Ótt Knútdr 7I
Matthew Townend (ed.) 2012, ‘Óttarr svarti, Knútsdrápa 7’ 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. 775.
Fjǫrlausa ‘lifeless’
(not checked:)
fjǫrlauss (adj.): [lifeless]
Frísi ‘the Frisians’
(not checked:)
Fríss (noun m.; °; -ir): Frisian
notes
[1] Frísi ‘the Frisians’: Either Frísir is here being used as a somewhat loose, alliteratively driven term for the English, or else this may be a reference to the Frisian population in late Anglo-Saxon London, caught up in the fighting (see Poole 1987, 274).
frið ‘Peace’
(not checked:)
friðr (noun m.): peace < friðskerðir (noun m.): peace-diminisher
kennings
Friðskerðir randa,‘Peace-breaker of shields, ’
= WARRIOR
Peace-breaker of shields, → WARRIOR
notes
[2, 4] friðskerðir randa ‘peace-breaker of shields [WARRIOR]’: I. e. ‘destroyer of the well-being of shields’. This is also assumed by previous eds; cf. other kennings referring to a man as a destroyer or damager of shields (Meissner 311). LP: friðskerðir offers the parallel friðskerðir hjǫrva ‘peace-breaker of swords’ in Hfr Lv 12/7, 8V (Hallfr 15; see also Meissner 301), though only one ms. reads frið- there while the majority form is fúr- ‘fire’. (b) A more straightforward kenning friðskerðir ‘peace-breaker’ and a syntactic arrangement into couplets as seen elsewhere in the poem are obtained if randa ‘of shields’ is emended to an instr. dat. sg. rǫndu (cf. ANG §416.2) meaning ‘by/with the shield’ and comparable with sverði ‘by/with the sword’ in st. 9/6. The parallel und skildi ‘under the shield’ in st. 9/1 indicates that Óttarr invokes shields metonymically to indicate aggressive action, not simply defensive. Under either interpretation, the density of allusions to shields in this poem is likely to be a play on Knútr’s dynastic status as a Skjǫldungr: see further Frank (1994b, 111-12).
skerðir ‘breaker’
(not checked:)
skerðir (noun m.): diminisher < friðskerðir (noun m.): peace-diminisher
kennings
Friðskerðir randa,‘Peace-breaker of shields, ’
= WARRIOR
Peace-breaker of shields, → WARRIOR
notes
[2, 4] friðskerðir randa ‘peace-breaker of shields [WARRIOR]’: I. e. ‘destroyer of the well-being of shields’. This is also assumed by previous eds; cf. other kennings referring to a man as a destroyer or damager of shields (Meissner 311). LP: friðskerðir offers the parallel friðskerðir hjǫrva ‘peace-breaker of swords’ in Hfr Lv 12/7, 8V (Hallfr 15; see also Meissner 301), though only one ms. reads frið- there while the majority form is fúr- ‘fire’. (b) A more straightforward kenning friðskerðir ‘peace-breaker’ and a syntactic arrangement into couplets as seen elsewhere in the poem are obtained if randa ‘of shields’ is emended to an instr. dat. sg. rǫndu (cf. ANG §416.2) meaning ‘by/with the shield’ and comparable with sverði ‘by/with the sword’ in st. 9/6. The parallel und skildi ‘under the shield’ in st. 9/1 indicates that Óttarr invokes shields metonymically to indicate aggressive action, not simply defensive. Under either interpretation, the density of allusions to shields in this poem is likely to be a play on Knútr’s dynastic status as a Skjǫldungr: see further Frank (1994b, 111-12).
þik ‘you’
(not checked:)
þú (pron.; °gen. þín, dat. þér, acc. þik): you
[2] þik: þeir with þér in margin JÓ, 873ˣ, þeir 20dˣ, 41ˣ
gerðu ‘made’
(not checked:)
1. gera (verb): do, make
brauzt ‘you destroyed’
(not checked:)
brjóta (verb; °brýtr; braut, brutu; brotinn): to break, destroy
með ‘with’
(not checked:)
með (prep.): with
byggðu ‘inhabited’
(not checked:)
2. byggja (verb; °byggir/byggvir; byggði; byggðr): inhabit, dwell; build, found
setri ‘settlement’
(not checked:)
setr (noun n.; °-s; -): seat, abode
Brandfurðu ‘Brentford’
(not checked:)
Brandfurða (noun f.): [Brentford]
notes
[4] Brandfurðu ‘Brentford’: In Middlesex (OE Bregentford), scene of a major battle in 1016 (see ASC s. a.).
randa ‘of shields’
(not checked:)
rǫnd (noun f.; °dat. -/-u; rendr/randir): shield, shield-rim
kennings
Friðskerðir randa,‘Peace-breaker of shields, ’
= WARRIOR
Peace-breaker of shields, → WARRIOR
notes
[2, 4] friðskerðir randa ‘peace-breaker of shields [WARRIOR]’: I. e. ‘destroyer of the well-being of shields’. This is also assumed by previous eds; cf. other kennings referring to a man as a destroyer or damager of shields (Meissner 311). LP: friðskerðir offers the parallel friðskerðir hjǫrva ‘peace-breaker of swords’ in Hfr Lv 12/7, 8V (Hallfr 15; see also Meissner 301), though only one ms. reads frið- there while the majority form is fúr- ‘fire’. (b) A more straightforward kenning friðskerðir ‘peace-breaker’ and a syntactic arrangement into couplets as seen elsewhere in the poem are obtained if randa ‘of shields’ is emended to an instr. dat. sg. rǫndu (cf. ANG §416.2) meaning ‘by/with the shield’ and comparable with sverði ‘by/with the sword’ in st. 9/6. The parallel und skildi ‘under the shield’ in st. 9/1 indicates that Óttarr invokes shields metonymically to indicate aggressive action, not simply defensive. Under either interpretation, the density of allusions to shields in this poem is likely to be a play on Knútr’s dynastic status as a Skjǫldungr: see further Frank (1994b, 111-12).
Játmundar ‘of Eadmund’
(not checked:)
Játmundr (noun m.): Edmund, Eadmund
kennings
Gǫfugr ættniðr Játmundar‘The noble descendant of Eadmund ’
= Edmund Ironside
The noble descendant of Eadmund → Edmund Ironside
notes
[6-7] ættniðr Játmundar ‘the descendant of Eadmund [= Eadmund Ironside]’: The person referred to by the kenning as a whole is (somewhat confusingly) Eadmund Ironside, though English sources do not record Eadmund as suffering wounds in a battle near Brentford (if the two helmingar refer to the same event). But there are two candidates for the Eadmund who is his ancestor, and determinant of the kenning: the king of East Anglia martyred by vikings in 869, and the king of England from 939-46. Both are plausible: Knútr’s devotion to the cult of S. Eadmund (see Lawson 1993, 142-3) might suggest it is the saint who is being invoked, while Óttarr’s allusion to Eadgar in st. 3/6 indicates that he was familiar with the royal house of Wessex. Eadmund Ironside was indeed the descendant of the tenth-century king, but not of the ninth-century martyr; however, kinship need not be literal in honorific locutions such as this. The same kenning occurs in Ótt Hfl 13/6, 8 as niðja Játmundar ‘kinsman of Eadmund’, but there refers to Æthelred.
undir ‘wounds’
(not checked:)
1. und (noun f.; °; -ir): wound
ættniðr ‘descendant’
(not checked:)
ættniðr (noun m.): [descendant]
kennings
Gǫfugr ættniðr Játmundar‘The noble descendant of Eadmund ’
= Edmund Ironside
The noble descendant of Eadmund → Edmund Ironside
notes
[6-7] ættniðr Játmundar ‘the descendant of Eadmund [= Eadmund Ironside]’: The person referred to by the kenning as a whole is (somewhat confusingly) Eadmund Ironside, though English sources do not record Eadmund as suffering wounds in a battle near Brentford (if the two helmingar refer to the same event). But there are two candidates for the Eadmund who is his ancestor, and determinant of the kenning: the king of East Anglia martyred by vikings in 869, and the king of England from 939-46. Both are plausible: Knútr’s devotion to the cult of S. Eadmund (see Lawson 1993, 142-3) might suggest it is the saint who is being invoked, while Óttarr’s allusion to Eadgar in st. 3/6 indicates that he was familiar with the royal house of Wessex. Eadmund Ironside was indeed the descendant of the tenth-century king, but not of the ninth-century martyr; however, kinship need not be literal in honorific locutions such as this. The same kenning occurs in Ótt Hfl 13/6, 8 as niðja Játmundar ‘kinsman of Eadmund’, but there refers to Æthelred.
gǫfugr ‘The noble’
(not checked:)
gǫfugr (adj.; °gǫfgan/gǫfugan; compar. gǫfgari/gǫfugri, superl. gǫfgastr/gǫfugstr/gǫfugastr): noble, glorious
kennings
Gǫfugr ættniðr Játmundar‘The noble descendant of Eadmund ’
= Edmund Ironside
The noble descendant of Eadmund → Edmund Ironside
hættar ‘dangerous’
(not checked:)
hættr (adj.; °compar. -ari/-ri, superl. -astr): dangerous
[6] hættar: hættir all
notes
[6] hættar ‘dangerous’: Emendation seems necessary to make the adj. agree grammatically with undir (f. acc. pl.) ‘wounds’ and is adopted in all eds.
danskr ‘the Danish’
(not checked:)
danskr (adj.): Danish
herr ‘army’
(not checked:)
herr (noun m.; °-s/-jar, dat. -; -jar, gen. -ja/herra): army, host
skaut ‘pierced’
(not checked:)
skjóta (verb): shoot
þá ‘then’
(not checked:)
2. þá (adv.): then
dǫrrum ‘spears’
(not checked:)
dǫrr (noun m.): spear
drótt ‘the host’
(not checked:)
1. drótt (noun f.): troop
þú ‘you’
(not checked:)
þú (pron.; °gen. þín, dat. þér, acc. þik): you
flótta ‘the fleeing’
(not checked:)
flótti (noun m.): flight, fleeing
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
The stanza is quoted after a brief account of Knútr’s attack on Brandfurða (Brentford).
[1-4]: Some emendation is necessary here. The ms. reading þeir in l. 2 suggests that scribes interpreted gerðu as a pret. pl., whereas modern eds instead take it as a past inf. All eds emend þeir in l. 2 and þér in l. 4 to þar ‘there’ and þik ‘you’, but differ as to which should be which. Skj B and Skald prefer to emend þeir to þar and þér to þik, while Knýtl 1919-25 and ÍF 35 emend þeir to þik and þér to þar. The latter seems preferable on account of a more compact syntax, and is adopted here, though þar may seem a little redundant alongside Brandfurðu.
Stanza/chapter/text segment
Use the buttons at the top of the page to navigate between stanzas in a poem.
Information tab
- text: if the stanza has been published, the edited text of the stanza and translation are here; if it hasn't been published an old edition (usually Skj) is given for reference
- sources: a list of the manuscripts or inscriptions containing this stanza, with page and line references and links (eye button) to images where available, and transcription where available
- readings: a list of variant manuscript readings of words in the main text
- editions and texts: a list of editions of the stanza with links to the bibliography; and a list of prose works in which the stanza occurs, allowing you to navigate within the prose context
- notes and context: notes not linked to individual words are given here, along with the account of the prose context for the stanza, where relevant
Interactive tab
The text and translation are given here, with buttons to toggle whether the text is shown in the verse order or prose word order. Clicking on indiviudal words gives dictionary links, variant readings, kennings and notes, where relevant.
Full text tab
This is the text of the edition in a similar format to how the edition appears in the printed volumes.
Chapter/text segment
This view is also used for chapters and other text segments. Not all the headings shown are relevant to such sections.