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skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Hókr Eirfl 1I

Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2012, ‘Halldórr ókristni, Eiríksflokkr 1’ 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. 471.

Halldórr ókristniEiríksflokkr
12

Út bauð jǫfra hneitir
élmóðr af Svíþjóðu
— sunnr helt gramr til gunnar —
gunnbliks liði miklu.
Hverr vildi þá haulda
hrægeitunga feitir
— môr fekk á sæ sára
sylg — Eireki fylgja.

{Hneitir jǫfra}, {{gunnbliks} él}móðr, bauð út miklu liði af Svíþjóðu; gramr helt sunnr til gunnar. {Hverr feitir {hrægeitunga}} haulda vildi þá fylgja Eireki; {môr sára} fekk sylg á sæ.

{The striker of princes} [RULER = Eiríkr], eager for {the storm {of the battle-gleam}} [(lit. ‘storm-eager of battle-gleam’) SWORD > BATTLE] summoned a large troop from Sweden; the ruler steered south to battle. {Every fattener {of carrion-birds}} [RAVENS/EAGLES > WARRIOR] among freeholders then wished to accompany Eiríkr; {the seagull of wounds} [RAVEN/EAGLE] got a drink at sea.

Mss: (206r), F(35ra), J1ˣ(127r), J2ˣ(111v) (Hkr); 61(65vb-66ra), 53(62vb), 54(61rb) (ll. 3-8), Bb(96vb) (ll. 3-8), Flat(63rb) (ÓT)

Readings: [1] hneitir: meitir F    [2] élmóðr: almrjóðr 53    [3] sunnr: so 61, 53, suðr Kˣ, F, J1ˣ, J2ˣ, svinnr 54, Bb, sunds Flat;    helt: hell Flat    [5] Hverr: herja Flat;    haulda: halda 61, hauldar Flat    [6] hræ‑: ‘hra’ Flat;    feitir: feittir J1ˣ, reitir 54, Bb, feitra Flat

Editions: Skj AI, 202, Skj BI, 193, Skald I, 101, NN §§554, 1853B; Hkr 1893-1901, I, 431, IV, 95, ÍF 26, 350 (ÓTHkr ch. 98), F 1871, 158; ÓT 1958-2000, II, 247-8 (ch. 245), Flat 1860-8, I, 473.

Context:

According to Hkr (ÓT closely similar), King Sveinn tjúguskjegg ‘Fork-beard’ of Denmark sends messengers to his son-in-law King Óláfr sœnski ‘the Swede’ Eiríksson of Sweden and to Eiríkr jarl, who is staying with Óláfr. The purpose of this mission is to incite Óláfr and Eiríkr to join Sveinn in an attack on Óláfr Tryggvason, who is on his way to Vinðland (Wendland). They gather troops from all over Sweden and set out for Denmark, but when they arrive, Óláfr has already sailed east through the Baltic.

Notes: [All]: For the sea-battle at Svǫlðr c. 1000, see also Hfr ErfÓl 1-24, Skúli SvǫlðrIII, Stefnir Lv 1 (cf. OSnorr Lv), Eþsk Couplet, ÞKolb Eirdr 8, and the later treatment in HSt Rst 15-23 and Anon Óldr 17 ‑24. — [1] bauð út ‘summoned’: Bjóða út ‘summon’ is commonly used when a ruler summons his army or naval forces in preparation for a military campaign (see also Arn Magndr 2/1II). — [1] hneitir jǫfra ‘the striker of princes [RULER]’: This kenning is also found in Sturl Hryn 5/1II (see Note there). Hneitir, which was also the name of King Óláfr Haraldsson’s famous sword, is derived from the rare verb hneita ‘cut, strike’ (see Notes to ESk Geisl 43VII [All] and Þul Sverða 2/7III). — [4]: The line recalls GSúrs Lv 8/4V (Gísl 11) gunnbliks þáa miklu. — [5-8]: This helmingr has presented problems for earlier eds, and the solution adopted here attempts to make syntactical sense of it while avoiding emendation. (a) In the present version the kenning feitir hrægeitunga ‘fattener of carrion-birds [RAVENS/EAGLES > WARRIOR]’ (l. 6) is construed with hverr ‘every’ (l. 5; see Fritzner: hverr 6) and haulda ‘among freeholders’ (lit. ‘of freeholders’, l. 5) is taken as a gen. attributive to that noun phrase. (b) Finnur Jónsson (Skj B, following Konráð Gíslason 1895-7, II, 221) emends haulda (l. 5) to hildar ‘of battle’, which he construes as the determinant to môr ‘seagull’ (l. 7), hence môr hildar ‘the seagull of battle [RAVEN/EAGLE]’, while sára ‘of wounds’ (l. 7) is taken with sylg (l. 8), hence sylg sára ‘a drink of wounds [BLOOD]’. This has the advantage of accounting for haulda, which is somewhat superfluous in interpretation (a), and for , which is somewhat underspecified if separated from sára. However, as Kock (NN §554) points out, that interpretation involves an emendation that goes against all ms. witnesses and results in a convoluted word order. (c) Kock (NN §554; Skald) emends feitir (m. nom. sg.) ‘fattener’ to feiti (dat. sg), and takes the kenning feiti hrægeitunga ‘fattener of carrion-birds’ as an apposition to Eireki (m. dat. sg.) in l. 8. (d) Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson’s version (ÍF 26) is the closest to the present interpretation, but he construes the kenning as an apposition to hverr haulda: hverr haulda, feitir hrægeitunga lit. ‘each of freeholders, fattener of carrion-birds’, glossing this Hver maður, sem barðagamaður var ‘Each man who was a warrior’. But the appositional constructions assumed here and in (c) are awkward. (e) Bjarni Fidjestøl (1982, 194; citing Sveinbjörn Egilsson in Fms 12, 56, Konráð Gíslason 1892, 142 and (erroneously) ÍF 26), entertains the possibility that feitir hrægeitunga could be a form of address. While that might be an option, the only other stanza that addresses Eiríkr directly gives the verb in 2nd pers. pl. (fœrðuð ‘you brought’, st. 5/5). — [5] haulda ‘among freeholders’: For this word and the form chosen here (rather than hǫlða) because of the internal rhyme -ild- : -auld-, see Note to Anon Nkt 15/2II. — [6] hrægeitunga ‘of carrion-birds [RAVENS/EAGLES]’: Geitungr means ‘wasp’, but the word is used here and elsewhere to denote a kind of bird (see LP: geitungr and Notes to ESk Hardr II 3/1, 2II, Þul Fugla 1/5III). See also the kenning feitir folkstara ‘fattener of the war-starling [RAVEN/EAGLE > WARRIOR]’ in ÞjóðA Sex 11/5II. — [7] á sæ ‘at sea’: Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) and Konráð Gíslason (1895-7, II, 221) assign this prepositional phrase to the first clause, which results in a tripartite line and tortuous syntax. The present edn follows NN §554 and ÍF 26. — [8]: This line recalls Hfr ErfÓl 15/8 sylg Ôleifi fylgja.

References

  1. Bibliography
  2. Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
  3. Fms = Sveinbjörn Egilsson et al., eds. 1825-37. Fornmanna sögur eptir gömlum handritum útgefnar að tilhlutun hins norræna fornfræða fèlags. 12 vols. Copenhagen: Popp.
  4. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
  5. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
  6. 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.
  7. Fidjestøl, Bjarne. 1982. Det norrøne fyrstediktet. Universitet i Bergen Nordisk institutts skriftserie 11. Øvre Ervik: Alvheim & Eide.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
  11. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
  12. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
  13. Konráð Gíslason. 1895-7. Efterladte skrifter. 2 vols. I: Forelæsninger over oldnordiske skjaldekvad. II: Forelæsninger og videnskablige afhandlinger. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
  14. ÓT 1958-2000 = Ólafur Halldórsson, ed. 1958-2000. Saga Óláfs Tryggvasonar en mesta. 3 vols. EA A 1-3. Copenhagen: Munksgaard (Reitzel).
  15. Konráð Gíslason, ed. 1892a. Udvalg af oldnordiske skjaldekvad, med anmærkninger. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
  16. Internal references
  17. (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 28 March 2024)
  18. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta’ 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=60> (accessed 28 March 2024)
  19. Diana Whaley 2012, ‘(Biography of) Óláfr Tryggvason’ 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. 383.
  20. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Anonymous Poems, Nóregs konungatal 15’ 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. 771.
  21. Kate Heslop (ed.) 2012, ‘Anonymous Poems, Óláfs drápa Tryggvasonar 17’ 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. 1049.
  22. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Sverða heiti 2’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 791.
  23. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Fugla heiti 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. 952.
  24. Kate Heslop 2017, ‘ Skúli Þorsteinsson, Poem about Svǫlðr’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 360. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1371> (accessed 28 March 2024)
  25. Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Arnórr jarlaskáld Þórðarson, Magnússdrápa 2’ 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, pp. 209-10.
  26. Martin Chase (ed.) 2007, ‘Einarr Skúlason, Geisli 43’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 42-3.
  27. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Einarr Skúlason, Haraldsdrápa II 3’ 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, pp. 546-7.
  28. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2022, ‘Gísla saga Súrssonar 11 (Gísli Súrsson, Lausavísur 8)’ 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. 564.
  29. Kari Ellen Gade 2012, ‘ Einarr þambarskelfir Eindriðason, Couplet’ 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. 452. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=2925> (accessed 28 March 2024)
  30. Diana Whaley 2012, ‘ Oddr Snorrason, Lausavísa’ 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. 891. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=2945> (accessed 28 March 2024)
  31. Rolf Stavnem (ed.) 2012, ‘Hallar-Steinn, Rekstefja 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. 913.
  32. 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.
  33. Kate Heslop (ed.) 2012, ‘Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld Óttarsson, Erfidrápa Óláfs Tryggvasonar 1’ 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. 403.
  34. Diana Whaley (ed.) 2012, ‘Stefnir Þorgilsson, Lausavísur 1’ 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. 448.
  35. Valgerður Erna Þorvaldsdóttir (ed.) 2009, ‘Sturla Þórðarson, Hrynhenda 5’ 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, pp. 681-2.
  36. Jayne Carroll (ed.) 2012, ‘Þórðr Kolbeinsson, Eiríksdrápa 8’ 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. 500.
  37. Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Þjóðólfr Arnórsson, Sexstefja 11’ 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, pp. 123-4.
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