KormǪ Sigdr 2^III

Meiðr es mǫrgum œðri
morðteins í dyn fleina;
hjǫrr fær hildibǫrrum
hjarl Sigvarði jarli.

{Meiðr {morðteins}} es mǫrgum œðri í {dyn fleina}; hjǫrr fær hildibǫrrum Sigvarði jarli hjarl.

{The tree {of the battle-twig}} [SWORD > WARRIOR] is more outstanding than many in {the din of spears} [BATTLE]; the sword provides battle-ready Sigurðr jarl with land.

Mss: R(33v), Tˣ(34v), W(76), U(32r), A(10v), C(4v) (SnE)

Readings: [1] Meiðr: ‘Mei[...]r’ C;    œðri: so all others, eyðri R    [2] ‑teins: ‑reins all;    dyn: ‘d[...]’ U;    fleina: ‘flei[...]’ U    [3] hjǫrr: ‘[...]’ U;    fær: so W, ‘fæ(r)’(?) R, hefr Tˣ, ‘[…]’ U, fyr A, ferr C;    hildi‑: so Tˣ, W, A, hildum‑ R, ‘[...]’ U, hildar‑ C    [4] Sigvarði: Sigurði all

Editions: Skj AI, 79, Skj BI, 69, Skald I, 42; SnE 1848-87, I, 414-15, II, 325, 436, 585, III, 75, SnE 1931, 147, SnE 1998, I, 65.

Context: The helmingr is cited in Skm (SnE) as an example of a noun denoting ‘tree’ (meiðr) appearing as a base-word in a kenning for ‘man’.

Notes: [All]: This stanza refers to a Sigurðr jarl (see Note to st. 1/1, 2, 4), although other sources do not connect him with any warlike undertakings. — [2] morðteins ‘of the battle-twig [SWORD]’: All mss have ‑reins. But ‘reins’, which could be interpreted as hreins ‘of the reindeer’ or as m. gen. of the adj. hreinn ‘clean, pure’, does not make any sense in the present context. This edn therefore adopts the emendation ‑teins ‘of the twig’ following previous eds (SnE 1848-87, I; Skj B; Skald; SnE 1998). — [3] hildibǫrrum ‘battle-ready’: The mss give three variants: hildum bǫrrum ‘the one ready for battles’ (R), hildarbǫrrum ‘battle-ready’ as a gen. cpd (C) and hildibǫrrum ‘battle-ready’ as a cpd containing the stem-form hildi-, from hildr, f. jō-stem (Tˣ, W, A). All three variants are possible; the present edn follows the majority of mss. — [4] Sigvarði ‘Sigurðr’: For normalisation to the more archaic form of this name (Sigvarði, nom. Sigvǫrðr, rather than Sigurði), which is required by the metre, see Note to Bragi Rdr 2/3-4.

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. SnE 1848-87 = Snorri Sturluson. 1848-87. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar: Edda Snorronis Sturlaei. Ed. Jón Sigurðsson et al. 3 vols. Copenhagen: Legatum Arnamagnaeanum. Rpt. Osnabrück: Zeller, 1966.
4. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
6. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
7. Internal references
8. Edith Marold 2017, ‘Snorra Edda (Prologue, Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál)’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols [check printed volume for citation].
9. (forthcoming), ‘ Snorri Sturluson, Skáldskaparmál’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=112> (accessed 2 May 2024)
10. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Bragi inn gamli Boddason, Ragnarsdrápa 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. 30.