SnSt Ht 31^III

Stáls dynblakka støkkvi
stinngeðs samir minnask
— álms bifsœki aukum
Yggs feng — á lof þengils.
Odds bláferla jarli
ǫrbrjót né skal þrjóta
— Hárs saltunnu hrannir
hrœrum — óð at stœra.

Samir {støkkvi {dynblakka stáls}} minnask á lof stinngeðs þengils; aukum {feng Yggs} {bifsœki álms}. Né skal þrjóta {ǫrbrjót {bláferla odds}} at stœra jarli óð; hrœrum {hrannir saltunnu Hárs}.

It is fitting {for the compeller {of the prow’s din-steeds}} [SHIPS > SEAFARER = Snorri] to recall the praise of the strong-minded lord; we [I] increase {Yggr’s <= Óðinn’s> booty} [POETRY] {for the tremble-seeker of the elm-bow} [WARRIOR = Skúli]. Nor shall {the liberal breaker {of the spear-point’s dark paths}} [SHIELDS > WARRIOR = Snorri] cease to magnify the praise to the jarl; we [I] stir {the waves of Hárr’s <= Óðinn’s> hall-barrel} [POETRY].

Mss: R(48r), Tˣ(50v), W(144), U(47r) (ll. 1-2), U(52v) (SnE)

Readings: [1] støkkvi: so Tˣ, U(47r), U(52v), støkki R, ‘s[…]ví’ W    [3] álms: álfs W;    aukum: aukinn W    [4] Yggs: ‘ygs’ Tˣ, U(52v);    feng: so all others, fengs R;    lof: ‘l[…]f’ W    [5] Odds: ‘odz’ Tˣ, W    [7] ‑tunnu: so Tˣ, W, ‘‑tavnnv’ R, tunnum U(52v);    hrannir: ‘h[…]’ W    [8] óð: odd U(52v);    stœra: skera U(52v)

Editions: Skj AII, 60-1, Skj BII, 69, Skald II, 39; SnE 1848-87, I, 642-3, II, 371, 387, III, 118, SnE 1879-81, I, 5, 77, II, 15, SnE 1931, 229, SnE 2007, 17; Konráð Gíslason 1895-7, I, 19-20.

Context: With this stanza the praise of Jarl Skúli Bárðarson commences (SnE 2007, 17): Nú hefr upp annat kvæði  ‘Now the second poem begins’ (R, Tˣ). The metrical pattern that characterises the stanza is called bragarbót ‘poem’s improvement’, which is a regularised use of Type D2 odd lines, that is, a monosyllabic noun followed by a trisyllabic compound with a short first element followed by a long syllable carrying internal rhyme.

Notes: [All]: The headings are 24 (Tˣ) and bragar háttr ‘poem’s verse-form’ (U(47r)). In W, the stanza is introduced as follows: Her hefr annat kvæði þat er ort er vm skvla iarl ok heitir bragar bót ‘Here the second poem begins, which is composed about Skúli jarl and is called poem’s improvement’. — [All]: For this variant, see Kuhn (1969a; 1983, 165) and Gade (1995a, 113). — [1] støkkvi ‘for the compeller’: In R ‘stavcki’ has been changed to ‘stavckvi’ (R*). — [2] samir ‘it is fitting’: Impersonal construction with støkkvi dynblakka stáls ‘the compeller of the prow’s din-steeds [SHIPS > SEAFARER = Snorri]’ (l. 1) as the dat. object. — [3, 8] aukum; hrœrum ‘we [I] increase; we [I] stir’: Could also be taken as 1st pers. pl. imp. ‘let us increase’, ‘let us stir’. — [4, 7]: The kennings feng Yggs ‘Yggr’s booty’ and hrannir saltunnu Hárs ‘the waves of Hárr’s hall-barrel’ refer to the myth about how Óðinn obtained the mead of poetry (see SnE 1998, I, 3-5). — [4] feng ‘booty’: Fengs (gen. sg.) has been altered in R to feng (acc. sg.) (R*) — [6] skal þrjóta ‘shall ... cease’: Impersonal construction with ǫrbrjót bláferla odds ‘the liberal breaker of the spear-point’s dark paths [SHIELDS > WARRIOR]’ (ll. 5, 6) as the acc. object.

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. Gade, Kari Ellen. 1995a. The Structure of Old Norse dróttkvætt Poetry. Islandica 49. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
5. Kuhn, Hans (1899). 1983. Das Dróttkvætt. Heidelberg: Winter.
6. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
7. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
8. Kuhn, Hans (1899). 1969a. ‘Die Dróttkvættverse des Typs “brestr erfiði Austra”’. In Jakob Benediktsson 1969, 403-17. Rpt. in Kuhn (1899) 1969-78, IV, 105-16.
9. Konráð Gíslason. 1895-7. Efterladte skrifter. 2 vols. I: Forelæsninger over oldnordiske skjaldekvad. II: Forelæsninger og videnskablige afhandlinger. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
10. SnE 2007 = Snorri Sturluson. 2007. Edda: Háttatal. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2nd edn. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
11. SnE 1879-81 = Möbius, Theodor, ed. 1879-81. Hattatal Snorra Sturlusonar. 2 vols. Halle an de Saale: Verlag der Buchhandlung des Waisenhauses.