Hhal Lv 1^I

Hér liggr skald, þats skalda
skǫrungr vas mestr at flestu;
naddveiti frák nýtan
níð Hôkuni smíða.
Áðr gat engr né síðan
annarra svá manna
— frægt hefr orðit þat fyrðum —
férán lokit hônum.

Hér liggr skald, þats vas mestr skǫrungr skalda at flestu; frák {nýtan naddveiti} smíða Hôkuni níð. Engr annarra manna gat áðr né síðan lokit hônum svá férán; þat hefr orðit frægt fyrðum.

Here lies the skald who was the greatest champion among skalds in most respects; I heard {the handy spear-offerer} [WARRIOR] crafted níð against Hákon. No other man managed before or since to pay him [Hákon] back so for robbery; that has become famous among men.

Mss: Flat(28va) (Flat); 4867ˣ(102v), 563aˣ(8) (ÞorlJ)

Readings: [2] at flestu: af flestum 4867ˣ, 563aˣ    [3] nadd‑: ná‑ 4867ˣ, 563aˣ    [5] engr: enginn 563aˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 540, Skj BI, 521, Skald I, 254, NN §2542; SHI 3, 107, Flat 1860-68, I, 215, ÞorlJ 1883, 131, 159, ÍF 9, 228, ÍS III, 2274 (ÞorlJ).

Context: Hallbjǫrn is trying to compose a commemorative poem about Þorleifr jarlsskáld but can get no further than Hér liggr skald ‘Here lies a skald’. Þorleifr appears to Hallbjǫrn in a dream and recites this stanza, telling him that if he can recall it when he wakes he will become a great poet.

Notes: [1] hér liggr skald, þats skalda ‘here lies the skald who ... among skalds’: The phrasing and rhythm recall the first line of Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld’s famous ‘sword’ stanza: Hfr Lv 11/1^V (Hallfr 14) Eitt es sverð þats sverða ‘That is a sword among swords, that…’. — [4] smíða Hôkuni níð ‘crafted níð against Hákon’: That is, Hákon jarl Sigurðarson. See ‘Ruler biographies’ in Introduction to this volume; the skald Biography of Þorleifr jarlsskald Rauðfeldarson; Þjsk Jarl for Þorleifr’s níð or shameful slander against Hákon; and Þjsk Lv 5 and its Context for the action which provoked it: Hákon’s burning of Þorleifr’s ship and hanging of his shipmates. — [7] frægt hefr orðit þat fyrðum ‘that has become famous among men’: This line is hypermetric. Kock suggests replacing hefr ‘has’ with enclitic -s ‘is’ (hence frægts orðit, without change of meaning) to correct the metre (NN §2542; Skald), but emendation solely for metrical reasons is generally avoided in the present edn. — [8] férán ‘for robbery’: Presumably Hákon’s seizure and burning of Þorleifr’s ship (see Note to l. 4). 

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
3. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. ÍF 9 = Eyfirðinga sǫgur. Ed. Jónas Kristjánsson. 1956.
5. 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.
6. ÍS = Bragi Halldórsson et al., eds. 1987. Íslendinga sögur og þættir. 3 vols. Reykjavík: Svart á hvítu.
7. ÞorlJ 1883 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1883. ‘Þáttr Þorleifs’. In Guðmundur Þorláksson et al. 1880-3, III, 117-63.
8. Internal references
9. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Þorleifs þáttr jarlaskálds’ 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=50> (accessed 4 May 2024)
10. Kate Heslop 2012, ‘ Þorleifr jarlsskáld Rauðfeldarson, Jarlsníð’ 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. 372. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1448> (accessed 4 May 2024)
11. Diana Whaley (ed.) 2022, ‘Hallfreðar saga 14 (Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld Óttarsson, Lausavísur 11)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross, Kari Ellen Gade and Tarrin Wills (eds), Poetry in Sagas of Icelanders. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 5. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 890.
12. Judith Jesch (ed.) 2012, ‘Jórunn skáldmær, Sendibítr 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. 146.
13. Kate Heslop (ed.) 2012, ‘Þorleifr jarlsskáld Rauðfeldarson, Lausavísur 5’ 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. 375.