ÞHjalt Lv 2I
Diana Whaley (ed.) 2012, ‘Þorvaldr Hjaltason, Lausavísur 2’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 273.
ill ‘’
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illr (adj.): bad, evil, unwell
varð ‘turned out’
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1. verða (verb): become, be
elfar ‘’
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elfr (noun f.): river
kennings
auðkveðjǫndum beðjar ǫlna fjalla.‘for the wealth-demanders of the bed of fish of the mountains. ’
= MEN
fish of the mountains. → SNAKES
the bed of SNAKES → GOLD
for the wealth-demanders of the GOLD → MEN
kennings
auðkveðjǫndum beðjar ǫlna fjalla.‘for the wealth-demanders of the bed of fish of the mountains. ’
= MEN
fish of the mountains. → SNAKES
the bed of SNAKES → GOLD
for the wealth-demanders of the GOLD → MEN
kennings
auðkveðjǫndum beðjar ǫlna fjalla.‘for the wealth-demanders of the bed of fish of the mountains. ’
= MEN
fish of the mountains. → SNAKES
the bed of SNAKES → GOLD
for the wealth-demanders of the GOLD → MEN
fjalla ‘of the mountains’
(not checked:)
1. fjall (noun n.): mountain
kennings
auðkveðjǫndum beðjar ǫlna fjalla.‘for the wealth-demanders of the bed of fish of the mountains. ’
= MEN
fish of the mountains. → SNAKES
the bed of SNAKES → GOLD
for the wealth-demanders of the GOLD → MEN
fjalla ‘of the mountains’
(not checked:)
1. fjall (noun n.): mountain
kennings
auðkveðjǫndum beðjar ǫlna fjalla.‘for the wealth-demanders of the bed of fish of the mountains. ’
= MEN
fish of the mountains. → SNAKES
the bed of SNAKES → GOLD
for the wealth-demanders of the GOLD → MEN
fjalla ‘of the mountains’
(not checked:)
1. fjall (noun n.): mountain
kennings
auðkveðjǫndum beðjar ǫlna fjalla.‘for the wealth-demanders of the bed of fish of the mountains. ’
= MEN
fish of the mountains. → SNAKES
the bed of SNAKES → GOLD
for the wealth-demanders of the GOLD → MEN
auð ‘for the wealth’
(not checked:)
1. auðr (noun m.; °-s/-ar, dat. -i/-): wealth < auðkveðjandi (noun m.): wealth-demander
kennings
auðkveðjǫndum beðjar ǫlna fjalla.‘for the wealth-demanders of the bed of fish of the mountains. ’
= MEN
fish of the mountains. → SNAKES
the bed of SNAKES → GOLD
for the wealth-demanders of the GOLD → MEN
kveðjǫndum ‘demanders’
kennings
auðkveðjǫndum beðjar ǫlna fjalla.‘for the wealth-demanders of the bed of fish of the mountains. ’
= MEN
fish of the mountains. → SNAKES
the bed of SNAKES → GOLD
for the wealth-demanders of the GOLD → MEN
beðjar ‘of the bed’
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beðr (noun m.; °dat. -/-i; -ir, dat. -jum): bed
kennings
auðkveðjǫndum beðjar ǫlna fjalla.‘for the wealth-demanders of the bed of fish of the mountains. ’
= MEN
fish of the mountains. → SNAKES
the bed of SNAKES → GOLD
for the wealth-demanders of the GOLD → MEN
beðjar ‘of the bed’
(not checked:)
beðr (noun m.; °dat. -/-i; -ir, dat. -jum): bed
kennings
auðkveðjǫndum beðjar ǫlna fjalla.‘for the wealth-demanders of the bed of fish of the mountains. ’
= MEN
fish of the mountains. → SNAKES
the bed of SNAKES → GOLD
for the wealth-demanders of the GOLD → MEN
til ‘to’
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til (prep.): to
Svíþjóðar ‘Sweden’
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Svíþjóð (noun f.): [Sweden]
seims ‘’
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2. seimr (noun m.; °dat. -i): gold
síðan ‘afterwards’
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síðan (adv.): later, then
víkinga ‘The vikings’’
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víkingr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): viking
notes
[4] víkinga ‘vikings’’: A force of Jómsvíkingar led by Styrbjǫrn: see Introduction to Anon (Styrb) 1-3.
heiman ‘their home’
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heiman (adv.): from home
eitt ‘Only’
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2. einn (pron.; °decl. cf. einn num.): one, alone
lifir ‘survives’
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lifa (verb): live
þeira ‘of them’
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hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...
þeir ‘they’
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hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...
hǫfðu ‘had’
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hafa (verb): have
lið ‘force’
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lið (noun n.; °-s; -): retinue, troop
fleira ‘the more numerous’
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fleiri (adj. comp.; °superl. flestr): more, most
gótt ‘good’
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góðr (adj.): good
notes
[7-8] gótt vas at henda her Hundings ‘it was good to catch Hundingr’s army’: Or, as Skj B has it, it was easy (let) to catch them. (a) Reading Hundings, these troops could be the vikings of l. 4 (so Kock, NN §380), though the identity of Hundingr is unknown, and it is even uncertain whether Hundingr is a pers. n. here or a heiti. A heiti is possible since Hundingr is a legendary king in the Nibelung legend and the word is among the heiti for sea-kings (Þul Sækonunga 3/3III). (b) Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) emends hundings to hundmargs and her to hers, hence hundmargs hers ‘immense host’, cf. hundmargr herr in Hfr ErfÓl 5/1, 2. He further takes hundmargs hers, not with the rest of l. 7, but with the subject of the principal clause, hence þat eitt þeira hundmargs hers ‘only that part of their immense army’. As well as removing the shadowy Hundingr, this improves the semantic context for þat eitt ‘only that, only that part’ in l. 5, which might seem oddly dehumanised, but it is at the cost of two emendations, and a very contorted word order. For another context in which the readings hundmarg- and Hunding- are both possible, see Bjbp Jóms 22/4 and Note.
vas ‘it was’
(not checked:)
2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
notes
[7-8] gótt vas at henda her Hundings ‘it was good to catch Hundingr’s army’: Or, as Skj B has it, it was easy (let) to catch them. (a) Reading Hundings, these troops could be the vikings of l. 4 (so Kock, NN §380), though the identity of Hundingr is unknown, and it is even uncertain whether Hundingr is a pers. n. here or a heiti. A heiti is possible since Hundingr is a legendary king in the Nibelung legend and the word is among the heiti for sea-kings (Þul Sækonunga 3/3III). (b) Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) emends hundings to hundmargs and her to hers, hence hundmargs hers ‘immense host’, cf. hundmargr herr in Hfr ErfÓl 5/1, 2. He further takes hundmargs hers, not with the rest of l. 7, but with the subject of the principal clause, hence þat eitt þeira hundmargs hers ‘only that part of their immense army’. As well as removing the shadowy Hundingr, this improves the semantic context for þat eitt ‘only that, only that part’ in l. 5, which might seem oddly dehumanised, but it is at the cost of two emendations, and a very contorted word order. For another context in which the readings hundmarg- and Hunding- are both possible, see Bjbp Jóms 22/4 and Note.
her ‘army’
(not checked:)
herr (noun m.; °-s/-jar, dat. -; -jar, gen. -ja/herra): army, host
notes
[7-8] gótt vas at henda her Hundings ‘it was good to catch Hundingr’s army’: Or, as Skj B has it, it was easy (let) to catch them. (a) Reading Hundings, these troops could be the vikings of l. 4 (so Kock, NN §380), though the identity of Hundingr is unknown, and it is even uncertain whether Hundingr is a pers. n. here or a heiti. A heiti is possible since Hundingr is a legendary king in the Nibelung legend and the word is among the heiti for sea-kings (Þul Sækonunga 3/3III). (b) Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) emends hundings to hundmargs and her to hers, hence hundmargs hers ‘immense host’, cf. hundmargr herr in Hfr ErfÓl 5/1, 2. He further takes hundmargs hers, not with the rest of l. 7, but with the subject of the principal clause, hence þat eitt þeira hundmargs hers ‘only that part of their immense army’. As well as removing the shadowy Hundingr, this improves the semantic context for þat eitt ‘only that, only that part’ in l. 5, which might seem oddly dehumanised, but it is at the cost of two emendations, and a very contorted word order. For another context in which the readings hundmarg- and Hunding- are both possible, see Bjbp Jóms 22/4 and Note.
handa ‘’
(not checked:)
hǫnd (noun f.; °handar, dat. hendi; hendr (hendir StatPáll³ 752¹²)): hand
at ‘to’
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5. at (nota): to (with infinitive)
notes
[7-8] gótt vas at henda her Hundings ‘it was good to catch Hundingr’s army’: Or, as Skj B has it, it was easy (let) to catch them. (a) Reading Hundings, these troops could be the vikings of l. 4 (so Kock, NN §380), though the identity of Hundingr is unknown, and it is even uncertain whether Hundingr is a pers. n. here or a heiti. A heiti is possible since Hundingr is a legendary king in the Nibelung legend and the word is among the heiti for sea-kings (Þul Sækonunga 3/3III). (b) Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) emends hundings to hundmargs and her to hers, hence hundmargs hers ‘immense host’, cf. hundmargr herr in Hfr ErfÓl 5/1, 2. He further takes hundmargs hers, not with the rest of l. 7, but with the subject of the principal clause, hence þat eitt þeira hundmargs hers ‘only that part of their immense army’. As well as removing the shadowy Hundingr, this improves the semantic context for þat eitt ‘only that, only that part’ in l. 5, which might seem oddly dehumanised, but it is at the cost of two emendations, and a very contorted word order. For another context in which the readings hundmarg- and Hunding- are both possible, see Bjbp Jóms 22/4 and Note.
notes
[7] henda ‘catch’: This fits well in context, providing an inf. to follow at, and producing a collocation which is paralleled in hendi hermenn ‘captured warriors’ in Arn Þorfdr 10/7-8II. It is marked as an emendation here since Flat’s reading consists of <h> with a horizontal bar through the ascender, which is the normal abbreviation for hann, followed by <anda>, so ‘hannda’, normalised handa, seems the likeliest expansion, though henda is written in 761bˣ, printed in Skj A and B and preferred in Flat 1860-8, which notes handa as an alternative. Meanwhile, neither henda nor handa provides skothending, so the line may be corrupt. — [7-8] gótt vas at henda her Hundings ‘it was good to catch Hundingr’s army’: Or, as Skj B has it, it was easy (let) to catch them. (a) Reading Hundings, these troops could be the vikings of l. 4 (so Kock, NN §380), though the identity of Hundingr is unknown, and it is even uncertain whether Hundingr is a pers. n. here or a heiti. A heiti is possible since Hundingr is a legendary king in the Nibelung legend and the word is among the heiti for sea-kings (Þul Sækonunga 3/3III). (b) Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) emends hundings to hundmargs and her to hers, hence hundmargs hers ‘immense host’, cf. hundmargr herr in Hfr ErfÓl 5/1, 2. He further takes hundmargs hers, not with the rest of l. 7, but with the subject of the principal clause, hence þat eitt þeira hundmargs hers ‘only that part of their immense army’. As well as removing the shadowy Hundingr, this improves the semantic context for þat eitt ‘only that, only that part’ in l. 5, which might seem oddly dehumanised, but it is at the cost of two emendations, and a very contorted word order. For another context in which the readings hundmarg- and Hunding- are both possible, see Bjbp Jóms 22/4 and Note.
notes
[7] henda ‘catch’: This fits well in context, providing an inf. to follow at, and producing a collocation which is paralleled in hendi hermenn ‘captured warriors’ in Arn Þorfdr 10/7-8II. It is marked as an emendation here since Flat’s reading consists of <h> with a horizontal bar through the ascender, which is the normal abbreviation for hann, followed by <anda>, so ‘hannda’, normalised handa, seems the likeliest expansion, though henda is written in 761bˣ, printed in Skj A and B and preferred in Flat 1860-8, which notes handa as an alternative. Meanwhile, neither henda nor handa provides skothending, so the line may be corrupt. — [7-8] gótt vas at henda her Hundings ‘it was good to catch Hundingr’s army’: Or, as Skj B has it, it was easy (let) to catch them. (a) Reading Hundings, these troops could be the vikings of l. 4 (so Kock, NN §380), though the identity of Hundingr is unknown, and it is even uncertain whether Hundingr is a pers. n. here or a heiti. A heiti is possible since Hundingr is a legendary king in the Nibelung legend and the word is among the heiti for sea-kings (Þul Sækonunga 3/3III). (b) Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) emends hundings to hundmargs and her to hers, hence hundmargs hers ‘immense host’, cf. hundmargr herr in Hfr ErfÓl 5/1, 2. He further takes hundmargs hers, not with the rest of l. 7, but with the subject of the principal clause, hence þat eitt þeira hundmargs hers ‘only that part of their immense army’. As well as removing the shadowy Hundingr, this improves the semantic context for þat eitt ‘only that, only that part’ in l. 5, which might seem oddly dehumanised, but it is at the cost of two emendations, and a very contorted word order. For another context in which the readings hundmarg- and Hunding- are both possible, see Bjbp Jóms 22/4 and Note.
Hundings ‘Hundingr’s’
(not checked:)
Hundingr (noun m.): Hundingr
notes
[7-8] gótt vas at henda her Hundings ‘it was good to catch Hundingr’s army’: Or, as Skj B has it, it was easy (let) to catch them. (a) Reading Hundings, these troops could be the vikings of l. 4 (so Kock, NN §380), though the identity of Hundingr is unknown, and it is even uncertain whether Hundingr is a pers. n. here or a heiti. A heiti is possible since Hundingr is a legendary king in the Nibelung legend and the word is among the heiti for sea-kings (Þul Sækonunga 3/3III). (b) Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) emends hundings to hundmargs and her to hers, hence hundmargs hers ‘immense host’, cf. hundmargr herr in Hfr ErfÓl 5/1, 2. He further takes hundmargs hers, not with the rest of l. 7, but with the subject of the principal clause, hence þat eitt þeira hundmargs hers ‘only that part of their immense army’. As well as removing the shadowy Hundingr, this improves the semantic context for þat eitt ‘only that, only that part’ in l. 5, which might seem oddly dehumanised, but it is at the cost of two emendations, and a very contorted word order. For another context in which the readings hundmarg- and Hunding- are both possible, see Bjbp Jóms 22/4 and Note.
es ‘that’
(not checked:)
2. er (conj.): who, which, when
unda ‘’
(not checked:)
1. und (noun f.; °; -ir): wound
rann ‘ran’
(not checked:)
2. renna (verb): run (strong)
notes
[8] undan ‘away’: Emendation of ms. ‘unda’ is necessary.
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
The stanza follows Lv 1 almost immediately. The citation is followed by a remark that Þorvaldr received a ring worth half a mark for each stanza.
[1-4]: As with Lv 1, a certain amount of emendation is unavoidable, and the problems are interdependent. The general meaning of the first helmingr seems to be that the vikings’ journey from their home into Swedish territory was disastrous for men (probably themselves; see below), but since there is no word for journey, sveim n. or sveimr m. ‘bustle, surge’ needs to replace the word which appears in Flat as ‘sæím-’, normalised seim- ‘gold, riches’. This stands at the right-hand edge of the column in Flat, with a superscript abbreviation that seems to indicate <s> (as assumed in 761bˣ, Flat 1860-8 and Skj A) or possibly <ir> (Fms) or <ar>. Emendation to sveim n. or sveimr m., adopted in all the eds listed above, brings with it a consequential emendation of ill in l. 1 to illt n. or illr m. respectively, which is reasonable since there is nothing for ill (f. nom. sg. or n. nom./acc. pl.) ‘bad, disastrous’ to qualify. The analysis of auðkveðjǫndum ‘wealth-demanders’ in l. 2 is uncertain, though under any interpretation it must presumably refer to the viking attackers themselves (so Fms 12 and subsequent eds). The gen. nouns elfar, fjalla, beðjar are most likely to form part of a kenning, in which case there are two main options: (a) The construal tentatively adopted above takes as a starting-point the fact that beðjar ‘of the bed, couch’ fits most naturally within a gold-kenning of the type ‘bed, lair of the serpent’ (cf. Meissner 237-41). Emendation of elfar to ǫlna ‘of fish’ (also adopted in Skj B) supplies this since ǫlunn fjalla ‘fish of the mountains’ would be a serpent or snake. This emendation is less drastic than it appears since the <e> and <ǫ> graphs are similar in many hands, and the <n> in an original ǫlna could have been misread as <u>, understood as [v], and written as <f> in Flat; corruption could also have been encouraged by elfar in Lv 1/7. Under this interpretation, auðkveðjǫndum ‘wealth-demanders’ (l. 2) becomes slightly problematic in that auð- ‘wealth’ and the gold-kenning both supply a determinant for the overall man-kenning, so that a mildly tautological ‘wealth of gold’ has to be assumed. In order to obviate this problem auð- could be taken as a descriptive element rather than integral to the kenning, with the sense ‘easy’ as in numerous adjectives such as auðfenginn, auðsóttr, both ‘easily obtained’, though normally, as in these cases, the second element is a p. p. A further possibility is to emend, for instance to ǫr- ‘eager’ as in Skj B and LP: ǫrkveðjandi, though the fact that ǫrr can mean ‘generous’ would seem problematic in an epithet describing ‘demanders’ of gold. (b) Fms 12 retains elfar, assuming that elfar fjalla ‘of the river of the mountains’ is a reference to the Rhine, qualifying auð(kveðjǫndum) ‘wealth(-demanders)’, and hence alluding to the legendary Nibelung hoard. This leaves til beðjar Svíþjóðar as a unit, which would mean ‘to the shore of Sweden / the Swedish realm’. (c) If elfar, fjalla and beðjar are not kenning-elements, auðkveðjǫndum could constitute a man-kenning in its own right, and this is how Kock (Skald and NN §1946) reads it. He also retains ms. elfar, reading elfar fjalla beðjar as a geographical description, lit. ‘beds of the mountains of the river’, which he takes with auðkveðjǫndum, hence (männen) från fjällen vid älvens strand, ‘(the men) from the mountains by the river’s shore’, or alternatively från fjällflodens strand ‘from the mountain river’s shore’. However, this is stylistically improbable.
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