SnSt Ht 97^III

Lyptak ljósu         lofi þjóðkonungs;
upps fyr ýta         jarls mærð borin.
Hverr muni heyra         hróðr gjǫflata
seggr svá kveðinn         seims ok hnossa?

Lyptak ljósu lofi þjóðkonungs; mærð jarls [e]s borin upp fyr ýta. Hverr seggr muni heyra hróðr gjǫflata seims ok hnossa kveðinn svá?

I lifted up the bright praise of the mighty king; the splendour of the jarl is proclaimed before men. What man may hear a praise-poem about a miser with gold and treasures composed in such a way?

Mss: R(53r) (SnE)

Editions: Skj AII, 76, Skj BII, 87, Skald II, 48; SnE 1848-87, I, 712-13, III, 134, SnE 1879-81, I, 15, 85, II, 33, SnE 1931, 251, SnE 2007, 38; Konráð Gíslason 1895-7, I, 65-6.

Context: The heading, added by R*, is bálkarlag ‘section’s metre’. It is a regularised variant of fornyrðislag (see st. 96 above) with two alliterating staves in the odd lines (Types A1 (ll. 1, 3, 5) and D2 (l. 7)). In the even lines, the main stave is placed in position 1 as in dróttkvætt (Types A (l. 8), A2k (l. 4) and D2 (ll. 2, 6)).

Notes: [All]: It is not quite clear what is implied by the name of this metre, bálkarlag ‘section’s metre’, and Faulkes (SnE 2007, 100-1: bálkr) suggests that Bálkr may have been a personal name. It is more likely, however, that the name is derived from longer, narrative poems (bálkar) in fornyrðislag, such as Sigurðar bálkr (Ív Sig^II) and Skaufhala bálkr (Svartr Skauf^VIII), whose content can be divided into clearly delineated sections. For this metre, see also RvHbreiðm Hl 37-8. The name of the metre is also given in TGT (TGT 1884, 68), where the sample stanza (StarkSt Frag) lacks double alliteration in the first line. — [All]: Again, both rulers are included in the praise (see st. 96 above).

References

1. Bibliography
2. TGT 1884 = Björn Magnússon Ólsen, ed. 1884. Den tredje og fjærde grammatiske afhandling i Snorres Edda tilligemed de grammatiske afhandlingers prolog og to andre tillæg. SUGNL 12. Copenhagen: Knudtzon.
3. 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.
4. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
6. Konráð Gíslason. 1895-7. Efterladte skrifter. 2 vols. I: Forelæsninger over oldnordiske skjaldekvad. II: Forelæsninger og videnskablige afhandlinger. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
7. SnE 2007 = Snorri Sturluson. 2007. Edda: Háttatal. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2nd edn. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
8. SnE 1879-81 = Möbius, Theodor, ed. 1879-81. Hattatal Snorra Sturlusonar. 2 vols. Halle an de Saale: Verlag der Buchhandlung des Waisenhauses.
9. Internal references
10. (forthcoming), ‘ Óláfr hvítaskáld Þórðarson, The Third Grammatical Treatise’ in Tarrin Wills (ed.), The Third Grammatical Treatise. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=32> (accessed 30 April 2024)
11. Kari Ellen Gade 2009, ‘ Ívarr Ingimundarson, Sigurðarbálkr’ 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. 501-27. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1282> (accessed 30 April 2024)
12. Tarrin Wills 2017, ‘ Starkaðr gamli Stórvirksson, Fragment’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 382. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=3003> (accessed 30 April 2024)
13. Kari Ellen Gade 2017, ‘ Svartr á Hofstöðum, Skaufhala bálkr’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 948. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=3349> (accessed 30 April 2024)
14. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Rǫgnvaldr jarl and Hallr Þórarinsson, Háttalykill 37’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1045.