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skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Þfagr Sveinn 5II

Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Þorleikr fagri, Flokkr about Sveinn Úlfsson 5’ 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. 317.

Þorleikr fagriFlokkr about Sveinn Úlfsson
456

Stýrir Ulfs til Elfar
óskmǫgr skipum fǫgrum,
sás hrækǫstu hæsta
hleðr í Gunnar veðri.
Skolla vé, þars vǫllu
vápnlauðri drífr rauðu,
(regn drepr Gauts í gǫgnum)
gullmerk*ð (Hôolfs serki).

{Óskmǫgr Ulfs}, sás hleðr hæsta hrækǫstu í {veðri Gunnar}, stýrir fǫgrum skipum til Elfar. Gullmerk*ð vé skolla, þars drífr vǫllu {rauðu vápnlauðri}; {regn Gauts} drepr í gǫgnum {serki Hôolfs}.

{Úlfr’s beloved son} [= Sveinn], who stacks the highest corpse-piles in {the storm of Gunnr <valkyrie>} [BATTLE], steers fair ships to the Götaälv. Gold-embroidered banners flutter where {red weapon-foam} [BLOOD] covers the fields; {the rain of Gautr <= Óðinn>} [ARROWS] hammers through {Hálfr’s <legendary king’s> shirts} [BYRNIES].

Mss: FskBˣ(71r), 51ˣ(64r) (Fsk)

Readings: [5] Skolla: so 51ˣ, ‘skollo’ FskBˣ    [8] gullmerk*ð Hôolfs: ‘gullmarkuð holfs’ FskBˣ, 51ˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 397-8, Skj BI, 366, Skald I, 183; ÍF 29, 255 (ch. 55).

Context: As sts 2-4 above.

Notes: [6] drífr (3rd pers. sg. pres. indic.) ‘covers’: Drífa ‘fly, drift, cover’ is used impersonally with rauðu vápnlauðri (n. dat. sg.) ‘red weapon-foam’ (l. 6) as a dat. instr. and vǫllu (m. acc. pl.) ‘fields’ (l. 5) as an acc. of place. — [8] gullmerk*ð (n. nom. pl.) ‘gold-embroidered’: Merk- (rather than mark-) is determined by the internal rhyme, and the syllable - in gullmarkuð ‘gold-embroidered’ (so both mss) is secondary. It must have been added to achieve a l. with six syllables. The metre requires a disyllabic word in positions 1-2 with the hiatus word Holfs ‘Hálfr’s’, which had not yet been syncopated (cf. the later ms. form ‘holfs’; so both mss), in positions 3-4. — [8] serki Hôolfs ‘Hálfr’s <legendary king’s> shirts [BYRNIES]’: Hálfr was a legendary warrior king (see Hálfs saga ok Hálfsrekka (Hálf), especially chs 12-13).

References

  1. Bibliography
  2. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
  3. ÍF 29 = Ágrip af Nóregskonunga sǫgum; Fagrskinna—Nóregs konungatal. Ed. Bjarni Einarsson. 1985.
  4. Internal references
  5. 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Hálfs saga ok Hálfsrekka’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 303. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=75> (accessed 29 March 2024)
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