Mark Lv 2^III

The helmingr (Mark Lv 2) is found in mss R (main ms.), Tˣ, A, B (and 744ˣ) of Skm (SnE), and it is attributed to Markús in all mss. Nothing is known about the circumstances that prompted the composition of this half-stanza, but it bears all the marks of being a lausavísa.

Sœgs munk síðr an eigi
— sás illr, es brag spillir —
sólar sverri málan,
slíðráls regin, níða.

Munk síðr an eigi níða {málan sverri {sólar sœgs}}, {regin {slíðráls}}; sá, es spillir brag, [e]s illr.

I shall by no means deride {the prattling flinger {of the sun of the sea}} [GOLD > GENEROUS MAN], {gods {of the scabbard-eel}} [SWORD > WARRIORS]; the one who spoils a praise poem is wicked.

Mss: R(38v), Tˣ(40r), A(13v), B(6r), 744ˣ(37r), C(8r) (SnE)

Readings: [2] sás illr es brag spillir (‘sa er illr er brag spillir’): ‘[…]’ B, ‘s . er illr er brag spiller’ 744ˣ    [3] sólar sverri málan: ‘[…]lar suerri m[…]’ B, ‘solar suerrí mala’ 744ˣ    [4] regin níða: ‘[…]n […]iða’ B, ‘regín vida’ 744ˣ, regin niðja C

Editions: Skj AI, 453, Skj BI, 421, Skald I, 208; SnE 1848-87, I, 506-7, II, 453, 536, 602, III, 106, SnE 1931, 177, SnE 1998, I, 97.

Context: Sœgr (lit. ‘noisy one, restless one’) is given in Skm as one of many heiti for ‘sea’.

Notes: [1] síðr an eigi ‘by no means’: Lit. ‘lesser than not’. — [3] málan (m. acc. sg.) ‘prattling’: The adj. máll ‘prattling, talkative, chatty’ is otherwise attested only as the second element of compounds (see LP: máll). It is formed from the noun mál n. ‘speech’. — [4] regin slíðráls ‘gods of the scabbard-eel [SWORD > WARRIORS]’: Taken here as a form of address in keeping with Skj B and Skald (although both eds emend to sg. reginn; see the next Note). Faulkes (SnE 1998) construes the kenning as the subject of the intercalary clause in l. 2, which is possible only if the m. nom. sg. reginn is adopted as the base-word. — [4] regin ‘gods’: All mss have regin n. pl. ‘gods’, which has been retained in the present edn. Earlier eds emend silently to reginn m. nom. sg., but it is not quite clear to whom or what this base-word refers. Reginn is the name of a legendary smith and a dwarf (see Note to Þul Dverga 6/4). Finnur Jónsson (LP: reginn) also gives reginn as a common noun meaning ‘wielder’, but Meissner argues that the m. sg. common noun may have been derived from the n. pl. regin ‘gods’ and that reginn means ‘god’ (see Meissner 264, SnE 1998, II, 374 and Notes to Þjóð Haustl 12/6 and Glúmr Gráf 4/6^I). — [4] níða ‘deride’: In the present context and juxtaposed to brag ‘praise poem’ (l. 2), this verb most likely refers to poetic verbal derision (see, e.g., Þjsk Jarl^I). The sense of this helmingr seems to be that, although Markús feels the urge to belittle his prattling opponent, he refrains from doing so because poetry, according to him, ought to be used for praise and not for punishment (see also the discussion in SnE 1998, I, 217).

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. 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. 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. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
8. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
9. Internal references
10. 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].
11. (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 25 April 2024)
12. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Dverga heiti 6’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 704.
13. Kate Heslop 2012, ‘ Þorleifr jarlsskáld Rauðfeldarson, Jarlsníð’ 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. 372. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1448> (accessed 25 April 2024)
14. Alison Finlay (ed.) 2012, ‘Glúmr Geirason, Gráfeldardrápa 4’ 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. 252.
15. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Markús Skeggjason, Lausavísur 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. 297.
16. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Þjóðólfr ór Hvini, Haustlǫng 12’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 449.