Mark Eirdr 28II
Jayne Carroll (ed.) 2009, ‘Markús Skeggjason, Eiríksdrápa 28’ 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. 457-8.
Hildingr ‘ruler’
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hildingr (noun m.; °; -ar): king, ruler
þá ‘received’
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þiggja (verb): receive, get
við ‘along with’
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2. við (prep.): with, against
hæst ‘the highest’
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3. hár (adj.; °-van; compar. hǽrri, superl. hǽstr): high
lof ‘praise’
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lof (noun n.; °-s; -): praise, leave, permission
aldar ‘of men’
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ǫld (noun f.; °; aldir): people, age
hǫfgan ‘weighty’
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hǫfugr (adj.; °acc. hǫfgan, compar. hǫfgari): heavy, difficult
auð ‘wealth’
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1. auðr (noun m.; °-s/-ar, dat. -i/-): wealth
í ‘in’
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í (prep.): in, into
gulli ‘gold’
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gull (noun n.): gold
rauðu ‘red’
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rauðr (adj.; °compar. -ari): red
halfa ‘half’
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halfr (adj.): half
notes
[3] halfa lest ‘half a lest’: A lest was a unit of measurement, about 1250 kg in weight. According to Knýtl (ÍF 35, 237), Alexios gave Eiríkr the choice between receiving the gift of the gold and getting the opportunity to watch the games in the hippodrome. Because Eiríkr was getting short of money, he chose the gold. When Alexios later made a similar offer to the Norw. king Sigurðr jórsalafari ‘Jerusalem-farer’ Magnússon, Sigurðr chose the games because he, in the words of Knýtl, fór þá heimleiðis ok hafði þá lokit inum mesta fékostnaði í ferð sinni ‘was then on his way back home and most of the expenses for his journey had then come to an end’. For Alexios’s offer to Sigurðr, see ÍF 28, 253 and Mork 1928-32, 349-50. It could well be that the inclusion of this episode in Knýtl, which shows verbal correspondences with Hkr and Mork, was prompted by the gold mentioned in this st. The gold is also mentioned by Saxo (2005, II, 12, 7, 5, pp. 80-3).
lest ‘a lest’
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2. lest (noun f.; °; -ir): a lest
notes
[3] halfa lest ‘half a lest’: A lest was a unit of measurement, about 1250 kg in weight. According to Knýtl (ÍF 35, 237), Alexios gave Eiríkr the choice between receiving the gift of the gold and getting the opportunity to watch the games in the hippodrome. Because Eiríkr was getting short of money, he chose the gold. When Alexios later made a similar offer to the Norw. king Sigurðr jórsalafari ‘Jerusalem-farer’ Magnússon, Sigurðr chose the games because he, in the words of Knýtl, fór þá heimleiðis ok hafði þá lokit inum mesta fékostnaði í ferð sinni ‘was then on his way back home and most of the expenses for his journey had then come to an end’. For Alexios’s offer to Sigurðr, see ÍF 28, 253 and Mork 1928-32, 349-50. It could well be that the inclusion of this episode in Knýtl, which shows verbal correspondences with Hkr and Mork, was prompted by the gold mentioned in this st. The gold is also mentioned by Saxo (2005, II, 12, 7, 5, pp. 80-3).
af ‘from’
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af (prep.): from
harra ‘the lord’
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1. harri (noun m.; °-a): lord
sjǫlfum ‘himself’
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sjalfr (adj.): self
harða ‘The very’
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harðr (adj.; °comp. -ari; superl. -astr): hard, harsh
[4] harða: harðla 180b
notes
[4] vitr ‘wise’: Ríkr ‘powerful’ (so 180b and 20b II), which is adopted in Skj B and Skald, is an acceptable alternative.
í ‘in’
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í (prep.): in, into
Miklagarði ‘Constantinople’
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Miklagarðr (noun m.): [Constantinople]
Áðan ‘Previously’
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áðan (adv.): before
tók ‘accepted’
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2. taka (verb): take
við ‘’
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2. við (prep.): with, against
allvalds ‘of the mighty ruler’
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allvaldr (noun m.; °-s; -ar): mighty ruler
notes
[5] klæðum ‘clothes’: 180b and 20b II offer the alternative skrúði ‘apparel’, preferred by both Skj B and Skald.
notes
[6] Eirekr (m. nom. sg.) ‘Eiríkr’: So 873ˣ, 180b, 20b II. Taken here as the subject of the first cl. of the second helmingr. So also Skald, but Kock retains the 180b variant þó at gefit var fleira ‘although more was given’, which is unmetrical (requiring resolution on the third lift and full stress on the adv. þó as part of the conj. þó at ‘although’). Eireki (m. dat. sg., so JÓ) could function as the dat. object of the second cl.: þó vas fleira gefit Eireki ‘yet even more was given to Eiríkr’ (so earlier eds except Skald). However, the JÓ reading looks like a syntactic simplification, and the neutralisation on the last two syllables of the name (required by the metre) would be highly irregular in C12th hrynhent.
vas ‘was’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
[6] þó vas gefit: at gefit var 180b
fleira ‘even more’
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fleiri (adj. comp.; °superl. flestr): more, most
reynir ‘the trier’
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2. reynir (noun m.): tester
kennings
reynir máttar hersa‘the trier of the might of hersar ’
= RULER = Byzantine emperor
the trier of the might of hersar → RULER = Byzantine emperor
veitti ‘granted’
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2. veita (verb): grant, give
herskip ‘warships’
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herskip (noun n.): warship
notes
[7, 8] sex ok átta herskip ‘six and eight warships’: The emperor’s gift of warships is also mentioned by Saxo (2005, II, 12, 7, 6, pp. 82-3), but the number is not specified.
hônum ‘him’
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hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...
hersa ‘of hersar’
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hersir (noun m.; °-is; -ar): cheiftan
kennings
reynir máttar hersa‘the trier of the might of hersar ’
= RULER = Byzantine emperor
the trier of the might of hersar → RULER = Byzantine emperor
máttar ‘of the might’
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máttr (noun m.; °-ar, dat. mǽtti/mátt; mǽttir, dat. -um): power
kennings
reynir máttar hersa‘the trier of the might of hersar ’
= RULER = Byzantine emperor
the trier of the might of hersar → RULER = Byzantine emperor
sex ‘six’
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sex (num. cardinal): six
notes
[7, 8] sex ok átta herskip ‘six and eight warships’: The emperor’s gift of warships is also mentioned by Saxo (2005, II, 12, 7, 6, pp. 82-3), but the number is not specified.
ok ‘and’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
notes
[7, 8] sex ok átta herskip ‘six and eight warships’: The emperor’s gift of warships is also mentioned by Saxo (2005, II, 12, 7, 6, pp. 82-3), but the number is not specified.
átta ‘eight’
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átta (num. cardinal): eight
notes
[7, 8] sex ok átta herskip ‘six and eight warships’: The emperor’s gift of warships is also mentioned by Saxo (2005, II, 12, 7, 6, pp. 82-3), but the number is not specified.
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
The very wise ruler received along with the highest praise of men weighty wealth in red gold, half a lest, from the lord himself in Constantinople. Previously Eiríkr accepted the clothes of the mighty ruler; yet even more was given; the trier of the might of hersar [RULER = Byzantine emperor] granted him six and eight warships.
The reception that Eiríkr received from Emperor Alexios when he arrived in Constantinople.
For Eiríkr’s splendid reception by the Byzantine emperor, see also Saxo (2005, II, 12, 7, 1-6, pp. 78-83). It is interesting that his stay in Constantinople is not documented at all in contemporary Gk sources (see ÍF 35, 238 n. 1).
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