Sturl Hryn 19^II

Ríða frák ór borgum breiðum
bragna fjölð — af þínu magni
víða glöddusk valskar þjóðir
varrar eld — í móti svarra.
Síðan kaus um sæmðarfúsa
snildarbrúðr, þann er eiga vildi,
öðlings bræðr, af yðru ráði
æztra manna göfugr svanni.

Frák fjölð bragna ríða ór breiðum borgum í móti svarra; valskar þjóðir glöddusk víða {eld varrar} af magni þínu. Síðan kaus snildarbrúðr um sæmðarfúsa bræðr öðlings, þann er göfugr svanni vildi eiga æztra manna af ráði yðru.

I heard that a multitude of men rode from broad cities towards the proud lady; the southern people rejoiced far and wide {in the fire of the sea} [GOLD] from your power. Then the eloquent bride chose amongst the brothers of the ruler, eager for honour, the one that the noble, proud lady wanted to have of the foremost of men according to your counsel.

Mss: F(119rb), E(192v-193r), G(1rb), 81a(120va), Flat(183vb) (Hák)

Readings: [1] Ríða: Reiða E, G, 81a    [3] valskar: vaskar G    [4] eld: elds Flat;    í: á E;    svarra: ‘svraia’ G    [5] ‑fúsa: ‘‑fussa’ 81a    [6] er eiga: eigi 81a    [7] öðlings: auðliga G;    af: á E    [8] æztra manna: æztan mann sjá Flat

Editions: Skj AII, 107-8, Skj BII, 118, Skald II, 62-3; F 1871, 558, E 1916, 657, Hák 1910-86, 673, Flat 1860-8, III, 203.

Context: Sturla returns to the description of Princess Kristín’s journey to Spain in 1257. The princess enjoyed a royal reception in every city she came to and finally chose Prince Philip to be her husband.

Notes: [1] ríða ‘rode’: Lit. ‘ride’ (inf.). Mss E, G and 81a have the reading reiða ‘carry’ which could be taken with varrar eld ‘fire of the oarstroke’: Ek frá fjölð bragna reiða eld varrar ór breiðum borgum í móti svarra ‘I heard that a multitude of men carried the fire of the oarstroke from broad cities towards the proud lady’. Earlier eds prefer the F, Flat variant. — [3] valskar ‘southern’: Valland designated France, Normandy and Italy (ÍO). It is used here in the general meaning ‘southerners, the people of France and Spain’. See also Note to Mark Eirdr 24/2. The reading in G, vaskar ‘bold’, makes sense also, but it is not supported by the other ms. witnesses. — [4] eld (m. dat. sg.) ‘fire’: Earlier eds emend to eldi (m. dat. sg.), because gleðjask ‘rejoice’ takes the dat. (see NS §109). That emendation is unnecessary, however, if we assume a dat. form without the -i ending, i.e. declined as an i-stem rather than an a-stem (see ANG §358.3). The dat. eldi is used elsewhere in this poem, however (see st. 12/3), and it is possible that the -i ending has been lost in hiatus (elision). For the kenning eld varrar ‘fire of the sea’ (i.e. ‘gold’), see also st. 1/2 above. — [4] svarra ‘proud lady’: The scribe of G seems to have written ‘svraia’. There clearly is a -ra abbreviation sign, not -ar sign as Finnur Jónsson tentatively suggested (Skj A), possibly a failed attempt to correct a mistake. — [6] þann er vildi ‘the one that (she) wanted to have’: The reading in 81a, þann eigi vildi ‘the one that (she) did not want’, does not fit with the prose narrative, nor does it make much sense from a logical point of view.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skj A = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15a. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. A: Tekst efter håndskrifterne. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1967. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
3. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. ANG = Noreen, Adolf. 1923. Altnordische Grammatik I: Altisländische und altnorwegische Grammatik (Laut- und Flexionslehre) unter Berücksichtigung des Urnordischen. 4th edn. Halle: Niemeyer. 1st edn. 1884. 5th unrev. edn. 1970. Tübingen: Niemeyer.
5. 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.
6. NS = Nygaard, Marius. 1906. Norrøn syntax. Kristiania (Oslo): Aschehoug. Rpt. 1966.
7. ÍO = Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon. 1989. Íslensk orðsifjabók. Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans.
8. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
9. E 1916 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1916. Eirspennill: AM 47 fol. Nóregs konunga sǫgur: Magnús góði – Hákon gamli. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske historiske kildeskriftskommission.
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. Internal references
12. Jayne Carroll (ed.) 2009, ‘Markús Skeggjason, Eiríksdrápa 24’ 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. 453-4.