RvHbreiðm Hl 71^III

Óláfr rauð í éli
Yggjar slíðra bryggjur;
veitk, at vísi átti
víða brynju hríðir.
Hirð réð gramr í Gǫrðum
gleðja þursa kveðju
fœddr, en fylki studdu
fróðan sygnskar þjóðir.

Óláfr rauð {bryggjur slíðra} í {éli Yggjar}; veitk, at vísi átti {hríðir brynju} víða. Gramr, fœddr í Gǫrðum, réð gleðja hirð {kveðju þursa}, en sygnskar þjóðir studdu fróðan fylki.

Óláfr reddened {bridges of scabbards} [SWORDS] in {the hailstorm of Yggr <= Óðinn>} [BATTLE]; I know that the lord had {storm-winds of the byrnie} [BATTLES] far and wide. The ruler, raised in Russia, gladdened the retinue {with the greeting of giants} [GOLD], and the people of Sogn supported the sagacious leader.

Mss: papp25ˣ(40r), R683ˣ(133r)

Readings: [3] vísi: vísir papp25ˣ, R683ˣ    [8] sygnskar: ‘sijnscar’ papp25ˣ, ‘Synscar’ R683ˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 526, Skj BI, 505, Skald I, 248; Hl 1941, 32, 90.

Context: There is no heading, but the metre corresponds to SnSt Ht 30 (draugsháttr ‘ghost’s verse-form’ or ‘trunk’s verse-form’). This is a dróttkvætt-variant in which the even lines are trochaic (Type A) with hendingar in metrical positions 1 and 5.

Notes: [All]: Even lines of Type A are quite common in dróttkvætt poetry. It is not clear why lines with a regular, trochaic beat or rhythm would be labelled ‘ghost’s verse-form’ or ‘trunk’s verse-form’. — [All]: The king commemorated is Óláfr Tryggvason, king of Norway (r. 995-1000; see ÓT, ÓTOdd, ÍF 26, 225-372, ÍF 29, 141-62, Anon Nkt 19-22^II and his Biography in SkP I). — [2] bryggjur slíðra ‘bridges of scabbards [SWORDS]’: This is given variously as a kenning for ‘shield’ or ‘sword’ in LP (bryggja; 1. slíðr), but would appear to mean ‘sword’ in the present context. The referent ‘sword’ can be explained by the use of ‘bridge’ as a variation of ‘piece of wood’ which is qualified by ‘scabbard’. — [3] vísi ‘the lord’: See Note to st. 19/3. — [5] í Gǫrðum ‘in Russia’: Refers to Novgorod, north-western Russia (see Note to Hharð Gamv 1/7-8^II). Óláfr was born in Norway, but raised in Russia (see ÓTHkr chs. 6-9, ÍF 26, 230-2). — [6] kveðju þursa ‘with the greeting of giants [GOLD]’: This kenning for ‘gold’ alludes to a myth briefly described in Skm in which a giant’s wealth is measured in mouthfulls (see SnE 1998, I, 3 and Note to Anon Bjark 5/8). By extension, this base-word pattern could refer to words/speech that issue from the mouth. — [8] sygnskar ‘of Sogn’: The ms. spelling of this word (‘sijnscar’ papp25ˣ; ‘Synscar’ R683ˣ) must have resulted from the loss of medial [g] in Rugman’s exemplar (see Note to st. 69/5). Sogn is a district in western Norway. Sveinbjörn Egilsson (SnE 1848, 246) retains the R683ˣ reading (normalised as synskar), which he takes as a variant form of sœnskar ‘Swedish’. That ethnic adj. makes no sense in the context, however (see st. 72 below).

References

1. Bibliography
2. SnE 1848 = Sveinbjörn Egilsson, ed. 1848. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar, eða Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál og Háttatal. Reykjavík: Prentsmiðja landsins.
3. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. LP = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1931. Lexicon poeticum antiquæ linguæ septentrionalis: Ordbog over det norsk-islandske skjaldesprog oprindelig forfattet af Sveinbjörn Egilsson. 2nd edn. Copenhagen: Møller.
5. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
6. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
7. ÍF 29 = Ágrip af Nóregskonunga sǫgum; Fagrskinna—Nóregs konungatal. Ed. Bjarni Einarsson. 1985.
8. Hl 1941 = Jón Helgason and Anne Holtsmark, eds. 1941. Háttalykill enn forni. BA 1. Copenhagen: Munksgaard.
9. SkP I = Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Ed. Diana Whaley. 2012.
10. Internal references
11. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Poems, Bjarkamál in fornu 5’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 502.
12. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta’ 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. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=60> (accessed 20 April 2024)
13. (forthcoming), ‘ Oddr Snorrason, Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar by Oddr Snorrason’ 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. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=66> (accessed 20 April 2024)
14. (forthcoming), ‘ Snorri Sturluson, Skáldskaparmál’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=112> (accessed 20 April 2024)
15. Diana Whaley 2012, ‘(Biography of) Óláfr Tryggvason’ 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. 383.
16. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Anonymous Poems, Nóregs konungatal 19’ 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, p. 774.
17. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Haraldr harðráði Sigurðarson, Gamanvísur 1’ 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, p. 36.
18. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Snorri Sturluson, Háttatal 30’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1136.