RvHbreiðm Hl 59III
Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Rǫgnvaldr jarl and Hallr Þórarinsson, Háttalykill 59’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1068.
text and translation
Haraldr kunni gný gerva
(gekk hilmis lið vekja)
— menn ruðu geir at gunni —
(gráp smíðaðra vápna)
— háði herr við prýði
hjǫrþing með dǫglingi,
hinns skyndi* byr branda —
bendags inn hárfagri.
Haraldr inn hárfagri kunni gerva {gný {bendags}}; lið hilmis gekk vekja {gráp smíðaðra vápna}; menn ruðu geir at gunni; herr háði {hjǫrþing} við prýði með dǫglingi, hinns skyndi* {byr branda}.
‘Haraldr inn hárfagri (‘the Fair-haired’) could create clamour of the wound-daylight [SWORD > BATTLE]; the troop of the ruler went to stir up a hail-storm of forged weapons [BATTLE]; men reddened the spear in battle; the army waged sword-assemblies [BATTLES] with honour alongside the leader, the one who hastened the fair breeze of blades [BATTLE]. ’
notes and context
The heading is langlokum (‘Lang lokom’) ‘with late closures’ (cf. SnSt Ht 14). The metre is dróttkvætt, and it is characterised by the syntactic peculiarity that the clause beginning in l. 1 is concluded in l. 8. Otherwise attested in Old Norse poetry only in sts 59-60 of Hl and Ht 14.
Haraldr hárfagri ‘Fair-hair’ Hálfdanarson (HhárfI) was the consolidator of Norway (r. c. 860-932). The poem now begins to commemorate the (historical) kings of Norway. The topic of this and the next stanza is the famous battle of Hafrsfjorden (c. 885-90), after which the victorious Haraldr gained sovereignty over all of Norway (see HhárfHkr ch. 18, ÍF 26, 114-17; ÍF 29, 66-70; Þhorn Harkv 1-12I; Þhorn GldrI; Anon Nkt 3-9II). See also his Biography in SkP I. — [1, 8]: Repeated as st. 60/1, 8 below, which gives the impression that the poets consciously attempted to create the effect of a refrain reminiscent of the repetition of the first line in all of the stanzas of Anon KrmVIII, Hjoggum vér með hjǫrvi ‘We struck with the sword’; see Holtsmark, Hl 1941, 133-4. — [5]: The line recalls Hskv Útdr 11/3II.
readings
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) — 37r - 37r
Haraldr kunni gný gerva
images
(gekk hilmis lið vekja)
— menn ruðu geir at gunni —
(gráp smíðaðra vápna)
— háði herr við prýði
hjǫrþing með dǫglingi,
hinns skyndir byr branda —
bendags inn hárfagri. -
UppsUB R 683x (R683x) — 131v - 131v
Haraldr kunni gný gerva
images
(gekk hilmis lið vekja)
— menn ruðu geir at gunni —
(gráp smíðaðra vápna)
— háði herr við prýði
hjǫrþing með dǫglingi,
hinns †scijndr† byr branda —
bendags inn hárfagri.
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