Sturl Hrafn 5^II

Leysti lögrastar
landa stýrandi
— heldu of haf aldir
húfum — bládúfur.
Lýstiz hrein hæstum
höfn af skipstöfnum
eldi álfoldar
auðar glóðrauðum.

{Stýrandi landa} leysti {bládúfur {lögrastar}}; aldir heldu húfum of haf. Hrein höfn lýstiz {eldi {álfoldar}} af hæstum skipstöfnum, glóðrauðum auðar.

{The controller of lands} [RULER] launched {the dark doves {of the water-way}} [SEA > SHIPS]; men steered the hulls across the sea. The safe harbour was illuminated {by the fire {of the eel-ground}} [SEA > GOLD] from the loftiest ship-prows, red-glowing with wealth.

Mss: F(122ra), Flat(185rb) (Hák)

Readings: [1] lög‑: so Flat, lang‑ F    [3] heldu of (‘heldo vm’): heldum Flat;    aldir: aldar Flat    [7] eldi: aldi Flat    [8] glóð‑: blóð‑ Flat

Editions: Skj AII, 120, Skj BII, 127-8, Skald II, 68-9, NN §2580; F 1871, 572, Flat 1860-8, III, 220.

Context: After two days at sea, Hákon arrived with part of his fleet in Shetland and put in to harbour in Bressay.

Notes: [1, 4] leysti bládúfur lögrastar ‘launched the dark doves of the water-way [SEA > SHIPS]’: Skj B (and Skald?) takes bládúfur ‘dark doves’ in the meaning ‘dark waves’ (dúfa can mean both ‘dove’ and ‘wave’) and translates leysti bládúfur lögrastar as furede havets blå bølger ‘furrowed the blue waves of the ocean’. This requires an unattested meaning of the verb leysa lit. ‘loosen’ (see Fritzner: leysa, especially leysa 9-10; LP: leysa, especially leysa 3). See also st. 15/5 below. Dúfa ‘dove’ (‘bird’) can be the base-word in a kenning for ‘ship’ (see Meissner 216). Both lögröst (gen. sg. lögrastar) ‘water-way’ (l. 1) and bládúfa ‘dark dove’ (l. 4) are hap. leg. — [4] húfum ‘the hulls’: See Note to Mberf Lv 1/3. In LP: dúfa Finnur takes this word with the first cl. of the helmingr (‘furrowed the dark waves of the ocean with the hulls’; not so in Skj B). — [5, 6] hrein höfn ‘the safe harbour’: Lit. ‘clean harbour’. Bressay (island off Lerwick) was known for its good harbour. — [8] auðar (f. gen. sg.) ‘with wealth’: Lit. ‘of wealth’. Following NN §2580, the noun is taken here with the adj. glóðrauðum ‘red-glowing’ (l. 8) qualifying skipstöfnum ‘ship-prows’ (l. 6). Skj B construes it with af hæstum skipstöfnum ‘from the loftiest ship-prows’ (ll. 5, 6; af auðar-hæstum skipstöfnum), translated as på de rigt smykkede skibstavne ‘on the richly adorned ship-prows’, which is less likely from the point of view of w. o. According to that interpretation, glóðrauðum ‘red-glowing’ qualifies eldi ‘fire’ (l. 7). The ‘wealth’ likely refers either to the adorned strips of wood curving down from the prow or to gilded weather-vanes. See Notes to Sturl Hákkv 12/5, Arn Hryn 10/7-8, Bǫlv Hardr 2/2, Halli XI Fl 1/5, 8, Valg Har 10-11 and Ív Sig 16/1.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
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. Meissner = Meissner, Rudolf. 1921. Die Kenningar der Skalden: Ein Beitrag zur skaldischen Poetik. Rheinische Beiträge und Hülfsbücher zur germanischen Philologie und Volkskunde 1. Bonn and Leipzig: Schroeder. Rpt. 1984. Hildesheim etc.: Olms.
6. LP = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1931. Lexicon poeticum antiquæ linguæ septentrionalis: Ordbog over det norsk-islandske skjaldesprog oprindelig forfattet af Sveinbjörn Egilsson. 2nd edn. Copenhagen: Møller.
7. 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.
8. Fritzner = Fritzner, Johan. 1883-96. Ordbog over det gamle norske sprog. 3 vols. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske forlagsforening. 4th edn. Rpt. 1973. Oslo etc.: Universitetsforlaget.
9. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
10. Internal references
11. Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Arnórr jarlaskáld Þórðarson, Hrynhenda, Magnússdrápa 10’ 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. 195-6.
12. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Bǫlverkr Arnórsson, Drápa about Haraldr harðráði 2’ 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. 288-9.
13. Russell Poole (ed.) 2009, ‘Halli stirði, Flokkr 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, pp. 338-9.
14. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Ívarr Ingimundarson, Sigurðarbálkr 16’ 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. 511-12.
15. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Magnús berfœttr Óláfsson, Lausavísur 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, pp. 385-6.
16. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Sturla Þórðarson, Hákonarkviða 12’ 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. 708-9.
17. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Valgarðr á Velli, Poem about Haraldr harðráði 10’ 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. 308-9.