RvHbreiðm Hl 43^III

Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Rǫgnvaldr jarl and Hallr Þórarinsson, Háttalykill 43’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1051.

text and translation

notes and context

The heading is hnúfu háttr (‘Nufo hottr’), and the verse-form has no parallel in SnSt Ht, but it occurs in later medieval claves metricae. The metre is dróttkvætt with an additional line at the end of each helmingr with internal alliteration and two words (in this case a single word used twice) that rhyme with the last word in the preceding line.

The meaning of hnúfu (nom. hnúfa) in hnúfu háttr is disputed. Jón Sigurðsson suggested ‘hump-form’, referring to the additional line added to each helmingr, whereas Finnur Jónsson (1892, 56; 1907, 203) and Magnus Olsen (1932a, 150) believed that the term could have been derived from the nickname of the skald Ǫlvir hnúfa (Ǫlv^I) ‘Snub-nose’ (?). For later attestations of the metre, see Maríulykill st. 18 (ÍM II, 216) and Háttalykill Lopts Guttormssonar sts 5, 31 (Småstykker 11, 220, 238), where it is called álagsháttr ‘extension’s form’ (see sts 79-80 below and SnSt Ht 27). Holtsmark (Hl 1941, 132-3) suggested that the metre originated as an imitation of Old French troubadour poetry, and that the refrain may have been sung (for similar refrains in troubadour poems, see Holtsmark loc. cit.). — Angantýr Heiðreksson was a legendary king and one of the main characters in Heiðreks saga (see Heiðr, FSGJ 2, 1-71; Hlǫðskviða, NK 302-12 and AngH Lv 1-11^VIII (Heiðr 93, 95-8, 106-8, 111, 118-19)). — [3-4]: Cf. SnSt Ht 45/1-2. — [9]: This line recalls Eyv Lv 1/6^I. — [10]: This line was supplied by Jón Sigurðsson and adopted by all subsequent eds. The reading is conjectural, but it can be restored with a fair amount of certainty based on the rhyme (segja : þegja) and the formulaic structure of the refrains. In papp25ˣ, there is a cross at the end of l. 9, possibly indicating that there was an additional line in Rugman’s exemplar but that he was unable to read it. That assumption is corroborated by the dots added in R683ˣ.

readings

• [5] nema: so R683ˣ, ‘mema’ papp25ˣ
• [7] hófsk: ‘host’ papp25ˣ, R683ˣ
• [8] lofa: so R683ˣ, lafa papp25ˣ
• [9] segja: ‘seggia’ papp25ˣ, R683ˣ
• [10] nema ek þegja en ek mun eigi þegja: ‘+’ papp25ˣ, ‘…’ R683ˣ

sources

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.

• Holm papp 25 8°x (papp25x) — 35r - 35r

  Frá ek Angantýs ævi
  — óð stofnak svá — góða;
  lét drjúgum brot bauga
  bjúg hertogi fljúga,
  †mema† ek ljúga, en mun eigi ljúga.
  Kannk fyr randa runnum
  — ráð †host† grams við dáðir;
  menn lafa vísa vinnur —
  veg þess konungs †seggia†,
  †+† , .

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• UppsUB R 683x (R683x) — 129v - 129v

  Frá ek Angantýs ævi
  — óð stofnak svá — góða;
  lét drjúgum brot bauga
  bjúg hertogi fljúga,
  nema ek ljúga, en mun eigi ljúga.
  Kannk fyr randa runnum
  — ráð †host† grams við dáðir;
  menn lofa vísa vinnur —
  veg þess konungs †seggia†,
  †…† , .

  images
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