Játg Lv 1^II

Rjóðr, sák hlœkinn heðna,
hjaldrdrifs, á Kýrfjalli,
stirðaurriða storðar,
stórfjarri mér Þóri.
Þat frák líkn, þás lékum,
lungtorgs, við Ribbunga:
dásinn lá við dísi
dvergranns í Túnsbergi.

{Rjóðr {stirðaurriða {storðar {hjaldrdrifs}}}}, sák hlœkinn Þóri heðna stórfjarri mér á Kýrfjalli. Þat frák líkn {lungtorgs}, þás lékum við Ribbunga: dásinn lá við {dísi {dvergranns}} í Túnsbergi.

{Reddener {of the stiff trout {of the land {of the battle-blizzard}}}} [ARROWS > SHIELD > SWORD > WARRIOR], I saw cuddly Þórir heðinn (‘Woolly-shirt’) very far from me on Kýrfjall. I heard this to be the comfort {of his lung’s market-place} [HEART] when we played with the Ribbungar: the sluggard lay with {the dís <minor female deity> {of the dwarf-house}} [STONE > WOMAN] in Tønsberg.

Mss: E(151v), F(93va), 42ˣ(108r), 81a(79vb), 304ˣ(278r-v), Flat(169ra) (Hák)

Readings: [1] Rjóðr: Hljóðr 304ˣ, ‘Hnodít’ Flat;    sák (‘sa ek’): sá 304ˣ;    hlœkinn heðna: ‘hleckium hardna’ Flat    [2] hjaldr‑: hjaldrs Flat;    Kýr‑: kúr F    [3] stirð‑: stríð Flat;    storðar: storða F    [4] stór‑: stóð 304ˣ;    Þóri: Þórir 42ˣ, 81a, 304ˣ    [5] Þat: þar 42ˣ, þeir Flat;    frák (‘fra ek’): so 81a, frá E, F, 304ˣ, Flat, fekk 42ˣ;    þás (‘þá er’): so all others, þá er vér E    [6] lung‑: so F, lyng‑ E, 81a, 304ˣ, Flat, ‘lin’ 42ˣ    [7] lá: so F, 42ˣ, lá at E, 81a, 304ˣ, Flat    [8] Túns‑: tungs‑ 81a

Editions: Skj AII, 81-2, Skj BII, 93, Skald II, 50, NN §§1330, 2748F; E 1916, 513, F 1871, 432, Hák 1910-86, 373, Hák 1977-82, 50, Flat 1860-8, III, 51.

Context: In 1222, Skúli Bárðarson stays in Tønsberg when he hears that some of the Ribbungar are nearby. He says that, when two men share the same bed, they are to cast lots about which one of them will go after the Ribbungar. Játgeirr, who is the bedmate of Þórir flík ‘Flap of Garment’, loses, and he and the others go off to fight. When he returns, Þórir asks him how it had gone, and Játgeirr responds with this st.

Notes: [All]: In 304ˣ, Játgeirr is mistakenly referred to as ‘Oddgeirr Skáldtorfuson’. — [1, 2, 3] rjóðr stirðaurriða storðar hjaldrdrifs ‘reddener of the stiff trout of the land of the battle-blizzard [ARROWS > SHIELD > SWORD > WARRIOR]’: Kock (NN §2748F) unravels this kenning as follows: rjóðr storðar stirðaurriða hjaldrdrifs ‘reddener of the land of the stiff trout of the battle-blizzard [ARROWS > SWORD > SHIELD > WARRIOR]’. That interpretation is also possible, but less preferable, since a warrior is more likely to redden a sword than a shield in blood. — [1] heðna ‘heðinn (“Woolly-shirt”)’: A play on Þórir’s nickname flík ‘flap, corner of garment’. — [2] Kýrfjalli ‘Kýrfjall’: Lit. ‘Cows’ Mountain’ is an unidentified p. n. in Vestfold, Norway. Note the imperfect rhyme (-ald- : -all-). — [5, 6] líkn lungtorgs ‘the comfort of his lung’s market-place [HEART]’: Lit. ‘of the lung-market-place’. So F. The [u] in lung- ‘lung-’ is secured by internal rhyme. This is a regular kenning for ‘breast’, used here as residence of the heart (and hence as a kenning for ‘heart’; see Meissner 138). Skj B translates this as hans hjærtes fryd ‘his heart’s delight’. Lyngtorgs lit. ‘heather-market-place’ (i.e. ‘heath’; so E, 81a, 304ˣ, Flat) makes no sense in the context. — [5] þás lékum ‘when we played’: Játgeirr must have used the verb leika ‘play’ deliberately, thus creating a double entendre contrasting the play of the bed with the play of battle. — [5] þás ‘when’: Both Skj B and Skald silently emend to es ‘when’ against all ms. witnesses. — [6] Ribbunga ‘the Ribbungar’: See Note to Sturl Hákkv 6/8. — [7] lá ‘lay’: So F, 42ˣ. Lá at lit. ‘lay at, lay that’ or negated lá-at ‘did not lie’ (so E, 81a, 304ˣ, Flat) is either unmetrical (lá at) or makes little sense (lá-at). Skj B takes at as the conj. at ‘that’ introducing the last cl. Such a construction does not otherwise occur, because the finite verb cannot occur in preposition to the conj. (see Kuhn 1983, 118). — [7-8] dísi dvergranns ‘the dís <minor female deity> of the dwarf-house [STONE > WOMAN]’: Woman-kennings often have determinants from the semantic field ‘stone’, referring to strings of precious stones and pearls that women wore as adornment (see Meissner 400, 414-15). — [8] í Túnsbergi ‘in Tønsberg’: Town in Vestfold on the western side of Oslofjorden.

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. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. Kuhn, Hans (1899). 1983. Das Dróttkvætt. Heidelberg: Winter.
8. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
9. E 1916 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1916. Eirspennill: AM 47 fol. Nóregs konunga sǫgur: Magnús góði – Hákon gamli. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske historiske kildeskriftskommission.
10. Hák 1977-82 = Mundt, Marina, ed. 1977. Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar etter Sth. 8 fol., AM 325VIII, 4° og AM 304, 4°. Oslo: Forlagsentralen. Suppl. by James E. Knirk, Rettelser til Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar etter Sth. 8 fol., AM 325VIII, 4° og AM 304, 4°. Norrøne tekster 2. Oslo: Norsk historisk kjeldeskrift-institutt, 1982.
11. Hák 1910-86 = Kjær, Albert and Ludvig Holm-Olsen, eds. 1910-86. Det Arnamagnæanske haandskrift 81a fol. (Skálholtsbók yngsta) indeholdende Sverris saga, Bǫglungasǫgur, Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar. Oslo: Den norske historiske kildeskriftkommission and Kjeldeskriftfondet.
12. Internal references
13. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Sturla Þórðarson, Hákonarkviða 6’ 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. 703-4.