Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Sturla Þórðarson, Hrafnsmál 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. 728.
Sóttu sóknhvattar
sveitir háleitan
geira glymstæri
glyggs ór Finnbygðum.
Alt brá jarðbeltis
austan sigrflaustum
gjálfr af Gautelfi
gætis hásæta.
Sóknhvattar sveitir sóttu {háleitan glymstæri {glyggs geira}} ór Finnbygðum. Gjálfr {jarðbeltis} brá sigrflaustum {gætis hásæta} alt austan af Gautelfi.
Battle-keen companies sought {the sublime din-increaser {of the storm of spears}} [BATTLE > WARRIOR] from the settlements of the Saami. The surge {of the earth-belt} [SEA] drove the victory-vessels {of the guardian of rowing-benches} [CAPTAIN] all the way west from the Götaälv.
Mss: F(121vb), 8(77v), Flat(185rb) (Hák)
Readings: [1] ‑hvattar: hvatar 8, hvattir Flat [2] ‑leitan: ‑lettan Flat [3] ‑stæri: ‘‑stori’ 8 [4] glyggs: glygg 8 [5] brá: so 8, frá F, bar Flat
Editions: Skj AII, 119, Skj BII, 126-7, Skald II, 68; F 1871, 571, Hák 1977-82, 195, Flat 1860-8, III, 218.
Context: In 1263, Hákon set out on his campaign to the west to reestablish his sovereignty in the Hebrides and to punish the Scots for their rebellious behaviour. He gathered an army from all of Norway, and the naval contingents from the north and the south gathered in Herdlevær (in Øygarden, Hordaland) before they embarked on the journey.
Notes: [1] sóknhvattar ‘battle-keen’: Hap. leg. — [3-4] glymstæri glyggs geira ‘din-increaser of the storm of spears [BATTLE > WARRIOR]’: Glym- ‘din-’ is not part of the kenning for ‘battle’ (glyggs geira ‘of the storm of spears’); rather, it refers to the noise of the battle. See LP: glymstœrir. See also Introduction above. — [4] ór Finnbygðum ‘from the settlements of the Saami’: I.e. from North Norway. — [6] sigrflaustum ‘victory-vessels’: Hap. leg. — [7] af Gautelfi ‘from the Götaälv’: River in present-day south-western Sweden. — [8] gætis hásæta ‘of the guardian of rowing-benches [CAPTAIN]’: See also st. 19/6 below.
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