Anon Krm 15VIII
Rory McTurk (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Poems, Krákumál 15’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 747.
Hjuggu ‘hewed’
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hǫggva (verb): to strike, put to death, cut, hew
[1] Hjuggu vér með hjörvi: abbrev. as ‘Hiug. ver m. h᷎.’ 1824b, (?) abbrev. as ‘[…] v(’) m(’) h(’)’ 147, Hjuggum vér með hjörvi 6ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, abbrev. as ‘H v med h:’ R702ˣ
vér ‘We’
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vér (pron.; °gen. vár, dat./acc. oss): we, us, our
[1] Hjuggu vér með hjörvi: abbrev. as ‘Hiug. ver m. h᷎.’ 1824b, (?) abbrev. as ‘[…] v(’) m(’) h(’)’ 147, Hjuggum vér með hjörvi 6ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, abbrev. as ‘H v med h:’ R702ˣ
með ‘with’
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með (prep.): with
[1] Hjuggu vér með hjörvi: abbrev. as ‘Hiug. ver m. h᷎.’ 1824b, (?) abbrev. as ‘[…] v(’) m(’) h(’)’ 147, Hjuggum vér með hjörvi 6ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, abbrev. as ‘H v med h:’ R702ˣ
hjörvi ‘the sword’
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hjǫrr (noun m.): sword
[1] Hjuggu vér með hjörvi: abbrev. as ‘Hiug. ver m. h᷎.’ 1824b, (?) abbrev. as ‘[…] v(’) m(’) h(’)’ 147, Hjuggum vér með hjörvi 6ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, abbrev. as ‘H v med h:’ R702ˣ
Herþjófi ‘Herþjófr’
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Herþjófr (noun m.)
[2] Herþjófi varð auðit: ‘[...] (uard audit)’(?) 147
notes
[2] Herþjófi ‘Herþjófr’: Herþjófr, lit. ‘Army-thief’, is a figure of legend of whom nothing is known, except that this name is one of those applied in Frið 36/3 by Friðþjófr, the hero of that saga, to himself, when replying in disguise to King Hringr of Ringerike’s inquiry as to his name; and it is also the name of a grandson of this Friðþjófr, Herþjófr Húnþjófsson, a king of Hǫrðaland (Hordaland) who in Gautr chs 3-5 (FSGJ 4, 11-26) kills King Haraldr of Agðir (Agder).
varð ‘was’
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1. verða (verb): become, be
[2] Herþjófi varð auðit: ‘[...] (uard audit)’(?) 147
auðit ‘granted’
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auðinn (adj.; °compar. auðnari): fated, decreed
[2] Herþjófi varð auðit: ‘[...] (uard audit)’(?) 147
notes
[3] í sjálfum Suðreyjum ‘in the Hebrides themselves’: The Suðreyjar, lit. ‘South Islands’, here in the dat., and so called, according to LP: Suðreyjar, because of their perceived geographical location in relation to that of the Orkneys, are the Hebrides.
Suðreyjum ‘the Hebrides’
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Suðreyjar (noun f.): [Hebrides]
[3] í Suðreyjum sjálfum: ‘(j sudureyium sialf)[…]’(?) 147
notes
[3] í sjálfum Suðreyjum ‘in the Hebrides themselves’: The Suðreyjar, lit. ‘South Islands’, here in the dat., and so called, according to LP: Suðreyjar, because of their perceived geographical location in relation to that of the Orkneys, are the Hebrides.
sjálfum ‘themselves’
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sjalfr (adj.): self
[3] í Suðreyjum sjálfum: ‘(j sudureyium sialf)[…]’(?) 147
notes
[3] í sjálfum Suðreyjum ‘in the Hebrides themselves’: The Suðreyjar, lit. ‘South Islands’, here in the dat., and so called, according to LP: Suðreyjar, because of their perceived geographical location in relation to that of the Orkneys, are the Hebrides.
sigrs ‘victory’
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sigr (noun m.; °sigrs/sigrar, dat. sigri; sigrar): victory
[4] sigrs á órum mönnum: ‘[...] monnum’ 147
órum ‘our’
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várr (pron.; °f. ór/vár; pl. órir/várir): our
[4] sigrs á órum mönnum: ‘[...] monnum’ 147
Varð ‘had’
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1. verða (verb): become, be
í ‘in’
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í (prep.): in, into
[5] í: so R702ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, at 1824b, ‘(j)’(?) 147, at with ‘j W.’ in margin 6ˣ
notes
[5] í regni randar ‘in the rain of the shield [BATTLE]’: There is little to choose here between the readings at ‘at’ adopted by all eds prior to Finnur Jónsson (1893b) and í ‘in’, adopted in that and all subsequent eds, including the present. The latter reading, conveying the idea of ‘in the rain …’ is perhaps marginally more appropriate in the present instance, given the base-word regn ‘rain’ in the kenning.
randar ‘of the shield’
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rǫnd (noun f.; °dat. -/-u; rendr/randir): shield, shield-rim
[5] randar: ‘[...]dar’ 147, randa R702ˣ, R693ˣ, ‘rauda’ LR
kennings
regni randar;‘the rain of the shield; ’
= BATTLE
the rain of the shield; → BATTLE
notes
[5] í regni randar ‘in the rain of the shield [BATTLE]’: There is little to choose here between the readings at ‘at’ adopted by all eds prior to Finnur Jónsson (1893b) and í ‘in’, adopted in that and all subsequent eds, including the present. The latter reading, conveying the idea of ‘in the rain …’ is perhaps marginally more appropriate in the present instance, given the base-word regn ‘rain’ in the kenning.
kennings
regni randar;‘the rain of the shield; ’
= BATTLE
the rain of the shield; → BATTLE
notes
[5] í regni randar ‘in the rain of the shield [BATTLE]’: There is little to choose here between the readings at ‘at’ adopted by all eds prior to Finnur Jónsson (1893b) and í ‘in’, adopted in that and all subsequent eds, including the present. The latter reading, conveying the idea of ‘in the rain …’ is perhaps marginally more appropriate in the present instance, given the base-word regn ‘rain’ in the kenning.
Rögnvaldr ‘Rǫgnvaldr’
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Rǫgnvaldr (noun m.): Rǫgnvaldr
[6] Rögnvaldr: ‘rr[…]g[…]lldur’ 147
notes
[6] Rögnvaldr ‘Rǫgnvaldr’: This Rǫgnvaldr is almost certainly to be identified with the Rǫgnvaldr presented in the 1824b text of Ragn (and in all likelihood the 147 text also, see Ragn 1906-8, 180, 183) as the youngest of Ragnarr’s sons by his wife Áslaug (before the birth of their son Sigurðr, born after his death) and as dying heroically at Hvítabœr (Whitby in Yorkshire or Vitaby in Skåne, see Ragn 7/4, 6 and Note there); he is not mentioned at all in RagnSon and in Saxo’s account is mentioned only once as one of Ragnarr’s three sons by his wife Suanlogha who are too young to wield weapons (Saxo 2015, I, ix. 4. 17, pp. 644-5). His likely historical prototype is Rægnald, the viking king of York from 919 until his death in 921 (Stenton 1971, 333, 338; cf. Downham 2007, 91-5). If so, he cannot historically have been a son of Reginheri (d. 845), Ragnarr’s likely historical prototype, though he may have been a grandson of Imhar (d. 873), the viking king of Dublin who is himself a likely prototype of Ragnarr’s son Ívarr (McTurk 1991a, 99, 111; Downham 2007, 1-9, 29). The brevity of Rægnald’s reign in York (919-21) perhaps explains the emphasis on his youth in Ragn and by Saxo. In Krm, however, he is described, as will be evident, neither as a son of Ragnarr, nor as young, and as having died neither at Whitby nor at Vitaby, but in the Hebrides. It has been argued that Krm reflects here the western branch, spreading in the direction of the Hebrides, of an originally Northumbrian tradition of Rægnald, the eastern branch of which, reflected in Ragn and Saxo’s account, spread independently to Norway and Iceland by way of Denmark (McTurk 1991a, 98-114). For a modified version of this view, see Rowe (2012, 176).
fyrir ‘’
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fyrir (prep.): for, before, because of
[6] fyrir: so 147, 6ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, ‘fyrrr’ 1824b, fyr or fyrir R702ˣ
sá ‘that’
[7] sá kom hæstr: ‘sa k(o)m h[…]ur’(?) 147
kom ‘came’
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koma (verb; kem, kom/kvam, kominn): come
[7] sá kom hæstr: ‘sa k(o)m h[…]ur’(?) 147
hæstr ‘greatest’
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hœgri (adj. comp.): higher, highest
[7] sá kom hæstr: ‘sa k(o)m h[…]ur’(?) 147
of ‘upon’
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3. of (prep.): around, from; too
[7] of hölða (‘of haulda’): ‘[...] h[...]vllda’(?) 147, yfir hauka R702ˣ, LR, R693ˣ
hölða ‘men’
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hǫlðr (noun m.; °-s; -ar): man
[7] of hölða (‘of haulda’): ‘[...] h[...]vllda’(?) 147, yfir hauka R702ˣ, LR, R693ˣ
harmr ‘sorrow’
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1. harmr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): sorrow, grief
[8] harmr: so 6ˣ, R702ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, ‘harrm’ 1824b, ‘har[...]’ 147
kennings
gusti sverða.‘the breeze of swords. ’
= BATTLE
the breeze of swords. → BATTLE
notes
[7] gusti sverða ‘the breeze of swords [BATTLE]’: This kenning arguably finds a close parallel in Hfr ErfÓl 12/6I, where one of the variant readings of the kenning sverðjalmr ‘sword-screech [BATTLE]’, seems to point to the form sverðgustr ‘sword-breeze’ as a battle-kenning; cf. LP: sverðgustr, and de Vries (1964-7, II, 40 n. 68).
kennings
gusti sverða.‘the breeze of swords. ’
= BATTLE
the breeze of swords. → BATTLE
notes
[7] gusti sverða ‘the breeze of swords [BATTLE]’: This kenning arguably finds a close parallel in Hfr ErfÓl 12/6I, where one of the variant readings of the kenning sverðjalmr ‘sword-screech [BATTLE]’, seems to point to the form sverðgustr ‘sword-breeze’ as a battle-kenning; cf. LP: sverðgustr, and de Vries (1964-7, II, 40 n. 68).
Hvast ‘vigorously’
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hvass (adj.; °-an; -ari, -astr): keen, sharp
[9] Hvast kastaði hristir: ‘huas(t) [...]’(?) 147
kastaði ‘propelled’
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1. kasta (verb): throw
[9] Hvast kastaði hristir: ‘huas(t) [...]’(?) 147
hristir ‘The shaker’
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hristir (noun m.): shaker
[9] Hvast kastaði hristir: ‘huas(t) [...]’(?) 147
kennings
Hristir hjálms‘The shaker of the helmet ’
= WARRIOR
The shaker of the helmet → WARRIOR
hjálms ‘of the helmet’
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1. hjalmr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): helmet
[10] hjálms: so R702ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, almr 1824b, ‘[…](lmur)’(?) 147, ‘almur’ with ‘hialms W. fors. alms’ in margin 6ˣ
kennings
Hristir hjálms‘The shaker of the helmet ’
= WARRIOR
The shaker of the helmet → WARRIOR
strengflaugar ‘of the bowstring’s groove’
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strengflaug (noun f.)
[10] strengflaugar: ‘strenglaugar’ 1824b, 6ˣ, R702ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, ‘stre(ng)[…]’(?) 147
kennings
pálmi strengflaugar.‘the palm-tree of the bowstring’s groove. ’
= ARROW
the palm-tree of the bowstring’s groove. → ARROW
notes
[10] pálmi strengflaugar ‘the palm-tree of the bowstring’s groove [ARROW]’: (a) The present ed. emends the mss’ ‘strenglaugar’ to strengflaugar, proposed by Falk (1923, 88), who was evidently following Sveinbjörn Egilsson (see Rafn 1826, 127; LP (1860): strenglög f.; cf. also Valdimar Ásmundarson (Krm 1891) and Kock (Skald)). The bowstring’s groove (strengflaug) is the notch in an arrow for the bow-string; this sense is attested in Eindr (Flat 1860-8, I, 463; ONP: strengflaug). (b) Earlier eds (Rafn 1826, Pfeiffer 1860 and those of CPB) read strenglögar, evidently taking this (see Pfeiffer 1860, 317) as gen. sg. of strenglög f. ‘groove (in a bow) for a bowstring’, examples of which, however, are hard to find, and which would in any case give less good sense than if the groove in the tail end of an arrow were what was meant. (c) The emendation to strenglágar, gen. sg. of strenglág f. ‘notch in arrow for bowstring’ adopted by Finnur Jónsson (1893b; 1905; Skj B; LP: strenglôg; cf. also Meissner 147), is hardly acceptable in that sense, since its second element, -lág f. is well attested in the sense ‘felled tree, log’; it is rejected by Falk (1923a, 88), and cf. Kock (NN §2155). On the possible Christian implications of the word pálmr ‘palm-tree’ here (when considered in relation to sts 11/5-7 and 18/7-8), see the discussion of Olsen (1933a) in the Introduction.
kennings
pálmi strengflaugar.‘the palm-tree of the bowstring’s groove. ’
= ARROW
the palm-tree of the bowstring’s groove. → ARROW
notes
[10] pálmi strengflaugar ‘the palm-tree of the bowstring’s groove [ARROW]’: (a) The present ed. emends the mss’ ‘strenglaugar’ to strengflaugar, proposed by Falk (1923, 88), who was evidently following Sveinbjörn Egilsson (see Rafn 1826, 127; LP (1860): strenglög f.; cf. also Valdimar Ásmundarson (Krm 1891) and Kock (Skald)). The bowstring’s groove (strengflaug) is the notch in an arrow for the bow-string; this sense is attested in Eindr (Flat 1860-8, I, 463; ONP: strengflaug). (b) Earlier eds (Rafn 1826, Pfeiffer 1860 and those of CPB) read strenglögar, evidently taking this (see Pfeiffer 1860, 317) as gen. sg. of strenglög f. ‘groove (in a bow) for a bowstring’, examples of which, however, are hard to find, and which would in any case give less good sense than if the groove in the tail end of an arrow were what was meant. (c) The emendation to strenglágar, gen. sg. of strenglág f. ‘notch in arrow for bowstring’ adopted by Finnur Jónsson (1893b; 1905; Skj B; LP: strenglôg; cf. also Meissner 147), is hardly acceptable in that sense, since its second element, -lág f. is well attested in the sense ‘felled tree, log’; it is rejected by Falk (1923a, 88), and cf. Kock (NN §2155). On the possible Christian implications of the word pálmr ‘palm-tree’ here (when considered in relation to sts 11/5-7 and 18/7-8), see the discussion of Olsen (1933a) in the Introduction.
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
We hewed with the sword. Herþjófr was granted victory over our men in the Hebrides themselves. Rǫgnvaldr had to yield in the rain of the shield [BATTLE]; that greatest sorrow came upon men in the breeze of swords [BATTLE]. The shaker of the helmet [WARRIOR] vigorously propelled the palm-tree of the bowstring’s groove [ARROW].
[2-4]: The word order of these lines makes it highly unlikely that the def. adj. sjálfum is to be taken either as m. dat. sg. ‘himself’ and referring to Herþjófi in l. 2 or as referring in the dat. pl. to mönnum órum ‘our men’, viz. ‘our own men’ in l. 4. Konráð Gíslason (Nj 1875-89, II, 324 n. 292) favoured the latter possibility while rejecting the former, and Finnur Jónsson (Skj B), with his translation vore egne mænd ‘our own men’, followed suit. The present ed. cannot agree with Konráð that taking the adj. sjálfum ‘themselves’ with Suðreyjum ‘the Hebrides’ gives ingen antagelig mening ‘no satisfactory meaning’. ‘In the Hebrides themselves’ makes good sense, as Olsen (1935, 79) recognised, assuming a Hebridean provenance for the poem’s composition, as discussed in the Introduction. See further Note to l. 3 below.
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