Sturl Hryn 12II
Valgerður Erna Þorvaldsdóttir (ed.) 2009, ‘Sturla Þórðarson, Hrynhenda 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. 688-9.
Hrinda ‘propelled’
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1. hrinda (verb): launch, propell
lét ‘had’
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láta (verb): let, have sth done
[1] lét út: réð úr E, réðu 81a, réð út 8, ‘reedtu’ Flat
notes
[1] lét ... út ‘had ... out’: This edn follows Konráð Gíslason (1895-7, I, 76) in choosing the reading of F, but Finnur Jónsson and Kock (Skj B; Skald) adjust the reading of Flat and 8 to réðuð (2nd pers. pl. pret. indic.) as an auxiliary with the inf. hrinda ‘propel’. According to that interpretation, frægr hilmir ‘famous king’ (l. 2) is a form of address.
notes
[1] lét ... út ‘had ... out’: This edn follows Konráð Gíslason (1895-7, I, 76) in choosing the reading of F, but Finnur Jónsson and Kock (Skj B; Skald) adjust the reading of Flat and 8 to réðuð (2nd pers. pl. pret. indic.) as an auxiliary with the inf. hrinda ‘propel’. According to that interpretation, frægr hilmir ‘famous king’ (l. 2) is a form of address.
her ‘of war’
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herr (noun m.; °-s/-jar, dat. -; -jar, gen. -ja/herra): army, host < herskip (noun n.): warship
skips ‘ships’
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skip (noun n.; °-s; -): ship < herskip (noun n.): warship
bröndum ‘the prows’
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brandr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): sword, prow; fire
hilmir ‘king’
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hilmir (noun m.): prince, protector
frægr ‘The famous’
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frægr (adj.; °-jan/-an; compar. -ri, superl. -jastr/-astr/-str): famous, renowned
á ‘onto’
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3. á (prep.): on, at
saltan ‘the salty’
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saltan (noun f.): [salty]
ægi ‘sea’
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2. ægir (noun m.): ocean, sea
eldi ‘fire’
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eldr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-(HómÍsl¹(1993) 24v²⁴); -ar): fire
kennings
æsiköldum meið unnar.‘the terribly cold tree of the wave. ’
= SHIP
the terribly cold tree of the wave. → SHIP
notes
[3] æsiköldum ‘terribly cold’: This is an example of a clever wordplay, in which the ‘terribly cold’ stem of the ship forms a sharp contrast with the fiery-hot slipway, bringing to mind the icy waves of the northern seas.
köldum ‘cold’
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kaldr (adj.; °compar. -ari): cold < œsikaldr (adj.)
kennings
æsiköldum meið unnar.‘the terribly cold tree of the wave. ’
= SHIP
the terribly cold tree of the wave. → SHIP
notes
[3] æsiköldum ‘terribly cold’: This is an example of a clever wordplay, in which the ‘terribly cold’ stem of the ship forms a sharp contrast with the fiery-hot slipway, bringing to mind the icy waves of the northern seas.
unnar ‘of the wave’
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2. unnr (noun f.): wave
kennings
æsiköldum meið unnar.‘the terribly cold tree of the wave. ’
= SHIP
the terribly cold tree of the wave. → SHIP
kennings
æsiköldum meið unnar.‘the terribly cold tree of the wave. ’
= SHIP
the terribly cold tree of the wave. → SHIP
ór ‘from’
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3. ór (prep.): out of
dregnum ‘the worn’
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2. draga (verb; °dregr; dró, drógu; dreginn/droget(Hirð NKS 1642 4° 146v²⁹; cf. [$962$])): drag, pull, draw
notes
[4] dregnum hlunni ‘worn slipway’: Ships were launched out to sea on a wooden slipway and were pulled up the same way to be stored on land for the winter. The weight of the ships as they were being pulled on the slipway wore down the wooden planks and the rubbing generated heat, causing sparks to fly from under the ships, according to LP: draga 11. That interpretation is partly supported by ONP: draga 26 præt. part.: dreginn ‘weakened, worn out’. By using the p. p. dreginn Sturla plays with the two meanings, ‘pulled’ and ‘worn’. Kock rejected the latter interpretation. He construed the couplet as eldi hrauð fyr æsiköldum meið unnar dregnum ór hlunnum ‘fire poured from the terribly cold tree of the wave dragged from the slipway’ (NN §§1106, 1914D).
notes
[4] dregnum hlunni ‘worn slipway’: Ships were launched out to sea on a wooden slipway and were pulled up the same way to be stored on land for the winter. The weight of the ships as they were being pulled on the slipway wore down the wooden planks and the rubbing generated heat, causing sparks to fly from under the ships, according to LP: draga 11. That interpretation is partly supported by ONP: draga 26 præt. part.: dreginn ‘weakened, worn out’. By using the p. p. dreginn Sturla plays with the two meanings, ‘pulled’ and ‘worn’. Kock rejected the latter interpretation. He construed the couplet as eldi hrauð fyr æsiköldum meið unnar dregnum ór hlunnum ‘fire poured from the terribly cold tree of the wave dragged from the slipway’ (NN §§1106, 1914D).
Almenningr ‘All people’
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almenningr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-; -ar): [host, All people]
notes
[5] almenningr ‘all people’: It is hard to determine whether almenningr means ‘general levy’ or simply ‘people’. Both meanings are possible (see CVC: almenning 3, 4; Fritzner: almenningr 3, 4; ONP: almenningr 4, 5). LP translates almenningr as det samlede udbud (til leding), den samlede krigerskare ‘the general conscription (for the levy), the gathered army’. Jesch (2001a, 196) pointed out that the term almenningr is used in the later Norw. laws for the general levy that the king could call up if needed. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) chose the more general meaning alle mand ‘all people’ and this edn follows his interpretation.
varð ‘had’
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1. verða (verb): become, be
út ‘out’
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út (adv.): out(side)
at ‘to’
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3. at (prep.): at, to
ógnar ‘of battle’
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ógn (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): terror, battle
kennings
lundr ógnar;‘tree of battle; ’
= WARRIOR
tree of battle; → WARRIOR
lundr ‘tree’
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1. lundr (noun m.; °-ar, dat. -i/-; -ar): grove, tree
kennings
lundr ógnar;‘tree of battle; ’
= WARRIOR
tree of battle; → WARRIOR
á ‘in’
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3. á (prep.): on, at
þinni ‘your’
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þinn (pron.; °f. þín, n. þitt): your
grundu ‘land’
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grund (noun f.): earth, land
mildir ‘the generous’
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mildr (adj.; °compar. -ri/-ari, superl. -astr): mild, gentle, gracious, generous
höfðu ‘had’
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hafa (verb): have
her ‘conscripted’
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herr (noun m.; °-s/-jar, dat. -; -jar, gen. -ja/herra): army, host < herboð (noun n.)
[7] her‑: so all others, út‑ F
notes
[7] herboð ‘conscripted army’: So E, 81a, 8, Flat. This reading gives alliteration in three words in the same l. (höfðu : herboð : höldar), but that is not unusual in hrynhent. Konráð Gíslason (1895-7, I, 76) adopted the reading of F, útboð ‘levy’, avoiding the extra alliteration, but the other ms. witnesses show that this is a secondary variant.
boð ‘ army’
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boð (noun n.; °-s; -): command, offer, feast < herboð (noun n.)
notes
[7] herboð ‘conscripted army’: So E, 81a, 8, Flat. This reading gives alliteration in three words in the same l. (höfðu : herboð : höldar), but that is not unusual in hrynhent. Konráð Gíslason (1895-7, I, 76) adopted the reading of F, útboð ‘levy’, avoiding the extra alliteration, but the other ms. witnesses show that this is a secondary variant.
höldar ‘men’
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hǫlðr (noun m.; °-s; -ar): man
harða ‘a very’
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harðr (adj.; °comp. -ari; superl. -astr): hard, harsh
[8] harða: hardla Flat
sveld ‘large’
[8] sveld: sveldr 81a, Flat
notes
[8] sveld ‘large’: This is the p. p. n. nom. sg. of the weak causative verb svella ‘make swell’. Finnur Jónsson says (LP: 2. svella): med hensyn til den strænge befaling om meget mandskab der skulde samles ‘in consideration of the strict order about a large number of men that should be gathered’. The herboð ‘conscripted army’ (l. 7) swelled in numbers, as men all over the Norw. kingdom received orders to join King Hákon on his expedition to Denmark.
Nóregsveldi ‘the kingdom of Norway’
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Noregsveldi (noun n.): [kingdom of Norway]
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
The famous king had the prows of warships propelled out onto the salty sea; fire poured from the worn slipway before the terribly cold tree of the wave [SHIP]. All people in your land had to set out, tree of battle [WARRIOR]; the generous men had a very large conscripted army from the kingdom of Norway.
In 1256 King Hákon called up yet another fleet to sail to Denmark. This was the largest fleet he had ever sent there, 300 ships.
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