Sturl Hryn 8^II

Syngja létu snarpir drengir
sóknar gífr í fleina drífu;
brandar hleyptu ört ór undum
ærnu blóði danskrar þjóðar.
Víða fellu vegnir þollar
(vígadrótt) í reknum flótta
(faldin gekk þar fast at hildi)
frægra málma (ægishjálmi).

Snarpir drengir létu {gífr sóknar} syngja í {drífu fleina}; brandar hleyptu ærnu blóði ört ór undum danskrar þjóðar. {Þollar frægra málma} fellu vegnir víða í reknum flótta; vígadrótt, faldin ægishjálmi, gekk þar fast at hildi.

Brisk warriors made {the troll-woman of battle} [AXE] sing in {the snow-storm of spears} [BATTLE]; swords made plenty of blood flow swiftly from the wounds of the Danish people. {The fir-trees of famous weapons} [WARRIORS] fell slain far and wide in flight; the war-band, hooded with the helmet of terror, pressed on hard in the battle there.

Mss: F(117vb), E(189v), 81a(118rb), 304ˣ(347r), Flat(182va) (Hák)

Readings: [1] Syngja: so all others, Syngva F    [2] sóknar: so all others, sókna F;    gífr: hníf 81a, gögl Flat;    drífu: kófi Flat    [3] ört: ært 81a;    ór: af 304ˣ    [4] ærnu: vörmu 81a;    danskrar þjóðar: danskar undir E    [7] faldin gekk: falda geng 81a;    fast: so all others, ferð F    [8] frægra: frægr Flat;    ægis‑: ‘ægirs’ 304ˣ, ‘hægis’ Flat;    ‑hjálmi: hjálma E, 81a, Flat, hjálmum 304ˣ

Editions: Skj AII, 104, Skj BII, 115, Skald II, 61; F 1871, 550, E 1916, 646, Hák 1910-86, 648, 1977-82, 164, Flat 1860-8, III, 192.

Context: The warfare in Halland.

Notes: [2] sóknar (f. gen. sg.) ‘of battle’: So E, 81a, 304ˣ, Flat. Sókna f. gen. pl. ‘of battles’ (so F) is possible, but secondary. — [7] fast ‘hard’: F has ‘ferð’ ‘host’ which is hard to make sense of within the helmingr. Ferð gekk þar at hildi ‘the host pressed on in the battle’ is possible, but then it would be difficult to place vígdrótt, faldin ægishjálmi ‘the war-band, hooded with the helmet of terror’. The reading of the other mss solves that problem and is therefore chosen. — [8] ægishjálmi ‘helmet of terror’: The helmet of terror was worn by the dragon Fáfnir on Gnitaheiðr, cf. Fáfn 16-17 (NK 183) and Skm (SnE 1998, I, 46, II, 440). See also Sturl Hákkv 14/2.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
3. NK = Neckel, Gustav and Hans Kuhn (1899), eds. 1983. Edda: Die Lieder des Codex Regius nebst verwandten Denkmälern. 2 vols. I: Text. 5th edn. Heidelberg: Winter.
4. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
5. E 1916 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1916. Eirspennill: AM 47 fol. Nóregs konunga sǫgur: Magnús góði – Hákon gamli. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske historiske kildeskriftskommission.
6. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
7. 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.
8. Internal references
9. (forthcoming), ‘ Snorri Sturluson, Skáldskaparmál’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=112> (accessed 25 April 2024)
10. Not published: do not cite ()
11. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Sturla Þórðarson, Hákonarkviða 14’ 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. 710.