Anon Krm 9VIII
Rory McTurk (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Poems, Krákumál 9’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 734.
Hjuggu ‘hewed’
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hǫggva (verb): to strike, put to death, cut, hew
[1] Hjuggu vér með hjörvi: abbrev. as ‘Hiug. v. m. h᷎.’ 1824b, ‘[…]’ 147, Hjuggum vér með hjörvi 6ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, abbrev. as ‘H. v. m. h.’ R702ˣ
vér ‘We’
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vér (pron.; °gen. vár, dat./acc. oss): we, us, our
[1] Hjuggu vér með hjörvi: abbrev. as ‘Hiug. v. m. h᷎.’ 1824b, ‘[…]’ 147, Hjuggum vér með hjörvi 6ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, abbrev. as ‘H. v. m. h.’ R702ˣ
með ‘with’
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með (prep.): with
[1] Hjuggu vér með hjörvi: abbrev. as ‘Hiug. v. m. h᷎.’ 1824b, ‘[…]’ 147, Hjuggum vér með hjörvi 6ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, abbrev. as ‘H. v. m. h.’ R702ˣ
hjörvi ‘the sword’
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hjǫrr (noun m.): sword
[1] Hjuggu vér með hjörvi: abbrev. as ‘Hiug. v. m. h᷎.’ 1824b, ‘[…]’ 147, Hjuggum vér með hjörvi 6ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, abbrev. as ‘H. v. m. h.’ R702ˣ
Háðum ‘We steeped’
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2. heyja (verb): fight, wage (battle)
[2] Háðum: ‘[…]dum’ 147, ‘ha̋dum’ with ‘hofdum’ in margin 6ˣ, ‘hófdum’ R702ˣ, ‘hofdum’ LR, ‘hafdum’ R693ˣ
rendr ‘shields’
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rǫnd (noun f.; °dat. -/-u; rendr/randir): shield, shield-rim
[2] rendr í dreyra: ‘[…]nd(ur) i dre(yra)’(?) 147, rendr í dreyra with ‘blodi W.’ in margin 6ˣ, rendr í blóði R702ˣ, LR, R693ˣ
í ‘in’
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í (prep.): in, into
[2] rendr í dreyra: ‘[…]nd(ur) i dre(yra)’(?) 147, rendr í dreyra with ‘blodi W.’ in margin 6ˣ, rendr í blóði R702ˣ, LR, R693ˣ
dreyra ‘blood’
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dreyri (noun m.; °-a): blood
[2] rendr í dreyra: ‘[…]nd(ur) i dre(yra)’(?) 147, rendr í dreyra with ‘blodi W.’ in margin 6ˣ, rendr í blóði R702ˣ, LR, R693ˣ
ben ‘the wound’
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1. ben (noun f.; °-jar, dat. -; -jar , gen. -a(var. EiðKrC 402¹³: AM 77 4° D)): wound < benstari (noun m.)
[3] benstara: so R702ˣ, ‘bein starra’ 1824b, ‘[…]’ 147, ‘bein stara’ with ‘benþvara W.’ in margin 6ˣ, ‘ben thver a’ LR, ‘benþuera’ R693ˣ
kennings
benstara‘the wound-starling ’
= RAVEN/EAGLE
the wound-starling → RAVEN/EAGLE
notes
[3] bræddum benstara ‘we fed the wound-starling [RAVEN/EAGLE]’: This phrase is similar to RvHbreiðm Hl 17/1III bræddi ǫrn ‘fed the eagle’ (cf. de Vries 1938, 722 n. 78). Rafn (1826), Pfeiffer (1860), Wisén (1886-9) and Valdimar Ásmundarson (Krm 1891) read here bendum benþvara (Valdimar: benþvarra) ‘we bent the wound-stick’, evidently taking this to refer either to the brandishing of a sword or to the drawing of a bow. All other eds have the reading adopted here.
stara ‘starling’
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1. stari (noun m.): starling < benstari (noun m.)
[3] benstara: so R702ˣ, ‘bein starra’ 1824b, ‘[…]’ 147, ‘bein stara’ with ‘benþvara W.’ in margin 6ˣ, ‘ben thver a’ LR, ‘benþuera’ R693ˣ
kennings
benstara‘the wound-starling ’
= RAVEN/EAGLE
the wound-starling → RAVEN/EAGLE
notes
[3] bræddum benstara ‘we fed the wound-starling [RAVEN/EAGLE]’: This phrase is similar to RvHbreiðm Hl 17/1III bræddi ǫrn ‘fed the eagle’ (cf. de Vries 1938, 722 n. 78). Rafn (1826), Pfeiffer (1860), Wisén (1886-9) and Valdimar Ásmundarson (Krm 1891) read here bendum benþvara (Valdimar: benþvarra) ‘we bent the wound-stick’, evidently taking this to refer either to the brandishing of a sword or to the drawing of a bow. All other eds have the reading adopted here.
bræddum ‘we fed’
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1. bræða (verb; °-dd-): feed
[3] bræddum: so R702ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, brendum 1824b, ‘[…]’ 147, bendum 6ˣ
notes
[3] bræddum benstara ‘we fed the wound-starling [RAVEN/EAGLE]’: This phrase is similar to RvHbreiðm Hl 17/1III bræddi ǫrn ‘fed the eagle’ (cf. de Vries 1938, 722 n. 78). Rafn (1826), Pfeiffer (1860), Wisén (1886-9) and Valdimar Ásmundarson (Krm 1891) read here bendum benþvara (Valdimar: benþvarra) ‘we bent the wound-stick’, evidently taking this to refer either to the brandishing of a sword or to the drawing of a bow. All other eds have the reading adopted here.
fyr ‘off’
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fyr (prep.): for, over, because of, etc.
[4] fyr Borgundarhólmi: ‘f(yrir) […]’(?) 147
notes
[4] fyr Borgundarhólmi ‘off Bornholm’: Lit. ‘before the island of Borgund’. This is the Danish island of Bornholm, located in the Baltic Sea south-east of the south-eastern tip of Skåne, now the southernmost province of Sweden.
Borgundarhólmi ‘Bornholm’
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Borgundarhólmr (noun m.)
[4] fyr Borgundarhólmi: ‘f(yrir) […]’(?) 147
notes
[4] fyr Borgundarhólmi ‘off Bornholm’: Lit. ‘before the island of Borgund’. This is the Danish island of Bornholm, located in the Baltic Sea south-east of the south-eastern tip of Skåne, now the southernmost province of Sweden.
Hregg ‘Storm’
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hregg (noun n.): storm < hreggský (noun n.)
[5] Hreggský slituz hringa (‘hreggský slítv hringa’): ‘[…]g sky slitu’ 147, ‘hregg sky slitu hringa’ with ‘Reggsky slitu rander Worm.’ in margin 6ˣ, ‘Regnský slitu Rander’ R702ˣ, ‘reggsky slitu rander’ LR, R693ˣ
kennings
Hreggský hringa‘Storm-clouds of swords ’
= SHIELDS
Storm-clouds of swords → SHIELDS
notes
[5] hreggský hringa ‘storm-clouds of swords [SHIELDS]’: Hringa is here taken as gen. pl. of hringr ‘ring’ as pars pro toto for ‘sword’ (LP: hringr 2) and as the determinant in a kenning for ‘shields’, with hreggský ‘storm-clouds’ as its base-word (cf. Meissner 168-9). The emendation of slitu, 3rd pers. pl. pret. of slíta ‘rend, tear’, to slituz, imparting passive function to the verb, gives the sense ‘shields were destroyed’. The present ed. is here following Finnur Jónsson (1893b), Skj B and Skald. By contrast, Rafn (1826), Pfeiffer (1860), Wisén (1886-9) and Valdimar Ásmundarson (Krm 1891) read hreggský (nom. pl.) slitu (h)ringa, acc. pl. ‘storm-clouds tore rings’, with ‘storm-clouds’ thought of as referring to showers of arrows, and ‘rings’ as referring to the rings or links forming a coat of mail. This reading is unsatisfactory in relying too heavily on a metaphorical understanding of hreggský ‘storm-clouds’ without the support of a specifying determinant that might justify it.
ský ‘clouds’
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ský (noun n.; °-s; -): cloud < hreggský (noun n.)
[5] Hreggský slituz hringa (‘hreggský slítv hringa’): ‘[…]g sky slitu’ 147, ‘hregg sky slitu hringa’ with ‘Reggsky slitu rander Worm.’ in margin 6ˣ, ‘Regnský slitu Rander’ R702ˣ, ‘reggsky slitu rander’ LR, R693ˣ
kennings
Hreggský hringa‘Storm-clouds of swords ’
= SHIELDS
Storm-clouds of swords → SHIELDS
notes
[5] hreggský hringa ‘storm-clouds of swords [SHIELDS]’: Hringa is here taken as gen. pl. of hringr ‘ring’ as pars pro toto for ‘sword’ (LP: hringr 2) and as the determinant in a kenning for ‘shields’, with hreggský ‘storm-clouds’ as its base-word (cf. Meissner 168-9). The emendation of slitu, 3rd pers. pl. pret. of slíta ‘rend, tear’, to slituz, imparting passive function to the verb, gives the sense ‘shields were destroyed’. The present ed. is here following Finnur Jónsson (1893b), Skj B and Skald. By contrast, Rafn (1826), Pfeiffer (1860), Wisén (1886-9) and Valdimar Ásmundarson (Krm 1891) read hreggský (nom. pl.) slitu (h)ringa, acc. pl. ‘storm-clouds tore rings’, with ‘storm-clouds’ thought of as referring to showers of arrows, and ‘rings’ as referring to the rings or links forming a coat of mail. This reading is unsatisfactory in relying too heavily on a metaphorical understanding of hreggský ‘storm-clouds’ without the support of a specifying determinant that might justify it.
slituz ‘were destroyed’
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slíta (verb): to tear
[5] Hreggský slituz hringa (‘hreggský slítv hringa’): ‘[…]g sky slitu’ 147, ‘hregg sky slitu hringa’ with ‘Reggsky slitu rander Worm.’ in margin 6ˣ, ‘Regnský slitu Rander’ R702ˣ, ‘reggsky slitu rander’ LR, R693ˣ
hringa ‘of swords’
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1. hringr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -; -ar): ring; sword
[5] Hreggský slituz hringa (‘hreggský slítv hringa’): ‘[…]g sky slitu’ 147, ‘hregg sky slitu hringa’ with ‘Reggsky slitu rander Worm.’ in margin 6ˣ, ‘Regnský slitu Rander’ R702ˣ, ‘reggsky slitu rander’ LR, R693ˣ
kennings
Hreggský hringa‘Storm-clouds of swords ’
= SHIELDS
Storm-clouds of swords → SHIELDS
notes
[5] hreggský hringa ‘storm-clouds of swords [SHIELDS]’: Hringa is here taken as gen. pl. of hringr ‘ring’ as pars pro toto for ‘sword’ (LP: hringr 2) and as the determinant in a kenning for ‘shields’, with hreggský ‘storm-clouds’ as its base-word (cf. Meissner 168-9). The emendation of slitu, 3rd pers. pl. pret. of slíta ‘rend, tear’, to slituz, imparting passive function to the verb, gives the sense ‘shields were destroyed’. The present ed. is here following Finnur Jónsson (1893b), Skj B and Skald. By contrast, Rafn (1826), Pfeiffer (1860), Wisén (1886-9) and Valdimar Ásmundarson (Krm 1891) read hreggský (nom. pl.) slitu (h)ringa, acc. pl. ‘storm-clouds tore rings’, with ‘storm-clouds’ thought of as referring to showers of arrows, and ‘rings’ as referring to the rings or links forming a coat of mail. This reading is unsatisfactory in relying too heavily on a metaphorical understanding of hreggský ‘storm-clouds’ without the support of a specifying determinant that might justify it.
hratt ‘thrust’
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1. hrinda (verb): launch, propell
[6] hratt: ‘[…]’ 147, ‘ratt’ R702ˣ, LR, R693ˣ
álmr ‘the bow’
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almr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): bow, elm-bow
[6] álmr af sér málmi: ‘[...]’ 147
sér ‘’
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sik (pron.; °gen. sín, dat. sér): (refl. pron.)
[6] álmr af sér málmi: ‘[...]’ 147
málmi ‘metal’
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malmr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): metal
[6] álmr af sér málmi: ‘[...]’ 147
Völnir ‘Vǫlnir’
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Vǫlnir (noun m.)
[7] Völnir (‘volnir’): so R702ˣ, ‘vvlnír’ 1824b, ‘[…]’ 147, ‘vulner’ with ‘følner W.’ in margin 6ˣ, ‘folnir’ LR, ‘Wolnir’ R693ˣ
notes
[7] Völnir ‘Vǫlnir’: Of this Vǫlnir (so Finnur Jónsson 1893b and all subsequent eds; previous eds have the spelling Vulnir), a sagnperson ‘legendary figure’ according to LP: Vǫlnir, nothing is known
varat ‘not’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
[8] varat einn konungr: ‘[…]’ 147, ‘varat eirn kongur’ 6ˣ, ‘var at aei kongur’ LR, R693ˣ
notes
[8] varat einn ‘not a single … was’: This instance of varat ‘was not’, unlike the others in Krm (at 13/9, 14/5, 18/5, 20/5, 9), seems to have been correctly understood by early translators of the poem as having negative meaning; see the Introduction.
einn ‘a single’
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2. einn (pron.; °decl. cf. einn num.): one, alone
[8] varat einn konungr: ‘[…]’ 147, ‘varat eirn kongur’ 6ˣ, ‘var at aei kongur’ LR, R693ˣ
notes
[8] varat einn ‘not a single … was’: This instance of varat ‘was not’, unlike the others in Krm (at 13/9, 14/5, 18/5, 20/5, 9), seems to have been correctly understood by early translators of the poem as having negative meaning; see the Introduction.
konungr ‘king’
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konungr (noun m.; °dat. -i, -s; -ar): king
[8] varat einn konungr: ‘[…]’ 147, ‘varat eirn kongur’ 6ˣ, ‘var at aei kongur’ LR, R693ˣ
meiri ‘was greater’
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meiri (adj. comp.; °meiran; superl. mestr): more, most
[8] meiri: ‘[…]’ 147
Val ‘The slain’
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1. valr (noun m.; °dat. -i; -ir): corpse, the slain
[9] Val rak: ‘[…]’ 147
vítt ‘far and wide’
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víðr (adj.): far
[9] vítt of (‘vt of’): ‘[…]’ 147, ‘vt of’ with ‘vi̋tt W.’ in margin 6ˣ, vítt um R702ˣ, LR, R693ˣ
notes
[9] vítt of ‘far and wide over’: The reading vítt ‘far and wide’ has been adopted here, as with all previous eds, over 1824b’s út ‘out’, in order to produce a metrical line, as út provides only one alliterating stave in an odd line.
of ‘over’
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3. of (prep.): around, from; too
[9] vítt of (‘vt of’): ‘[…]’ 147, ‘vt of’ with ‘vi̋tt W.’ in margin 6ˣ, vítt um R702ˣ, LR, R693ˣ
notes
[9] vítt of ‘far and wide over’: The reading vítt ‘far and wide’ has been adopted here, as with all previous eds, over 1824b’s út ‘out’, in order to produce a metrical line, as út provides only one alliterating stave in an odd line.
strandir ‘the beaches’
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strǫnd (noun f.; °strandar, dat. -u/-; strandir/strendr): beach, shore
[9] strandir: ‘[…]’ 147
vargr ‘the wolf’
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vargr (noun m.; °dat. -i; -ar): wolf
[10] vargr fagnaði tafni: ‘[…]’ 147
fagnaði ‘rejoiced in’
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fagna (verb; °-að-): welcome, rejoice
[10] vargr fagnaði tafni: ‘[…]’ 147
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
We hewed with the sword. We steeped shields in blood when we fed the wound-starling [RAVEN/EAGLE] off Bornholm. Storm-clouds of swords [SHIELDS] were destroyed; the bow thrust forth metal; Vǫlnir fell in the battle; not a single king was greater. The slain were scattered far and wide over the beaches; the wolf rejoiced in its prey.
[6]: This line, an example (rare in Krm) of aðalhending occurring in an even-numbered line, is comparable both in this respect and in wording with RvHbreiðm Hl 28/6III almr sparn … malma hjalma ‘the elm-bow kicked … arrows of helmets’. Málmr ‘metal’ in the specific meaning of ‘arrow(s)’, which it seems to have here, is relatively rare in skaldic poetry, occurring elsewhere in RvHbreiðm Hl 77/8III and in Þorm Lv 25/5I.
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