RvHbreiðm Hl 30^III

Jǫfri vasat aldrklifs
akarn við sverðs brak
— stillir vakði stál*gǫll —
stalldræpt snjǫllum.
Hvǫssu réð hugarsess
— hildar vas sá gramr mildr —
í branda brakvind
baugnjótr grjóti.

{Akarn {aldrklifs}} snjǫllum jǫfri vasat stalldræpt við {brak sverðs}; stillir vakði {stál*gǫll}. {Baugnjótr} réð {hvǫssu grjóti {hugarsess}} í {brakvind branda}; sá gramr vas mildr hildar.

{The acorn {of the life-cliff}} [BREAST > HEART] of the brave prince was not terror-struck by {the crash of the sword} [BATTLE]; the ruler stirred up {a sword-roar} [BATTLE]. {The ring-user} [MAN] commanded {a sharp stone {of the mind-seat}} [BREAST > HEART] in {the crash-wind of blades} [BATTLE]; that lord was generous with battle.

Mss: papp25ˣ(33r), R683ˣ(128r-v)

Readings: [1] vasat: var at papp25ˣ, R683ˣ;    aldrklifs: aldrklif papp25ˣ, R683ˣ    [3] stál*‑: stall papp25ˣ, R683ˣ    [8] grjóti: so R683ˣ, ‘griőtte’ papp25ˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 517-18, Skj BI, 494, Skald I, 242; Hl 1941, 24, 65.

Context: As st. 29 above. In this stanza, ll. 1, 3 and 5 correspond structurally to Snorri’s náhent or hálfhnept, ll. 2, 6-7 are hálfhnept and l. 8 is náhent or stúfhent. Line 4 is an approximate náhent line, with the first internal rhyme in position 1 rather than in position 2 (i.e. hnugghent ‘deprived-rhymed’, Ht 76).

Notes: [1] aldrklifs (n. gen. sg.) ‘of the life-cliff’: Aldrklif (n. nom. or acc. sg./pl.) has been emended (with all previous eds) to the gen. to provide a determinant for the base-word akarn ‘acorn’ (l. 2). Note the rhyme jǫfri : aldrklifs (see st. 29/3). — [3] stál*- ‘a sword-’: Lit. ‘a steel-’. So all earlier eds. The ms. reading ‘stall’ could be rendered either as stál- ‘sword-’ or as stáls ‘sword’s’, the latter assuming that a long <s> was misread as <l>. It is also possible that ‘stall’ was caused by stalldræpt ‘terror-struck’ in l. 4 (so Holtsmark, Hl 1941, 106). — [4] stalldræpt ‘terror-struck’: This word occurs only here and in Arn Hryn 12/8^II. It was possibly coined by Arnórr (see Note to Arn Hryn 12/7, 8^II), the C11th poet who eulogised the jarls of Orkney. See also drepa stall ‘tremble with fear’ in Eil Þdr 11/1, 4. — [5] réð ‘commanded’: Cf. st. 29/1. — [7] brakvind branda ‘the crash-wind of blades [BATTLE]’: This kenning is hyperdetermined (see Note to st. 29/7). — [8] baugnjótr ‘the ring-user [MAN]’: Baug- ‘ring’ can also denote ‘shield’ (pars pro toto), in which case ‘shield-user’ would be a kenning for ‘warrior’.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
3. Hl 1941 = Jón Helgason and Anne Holtsmark, eds. 1941. Háttalykill enn forni. BA 1. Copenhagen: Munksgaard.
4. Internal references
5. Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Arnórr jarlaskáld Þórðarson, Hrynhenda, Magnússdrápa 12’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 197-8.
6. Edith Marold (ed.) 2017, ‘Eilífr Goðrúnarson, Þórsdrápa 11’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 99.
7. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Snorri Sturluson, Háttatal 73’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1184.