SnH Lv 5^II

Grís þá greppr at ræsi
gruntrauðustum dauðan;
Njǫrðr sér bǫrg á borði
bauglands fyr sér standa.
Runa síður lítk rauðar;
ræðk skjótgǫrvu kvæði;
rana hefr seggr af svíni
— send heill, konungr! — brenndan.

Greppr þá dauðan grís at gruntrauðustum ræsi; {Njǫrðr {bauglands}} sér bǫrg standa fyr sér á borði. Lítk rauðar síður runa; ræðk skjótgǫrvu kvæði; seggr hefr brenndan rana af svíni; send heill, konungr!

The poet got a dead pig from the most deceit-shy monarch; {the Njǫrðr <god> {of the shield-boss land}} [SHIELD > WARRIOR] sees a boar standing before him on the table. I see the red sides of the pig; I produce a quickly composed poem; a man has singed the snout off the swine; thanks for the helping, king!

Mss: Mork(15v) (Mork); H(65v), Hr(48ra) (H-Hr); Flat(207rb) (Flat); 563aˣ(13)

Readings: [1] at: af 563aˣ;    ræsi: ræsir 563aˣ    [2] grun‑: gunn‑ Hr, grunn‑ Flat, grimm‑ 563aˣ;    ‑trauðustum: ‑trauðastum H, Hr    [3] bǫrg: baugs Hr, burg Flat, ‘bijngz’ 563aˣ;    á: hjá Flat, 563aˣ    [4] sér: om. Flat, 563aˣ    [5] Runa síður lítk rauðar: ‘Ræserz siön sie eg rꜹda’ 563aˣ;    Runa: so H, Hr, Flat, ruðna Mork;    lítk (‘lit ec’): leit ek Hr    [6] skjót‑: so H, skjótt‑ Mork, Hr, Flat, 563aˣ;    ‑gǫrvu: gera Flat, ‘gióra’ 563aˣ    [7] hefr: berr 563aˣ;    af: so H, Hr, Flat, 563aˣ, á Mork    [8] konungr: konungr mér 563aˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 389, Skj BI, 359, Skald I, 180; ÍF 9, 275 (Snegl ch. 5), Mork 1867, 96, Mork 1928-32, 238-9, Andersson and Gade 2000, 246-7, 479 (MH); Fms 6, 365 (HSig ch. 102); Flat 1860-8, III, 420 (Snegl).

Context: Halli, who has fallen out of favour with King Haraldr, must redeem himself by composing a st. about a roasted pig, which the Frisian dwarf Túta carries across the hall. King Haraldr stipulates that, unless the st. is finished before Túta crosses the floor, Halli will face death.

Notes: [1] greppr ‘poet’: Because the episode is a tribute to Halli’s poetic prowess, the translation ‘poet’ is chosen rather than the more general ‘man’. — [7] af ‘off’: The Mork variant á ‘on’ is possible but not supported by the other ms. witnesses. — [8] send heill ‘thanks for the helping’: Lit. ‘good luck with the giving’. This is difficult to render in idiomatic Engl., and the present translation follows that of Andersson and Gade 2000. Skj B translates it as hav tak for sendelsen lit. ‘have thanks for the sending’, and LP: heill 3 gives send, giv, som den lykkelige, gid du må få alt godt for din gave ‘send, give, as the fortunate one, may you get everything good [in return] for your gift’.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
3. Fms = Sveinbjörn Egilsson et al., eds. 1825-37. Fornmanna sögur eptir gömlum handritum útgefnar að tilhlutun hins norræna fornfræða fèlags. 12 vols. Copenhagen: Popp.
4. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. 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.
6. Andersson, Theodore M. and Kari Ellen Gade, trans. 2000. Morkinskinna: The Earliest Icelandic Chronicle of the Norwegian Kings (1030-1157). Islandica 51. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press.
7. Flat 1860-8 = Gudbrand Vigfusson [Guðbrandur Vigfússon] and C. R. Unger, eds. 1860-8. Flateyjarbók. En samling af norske konge-sagaer med indskudte mindre fortællinger om begivenheder i og udenfor Norge samt annaler. 3 vols. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
8. Mork 1928-32 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1928-32. Morkinskinna. SUGNL 53. Copenhagen: Jørgensen.
9. ÍF 9 = Eyfirðinga sǫgur. Ed. Jónas Kristjánsson. 1956.
10. Mork 1867 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1867. Morkinskinna: Pergamentsbog fra første halvdel af det trettende aarhundrede. Indeholdende en af de ældste optegnelser af norske kongesagaer. Oslo: Bentzen.
11. Internal references
12. (forthcoming), ‘ Anonymous, Sneglu-Halla þáttr’ 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. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=57> (accessed 1 May 2024)
13. (forthcoming), ‘ Heimskringla, Haralds saga Sigurðssonar’ 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. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=142> (accessed 1 May 2024)
14. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Magnúss saga góða ok Haralds harðráða’ 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. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=147> (accessed 1 May 2024)