Rory McTurk (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Poems, Krákumál 25’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 767.
Hjuggu vér með hjörvi.
Hitt lægir mik jafnan,
at Baldrs föður bekki
búna veit ek at sumblum.
Drekkum bjór af bragði
ór bjúgviðum hausa;
sýtir ei drengr við dauða
dýrs at Fjölnis húsum.
Eigi kem ek með æðru
orð til Viðris hallar.
Hjuggu vér með hjörvi. Hitt lægir mik jafnan, at ek veit bekki {föður Baldrs} búna at sumblum. Drekkum bjór af bragði ór {bjúgviðum hausa}; drengr sýtir ei við dauða at {húsum dýrs Fjölnis}. Ek kem eigi með orð æðru til {hallar Viðris}.
‘We hewed with the sword. It always makes me laugh to know that the benches of the father of Baldr <god> [= Óðinn] are prepared for banquets. We’ll soon be drinking beer out of the curved trees of skulls [DRINKING HORNS]; a fellow does not regret death in the dwellings of glorious Fjǫlnir <= Óðinn> [= Valhǫll]. I do not come with words of fear to the hall of Viðrir <= Óðinn> [= Valhǫll]. ’
[2-4]: The present ed. agrees with Kock (NN §2156) in taking the adv. jafnan ‘always’ (l. 2) together with lægir ‘makes (me) laugh’ in the same line. Kock rejects the construal of jafnan with the p. p. búna ‘prepared’ in l. 4 adopted by Finnur Jónsson (Skj B), seeing it as an example of the tendency in Skj B to present adverbials (not least jafnan) as qualifying verbs other than those which, as he sees it, they would most naturally be expected to qualify (cf. NN §§318, 331, 1178). — [3-4]: These two lines contain an acc. and inf. construction, with bekki ‘the benches’ as the acc. subject and the verb vera ‘be’ omitted, meaning lit. ‘I know the benches … [to be] prepared’. — [5-6]: The mistranslation (originating with Magnús Ólafsson) of l. 6 (see Introduction) as ex concavis crateribus craniorum ‘from the round bowls of skulls’ in Worm’s edn of 1636 (Worm 1636, 222-3), and the preposterous accompanying comment, also presumably by Magnús (Faulkes 1993a, 104-7): Sperabant Heroes se in aula Othini bibituros craniorum quos occiderant ‘The heroes expected that in Óðinn’s hall they would drink from the skulls of those they had slain’, left their unfortunate mark on many early translations of Krm, as shown in the Introduction.
Text is based on reconstruction from the base text and variant apparatus and may contain alternative spellings and other normalisations not visible in the manuscript text. Transcriptions may not have been checked and should not be cited.
.
Hitt lægir mik jafnan,
þat Baldrs föður bekki
búna veit ek at sumblum.
Drekkum bjór af bragði
ór bjúgviðum hausa;
sýtir ei drengr við dauða
dýrs at Fjölnis húsum.
ei kem ek †med +†
orð til Viðris hallar.
.
†hitt hl(æ)[…]† †(afn)[…]†,
at †balld[...] (f)odur† bekki
búna †v(ei)t eg […] sum[…]† .
†(d[…]kum) (bi[…]r) (at)† bragði
†o(r) b[…]guidum hausa† ;
†syti (eigi drengur) f(yrir) dauda†
dýrs at †(f)ioln(is) h[…] sum†.
†eigi ke[...] eg† †med (æ)dru†
†ord til vid[...]† hallar.
Hjuggum vér með hjörvi .
Hitt lægir mik jafnan,
at Baldrs †fedur† bekki
†biuna† veit ek at sumblum.
Drekkum bjór at bragði
ór bjúgviðum hausa;
sýtir ei drengr við dauða
dýrs at Fjölnis húsum.
Eigi kem ek með æðru
orð til Viðris hallar.
Hjuggum vér með hjörvi .
Hitt lægir mik †iafnam†,
þat †balldur† föður bekki
búna veit ek at sumblum.
†drekum† bjór at bragði
ór bjúgviðum hausa;
sýtir ei drengr við dauða
dýrs at †feolins† húsum.
ei kem ek með æðru
orð til Viðris hallar.
Hjuggum vér með hjörvi .
Hitt lægir mik jafnan,
þat Baldrs †fódurz becke†
búna veit ek at sumblum.
Drekkum bjór at bragði
ór bjúgviðum hausa;
sýtir ei drengr við dauða
dýrs at †fiolius† húsum.
ei kem ek með æðru
orð til Viðris hallar.
Skj: Anonyme digte og vers [XII], H. Krákumál 25: AI, 648, BI, 655, Skald I, 320, NN §2156; Rafn 1826, 20-3, 144-7, Pfeiffer 1860, 127, CPB II, 344, Wisén 1886-9, I, 65, Krm 1891, 228, Finnur Jónsson 1893b, 90, Finnur Jónsson 1905, 156; Ragn 1906-8, 189.
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