Anon Krm 4^VIII

Hjuggu ‘hewed’

(not checked:)
hǫggva (verb): to strike, put to death, cut, hew

[1] Hjuggu vér með hjörvi: abbrev. as ‘Hiug. ver med h᷎.’ 1824b, Hjuggum vér með hjörvi 6ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, abbrev. as ‘H. v. m. h.’ R702ˣ

vér ‘We’

(not checked:)
vér (pron.; °gen. vár, dat./acc. oss): we, us, our

[1] Hjuggu vér með hjörvi: abbrev. as ‘Hiug. ver med h᷎.’ 1824b, Hjuggum vér með hjörvi 6ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, abbrev. as ‘H. v. m. h.’ R702ˣ

með ‘with’

(not checked:)
með (prep.): with

[1] Hjuggu vér með hjörvi: abbrev. as ‘Hiug. ver med h᷎.’ 1824b, Hjuggum vér með hjörvi 6ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, abbrev. as ‘H. v. m. h.’ R702ˣ

hjörvi ‘the sword’

(not checked:)
hjǫrr (noun m.): sword

[1] Hjuggu vér með hjörvi: abbrev. as ‘Hiug. ver med h᷎.’ 1824b, Hjuggum vér með hjörvi 6ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, abbrev. as ‘H. v. m. h.’ R702ˣ

Heðins ‘of Heðinn’

(not checked:)
2. Heðinn (noun m.): [Heðinn, champions]

[2] Heðins kvánar: so R702ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, ‘heidíns kvanarr’ 1824b, ‘Heidnis kvanar’ with ‘Hiedins’ in margin 6ˣ

kennings

notes

[2] kvánar Heðins ‘the woman of Heðinn <legendary hero> [= Hildr (hildr ‘battle’)]’: The allusion is to Hildr, the legendary instigator of the everlasting fight between her abductor, Heðinn Hjarrandason, and her father Hǫgni; the story of the fight, known as Hjaðningavíg ‘the battle of Heðinn’s followers’, is told in Skm (SnE 1998, I, 72), and is alluded to in RvHbreiðm Hl 45-6^III and elsewhere (see Chesnutt 1968, 130-1; cf. also Gizsv Lv/6^I and Hfr ErfÓl 24/4^I). Cf. Note to st. 10/7 and first Note to st. 13/4 below. The name Hildr also occurs as a valkyrie-name and as a poetic common noun for ‘battle’. Through the device ofljóst, lit. ‘excessively clear’, the kenning for Hildr is to be understood here as ‘battle’.

kvánar ‘The woman’

(not checked:)
kván (noun f.; °-ar): wife

[2] Heðins kvánar: so R702ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, ‘heidíns kvanarr’ 1824b, ‘Heidnis kvanar’ with ‘Hiedins’ in margin 6ˣ

kennings

notes

[2] kvánar Heðins ‘the woman of Heðinn <legendary hero> [= Hildr (hildr ‘battle’)]’: The allusion is to Hildr, the legendary instigator of the everlasting fight between her abductor, Heðinn Hjarrandason, and her father Hǫgni; the story of the fight, known as Hjaðningavíg ‘the battle of Heðinn’s followers’, is told in Skm (SnE 1998, I, 72), and is alluded to in RvHbreiðm Hl 45-6^III and elsewhere (see Chesnutt 1968, 130-1; cf. also Gizsv Lv/6^I and Hfr ErfÓl 24/4^I). Cf. Note to st. 10/7 and first Note to st. 13/4 below. The name Hildr also occurs as a valkyrie-name and as a poetic common noun for ‘battle’. Through the device ofljóst, lit. ‘excessively clear’, the kenning for Hildr is to be understood here as ‘battle’.

varð ‘was’

(not checked:)
1. verða (verb): become, be

notes

[2] varð auðit ‘was at hand’: The line as whole means ‘battle was vouchsafed’, i.e. ‘battle took place’.

auðit ‘at hand’

(not checked:)
auðinn (adj.; °compar. auðnari): fated, decreed

[2] auðit: ‘andit’ LR, R693ˣ

notes

[2] varð auðit ‘was at hand’: The line as whole means ‘battle was vouchsafed’, i.e. ‘battle took place’.

þá ‘when’

(not checked:)
2. þá (adv.): then

er ‘’

(not checked:)
2. er (conj.): who, which, when

vér ‘we’

(not checked:)
vér (pron.; °gen. vár, dat./acc. oss): we, us, our

[3] vér: om. 6ˣ, R702ˣ, LR, R693ˣ

Helsingja ‘the people of Hälsingland’

(not checked:)
helsingi (noun m.; °; -jar, dat. -um): [geese]

[3] Helsingja: ‘helsingin’ LR

notes

[3] Helsingja ‘the people of Hälsingland’: The area in question extended in the Viking Age northwards from the modern province of Hälsingland (located in central Sweden just north of Gästrikland in the south-east of the Norrland region), round the Gulf of Bothnia, and southwards as far as the river Oulu in what is now Finland (Orling 1995, 116-17).

heimtum ‘brought’

(not checked:)
2. heimta (verb)

til ‘to’

(not checked:)
til (prep.): to

heimsala ‘the dwellings’

(not checked:)
heimsalr (noun m.)

[4] heimsala: heimsala with ‘Heimdala’ in margin 6ˣ

kennings

notes

[4] heimsala Óðins ‘the dwellings of Óðinn <god> [= Valhǫll]’: Valhǫll, where the god Óðinn, also known as Valfǫðr ‘Father of the Slain’, welcomes all who fall in battle, is described in Gylf (SnE 2005, 21, 32-4). Cf. st. 28, Note to l. 9, below, and also sts 25 and 29, and Notes there.

Óðins ‘of Óðinn’

(not checked:)
Óðinn (noun m.): Óðinn

kennings

notes

[4] heimsala Óðins ‘the dwellings of Óðinn <god> [= Valhǫll]’: Valhǫll, where the god Óðinn, also known as Valfǫðr ‘Father of the Slain’, welcomes all who fall in battle, is described in Gylf (SnE 2005, 21, 32-4). Cf. st. 28, Note to l. 9, below, and also sts 25 and 29, and Notes there.

Lögðum ‘We proceeded’

(not checked:)
leggja (verb): put, lay

upp ‘up’

(not checked:)
upp (adv.): up

notes

[5] upp í Ívu ‘up the Ífa <river>’: This name is spelt Ífu by Rafn (1826), Pfeiffer (1860), Wisén (1886-9) and Valdimar Ásmundarson (Krm 1891). The combination of adv. and prep. indicates, together with the word á ‘river’ in l. 8, that a river is here in question, although it cannot be identified. A river of the same name, also unidentified, is mentioned in OStór 7/8, and may also be referred to in Egill Lv 26/1^V (Eg 33); see Note there. Bugge (in Rygh 1897-1936, VIII, 179), sees Ífa f. as related to the word ýr m. ‘yew (tree)’, and as originally the name of the river, now named Frøysåna, that runs past the farms named Ivedal and Iveland in the Iveland county of the Nedenes province (now Aust-Agder) in south-eastern Norway, the first element in these two farm names being formed, according to Bugge, from Ífu, the gen. sg. of the river-name. Olsen on the other hand (in Rygh 1897-1936, X, 56-7), sees these two farm names, and Ivesdal in Stavanger (now Rogaland), as more probably containing nouns (ívi n. or ívir m.) referring to yew-trees as such. He also derives Ífing f., the name of the mythical river which, according to Vafþr 16/1-3, divides the realm of the gods from that of the giants, and which never freezes, from the same root. An alternative possibility, mentioned by Olsen (cf. also ÍO: Ífa, Ífing), is that the river-names are related to MHG ifer, ModGer. Eifer ‘zeal, fervour’, and that the idea of a river with a fiercely flowing current lies behind them. The ‘modo’, ‘moþo’ readings of 1824b and 6ˣ give the form móðu (acc. sg. of móða f. ‘(large, sluggish) river’). However, this reading can be excluded because it does not provide a second alliterating stave on the fifth syllable of an odd line (Gade 1995a, 4).

í ‘the’

(not checked:)
í (prep.): in, into

notes

[5] upp í Ívu ‘up the Ífa <river>’: This name is spelt Ífu by Rafn (1826), Pfeiffer (1860), Wisén (1886-9) and Valdimar Ásmundarson (Krm 1891). The combination of adv. and prep. indicates, together with the word á ‘river’ in l. 8, that a river is here in question, although it cannot be identified. A river of the same name, also unidentified, is mentioned in OStór 7/8, and may also be referred to in Egill Lv 26/1^V (Eg 33); see Note there. Bugge (in Rygh 1897-1936, VIII, 179), sees Ífa f. as related to the word ýr m. ‘yew (tree)’, and as originally the name of the river, now named Frøysåna, that runs past the farms named Ivedal and Iveland in the Iveland county of the Nedenes province (now Aust-Agder) in south-eastern Norway, the first element in these two farm names being formed, according to Bugge, from Ífu, the gen. sg. of the river-name. Olsen on the other hand (in Rygh 1897-1936, X, 56-7), sees these two farm names, and Ivesdal in Stavanger (now Rogaland), as more probably containing nouns (ívi n. or ívir m.) referring to yew-trees as such. He also derives Ífing f., the name of the mythical river which, according to Vafþr 16/1-3, divides the realm of the gods from that of the giants, and which never freezes, from the same root. An alternative possibility, mentioned by Olsen (cf. also ÍO: Ífa, Ífing), is that the river-names are related to MHG ifer, ModGer. Eifer ‘zeal, fervour’, and that the idea of a river with a fiercely flowing current lies behind them. The ‘modo’, ‘moþo’ readings of 1824b and 6ˣ give the form móðu (acc. sg. of móða f. ‘(large, sluggish) river’). However, this reading can be excluded because it does not provide a second alliterating stave on the fifth syllable of an odd line (Gade 1995a, 4).

Ívu ‘Ífa’

(not checked:)
Íva

[5] Ívu: so R702ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, ‘modo’ 1824b, ‘moþo’ with ‘ifu’ in margin 6ˣ

notes

[5] upp í Ívu ‘up the Ífa <river>’: This name is spelt Ífu by Rafn (1826), Pfeiffer (1860), Wisén (1886-9) and Valdimar Ásmundarson (Krm 1891). The combination of adv. and prep. indicates, together with the word á ‘river’ in l. 8, that a river is here in question, although it cannot be identified. A river of the same name, also unidentified, is mentioned in OStór 7/8, and may also be referred to in Egill Lv 26/1^V (Eg 33); see Note there. Bugge (in Rygh 1897-1936, VIII, 179), sees Ífa f. as related to the word ýr m. ‘yew (tree)’, and as originally the name of the river, now named Frøysåna, that runs past the farms named Ivedal and Iveland in the Iveland county of the Nedenes province (now Aust-Agder) in south-eastern Norway, the first element in these two farm names being formed, according to Bugge, from Ífu, the gen. sg. of the river-name. Olsen on the other hand (in Rygh 1897-1936, X, 56-7), sees these two farm names, and Ivesdal in Stavanger (now Rogaland), as more probably containing nouns (ívi n. or ívir m.) referring to yew-trees as such. He also derives Ífing f., the name of the mythical river which, according to Vafþr 16/1-3, divides the realm of the gods from that of the giants, and which never freezes, from the same root. An alternative possibility, mentioned by Olsen (cf. also ÍO: Ífa, Ífing), is that the river-names are related to MHG ifer, ModGer. Eifer ‘zeal, fervour’, and that the idea of a river with a fiercely flowing current lies behind them. The ‘modo’, ‘moþo’ readings of 1824b and 6ˣ give the form móðu (acc. sg. of móða f. ‘(large, sluggish) river’). However, this reading can be excluded because it does not provide a second alliterating stave on the fifth syllable of an odd line (Gade 1995a, 4).

oddr ‘sword-point’

(not checked:)
oddr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): point of weapon

[6] oddr: so R702ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, ‘fiodr’ 1824b, ‘fiødur’ with ‘Oddur’ in margin 6ˣ

náði ‘managed’

(not checked:)
1. ná (verb): reach, get, manage

þá ‘then the’

(not checked:)
2. þá (adv.): then

bíta ‘to bite’

(not checked:)
bíta (verb; °bítr; beit, bitu; bitinn): bite

öll ‘that whole’

(not checked:)
allr (adj.): all

var ‘was’

(not checked:)
2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am

unda ‘of wounds’

(not checked:)
1. und (noun f.; °; -ir): wound

kennings

gjálfri ‘surge’

(not checked:)
gjalfr (noun n.; °-s): surge, waves

kennings

á ‘river’

(not checked:)
1. á (noun f.; °-r; -r/-ir (aor nom. pl. Gul315e 41‰ repræsenterer if. Suppl4, [$1$] & ed. intr. 32 svag bøjning)): river

[8] á sú (‘asv’): ‘A su’ with ‘asuer W’ in margin 6ˣ, ‘a̋sver’ R702ˣ, ‘asuer’ LR, ‘Asver’ R693ˣ

sú ‘’

(not checked:)
1. sá (pron.; °gen. þess, dat. þeim, acc. þann; f. sú, gen. þeirrar, acc. þá; n. þat, dat. því; pl. m. þeir, f. þǽ---): that (one), those

[8] á sú (‘asv’): ‘A su’ with ‘asuer W’ in margin 6ˣ, ‘a̋sver’ R702ˣ, ‘asuer’ LR, ‘Asver’ R693ˣ

roðin ‘reddened’

(not checked:)
rjóða (verb): to redden

heitu ‘hot’

(not checked:)
heitr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): hot, ardent

kennings

Grenjaði ‘roared’

(not checked:)
grenja (verb): howl

[9] Grenjaði (‘Greniade’): so R693ˣ, ‘Greíníarr’ 1824b, Gveimar with ‘grenia þa’ in margin 6ˣ, grenjar R702ˣ, ‘greniada’ LR

brandr ‘The sword’

(not checked:)
brandr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): sword, prow; fire

við ‘on’

(not checked:)
2. við (prep.): with, against

[9] við: í R702ˣ, LR, R693ˣ

brynjur ‘coats of mail’

(not checked:)
1. brynja (noun f.; °-u (dat. brynnoni Gibb 38⁹); -ur): mailcoat

[9] brynjur: ‘brynu’ LR

ben ‘wound’

(not checked:)
1. ben (noun f.; °-jar, dat. -; -jar , gen. -a(var. EiðKrC 402¹³: AM 77 4°— “D”)): wound < bensild (noun f.)

[10] bensildr klufuz skildir (‘bens hilldr klufuzt skillder’): ‘Bens hilldur klufust skillder’ with ‘Bensilldur klufu skilldi Worm’ written below line 6ˣ, bensildr klufu skildi R702ˣ, LR, ‘Bensildur klaufu skýldi’ R693ˣ

kennings

notes

[10] bensildr ‘wound-herrings [ARROWS/SPEARS]’: Without disputing the glossing of this kenning as ‘swords’ in the case of RvHbreiðm Hl 11/4^III, its other skaldic occurrence  (cf. de Vries 1938, 722 n. 78), the present ed. prefers in this instance to follow LP in taking it to refer to arrows or spears, thus crediting the poet with avoiding any hint of repetition from the previous line, where the word brandr ‘sword’ occurs.

sildr ‘herrings’

(not checked:)
sild (noun f.; °;-ar): herring < bensild (noun f.)

[10] bensildr klufuz skildir (‘bens hilldr klufuzt skillder’): ‘Bens hilldur klufust skillder’ with ‘Bensilldur klufu skilldi Worm’ written below line 6ˣ, bensildr klufu skildi R702ˣ, LR, ‘Bensildur klaufu skýldi’ R693ˣ

kennings

notes

[10] bensildr ‘wound-herrings [ARROWS/SPEARS]’: Without disputing the glossing of this kenning as ‘swords’ in the case of RvHbreiðm Hl 11/4^III, its other skaldic occurrence  (cf. de Vries 1938, 722 n. 78), the present ed. prefers in this instance to follow LP in taking it to refer to arrows or spears, thus crediting the poet with avoiding any hint of repetition from the previous line, where the word brandr ‘sword’ occurs.

klufuz ‘were cloven’

(not checked:)
kljúfa (verb): cleave

[10] bensildr klufuz skildir (‘bens hilldr klufuzt skillder’): ‘Bens hilldur klufust skillder’ with ‘Bensilldur klufu skilldi Worm’ written below line 6ˣ, bensildr klufu skildi R702ˣ, LR, ‘Bensildur klaufu skýldi’ R693ˣ

notes

[10] skildir klufuz ‘shields were cloven’: This edn follows the wording of the main ms. and construes skildir klufuz as a separate clause, while understanding bensildr ‘wound-herrings [ARROWS/SPEARS]’ as in apposition to brandr ‘the sword’ (l. 7). The alternative reading of the other mss requires skildi (dat. sg.) ‘shield’ to be emended to the acc. pl. skjöldu, to give the clause bensildr klufu skjöldu ‘wound-herrings [ARROWS/SPEARS] clove shields’. This appears to be the reading of all previous eds apart from Rafn (1826) and CPB, who follow 1824b (cf. 6ˣ). Those eds who adopt the alternative reading appear to have understood skildi as an unrecorded form of the acc. pl. ‘shields’, except in the cases of Wisén (1886-9) and Finnur Jónsson (1893b), who spell skjöldu here.

skildir ‘shields’

(not checked:)
skjǫldr (noun m.; °skjaldar/skildar, dat. skildi; skildir, acc. skjǫldu): shield

[10] bensildr klufuz skildir (‘bens hilldr klufuzt skillder’): ‘Bens hilldur klufust skillder’ with ‘Bensilldur klufu skilldi Worm’ written below line 6ˣ, bensildr klufu skildi R702ˣ, LR, ‘Bensildur klaufu skýldi’ R693ˣ

notes

[10] skildir klufuz ‘shields were cloven’: This edn follows the wording of the main ms. and construes skildir klufuz as a separate clause, while understanding bensildr ‘wound-herrings [ARROWS/SPEARS]’ as in apposition to brandr ‘the sword’ (l. 7). The alternative reading of the other mss requires skildi (dat. sg.) ‘shield’ to be emended to the acc. pl. skjöldu, to give the clause bensildr klufu skjöldu ‘wound-herrings [ARROWS/SPEARS] clove shields’. This appears to be the reading of all previous eds apart from Rafn (1826) and CPB, who follow 1824b (cf. 6ˣ). Those eds who adopt the alternative reading appear to have understood skildi as an unrecorded form of the acc. pl. ‘shields’, except in the cases of Wisén (1886-9) and Finnur Jónsson (1893b), who spell skjöldu here.