Anon Krm 19VIII
Rory McTurk (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Poems, Krákumál 19’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 755.
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 m 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 m 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 m 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 m h.’ R702ˣ
Háðum ‘We engaged in’
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2. heyja (verb): fight, wage (battle)
sverðs ‘of the sword’
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sverð (noun n.; °-s; -): sword
[2] sverðs: so R702ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, suðr 1824b, ‘sud(ur)’(?) 147, ‘sudur’ with ‘suerds’ in margin 6ˣ
kennings
leik sverðs‘the game of the sword ’
= BATTLE
the game of the sword → BATTLE
notes
[2] sverðs ‘of the sword’: The present ed. follows the example of Finnur Jónsson (1893b; 1905; Skj B) and Kock (Skald) in adopting this reading here in preference to the reading suðr ‘southwards, in the south’, adopted in all eds prior to Finnur (1893b). Sverðs provides the determinant required to form the battle-kenning leik sverðs ‘the game of the sword [BATTLE]’.
at ‘in’
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3. at (prep.): at, to
morni ‘the morning’
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morn (noun f.): morning
[2] morni: ‘(morni)’(?) 147, ‘morni’ with ‘mordi W.’ in margin 6ˣ, ‘mordi’ R702ˣ, LR, R693ˣ
leik ‘the game’
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1. leikr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -/-i; -ar): sport, play
[3] leik: ‘l[…]ik’ 147
kennings
leik sverðs‘the game of the sword ’
= BATTLE
the game of the sword → BATTLE
fyr ‘off’
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fyr (prep.): for, over, because of, etc.
[3] fyr: ‘[…]’ 147, á R702ˣ, LR, R693ˣ
notes
[3] fyr Lindiseyri ‘off Lindiseyrr’: Lindis- in this p. n. is reminiscent of two major English place-names, and the final element is dat. sg. of eyrr ‘a bank or spit of sand or gravel running into a river or sea’. The wording of the stanza makes it difficult to identify a specific location for Lindiseyrr, except that the spilling of Irish blood in l. 9 is presumably located there. (a) One possibility is Lindsey in North Lincolnshire, cf. Langenfelt (1920, 84 n. 1). The final element in the name Lindsey appears to derive from OE ēg (cf. ON ey) ‘island’, either directly or as a reformation (Watts 2004, 374; early spellings have variable endings but begin with Lindis-, Lindes-). This could have been replaced in a Norse form of the name by ‑eyrr. However, the reference to Irish blood in l. 9 of the present stanza makes an English location unlikely. (b) Rafn (1826, 135, following Johnstone 1782, 81) mentions Lindisfarne (now Holy Island), a tidal island off the coast of Northumberland, as a possible location. The name has traditionally been taken to mean ‘island of the travellers to and from Lindsey’, though other interpretations are possible (see Coates 2000; Watts 2004, 374; early spellings include Lindisfarnae 699-705, in a copy c. 900). The monastery was founded by Irish monks c. 635. (c) With the Irishmen of l. 9 in mind, Johnstone (1782, 81, 108) and Rafn (1826, 135) suggest the Irish province of Leinster as a possible location for Lindiseyrr, but the Irish name for it, the Old Irish ethnonym Laigin, ModIr. Laighin, seems too remote from Lindiseyrr in spelling and pronunciation to have formed the basis of the latter name.
notes
[3] fyr Lindiseyri ‘off Lindiseyrr’: Lindis- in this p. n. is reminiscent of two major English place-names, and the final element is dat. sg. of eyrr ‘a bank or spit of sand or gravel running into a river or sea’. The wording of the stanza makes it difficult to identify a specific location for Lindiseyrr, except that the spilling of Irish blood in l. 9 is presumably located there. (a) One possibility is Lindsey in North Lincolnshire, cf. Langenfelt (1920, 84 n. 1). The final element in the name Lindsey appears to derive from OE ēg (cf. ON ey) ‘island’, either directly or as a reformation (Watts 2004, 374; early spellings have variable endings but begin with Lindis-, Lindes-). This could have been replaced in a Norse form of the name by ‑eyrr. However, the reference to Irish blood in l. 9 of the present stanza makes an English location unlikely. (b) Rafn (1826, 135, following Johnstone 1782, 81) mentions Lindisfarne (now Holy Island), a tidal island off the coast of Northumberland, as a possible location. The name has traditionally been taken to mean ‘island of the travellers to and from Lindsey’, though other interpretations are possible (see Coates 2000; Watts 2004, 374; early spellings include Lindisfarnae 699-705, in a copy c. 900). The monastery was founded by Irish monks c. 635. (c) With the Irishmen of l. 9 in mind, Johnstone (1782, 81, 108) and Rafn (1826, 135) suggest the Irish province of Leinster as a possible location for Lindiseyrr, but the Irish name for it, the Old Irish ethnonym Laigin, ModIr. Laighin, seems too remote from Lindiseyrr in spelling and pronunciation to have formed the basis of the latter name.
lofðunga ‘chieftains’
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lofðungr (noun m.; °; -ar): king, leader
[4] lofðunga: ‘[…]fd(unga) […]’(?) 147, ‘lofdinnga’ R693ˣ
notes
[4] þrenna lofðunga ‘three chieftains’: These chieftains cannot be identified.
þrenna ‘three’
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þrennr (adj.): three(fold)
[4] þrenna: so 6ˣ, R702ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, om. 1824b, 147
notes
[4] þrenna lofðunga ‘three chieftains’: These chieftains cannot be identified.
Fár ‘Hardly anyone’
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3. fár (adj.; °compar. fǽrri/fárri(Mág² 11), superl. fǽstr): few
[5] Fár: ‘f(a)r’(?) 147
notes
[5] fár ‘hardly anyone’: Lit. ‘few’ (sg.).
átti ‘could’
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2. eiga (verb; °á/eigr (præs. pl. 3. pers. eigu/eiga); átti, áttu; átt): own, have
[5] átti: náði R702ˣ, LR, R693ˣ
í ‘into’
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í (prep.): in, into
[6] í gin vargi: so R702ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, í gin úlfi 1824b, ‘[…] gin […]’ 147, ‘i gin vlfe’ with ‘varge W’ in margin 6ˣ
gin ‘gaping mouth’
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gin (noun n.): [mouth, jaws]
[6] í gin vargi: so R702ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, í gin úlfi 1824b, ‘[…] gin […]’ 147, ‘i gin vlfe’ with ‘varge W’ in margin 6ˣ
vargi ‘the wolf’s’
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vargr (noun m.; °dat. -i; -ar): wolf
[6] í gin vargi: so R702ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, í gin úlfi 1824b, ‘[…] gin […]’ 147, ‘i gin vlfe’ with ‘varge W’ in margin 6ˣ
notes
[6, 7] vargi; úlfi ‘wolf; wolf’: The ms. readings seem to allow for these two words to be positioned either in the order given here or in reverse order; all previous eds up to and including Finnur Jónsson (1893b) have úlfi in l. 6 and vargi in l. 7. The ordering followed here and in subsequent previous eds is marginally preferable insofar as it imparts aðalhending to l. 6.
haukr ‘the hawk’
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1. haukr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-; -ar): hawk
[7] haukr: ‘h(a)ukr’(?) 147
með ‘along with’
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með (prep.): with
úlfi ‘the wolf’
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1. ulfr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): wolf
[7] úlfi: so R702ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, vargi 1824b, ‘(vargi)’(?) 147, ‘varge’ with ‘vlfe W.’ in margin 6ˣ
notes
[6, 7] vargi; úlfi ‘wolf; wolf’: The ms. readings seem to allow for these two words to be positioned either in the order given here or in reverse order; all previous eds up to and including Finnur Jónsson (1893b) have úlfi in l. 6 and vargi in l. 7. The ordering followed here and in subsequent previous eds is marginally preferable insofar as it imparts aðalhending to l. 6.
at ‘that’
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4. at (conj.): that
heill ‘unharmed’
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3. heill (adj.; °heilan; compar. heilli, superl. -astr/-str): healthy, hale, hail
þaðan ‘from there’
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þaðan (adv.): from there
kæmi ‘he came back’
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koma (verb; kem, kom/kvam, kominn): come
[8] kæmi (‘kęmi’): ‘[…]æmi’ 147, kvæmist R702ˣ, LR, R693ˣ
notes
[9-10] ærit blóð ‘abundant blood’: So all eds. A conceivable alternative would be to take ærit as adverbial, modifying fell ‘fell’ in l. 10.
notes
[9-10] ærit blóð ‘abundant blood’: So all eds. A conceivable alternative would be to take ærit as adverbial, modifying fell ‘fell’ in l. 10.
notes
[10] um skæru ‘during the battle’: This is interpreted as um skæro (normalised um skæru) ‘at dawn’ (CPB). In poetry up to 1250, if not later, the rhyme skæru : ærit (earlier œrit) would have been half rhyme (skothending) rather than the full rhyme (aðalhending) that would be expected in an even-numbered line. Full rhyme is provided by skæru ‘battle’ (earlier skœru), though it may be noted that l. 9, where skothending might be expected, shows no example of either skothending or aðalhending. Cf. the remarks in the Introduction on the use of hendingar in Krm.
skæru ‘the battle’
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1. skœra (noun f.; °; -ur): fight, conflict
[10] skæru: so 6ˣ, ‘[...]ke[...]v’ 1824b, ‘(sk)[...]’(?) 147, ‘skieru’ R702ˣ, ‘skiru’ LR, ‘Skiæru’ R693ˣ
notes
[10] um skæru ‘during the battle’: This is interpreted as um skæro (normalised um skæru) ‘at dawn’ (CPB). In poetry up to 1250, if not later, the rhyme skæru : ærit (earlier œrit) would have been half rhyme (skothending) rather than the full rhyme (aðalhending) that would be expected in an even-numbered line. Full rhyme is provided by skæru ‘battle’ (earlier skœru), though it may be noted that l. 9, where skothending might be expected, shows no example of either skothending or aðalhending. Cf. the remarks in the Introduction on the use of hendingar in Krm.
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
We hewed with the sword. We engaged in the game of the sword [BATTLE] in the morning with three chieftains off Lindiseyrr. Hardly anyone could rejoice that he came back from there unharmed; many a man fell into the wolf’s gaping mouth; the hawk, along with the wolf, tore flesh. Abundant blood of the Irish flowed into the sea during the battle.
In 147, R702ˣ, LR, R693ˣ and 6ˣ the present stanza and st. 20 appear in reverse order. — [6]: This line shows some verbal similarities to ESk Geisl 29/7, 8VII, where the sentence vargar ginðu of hræ ‘wolves gaped over carrion’ occurs, cf. de Vries (1964-7, II, 40 n. 68). — [8]: All mss have at hann heill þaðan kæmi, but the extrametrical hann has been deleted here, as in most eds (e.g. Skj B and Skald).
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