SnSt Ht 41^III

Velr ítrhugaðr ýtum
otrgjǫld jǫfurr snotrum;
opt hefr þings fyr þrøngvi
þungfarmr Grana sprungit.
Hjǫrs vill rjóðr, at ríði
reiðmálmr Gnitaheiðar;
vígs es hreytt at hættis
hvatt Niflunga skatti.

Ítrhugaðr jǫfurr velr snotrum ýtum {otrgjǫld}; {þungfarmr Grana} hefr opt sprungit fyr {þrøngvi þings}. {Rjóðr hjǫrs} vill, at {reiðmálmr Gnitaheiðar} ríði; {skatti Niflunga} es hreytt hvatt at {hættis vígs}.

The splendid-minded prince selects {otter-payments} [GOLD] for wise people; {the heavy burden of Grani <horse>} [GOLD] has often burst before {the oppressor of the assembly} [STERN RULER]. {The reddener of the sword} [WARRIOR] wants {the riding-metal of Gnitaheiðr} [GOLD] to be scattered; {the treasure of the Niflungar <legendary family>} [GOLD] is distributed vigorously at [the dwelling] {of the darer of battle} [WARRIOR].

Mss: R(49r), Tˣ(51r), W(145), U(53v) (SnE)

Readings: [3] opt: ‘op’ Tˣ;    þrøngvi: so all others, þrøngi R    [7] hreytt: so U, ‘hreit’ R, ‘hrott’ Tˣ, ‘hrvtt’ W;    hættis: so Tˣ, U, hættiz R, hætti W

Editions: Skj AII, 63, Skj BII, 72, Skald II, 41, NN §2182; SnE 1848-87, I, 652-3, II, 390, III, 121, SnE 1879-81, I, 7, 79, II, 18, SnE 1931, 233, SnE 2007, 20; Konráð Gíslason 1895-7, I, 25.

Context: The dróttkvætt variant is liðhent ‘helping-rhymed’ (see also sts 53, 58 below). The internal rhymes in the odd lines and the first rhyme in the even lines fall on the alliterating syllables and the hendingar in each couplet have the same postvocalic environment.

Notes: [All]: This rhyme scheme is not uncommon in dróttkvætt poetry (see also SnE 2007, 80-1). — [All]: The heading in Tˣ is 33. — [All]: The kennings for ‘gold’ are all derived from stories about Sigurðr the Dragon-slayer and the Niflungar. — [2] otrgjǫld ‘otter-payments [GOLD]’: This refers to the compensation paid by the gods for the slaying of Otr, the brother of Reginn and Fáfnir (see Rm, SnE 1998, I, 45-6 and RvHbreiðm Hl 3-8). See also Notes to st. 15/1-2 above and Anon Bjark 5/5. — [3] þrøngvi ‘the oppressor’: So all other mss. In R ‘þravngi’ has been altered to ‘þravngvi’ (R*). — [4] þungfarmr Grana ‘the heavy burden of Grani <horse> [GOLD]’: This is the gold carried on the back of Grani, Sigurðr’s horse, across Gnitaheiðr (see Fáfn end prose, NK 188, Gríp 11-13, SnE 1998, I, 47 and Note to Anon Bjark 4/6). For Grani, see Note to Anon Kálfv 4/8 (see also Þul Hesta 1/8). — [6] reiðmálmr Gnitaheiðar ‘the riding-metal of Gnitaheiðr [GOLD]’: This kenning extends the imagery from l. 4. Gnitaheiðr was the heath where Fáfnir lay on the gold. — [7] es hreytt ‘is distributed’: The verb is used impersonally with skatti Niflunga (m. dat. sg.) ‘the treasure of the Niflungar’ (l. 8) as the dat. object. In R ‘hreit’ has been altered to ‘hreytt’ (R*). — [8] skatti Niflunga ‘the treasure of the Niflungar <legendary family> [GOLD]’: This is the gold belonging to the Niflungar, Gunnarr and Hǫgni (see Akv 27, SnE 1998, I, 45-9 and Note to Anon Bjark 6/6).

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. NK = Neckel, Gustav and Hans Kuhn (1899), eds. 1983. Edda: Die Lieder des Codex Regius nebst verwandten Denkmälern. 2 vols. I: Text. 5th edn. 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. 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. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Poems, Bjarkamál in fornu 4’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 500.
13. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Poems, Bjarkamál in fornu 5’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 502.
14. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Poems, Bjarkamál in fornu 6’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 503.
15. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Kálfsvísa 4’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 668.
16. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Hesta heiti 1’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 935.
17. Not published: do not cite ()
18. Not published: do not cite ()
19. Not published: do not cite ()
20. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Rǫgnvaldr jarl and Hallr Þórarinsson, Háttalykill 3’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1011.