flame}}} [GOLD > SEA > SHIP], rather than to walk on my way, though {the grove {of the limb-fetter}} [ARM-RING > MAN], Knútr, may lie with warships out in the Øresund; people know my spirit.

Mss: Kˣ(416v), J2ˣ(200r-v) (Hkr); Holm2(54r), 75a(42rb), 73aˣ(164r), 68(51v), Holm4(48rb), 61(113rb-va), 75c(34r), 325V(61ra), 325VII(30v), Bb(183rb), Flat(116ra), Tóm(141v) (ÓH); FskAˣ(175) (Fsk); DG8(92v) (ÓHLeg); A(3v), W(101), B(2v), 744ˣ(8r) (TGT, ll. 1-2)

Readings: [1] Ráðit: ‘Raþto’ 68;    hefk (‘hefi ec’): hef Bb, hafði Tóm    [2] Rín‑: lín‑ Tóm;    ‑leygs: ‑leiks 61, ‘‑lꝍks’ DG8, ‘‑[…]gs’ B, ‑leygs 744ˣ;    mínum: mínu 73aˣ, Flat, A, ‘minam’ 61, ‘[…]nu’ B, mínu 744ˣ    [3] ‑mari: ‑mara Holm4;    leiðar: dreyra 75c, leiða Flat    [5] þótt: ‘þeott’ 68, ‘þote’ 325VII;    legg‑: ‘laug‑’ Tóm;    ‑fjǫturs: ‑fjǫturr 68, 75c, 325V, Bb, DG8    [6] lundr: lyndr 68;    Eyrar‑: eyra‑ 75c, eyja‑ Bb;    ‑sundi: ‑sundum 75c, 325VII, Bb, Flat    [7] kerski: ‘[…]’ 325VII, ‘kælki’ DG8    [8] Knútr: Knút 61;    herskipum: á herskipum Flat

Editions: Skj AI, 308, Skj BI, 286, Skald I, 146, NN §§773, 774; Hkr 1893-1901, II, 377, IV, 146-7, ÍF 27, 289-90, Hkr 1991, II, 463-4 (ÓHHkr ch. 158); Fms 4, 371, Fms 12, 90, ÓH 1941, I, 451 (ch. 150), Flat 1860-8, II, 286; Fsk 1902-3, 167 (ch. 27), ÍF 29, 188 (ch. 32); ÓHLeg 1922, 61-2, ÓHLeg 1982, 148-9; SnE 1848-87, II, 98-9, TGT 1884, 13, 64, 164-5, TGT 1927, 42, TGT 1998, 104-5.

Context: Confronted by a mighty Danish fleet lying in the Eyrarsund (Øresund), King Óláfr Haraldsson decides on a strategic retreat overland, but the veteran Hárekr refuses to abandon his ships. He speaks Lv 1 before he sets sail in ÓH-Hkr and Fsk, but after in ÓHLeg. In TGT, the first couplet illustrates the barbarismus consisting of the dropping of a syllable (aftekning samstǫfu); after the citation it is explained that this is necessary to avoid a superfluous syllable, and (though not in W) that the word in question is Rín- in place of Rínar. 

Notes: [1-2]: Ms. 744ˣ, a copy of B by Jón Ólafsson, is used to supply readings (whether these match or differ from the main text) where B is not legible.  — [1-4]: The helmingr clearly declares that the skald will travel by sea rather than on foot, and contains a ship-kenning of which ‑mari (dat. sg.) ‘steed’ in l. 3 is the base-word, aptly matched by the verb ríða ‘ride’, which takes a dat. object. Rínleygs ‘Rhine-flame’ in l. 2 is a stereotypical gold-kenning, but it is not certain whether it supplies part of the necessary determinant of the ship-kenning, and láðs ‘land’ and leiðar ‘way’ in l. 3 are problematic. Neither of the two main analyses of the helmingr is wholly convincing. (a) The analysis above, which avoids emendation, is essentially that proposed by Kock (NN §773; Skald) and taken up in ÍF 27, ÍF 29 and Hkr 1991. Láð Rínleygs ‘land of Rhine-flame [GOLD]’ is taken as a kenning, albeit unparalleled, for ‘sea’, on the basis that since ‘gold’ can be ‘flame of the sea/water’ (as in Rínleygs itself), the sea can be ‘land of gold’. This sea-kenning then acts as determinant for dynmari ‘noise-steed, resounding steed’ to represent ‘ship’, hence lǫngum dynmari láðs Rínleygs ‘long resounding steed of the land of Rhine-flame [GOLD > SEA > SHIP]’. Leiðar (f. gen. sg.) is then taken by Kock as the equivalent of leiðangr, a seaborne expedition, specifying the ship-kenning as a warship. Kock compares Tindr Hákdr 4/7 leiðar langra skeiða, which he takes to mean ‘of long expedition ships’. A variation on this analysis is to take leiðar as an adverbial gen. sg. of leið in the sense ‘way, path’ hence ‘on my way’, qualifying ganga ‘go, walk’ (cf. NS §141), and this is adopted above. (b) Finnur Jónsson (Hkr 1893-1901, IV; LP: leiðir) emended leiðar to leiðir which, tentatively interpreted as ‘hater’, yields a man-kenning leiðir Rínleygs ‘hater of Rhine-flame [GOLD > GENEROUS MAN]’. This functions as an apostrophe, presumably to King Óláfr, who is present in Fsk and ÓH-Hkr but not in ÓHLeg (Context above). Finnur (LP: dynmarr) construed dyn- ‘noise, noisy, roaring’ in dynmari, with láðs ‘of the land’, hence láðs dynmari ‘steed of the land of noise [(lit. ‘noise-steed of the land’) SEA > SHIP]’, though this depends on equating dyn(r) with terms for waves or the surging sea, such as brim (cf. Meissner 93). — [5, 6] lundr leggfjǫturs ‘the grove of the limb-fetter [ARM-RING > MAN]’: This is an unusual kenning, but ‘fetter, bond’ in kennings for ‘arm-ring’ or ‘gold/silver’ is paralleled in Anon (Styrb) 3/2 liðband ‘limb-band’ and Ólhelg Lv 2/6, 8 band valklifs ‘band of the falcon-cliff [ARM > RING]’ (under one interpretation: see Note). The man-kenning could either be taken in apposition to Knútr (as here; also NN §774; ÍF 27; ÍF 29) or as an apostrophe (as in Hkr 1893-1901, IV and Skj B, matching the apostrophe assumed there in the first helmingr). — [7] kann ‘know’: Kunna frequently governs a dat. object, especially when it refers to knowing or understanding someone’s character or behaviour (see examples in Fritzner: kunna 1b), here kerski minni ‘my spirit’ or perhaps ‘cheerfulness, sense of humour’. — [8] Knútr: Hárekr later allied with the Danish King Knútr inn ríki (Cnut the Great), and the ÓH-Hkr tradition (ÍF 27, 290-1) is that there was probably already an agreement at this point.

References

1. Bibliography
2. TGT 1884 = Björn Magnússon Ólsen, ed. 1884. Den tredje og fjærde grammatiske afhandling i Snorres Edda tilligemed de grammatiske afhandlingers prolog og to andre tillæg. SUGNL 12. Copenhagen: Knudtzon.
3. Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
4. Fms = Sveinbjörn Egilsson et al., eds. 1825-37. Fornmanna sögur eptir gömlum handritum útgefnar að tilhlutun hins norræna fornfræða fèlags. 12 vols. Copenhagen: Popp.
5. SnE 1848-87 = Snorri Sturluson. 1848-87. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar: Edda Snorronis Sturlaei. Ed. Jón Sigurðsson et al. 3 vols. Copenhagen: Legatum Arnamagnaeanum. Rpt. Osnabrück: Zeller, 1966.
6. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
7. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
8. Meissner = Meissner, Rudolf. 1921. Die Kenningar der Skalden: Ein Beitrag zur skaldischen Poetik. Rheinische Beiträge und Hülfsbücher zur germanischen Philologie und Volkskunde 1. Bonn and Leipzig: Schroeder. Rpt. 1984. Hildesheim etc.: Olms.
9. LP = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1931. Lexicon poeticum antiquæ linguæ septentrionalis: Ordbog over det norsk-islandske skjaldesprog oprindelig forfattet af Sveinbjörn Egilsson. 2nd edn. Copenhagen: Møller.
10. Flat 1860-8 = Gudbrand Vigfusson [Guðbrandur Vigfússon] and C. R. Unger, eds. 1860-8. Flateyjarbók. En samling af norske konge-sagaer med indskudte mindre fortællinger om begivenheder i og udenfor Norge samt annaler. 3 vols. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
11. Fritzner = Fritzner, Johan. 1883-96. Ordbog over det gamle norske sprog. 3 vols. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske forlagsforening. 4th edn. Rpt. 1973. Oslo etc.: Universitetsforlaget.
12. NS = Nygaard, Marius. 1906. Norrøn syntax. Kristiania (Oslo): Aschehoug. Rpt. 1966.
13. ÓH 1941 = Johnsen, Oscar Albert and Jón Helgason, eds. 1941. Saga Óláfs konungs hins helga: Den store saga om Olav den hellige efter pergamenthåndskrift i Kungliga biblioteket i Stockholm nr. 2 4^to med varianter fra andre håndskrifter. 2 vols. Det norske historiske kildeskriftfond skrifter 53. Oslo: Dybwad.
14. ÓHLeg 1982 = Heinrichs, Anne et al., eds and trans. 1982. Olafs saga hins helga: Die ‘Legendarische Saga’ über Olaf den Heiligen (Hs. Delagard. saml. nr. 8^II). Heidelberg: Winter.
15. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
16. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
17. Hkr 1991 = Bergljót S. Kristjánsdóttir et al., eds. 1991. Heimskringla. 3 vols. Reykjavík: Mál og menning.
18. Fsk 1902-3 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1902-3. Fagrskinna: Nóregs kononga tal. SUGNL 30. Copenhagen: Møller.
19. ÍF 29 = Ágrip af Nóregskonunga sǫgum; Fagrskinna—Nóregs konungatal. Ed. Bjarni Einarsson. 1985.
20. ÓHLeg 1922 = Johnsen, Oscar Albert, ed. 1922. Olafs saga hins helga efter pergamenthåndskrift i Uppsala Universitetsbibliotek, Delagardieske samling nr. 8^II. Det norske historiske kildeskriftfond skrifter 47. Kristiania (Oslo): Dybwad.
21. TGT 1927 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1927b. Óláfr Þórðarson: Málhljóða- og málskrúðsrit. Grammatisk-retorisk afhandling. Det kgl. Danske Videnskabernes Selskab. Historisk-filologiske meddelelser 13, 2. Copenhagen: Høst.
22. TGT 1998 = Krömmelbein, Thomas, ed. and trans. 1998. Dritte grammatische Abhandlung. Studia nordica 3. Oslo: Novus.
23. Internal references
24. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Heimskringla’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=4> (accessed 19 April 2024)
25. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Óláfs saga helga (Legendary)’ 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. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=31> (accessed 19 April 2024)
26. (forthcoming), ‘ Óláfr hvítaskáld Þórðarson, The Third Grammatical Treatise’ in Tarrin Wills (ed.), The Third Grammatical Treatise. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=32> (accessed 19 April 2024)
27. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Óláfs saga helga’ 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. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=53> (accessed 19 April 2024)
28. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Fagrskinna’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=56> (accessed 19 April 2024)
29. (forthcoming), ‘ Heimskringla, Óláfs saga helga (in Heimskringla)’ 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. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=152> (accessed 19 April 2024)
30. Matthew Townend (ed.) 2012, ‘Anonymous Lausavísur, Lausavísur from Styrbjarnar þáttr Svíakappa 3’ 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. 1079.
31. Russell Poole (ed.) 2012, ‘Óláfr inn helgi Haraldsson, Lausavísur 2’ 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. 518.
32. Russell Poole (ed.) 2012, ‘Tindr Hallkelsson, Hákonardrápa 4’ 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. 345.