SnSt Ht 64^III

Vafði lítt, es virðum mœtti,
vígrœkjandi framm at sœkja;
skerðir gekk í skúrum Hlakkar
Skǫglar serks fyr roðnum merkjum.
Ruddisk land, en ræsir Þrœnda
Ribbungum skóp bana þungan;
Gunnarr skaut und Gera fótar
grimsetta il hjarna kletti.

{Vígrœkjandi} vafði lítt at sœkja framm, es mœtti virðum; {skerðir {serks Skǫglar}} gekk í {skúrum Hlakkar} fyr roðnum merkjum. Land ruddisk, en {ræsir Þrœnda} skóp Ribbungum þungan bana; Gunnarr skaut {kletti hjarna} und grimsetta il fótar Gera.

{The battle-promoter} [WARRIOR] hesitated little to rush forward when he met the men; {the notcher {of Skǫgul’s <valkyrie’s> shirt}} [BYRNIE > WARRIOR] advanced in {Hlǫkk’s <valkyrie’s> showers} [BATTLE] before the reddened banner. The land was cleared, and {the ruler of the Þrœndir} [NORWEGIAN RULER = Skúli] created a harsh death for the Ribbungar; Gunnarr pushed {his crag of the brain} [HEAD] beneath the grim-set sole of Geri’s <wolf’s> foot.

Mss: W(148), R(50v-51r) (SnE); E(150r), F(92rb), 42ˣ(105v), 81a(78rb), 8(42v), Flat(168va) (Hák)

Readings: [1] es (‘er’): þá er 8    [2] víg‑: vegg E, 42ˣ, veg F, 81a, 8, Flat;    sœkja: ‘[…]ækia’ R    [3] skerðir gekk í skúrum Hlakkar: ‘sk[…]kvrum hlack[…]’ R;    skúrum: ‘skyrum’ 42ˣ;    Hlakkar: ‘klackar’ 81a    [4] Skǫglar serks fyr roðnum: ‘[…]’ R;    Skǫglar: ‘skeyglar’ E, ‘skæglar’ 81a;    fyr: fram fyr Flat;    roðnum: Skúla E, 42ˣ, om. 81a, Flat    [5] Ruddisk: ‘ræddiz’ 42ˣ, ruddusk Flat;    land: so R, E, F, 42ˣ, 81a, 8, lind W, lǫnd Flat;    en: ok E;    ræsir: so R, E, F, 42ˣ, 8, Flat, ræsis W, ‘reiser’ 81a;    Þrœnda: ‘þr[…]’ R, Þrœndum 8    [6] skóp: skóf 81a;    þungan: ‘[…]gan’ R    [7] und: við 81a;    Gera: geira E, 42ˣ, 81a, 8;    fótar: sennu 81a    [8] grimsetta il hjarna kletti: ‘grimset[…]letti’ R;    grim‑: gunn E, 42ˣ, grunn 81a, Flat;    il: í 81a;    hjarna: hjálma 8;    kletti: kletta E

Editions: Skj AII, 69, Skj BII, 79, Skald II, 44; SnE 1848-87, I, 678-9, III, 128, SnE 1879-81, I, 11, 81, II, 24-5, SnE 1931, 242, SnE 2007, 28; Konráð Gíslason 1895-7, I, 40; E 1916, 509, F 1871, 427, Hák 1910-86, 364, Hák 1977-82, 45, Flat 1860-8, III, 46.

Context: Snorri gives the stanza as an example of óbreytt hrynhent ‘unchanged flowing-rhymed’, that is, hrynhent without variation. Unlike in the previous hrynhent stanza, the even lines (with the exception of l. 4) are no longer trochaic, and the first internal rhyme falls in metrical positions 2 or 3. In Hák the stanza is cited in the same context as st. 63 above, either consecutively or with a brief prose link.

Notes: [All]: The top of fol. 51r in R is partly damaged and difficult to read, and W is the main ms. for this stanza. — [2] vígrœkjandi ‘the battle-promoter [WARRIOR]’: Vegrœkjandi ‘the glory-promoter [RULER]’ (so F, Flat 81a, 8) is also a possible reading (cf. grœðir frama ‘promoter of fame’ in st. 81/2 below). — [6] Ribbungum ‘for the Ribbungar’: The Ribbungar ‘Rabble’ were the followers of Sigurðr ribbungr, the leader of a rebellious faction in Norway around 1220. See Note to Sturl Hákkv 6/8^II. For the internal rhyme in this line, see also Sturl Hákfl 1/4^II. — [7] Gunnarr: Gunnarr Ásuson (see Context to st. 63 above). — [7] Gera ‘of Geri’s <wolf’s>’: This was one of Óðinn’s wolves in Old Norse myth (see Note to Þul Vargs 1/1).

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. 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.
5. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
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. Hák 1977-82 = Mundt, Marina, ed. 1977. Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar etter Sth. 8 fol., AM 325VIII, 4° og AM 304, 4°. Oslo: Forlagsentralen. Suppl. by James E. Knirk, Rettelser til Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar etter Sth. 8 fol., AM 325VIII, 4° og AM 304, 4°. Norrøne tekster 2. Oslo: Norsk historisk kjeldeskrift-institutt, 1982.
9. Konráð Gíslason. 1895-7. Efterladte skrifter. 2 vols. I: Forelæsninger over oldnordiske skjaldekvad. II: Forelæsninger og videnskablige afhandlinger. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
10. Hák 1910-86 = Kjær, Albert and Ludvig Holm-Olsen, eds. 1910-86. Det Arnamagnæanske haandskrift 81a fol. (Skálholtsbók yngsta) indeholdende Sverris saga, Bǫglungasǫgur, Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar. Oslo: Den norske historiske kildeskriftkommission and Kjeldeskriftfondet.
11. SnE 2007 = Snorri Sturluson. 2007. Edda: Háttatal. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2nd edn. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
12. SnE 1879-81 = Möbius, Theodor, ed. 1879-81. Hattatal Snorra Sturlusonar. 2 vols. Halle an de Saale: Verlag der Buchhandlung des Waisenhauses.
13. Internal references
14. (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 2 May 2024)
15. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Vargs 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. 903.
16. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Sturla Þórðarson, Hákonarkviða 6’ 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, pp. 703-4.
17. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Sturla Þórðarson, Hákonarflokkr 1’ 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. 746.