Hfr ErfÓl 15I
Kate Heslop (ed.) 2012, ‘Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld Óttarsson, Erfidrápa Óláfs Tryggvasonar 15’ 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. 421.
Gótt ‘good’
frétta ‘ask’
gunn ‘’
notes
[2] gunnr ‘battle’: So only 61. The majority reading gunn is difficult to explain, as none of the inflectional forms of gunnr f. lack an ending.
óx ‘swelled’
haf ‘of the sea’
sunnan ‘south’
sverð ‘swords’
feigra ‘of fated’
fyrða ‘men’
2. fyrðr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -): man
[3] fyrða: so 53, 54, Bb, Flat, added above the line 61
fjǫr ‘life’
fjǫr (noun n.): life < fjǫrrann (noun n.)fjǫr (noun n.): life < fjǫrrunnr (noun m.): bush, tree
kennings
fjǫrrǫnn‘life-halls ’
= BREASTS
life-halls → BREASTS
kennings
fjǫrrǫnn‘life-halls ’
= BREASTS
life-halls → BREASTS
at ‘about’
mǫnnum ‘for people’
hvern ‘which’
rekkligast ‘’
rakkligast ‘most bravely’
[5] rakkligast: ‘reckligazst’ Bb
rekka ‘of the champions’
rand ‘of the rim’
rǫnd (noun f.; °dat. -/-u; rendr/randir): shield, shield-rim < randláð (noun n.)
[6] randláðs viðir kvôðu: om. Flat; rand‑: vand‑ Bb
kennings
viðir randláðs‘trees of the rim-land ’
= WARRIORS
the rim-land → SHIELD
trees of the SHIELD → WARRIORS
rand ‘of the rim’
rǫnd (noun f.; °dat. -/-u; rendr/randir): shield, shield-rim < randláð (noun n.)
[6] randláðs viðir kvôðu: om. Flat; rand‑: vand‑ Bb
kennings
viðir randláðs‘trees of the rim-land ’
= WARRIORS
the rim-land → SHIELD
trees of the SHIELD → WARRIORS
láðs ‘land’
[6] randláðs viðir kvôðu: om. Flat
kennings
viðir randláðs‘trees of the rim-land ’
= WARRIORS
the rim-land → SHIELD
trees of the SHIELD → WARRIORS
láðs ‘land’
[6] randláðs viðir kvôðu: om. Flat
kennings
viðir randláðs‘trees of the rim-land ’
= WARRIORS
the rim-land → SHIELD
trees of the SHIELD → WARRIORS
viðir ‘trees’
1. viðr (noun m.; °-ar, dat. -i/-; -ir, acc. -u/-i): wood, tree
[6] randláðs viðir kvôðu: om. Flat
kennings
viðir randláðs‘trees of the rim-land ’
= WARRIORS
the rim-land → SHIELD
trees of the SHIELD → WARRIORS
kennings
sylg ættar Surts.‘drink of the family of Surtr.’
= POETRY
the family of Surtr. → GIANTS
drink of GIANTS → POETRY
notes
[7-8] sylg ættar Surts ‘drink of the family of Surtr <giant> [GIANTS > POETRY]’: The giant Gillingr and his family are prominent in the complex myth of the mead of poetry, and the mead is in the possession of Gillingr’s son Suttungr until gained by Óðinn (see SnE 1998, I, 3-5, and on the myth see Introduction to SkP III). The fire-giant Surtr seems to be used merely as a representative giant here, so that his ætt are giants, though for a suggestion that Surtr himself figured in the myth of the mead of poetry, see Note to Eyv Hál 1/7.
kennings
sylg ættar Surts.‘drink of the family of Surtr.’
= POETRY
the family of Surtr. → GIANTS
drink of GIANTS → POETRY
notes
[7-8] sylg ættar Surts ‘drink of the family of Surtr <giant> [GIANTS > POETRY]’: The giant Gillingr and his family are prominent in the complex myth of the mead of poetry, and the mead is in the possession of Gillingr’s son Suttungr until gained by Óðinn (see SnE 1998, I, 3-5, and on the myth see Introduction to SkP III). The fire-giant Surtr seems to be used merely as a representative giant here, so that his ætt are giants, though for a suggestion that Surtr himself figured in the myth of the mead of poetry, see Note to Eyv Hál 1/7.
kennings
sylg ættar Surts.‘drink of the family of Surtr.’
= POETRY
the family of Surtr. → GIANTS
drink of GIANTS → POETRY
notes
[7-8] sylg ættar Surts ‘drink of the family of Surtr <giant> [GIANTS > POETRY]’: The giant Gillingr and his family are prominent in the complex myth of the mead of poetry, and the mead is in the possession of Gillingr’s son Suttungr until gained by Óðinn (see SnE 1998, I, 3-5, and on the myth see Introduction to SkP III). The fire-giant Surtr seems to be used merely as a representative giant here, so that his ætt are giants, though for a suggestion that Surtr himself figured in the myth of the mead of poetry, see Note to Eyv Hál 1/7.
kennings
sylg ættar Surts.‘drink of the family of Surtr.’
= POETRY
the family of Surtr. → GIANTS
drink of GIANTS → POETRY
notes
[7-8] sylg ættar Surts ‘drink of the family of Surtr <giant> [GIANTS > POETRY]’: The giant Gillingr and his family are prominent in the complex myth of the mead of poetry, and the mead is in the possession of Gillingr’s son Suttungr until gained by Óðinn (see SnE 1998, I, 3-5, and on the myth see Introduction to SkP III). The fire-giant Surtr seems to be used merely as a representative giant here, so that his ætt are giants, though for a suggestion that Surtr himself figured in the myth of the mead of poetry, see Note to Eyv Hál 1/7.
vinn ‘make’
2. vinna (verb): perform, work
[7] Surts ættar vinnk: satt mun ítr um Flat; vinnk (‘vinn ek’): mun ek 54, Bb
notes
[7] sléttan ‘smooth’: Sléttan, m. acc. sg. agreeing with the poetry-kenning based on sylg ‘drink’, is here taken as the adj. used attributively. It could otherwise be taken as predicative, hence ‘make (the poetry) smooth’, or else as the p. p. of slétta ‘to smoothe’, cf. slétta óð ‘smoothe a poem’, ESk Geisl 50/3VII. This is the earliest surviving example in the skaldic corpus of sléttr ‘smooth, smoothed’ applied to poetry, a very common metaphor in C12th and later, especially Christian, poetry.
k ‘I’
ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
[7] Surts ættar vinnk: satt mun ítr um Flat; vinnk (‘vinn ek’): mun ek 54, Bb
notes
[7] sléttan ‘smooth’: Sléttan, m. acc. sg. agreeing with the poetry-kenning based on sylg ‘drink’, is here taken as the adj. used attributively. It could otherwise be taken as predicative, hence ‘make (the poetry) smooth’, or else as the p. p. of slétta ‘to smoothe’, cf. slétta óð ‘smoothe a poem’, ESk Geisl 50/3VII. This is the earliest surviving example in the skaldic corpus of sléttr ‘smooth, smoothed’ applied to poetry, a very common metaphor in C12th and later, especially Christian, poetry.
sleittar ‘’
sléttar ‘’
notes
[7] sléttan ‘smooth’: Sléttan, m. acc. sg. agreeing with the poetry-kenning based on sylg ‘drink’, is here taken as the adj. used attributively. It could otherwise be taken as predicative, hence ‘make (the poetry) smooth’, or else as the p. p. of slétta ‘to smoothe’, cf. slétta óð ‘smoothe a poem’, ESk Geisl 50/3VII. This is the earliest surviving example in the skaldic corpus of sléttr ‘smooth, smoothed’ applied to poetry, a very common metaphor in C12th and later, especially Christian, poetry.
sylg ‘drink’
kennings
sylg ættar Surts.‘drink of the family of Surtr.’
= POETRY
the family of Surtr. → GIANTS
drink of GIANTS → POETRY
notes
[7-8] sylg ættar Surts ‘drink of the family of Surtr <giant> [GIANTS > POETRY]’: The giant Gillingr and his family are prominent in the complex myth of the mead of poetry, and the mead is in the possession of Gillingr’s son Suttungr until gained by Óðinn (see SnE 1998, I, 3-5, and on the myth see Introduction to SkP III). The fire-giant Surtr seems to be used merely as a representative giant here, so that his ætt are giants, though for a suggestion that Surtr himself figured in the myth of the mead of poetry, see Note to Eyv Hál 1/7.
Ôleifi ‘Óláfr’
fylgja ‘supported’
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
|
Gótt es gǫrva at frétta |
It is good for people to ask searchingly about this — battle swelled south of the sea; swords bit life-halls [BREASTS] of fated men —: which of the champions did trees of the rim-land [SHIELD > WARRIORS] say supported Óláfr most bravely; I make the smooth drink of the family of Surtr <giant> [GIANTS > POETRY].
After describing the battle of Svǫlðr, ÓT reports the different accounts of its last moments, and observes that the bravery of Óláfr’s men will be long remembered. Hallfreðr’s stanza is introduced as a witness that Þorkell nefja ‘Nose’ gave outstanding support to his brother Óláfr.
[1]: The final a of gǫrva and initial a of at must be elided to make the line regular (Gade 1995a, 66), and so es cannot be cliticised to yield Gótts (cf. Note to st. 12/7 ek). The line resembles st. 18/7: hætts til hans at frétta ‘it’s risky to enquire about him’, i.e. about Óláfr’s fate.
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