SnSt Ht 25^III

Rǫst gefr ǫðlingr jastar
— ǫl virðik svá — firðum;
þǫgn fellir brim bragna
— bjórr forn es þat — horna.
Máls kann mildingr heilsu
— mjǫðr heitir svá — veita;
strúgs kømr í val veiga
— vín kallak þat — galli.

Ǫðlingr gefr firðum {rǫst jastar}; svá virðik ǫl; {brim horna} – þat es forn bjórr – fellir þǫgn bragna. Mildingr kann veita {heilsu máls}; mjǫðr heitir svá; {galli strúgs} – þat kallak vín – kømr í val veiga.

The ruler gives men {the whirlpool of yeast} [ALE]; that I consider ale; {the surf of horns} [BEER] – that is ancient beer – removes people’s silence. The generous one provides {the cure of speech} [MEAD]; mead is called thus; {the destruction of dignity} [WINE] – that I call wine – joins the selection of strong drinks.

Mss: R(47v), Tˣ(50r), W(143), U(47r) (l. 1), U(52r) (SnE)

Readings: [1] Rǫst: ‘Ræst’ U(52r);    gefr: gaf U(52r);    jastar: ástar U(47r), U(52r)    [2] ǫl: ‘oll’ U(52r);    svá: so W, U(52r), by correction R, þat Tˣ;    firðum: ‘fi[…]ðum’ W    [3] þǫgn: þegn U(52r)    [7] strúgs: ‘stryks’ U(52r);    í val veiga: valr á veigar W    [8] galli: ‘gallda’ U(52r)

Editions: Skj AII, 59, Skj BII, 67, Skald II, 38-9, NN §§1306, 2992B; SnE 1848-87, I, 634-7, II, 371, 385, III, 116, SnE 1879-81, I, 4, 77, II, 13, SnE 1931, 227, SnE 2007, 15; Konráð Gíslason 1895-7, I, 16-17.

Context: The dróttkvætt variant illustrated by this stanza is tilsagt ‘annotated’, in which the kennings in each couplet are explained in an embedded clause occupying positions 1-4 in the even lines.

Notes: [All]: The headings are xviij. háttr ‘the eighteenth verse-form’ (Tˣ) and tilsagt (U(47r)). — [All]: This variant is also used in RvHbreiðm Hl 67-8. The syntactic pattern is otherwise not uncommon in dróttkvætt poetry, but the ‘annotations’ are usually not of an explanatory nature (cf. also SnE 2007, 79). — [2] svá ‘that’: The result of a correction in R (perhaps by R*), but it is difficult to see the original word (perhaps an abbreviated þat ‘that’; cf. Tˣ). — [7] strúgs ‘of dignity’: For the meaning of this word, see Fritzner: strúgr and LP: strúgr. Kock (NN §1306) gives an alternate meaning forbitrelse, vrede ‘grudge, resentment’ based on ModIcel. strjúgur ‘swollen jaws’.

References

1. Bibliography
2. SnE 1848-87 = Snorri Sturluson. 1848-87. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar: Edda Snorronis Sturlaei. Ed. Jón Sigurðsson et al. 3 vols. Copenhagen: Legatum Arnamagnaeanum. Rpt. Osnabrück: Zeller, 1966.
3. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 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. Fritzner = Fritzner, Johan. 1883-96. Ordbog over det gamle norske sprog. 3 vols. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske forlagsforening. 4th edn. Rpt. 1973. Oslo etc.: Universitetsforlaget.
7. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
8. Konráð Gíslason. 1895-7. Efterladte skrifter. 2 vols. I: Forelæsninger over oldnordiske skjaldekvad. II: Forelæsninger og videnskablige afhandlinger. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
9. SnE 2007 = Snorri Sturluson. 2007. Edda: Háttatal. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2nd edn. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
10. SnE 1879-81 = Möbius, Theodor, ed. 1879-81. Hattatal Snorra Sturlusonar. 2 vols. Halle an de Saale: Verlag der Buchhandlung des Waisenhauses.
11. Internal references
12. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Rǫgnvaldr jarl and Hallr Þórarinsson, Háttalykill 67’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1076.