Mark Eirdr 24II
Jayne Carroll (ed.) 2009, ‘Markús Skeggjason, Eiríksdrápa 24’ 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. 453-4.
Blíðan ‘the pleasant’
(not checked:)
blíðr (adj.; °n. sg. nom. & acc. blítt/blíðt; compar. -ari, superl. -astr): gentle, happy
[1] Blíðan: blíðum 180b
kennings
blíðan hlýra Bjarnar‘the pleasant brother of Bjǫrn ’
= Eiríkr
the pleasant brother of Bjǫrn → Eiríkr
gœddi ‘endowed’
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gœða (verb): endow
bjǫrtum ‘with bright’
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bjartr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): bright
auði ‘wealth’
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1. auðr (noun m.; °-s/-ar, dat. -i/-): wealth
Bjarnar ‘of Bjǫrn’
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2. Bjǫrn (noun m.): Bjǫrn
kennings
blíðan hlýra Bjarnar‘the pleasant brother of Bjǫrn ’
= Eiríkr
the pleasant brother of Bjǫrn → Eiríkr
notes
[2] hlýri Bjarnar ‘the brother of Bjǫrn [= Eiríkr]’: According to Saxo (2005, II, 12, 3, 6, pp. 70-1), Bjǫrn Sveinsson, Eiríkr’s brother, was murdered at a legal assembly in southern Denmark. For hlýri ‘brother’, see Note to st. 10/1 above.
hlýra ‘brother’
(not checked:)
hlýri (noun m.): brother
kennings
blíðan hlýra Bjarnar‘the pleasant brother of Bjǫrn ’
= Eiríkr
the pleasant brother of Bjǫrn → Eiríkr
notes
[2] hlýri Bjarnar ‘the brother of Bjǫrn [= Eiríkr]’: According to Saxo (2005, II, 12, 3, 6, pp. 70-1), Bjǫrn Sveinsson, Eiríkr’s brother, was murdered at a legal assembly in southern Denmark. For hlýri ‘brother’, see Note to st. 10/1 above.
Frakklands ‘of France’
(not checked:)
Frakkland (noun n.): [France]
kennings
Stýrir Frakklands‘The ruler of France ’
= Philip I
The ruler of France → Philip I
notes
[2] stýrir Frakklands ‘the ruler of France [= Philip I]’: Philip ruled 1052-1108. Foote (1975, 70-1 and n. 50) equates this ruler with Emperor Henry IV (see Note to l. 4 below). While Foote’s argumentation is persuasive, the Knýtl prose does make a distinction between the two here, and that distinction is maintained in the present edn. Frakkland denoted the kingdom of the Franks, which did not extend as far east as modern France. Foote (1975, 69) defines Frakkland as ‘the territory which to the west and north-west was bordered by Valland (Normandy and the lower Seine region), Flæmingjaland (Flanders), Frísland (Frisia), to the north-east by Saxland and to the south-east by Langbarðaland (Lombardy)’.
stýrir ‘The ruler’
(not checked:)
stýrir (noun m.): ruler, controller
kennings
Stýrir Frakklands‘The ruler of France ’
= Philip I
The ruler of France → Philip I
notes
[2] stýrir Frakklands ‘the ruler of France [= Philip I]’: Philip ruled 1052-1108. Foote (1975, 70-1 and n. 50) equates this ruler with Emperor Henry IV (see Note to l. 4 below). While Foote’s argumentation is persuasive, the Knýtl prose does make a distinction between the two here, and that distinction is maintained in the present edn. Frakkland denoted the kingdom of the Franks, which did not extend as far east as modern France. Foote (1975, 69) defines Frakkland as ‘the territory which to the west and north-west was bordered by Valland (Normandy and the lower Seine region), Flæmingjaland (Flanders), Frísland (Frisia), to the north-east by Saxland and to the south-east by Langbarðaland (Lombardy)’.
stórar ‘the great’
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stórr (adj.): large, great
sér ‘himself’
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sik (pron.; °gen. sín, dat. sér): (refl. pron.)
randgarðs ‘of the shield-wall’
(not checked:)
randgarðr (noun m.): shield-wall
kennings
rýrir randgarðs‘the diminisher of the shield-wall ’
= WARRIOR
the diminisher of the shield-wall → WARRIOR
notes
[3] randgarðs ‘of the shield-wall’: See Note to st. 18/1 above.
rýrir ‘the diminisher’
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rýrir (noun m.): diminsher, destroyer
kennings
rýrir randgarðs‘the diminisher of the shield-wall ’
= WARRIOR
the diminisher of the shield-wall → WARRIOR
ríks ‘of the powerful’
(not checked:)
ríkr (adj.): mighty, powerful, rich
kennings
ríks keisara.‘of the powerful emperor. ’
= Henry IV
the powerful emperor. → Henry IV
notes
[4] ríks keisara ‘of the powerful emperor’: The saga assumes that this emperor is Henry IV, although the poem itself does not make this explicit.
keisara ‘emperor’
(not checked:)
keisari (noun m.; °-a; -ar): emperor
kennings
ríks keisara.‘of the powerful emperor. ’
= Henry IV
the powerful emperor. → Henry IV
notes
[4] ríks keisara ‘of the powerful emperor’: The saga assumes that this emperor is Henry IV, although the poem itself does not make this explicit.
gjafir ‘gifts’
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gjǫf (noun f.): gift
líka ‘pleased with’
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2. líka (adv.): likewise, also
Hônum ‘him’
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hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...
til ‘for’
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til (prep.): to
hervígs ‘battle’
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hervíg (noun n.): warfare
kennings
Spjalli harra‘The companion of lords ’
= RULER = Henry IV
The companion of lords → RULER = Henry IV
spjalli ‘The companion’
(not checked:)
spjalli (noun m.): confidant
kennings
Spjalli harra‘The companion of lords ’
= RULER = Henry IV
The companion of lords → RULER = Henry IV
láðmenn ‘guides’
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láðmaðr (noun m.): guide
notes
[6] láðmenn ‘guides’: Attested in poetry with certainty only here, and apparantly a loanword from OE lāðmann ‘guide’ (see LP: láðmaðr).
leið ‘the way’
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leið (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -u/-; -ir/-ar): path, way
áðr ‘before’
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áðr (adv.; °//): before
ǫðlingr ‘the noble leader’
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ǫðlingr (noun m.; °; -ar): prince, ruler
kennings
ǫðlingr grundar Jóta‘the noble leader of the land of the Jótar ’
= Eiríkr
the land of the Jótar → Denmark
the noble leader of DENMARK → Eiríkr
næði ‘was able to’
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1. ná (verb): reach, get, manage
Jóta ‘of the Jótar’
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Jóti (noun m.; °; -ar): one of the Jótar
kennings
ǫðlingr grundar Jóta‘the noble leader of the land of the Jótar ’
= Eiríkr
the land of the Jótar → Denmark
the noble leader of DENMARK → Eiríkr
Jóta ‘of the Jótar’
(not checked:)
Jóti (noun m.; °; -ar): one of the Jótar
kennings
ǫðlingr grundar Jóta‘the noble leader of the land of the Jótar ’
= Eiríkr
the land of the Jótar → Denmark
the noble leader of DENMARK → Eiríkr
grundar ‘of the land’
(not checked:)
grund (noun f.): earth, land
kennings
ǫðlingr grundar Jóta‘the noble leader of the land of the Jótar ’
= Eiríkr
the land of the Jótar → Denmark
the noble leader of DENMARK → Eiríkr
grundar ‘of the land’
(not checked:)
grund (noun f.): earth, land
kennings
ǫðlingr grundar Jóta‘the noble leader of the land of the Jótar ’
= Eiríkr
the land of the Jótar → Denmark
the noble leader of DENMARK → Eiríkr
Césars ‘Caesar’
notes
[8] Césars ‘Caesar’: The Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081-1118).
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
The ruler of France [= Philip I] endowed the pleasant brother of Bjǫrn [= Eiríkr] with bright wealth; the diminisher of the shield-wall [WARRIOR] found himself pleased with the great gifts of the powerful emperor [= Henry IV]. The companion of lords [RULER = Henry IV] gave him brave guides, ready for battle, all the way, before the noble leader of the land of the Jótar [= Denmark > = Eiríkr] was able to meet Caesar.
This st. is cited after the narrative of Eiríkr’s decision to go to Jerusalem, to support the saga’s account of gifts received from the Frankish king and Eiríkr’s renewed good terms with the Saxon emperor Henry IV.
Knýtl (ÍF 35, 232-3) provides no overt motivation for Eiríkr’s decision to embark on a journey to Jerusalem. According to Saxo (2005, II, 12, 6, 1-4, pp. 74-7), Eiríkr, a man of exceptional physical strength, had, at a moment of temporary insanity induced by a lyre-playing minstrel, killed four of his retainers. When he came to his senses, he decided to go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to atone for his sins. A veiled reference to the reasons behind Eiríkr’s pilgrimage is provided in st. 26/1-4 below. — [5]: 20b I ends with the first element of the cpd her-.
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