Hávh Lv 1III
Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Hávarðr halti Ísfirðingr, Lausavísa 1 1’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 241.
Nús ‘Now there is’
(not checked:)
2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
notes
[1, 2, 4] nús flaug arnar of vangi ‘now there is an eagle’s flight above the field’: The sense here is that eagles are soaring above the field in anticipation of battle.
jó ‘of the steed’
(not checked:)
jór (noun m.): stallion, steed < jódraugr (noun m.)
[1] jódraugum: ‘iodre᷎gum’ B, ‘jöds augum’ 2368ˣ, 743ˣ
kennings
ægis jódraugum;‘ocean’s steed-logs’
= SEAFARERS
the steed of the ocean; → SHIP
for the logs of the SHIP → SEAFARERS
jó ‘of the steed’
(not checked:)
jór (noun m.): stallion, steed < jódraugr (noun m.)
[1] jódraugum: ‘iodre᷎gum’ B, ‘jöds augum’ 2368ˣ, 743ˣ
kennings
ægis jódraugum;‘ocean’s steed-logs’
= SEAFARERS
the steed of the ocean; → SHIP
for the logs of the SHIP → SEAFARERS
draugum ‘for the logs’
(not checked:)
1. draugr (noun m.; °; -ar): tree < jódraugr (noun m.)
[1] jódraugum: ‘iodre᷎gum’ B, ‘jöds augum’ 2368ˣ, 743ˣ
kennings
ægis jódraugum;‘ocean’s steed-logs’
= SEAFARERS
the steed of the ocean; → SHIP
for the logs of the SHIP → SEAFARERS
ægis ‘of the ocean’
(not checked:)
2. ægir (noun m.): ocean, sea
kennings
ægis jódraugum;‘ocean’s steed-logs’
= SEAFARERS
the steed of the ocean; → SHIP
for the logs of the SHIP → SEAFARERS
ægis ‘of the ocean’
(not checked:)
2. ægir (noun m.): ocean, sea
kennings
ægis jódraugum;‘ocean’s steed-logs’
= SEAFARERS
the steed of the ocean; → SHIP
for the logs of the SHIP → SEAFARERS
arnar ‘an eagle’s’
(not checked:)
1. ǫrn (noun m.; °arnar, dat. erni; ernir, acc. ǫrnu): eagle
notes
[1, 2, 4] nús flaug arnar of vangi ‘now there is an eagle’s flight above the field’: The sense here is that eagles are soaring above the field in anticipation of battle.
flaug ‘flight’
(not checked:)
flaug (noun f.): flight
notes
[1, 2, 4] nús flaug arnar of vangi ‘now there is an eagle’s flight above the field’: The sense here is that eagles are soaring above the field in anticipation of battle.
notes
[2] ok bauga ‘and rings’: It is not mentioned anywhere that Óðinn’s warriors (einherjar) received rings as gifts in Valhǫll, and it appears that the poet imagined the feasting there as a stereotyped banquet scene involving the consumption of alcoholic beverages and the distribution of precious objects.
notes
[2] ok bauga ‘and rings’: It is not mentioned anywhere that Óðinn’s warriors (einherjar) received rings as gifts in Valhǫll, and it appears that the poet imagined the feasting there as a stereotyped banquet scene involving the consumption of alcoholic beverages and the distribution of precious objects.
hygg ‘I believe’
(not checked:)
2. hyggja (verb): think, consider
notes
[3] hygg ‘I believe’: Lit. ‘believe’. All mss have hygg ek, but the pronoun ek ‘I’ has been deleted as routine normalisation. Cliticisation of the pron. would have resulted in loss of skothending (hykk : þiggi).
heimboð ‘an invitation’
(not checked:)
heimboð (noun n.): invitation, feast
notes
[3, 4] heimboð hangagoðs ‘an invitation from the god of the hanged [= Óðinn]’: Lit. ‘invitation of the god of the hanged’, i.e. the sea-warriors who will fall in the impending battle will be invited by Óðinn to visit him in his home, Valhǫll (‘Hall of the Slain’), where they will be entertained.
þiggi ‘they may receive’
(not checked:)
þiggja (verb): receive, get
hanga ‘of the hanged’
(not checked:)
hangi (noun m.; °-a): hanged one < hangaguð (noun n.)
kennings
hangagoðs‘the god of the hanged ’
= Óðinn
the god of the hanged → Óðinn
notes
[3, 4] heimboð hangagoðs ‘an invitation from the god of the hanged [= Óðinn]’: Lit. ‘invitation of the god of the hanged’, i.e. the sea-warriors who will fall in the impending battle will be invited by Óðinn to visit him in his home, Valhǫll (‘Hall of the Slain’), where they will be entertained. — [4] hangagoðs ‘from the god of the hanged [= Óðinn]’: This is not an Óðinn-name given in Þul Óðins, and it is treated here as a kenning for Óðinn. It refers to Óðinn’s habit of sitting beneath gallows using runes to make hanged ones communicate with him (see Hávm 157). See also Hangatýr ‘god of hanged ones’, mentioned in the same section of Skm and exemplified by VGl Lv 10/1-4V (Glúm 12).
hanga ‘of the hanged’
(not checked:)
hangi (noun m.; °-a): hanged one < hangaguð (noun n.)
kennings
hangagoðs‘the god of the hanged ’
= Óðinn
the god of the hanged → Óðinn
notes
[3, 4] heimboð hangagoðs ‘an invitation from the god of the hanged [= Óðinn]’: Lit. ‘invitation of the god of the hanged’, i.e. the sea-warriors who will fall in the impending battle will be invited by Óðinn to visit him in his home, Valhǫll (‘Hall of the Slain’), where they will be entertained. — [4] hangagoðs ‘from the god of the hanged [= Óðinn]’: This is not an Óðinn-name given in Þul Óðins, and it is treated here as a kenning for Óðinn. It refers to Óðinn’s habit of sitting beneath gallows using runes to make hanged ones communicate with him (see Hávm 157). See also Hangatýr ‘god of hanged ones’, mentioned in the same section of Skm and exemplified by VGl Lv 10/1-4V (Glúm 12).
kennings
hangagoðs‘the god of the hanged ’
= Óðinn
the god of the hanged → Óðinn
notes
[3, 4] heimboð hangagoðs ‘an invitation from the god of the hanged [= Óðinn]’: Lit. ‘invitation of the god of the hanged’, i.e. the sea-warriors who will fall in the impending battle will be invited by Óðinn to visit him in his home, Valhǫll (‘Hall of the Slain’), where they will be entertained. — [4] hangagoðs ‘from the god of the hanged [= Óðinn]’: This is not an Óðinn-name given in Þul Óðins, and it is treated here as a kenning for Óðinn. It refers to Óðinn’s habit of sitting beneath gallows using runes to make hanged ones communicate with him (see Hávm 157). See also Hangatýr ‘god of hanged ones’, mentioned in the same section of Skm and exemplified by VGl Lv 10/1-4V (Glúm 12).
kennings
hangagoðs‘the god of the hanged ’
= Óðinn
the god of the hanged → Óðinn
notes
[3, 4] heimboð hangagoðs ‘an invitation from the god of the hanged [= Óðinn]’: Lit. ‘invitation of the god of the hanged’, i.e. the sea-warriors who will fall in the impending battle will be invited by Óðinn to visit him in his home, Valhǫll (‘Hall of the Slain’), where they will be entertained. — [4] hangagoðs ‘from the god of the hanged [= Óðinn]’: This is not an Óðinn-name given in Þul Óðins, and it is treated here as a kenning for Óðinn. It refers to Óðinn’s habit of sitting beneath gallows using runes to make hanged ones communicate with him (see Hávm 157). See also Hangatýr ‘god of hanged ones’, mentioned in the same section of Skm and exemplified by VGl Lv 10/1-4V (Glúm 12).
notes
[1, 2, 4] nús flaug arnar of vangi ‘now there is an eagle’s flight above the field’: The sense here is that eagles are soaring above the field in anticipation of battle. — [4] of vangi ‘above the field’: This reading, which has been adopted in the present edn, is only attested in ms. R – all other mss have af vangi ‘from the field’. It is definitely possible to take this prepositional phrase with the second clause, as Kock does (see his interpretation given in Note to [All] above), but that leaves a somewhat awkward first clause: Nús flaug arnar ægis jódraugum ‘Now there is an eagle’s flight for the logs of the steed of the ocean [(lit. ‘ocean’s steed-logs’) SHIP > SEAFARERS]’. The reading of the majority of the mss, af vangi ‘from the field’, is likely to have been caused by the close proximity to heimboð ‘invitation’ (l. 3) and by scribes who were unfamiliar with the more archaic form of the prep. of (later um).
notes
[1, 2, 4] nús flaug arnar of vangi ‘now there is an eagle’s flight above the field’: The sense here is that eagles are soaring above the field in anticipation of battle. — [4] of vangi ‘above the field’: This reading, which has been adopted in the present edn, is only attested in ms. R – all other mss have af vangi ‘from the field’. It is definitely possible to take this prepositional phrase with the second clause, as Kock does (see his interpretation given in Note to [All] above), but that leaves a somewhat awkward first clause: Nús flaug arnar ægis jódraugum ‘Now there is an eagle’s flight for the logs of the steed of the ocean [(lit. ‘ocean’s steed-logs’) SHIP > SEAFARERS]’. The reading of the majority of the mss, af vangi ‘from the field’, is likely to have been caused by the close proximity to heimboð ‘invitation’ (l. 3) and by scribes who were unfamiliar with the more archaic form of the prep. of (later um).
vangi ‘the field’
(not checked:)
1. vangr (noun m.): field, plain
notes
[1, 2, 4] nús flaug arnar of vangi ‘now there is an eagle’s flight above the field’: The sense here is that eagles are soaring above the field in anticipation of battle. — [4] of vangi ‘above the field’: This reading, which has been adopted in the present edn, is only attested in ms. R – all other mss have af vangi ‘from the field’. It is definitely possible to take this prepositional phrase with the second clause, as Kock does (see his interpretation given in Note to [All] above), but that leaves a somewhat awkward first clause: Nús flaug arnar ægis jódraugum ‘Now there is an eagle’s flight for the logs of the steed of the ocean [(lit. ‘ocean’s steed-logs’) SHIP > SEAFARERS]’. The reading of the majority of the mss, af vangi ‘from the field’, is likely to have been caused by the close proximity to heimboð ‘invitation’ (l. 3) and by scribes who were unfamiliar with the more archaic form of the prep. of (later um).
vangi ‘the field’
(not checked:)
1. vangr (noun m.): field, plain
notes
[1, 2, 4] nús flaug arnar of vangi ‘now there is an eagle’s flight above the field’: The sense here is that eagles are soaring above the field in anticipation of battle. — [4] of vangi ‘above the field’: This reading, which has been adopted in the present edn, is only attested in ms. R – all other mss have af vangi ‘from the field’. It is definitely possible to take this prepositional phrase with the second clause, as Kock does (see his interpretation given in Note to [All] above), but that leaves a somewhat awkward first clause: Nús flaug arnar ægis jódraugum ‘Now there is an eagle’s flight for the logs of the steed of the ocean [(lit. ‘ocean’s steed-logs’) SHIP > SEAFARERS]’. The reading of the majority of the mss, af vangi ‘from the field’, is likely to have been caused by the close proximity to heimboð ‘invitation’ (l. 3) and by scribes who were unfamiliar with the more archaic form of the prep. of (later um).
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
The helmingr is cited in Skm (SnE) and LaufE to illustrate that Hangagoð is one of many names for the god Óðinn.
(a) The present edn follows that of Faulkes (SnE 1998). (b) Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) emends jódraugum dat. pl. ‘steed-logs’ (l. 1) to jódraugar nom. pl. and takes jódraugar ægis ‘logs of the steed of the ocean [SHIP > SEAFARERS]’ as the subject of the second clause. (c) Kock (NN §2256) rightly objects to the syntactic break after metrical position 1 in l. 1. He adopts the U, B variant of (um) ‘above’ in l. 2 and af ‘from’ (so all other mss; l. 4) and construes the helmingr as follows: Nú ’s jódraugum ægis | arnar flaug of bauga. | Hygg, at heimboð þiggi | hangagoðs af vangi, translated as Över skölderna det flyger | örnar nu för fartygsfolket. | Jag förmenar, att Odin | de från fältet hembud få! ‘Above the shields eagles are now flying for the seafarers. I believe that Odin will invite them home from the battlefield!’. The problem with this interpretation is that the variant um ‘above’ (l. 2) is only attested in B and U, and the latter has um hauga ‘above the hills’, which is clearly a lectio facilior. All other mss have ok bauga ‘and rings’, which must be the second acc. object of þiggi ‘may receive’ (l. 3) in the second clause.
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