ÞSjár Þórdr 2I
Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2012, ‘Þórðr Særeksson (Sjáreksson), Þórálfs drápa Skólmssonar 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. 238.
vaði ‘’
(not checked:)
váði (noun m.; °-a): danger
víga ‘’
(not checked:)
víg (noun n.; °-s; -): battle
varga ‘of outlaws’
(not checked:)
vargr (noun m.; °dat. -i; -ar): wolf
[1] varga: víga J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 61, 325IX 1 a, Bb, Flat
kennings
Myrðir varga‘The killer of outlaws ’
= JUST RULER = Hákon
The killer of outlaws → JUST RULER = Hákon
notes
[1] myrðir varga ‘the killer of outlaws [JUST RULER = Hákon]’: Skj B and Skald emend myrðir (nom.) ‘killer’ to myrði (acc.) and take the kenning as the object of the verb varði ‘defended’, hence ‘the front of the army defended the killer of outlaws widely’. That emendation is unnecessary in view of the prose context.
myrðar ‘’
kennings
Myrðir varga‘The killer of outlaws ’
= JUST RULER = Hákon
The killer of outlaws → JUST RULER = Hákon
notes
[1] myrðir varga ‘the killer of outlaws [JUST RULER = Hákon]’: Skj B and Skald emend myrðir (nom.) ‘killer’ to myrði (acc.) and take the kenning as the object of the verb varði ‘defended’, hence ‘the front of the army defended the killer of outlaws widely’. That emendation is unnecessary in view of the prose context.
vítt ‘widely’
(not checked:)
víðr (adj.): far
notes
[2] vítt ‘widely’: The reference is presumably to Hákon moving about energetically in the van of his troops (cf. Context).
svá ‘thus’
(not checked:)
svá (adv.): so, thus
skal ‘one shall’
(not checked:)
skulu (verb): shall, should, must
frið ‘peace’
(not checked:)
friðr (noun m.): peace
slíta ‘tear apart’
(not checked:)
slíta (verb): to tear
áðr ‘’
(not checked:)
áðr (adv.; °//): before
vildi ‘’
(not checked:)
vilja (verb): want, intend
vilduð ‘’
(not checked:)
vilja (verb): want, intend
vildu ‘they wanted’
(not checked:)
vilja (verb): want, intend
[3] vildu: vilduð J1ˣ, J2ˣ, vildi 325IX 1 a, Bb, Flat
aldir ‘’
(not checked:)
ǫld (noun f.; °; aldir): people, age
ǫndurt ‘the front’
(not checked:)
ǫndurr (noun m.; °-s): front, onset
folk ‘of the army’
(not checked:)
folk (noun n.): people
af ‘’
(not checked:)
af (prep.): from
á ‘’
(not checked:)
3. á (prep.): on, at
lǫndum ‘the lands’
(not checked:)
land (noun n.; °-s; *-): land
Starf ‘The trouble’
(not checked:)
starf (noun n.; °-s; *-): exertion, task, trouble
óf ‘’
(not checked:)
óf (noun n.)
upp ‘’
(not checked:)
upp (adv.): up
þar ‘’
(not checked:)
þar (adv.): there
arfa ‘’
(not checked:)
arfi (noun m.; °-a; -ar): heir, heiress
kennings
arfi Gunnhildar‘the heir of Gunnhildr ’
= Haraldr gráfeldr
the heir of Gunnhildr → Haraldr gráfeldr
ótta ‘of the terror’
(not checked:)
ótti (noun m.; °-a): fear
kennings
ótta golls,‘of the terror of gold, ’
= GENEROUS MAN = Gamli Eiríksson
the terror of gold, → GENEROUS MAN = Gamli Eiríksson
notes
[6, 7] vanr ótta golls ‘bereft of the terror of gold [GENEROUS MAN = Gamli Eiríksson]’: (a) The kenning ótti golls ‘terror of gold [GENEROUS MAN]’ is similar to ótti fengins golls ‘the terror of seized gold [GENEROUS MAN]’ in Arn Hryn 16/1, 3II (see also LP: ótti). (b) Bjarni Aðalbjarnason (ÍF 26) also adopts the variant vanr ‘bereft of’ but reads vanr ótta á flótta golls ‘bereft of fear of the flight of gold’ (so also ÍF 29). He takes this as a reference to the generosity of Haraldr gráfeldr ‘Grey-cloak’, although, as Bjarni points out (ÍF 26, 191 n.), Haraldr was not known for his munificence (see also Eyv Lv 8-9, 11). A further objection is that the construction ótta á flótta ‘fear of the flight’ is unattested (the prep. should be at and not á; see Fritzner: ótti 1). (c) Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) and Kock (Skald) retain the unmetrical Kˣ variant ‘valdi’ in place of vanr (l. 6). Skj B reads valdi (m. dat. sg.) ‘ruler’ and construes the unlikely kenning valdi ótta golls ‘the causer of the terror of gold [GENEROUS MAN]’ as a dat. object for the verb hefjask upp ‘begin’ (l. 5). Kock (NN §2519; Skald) takes valdi as valði/valdi, 3rd pers. sg. pret. indic. of velja ‘choose’, and suggests the following reading: ótti golls valdi á flótta ‘the terror of gold [GENEROUS MAN] chose to flee’, but the expression velja á flótta ‘choose to flee’ is attested nowhere. Furthermore, the disyllabic valdi makes l. 6 hypermetrical (elision is not possible in this position in a Type A-line), and the Kˣ reading is not supported by the other ms. witnesses.
vant ‘’
(not checked:)
2. vanr (adj.): lacking
valdi ‘’
(not checked:)
vald (noun n.; °-s; *-): strength, power
vanr ‘bereft’
(not checked:)
2. vanr (adj.): lacking
[6] vanr á: so F, J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 61, 325IX 1 a, Flat, FskBˣ, FskAˣ, valdi á Kˣ, vant á vant á Bb
notes
[6, 7] vanr ótta golls ‘bereft of the terror of gold [GENEROUS MAN = Gamli Eiríksson]’: (a) The kenning ótti golls ‘terror of gold [GENEROUS MAN]’ is similar to ótti fengins golls ‘the terror of seized gold [GENEROUS MAN]’ in Arn Hryn 16/1, 3II (see also LP: ótti). (b) Bjarni Aðalbjarnason (ÍF 26) also adopts the variant vanr ‘bereft of’ but reads vanr ótta á flótta golls ‘bereft of fear of the flight of gold’ (so also ÍF 29). He takes this as a reference to the generosity of Haraldr gráfeldr ‘Grey-cloak’, although, as Bjarni points out (ÍF 26, 191 n.), Haraldr was not known for his munificence (see also Eyv Lv 8-9, 11). A further objection is that the construction ótta á flótta ‘fear of the flight’ is unattested (the prep. should be at and not á; see Fritzner: ótti 1). (c) Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) and Kock (Skald) retain the unmetrical Kˣ variant ‘valdi’ in place of vanr (l. 6). Skj B reads valdi (m. dat. sg.) ‘ruler’ and construes the unlikely kenning valdi ótta golls ‘the causer of the terror of gold [GENEROUS MAN]’ as a dat. object for the verb hefjask upp ‘begin’ (l. 5). Kock (NN §2519; Skald) takes valdi as valði/valdi, 3rd pers. sg. pret. indic. of velja ‘choose’, and suggests the following reading: ótti golls valdi á flótta ‘the terror of gold [GENEROUS MAN] chose to flee’, but the expression velja á flótta ‘choose to flee’ is attested nowhere. Furthermore, the disyllabic valdi makes l. 6 hypermetrical (elision is not possible in this position in a Type A-line), and the Kˣ reading is not supported by the other ms. witnesses.
á ‘in’
(not checked:)
3. á (prep.): on, at
[6] vanr á: so F, J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 61, 325IX 1 a, Flat, FskBˣ, FskAˣ, valdi á Kˣ, vant á vant á Bb
flótta ‘flight’
(not checked:)
flótti (noun m.): flight, fleeing
golls ‘of gold’
(not checked:)
gull (noun n.): gold
kennings
ótta golls,‘of the terror of gold, ’
= GENEROUS MAN = Gamli Eiríksson
the terror of gold, → GENEROUS MAN = Gamli Eiríksson
notes
[6, 7] vanr ótta golls ‘bereft of the terror of gold [GENEROUS MAN = Gamli Eiríksson]’: (a) The kenning ótti golls ‘terror of gold [GENEROUS MAN]’ is similar to ótti fengins golls ‘the terror of seized gold [GENEROUS MAN]’ in Arn Hryn 16/1, 3II (see also LP: ótti). (b) Bjarni Aðalbjarnason (ÍF 26) also adopts the variant vanr ‘bereft of’ but reads vanr ótta á flótta golls ‘bereft of fear of the flight of gold’ (so also ÍF 29). He takes this as a reference to the generosity of Haraldr gráfeldr ‘Grey-cloak’, although, as Bjarni points out (ÍF 26, 191 n.), Haraldr was not known for his munificence (see also Eyv Lv 8-9, 11). A further objection is that the construction ótta á flótta ‘fear of the flight’ is unattested (the prep. should be at and not á; see Fritzner: ótti 1). (c) Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) and Kock (Skald) retain the unmetrical Kˣ variant ‘valdi’ in place of vanr (l. 6). Skj B reads valdi (m. dat. sg.) ‘ruler’ and construes the unlikely kenning valdi ótta golls ‘the causer of the terror of gold [GENEROUS MAN]’ as a dat. object for the verb hefjask upp ‘begin’ (l. 5). Kock (NN §2519; Skald) takes valdi as valði/valdi, 3rd pers. sg. pret. indic. of velja ‘choose’, and suggests the following reading: ótti golls valdi á flótta ‘the terror of gold [GENEROUS MAN] chose to flee’, but the expression velja á flótta ‘choose to flee’ is attested nowhere. Furthermore, the disyllabic valdi makes l. 6 hypermetrical (elision is not possible in this position in a Type A-line), and the Kˣ reading is not supported by the other ms. witnesses.
en ‘’
(not checked:)
4. en (conj.): than
es ‘because’
(not checked:)
2. er (conj.): who, which, when
[7] es (‘er’): so 61, 325IX 1 a, Bb, FskBˣ, FskAˣ, en Kˣ, F, J1ˣ, J2ˣ, Flat
fell ‘’
(not checked:)
falla (verb): fall
gramr ‘the ruler’
(not checked:)
1. gramr (noun m.): ruler
[7] gramr vas (‘gramr var’): fell gramr Flat
notes
[7] gramr ‘the ruler’: The ruler fallen in flight must be the same person who is referred to as ótti golls ‘the terror of gold’ (ll. 6, 7), namely, Haraldr’s oldest and most distinguished brother, Gamli Eiríksson. Gamli had been killed when he fled from Hákon following the battle at Rastarkálfr on the island of Fræði (Frei), c. 955; see Gsind Hákdr 8, Eyv Lv 6, Glúmr Lv; ÍF 26, 179-81; ÍF 29, 81-2.
vas ‘had’
(not checked:)
2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
[7] gramr vas (‘gramr var’): fell gramr Flat
gunni ‘’
(not checked:)
gunnr (noun f.): battle
at ‘’
(not checked:)
3. at (prep.): at, to
Gunnhildar ‘of Gunnhildr’
(not checked:)
Gunnhildr (noun f.): Gunnhildr
kennings
arfi Gunnhildar‘the heir of Gunnhildr ’
= Haraldr gráfeldr
the heir of Gunnhildr → Haraldr gráfeldr
notes
[8] Gunnhildar ‘of Gunnhildr’: Wife of Eiríkr blóðøx ‘Blood-axe’ Haraldsson; see skald Biography of Gunnhildr (Gunnh).
kom ‘came’
(not checked:)
koma (verb; kem, kom/kvam, kominn): come
sunnan ‘from the south’
(not checked:)
sunnan (adv.): (from the) south
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
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Varði varga myrðir |
The killer of outlaws [JUST RULER = Hákon] defended the front of the army widely; thus one shall tear apart peace; they wanted that prince to grow old in the lands. The trouble began when the heir of Gunnhildr [= Haraldr gráfeldr] came from the south, bereft of the terror of gold [GENEROUS MAN = Gamli Eiríksson], because the ruler had fallen in flight.
Hákon charges after his fleeing enemies at the front of his troops, striking them frequently and hard, when he is shot in the arm by an arrow apparently coming out of nowhere. The sons of Eiríkr escape on their ships with Hákon’s men in hot pursuit (so Hkr, ÓT, Flat; Fsk has no prose).
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