SnSt Ht 33^III

Lífs varð rán at raunum
— reið sverð — skapat mjǫk ferðum;
stǫng óð þrátt á þingi
þjóðsterk; liðu framm merki.
Hrauð of hilmis bróður
hvǫss egg friðar ván seggjum;
spjót náðu blá bíta;
búandmenn hlutu þar renna.

Rán lífs varð mjǫk at raunum skapat ferðum; sverð reið; þjóðsterk stǫng óð þrátt á þingi; merki liðu framm. Hvǫss egg hrauð ván friðar seggjum of {bróður hilmis}; blá spjót náðu bíta; búandmenn hlutu þar renna.

Deprivation of life most certainly became reality for the men; the sword swung; the mightily strong standard-pole advanced obstinately at the assembly; banners marched on. The sharp blade dispelled the hope of peace for the men around {the ruler’s brother} [= Skúli]; dark spears bit; farmers were forced to flee there.

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

Readings: [1] varð: var U(47r), U(52v);    raunum: rauðum Tˣ    [2] reið: so Tˣ, W, réð R, reidd U(47r), U(52v)    [3] stǫng: stǫg W;    á: at U(52v)    [8] búand‑: ‘buod‑’ Tˣ, ‘bond‑’ U(52v)

Editions: Skj AII, 61, Skj BII, 70, Skald II, 39-40, NN §1309, 2177; SnE 1848-87, I, 644-5, II, 371, 388, III, 119, SnE 1879-81, I, 5, 78, II, 15, SnE 1931, 230, SnE 2007, 17-18; Konráð Gíslason 1895-7, I, 21-2.

Context: This dróttkvætt variant is called veggjat ‘wedged, inserted’. It consists of the systematic insertion in the even lines of an additional syllable between metrical positions 4 and 5, thus creating heptasyllabic even lines. The first internal rhyme in all even lines falls in metrical position 2.

Notes: [All]: The heading is veggjat (Tˣ, U(47r)). The inserted syllables are mjǫk ‘most certainly’ (l. 2), framm ‘forwards’ (l. 4), ván ‘hope’ (l. 6), þar ‘there’ (l. 8). All these words are directly preceded by short-stemmed, disyllabic words in metrical positions 3-4, and Sievers (1879, 270-1; 1893, 109-10 Anm. 1) thinks it possible that these disyllabic words may have been fully stressed and resolved. That is unlikely, but they may have been neutralised in unstressed position preceding the secondarily stressed words in metrical position 5, thus creating lines with six metrical positions. The variant is not attested elsewhere in the extant corpus of skaldic poetry, and it could have been invented by Snorri. — [All]: This stanza must refer to events that took place in 1213 at a legal assembly at Strinda, near Trondheimsfjorden. King Ingi Bárðarson and Skúli had a showdown with the farmers at that assembly (Bǫgl 1988, II, 125): K. Ingi bad sit Folck føre sit Banere tilbage, thi hand vilde icke stride mod sine egne Bønder, oc Kongen vigede tilbage med sit Folck, da forfulde Bønderne hannem, oc sloge nogne ihiel aff hans Mænd, thi raabte Skule Kongens Broder, at Kongen skulde vende om igien,  thi de søgte efter oc dræbte hans Folck, da vende Kongen om igien, oc bad føre fram sit Banere, oc blefue da Bønderne slagne, og maatte de fly ‘King Ingi told his men to bring his standard back, because he did not want to fight against his own farmers, and the king retreated with his men. Then the farmers pursued him and killed some of his men. Therefore Skúli, the king’s brother, shouted that the king should turn back again, because they pursued them and killed his people. Then the king turned back again, and he commanded his standard to advance, and then the farmers were defeated and they had to flee’. See also Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar (E 1916, 480), where the legal assembly is called Raumaþing. — [2] reið ‘swung’: So Tˣ, W. The reading in R, réð (3rd pers. sg. pret. indic. of ráða ‘rule, govern, decide, plan, cause’) is difficult to make sense of in the context and it has been altered to riðu 3rd pers. pl. pret. indic. ‘swung’ (R*). Réð is retained by Faulkes as a part of an absolute construction ‘the sword was the cause’ (SnE 2007: ráða, 138-9), but in view of the readings of the other mss, réð looks like a scribal error. — [5] bróður hilmis ‘the ruler’s brother [= Skúli]’: Skúli was the half-brother of King Ingi Bárðarson.

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. Bǫgl 1988 = Magerøy, Hallvard, ed. 1988. Soga om Birkibeinar og Baglar: Boglunga sǫgur. Norsk historisk kjeldeskrift-institutt norrøne tekster 5. Oslo: Solum forlag and Kjeldeskriftfondet.
6. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
7. E 1916 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1916. Eirspennill: AM 47 fol. Nóregs konunga sǫgur: Magnús góði – Hákon gamli. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske historiske kildeskriftskommission.
8. Konráð Gíslason. 1895-7. Efterladte skrifter. 2 vols. I: Forelæsninger over oldnordiske skjaldekvad. II: Forelæsninger og videnskablige afhandlinger. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
9. Sievers, Eduard. 1879. ‘Beiträge zur Skaldenmetrik II’. BGDSL 6, 264-376.
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.
12. Internal references
13. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar’ 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=33> (accessed 24 April 2024)