Anon Eirm 1I
R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2012, ‘Anonymous Poems, Eiríksmál 1’ 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. 1006.
Hvat ‘What kind’
(not checked:)
hvat (pron.): what
notes
[1] hvat es þat drauma * ‘what kind of dream is this’: The speaker is Óðinn. The phrase identifying him as such in the mss, however, is extrametrical and is omitted here; see Introduction to the poem.
es ‘is’
(not checked:)
2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
notes
[1] hvat es þat drauma * ‘what kind of dream is this’: The speaker is Óðinn. The phrase identifying him as such in the mss, however, is extrametrical and is omitted here; see Introduction to the poem.
þat ‘this’
notes
[1] hvat es þat drauma * ‘what kind of dream is this’: The speaker is Óðinn. The phrase identifying him as such in the mss, however, is extrametrical and is omitted here; see Introduction to the poem.
drauma ‘dream’
(not checked:)
draumr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-; -ar): dream
[1, 2] drauma * es ek: drauma kvað Óðinn er ek 761bˣ, FskAˣ, 52ˣ, 301ˣ, drauma Óðinn ek R, drauma er ek Óðinn Tˣ, drauma kvað Óðinn ek W, drauma Óðinn er ek U, ‘deoma err’ B
notes
[1] hvat es þat drauma * ‘what kind of dream is this’: The speaker is Óðinn. The phrase identifying him as such in the mss, however, is extrametrical and is omitted here; see Introduction to the poem.
* ‘’
(not checked:)
(non-lexical)
[1, 2] drauma * es ek: drauma kvað Óðinn er ek 761bˣ, FskAˣ, 52ˣ, 301ˣ, drauma Óðinn ek R, drauma er ek Óðinn Tˣ, drauma kvað Óðinn ek W, drauma Óðinn er ek U, ‘deoma err’ B
notes
[1] hvat es þat drauma * ‘what kind of dream is this’: The speaker is Óðinn. The phrase identifying him as such in the mss, however, is extrametrical and is omitted here; see Introduction to the poem.
es ‘that’
(not checked:)
2. er (conj.): who, which, when
[1, 2] drauma * es ek: drauma kvað Óðinn er ek 761bˣ, FskAˣ, 52ˣ, 301ˣ, drauma Óðinn ek R, drauma er ek Óðinn Tˣ, drauma kvað Óðinn ek W, drauma Óðinn er ek U, ‘deoma err’ B
ek ‘I’
(not checked:)
ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
[1, 2] drauma * es ek: drauma kvað Óðinn er ek 761bˣ, FskAˣ, 52ˣ, 301ˣ, drauma Óðinn ek R, drauma er ek Óðinn Tˣ, drauma kvað Óðinn ek W, drauma Óðinn er ek U, ‘deoma err’ B
hugðumk ‘thought’
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2. hyggja (verb): think, consider
fyr ‘before’
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fyr (prep.): for, over, because of, etc.
dag ‘daybreak’
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dagr (noun m.; °-s, dat. degi/dag/dagi(Thom¹ 332¹n.); -ar): day
notes
[2] lítlu ‘a little’: So also, e.g., Holthausen (1896, 87). Though most eds prefer the SnE reading rísa ‘arise, get up’, giving the sense ‘I thought I arose before daybreak’, the repetition of rísa in l. 6 is then clumsy, and indeed, it is easier to see how that second rísa should have given rise to the reading in SnE than to explain lítlu as a corruption of rísa.
Val ‘Val’
(not checked:)
1. valr (noun m.; °dat. -i; -ir): corpse, the slain < Valhǫll (noun f.): Valhǫll
notes
[3] Valhǫll: Lit. ‘slain-hall, the hall of the slain’, which Óðinn mans with the einherjar (see Note to l. 5), and which plays a similar role in this poem and in Eyv Hák, where it is named at sts 1/6 and 9/7. There is thus valuable evidence for the concept in some of the earliest poetry. As described in the eddic Grí 8-10, 23 (and SnE 2005, 32-4), Valhǫll is a vast building with 540 doors, roofed with spears and shields and furnished with mail-shirts; see also Simek (1993, 346-8).
hǫll ‘hǫll’
(not checked:)
1. hǫll (noun f.; °hallar, dat. -u/-; hallir): hall < Valhǫll (noun f.): Valhǫll
notes
[3] Valhǫll: Lit. ‘slain-hall, the hall of the slain’, which Óðinn mans with the einherjar (see Note to l. 5), and which plays a similar role in this poem and in Eyv Hák, where it is named at sts 1/6 and 9/7. There is thus valuable evidence for the concept in some of the earliest poetry. As described in the eddic Grí 8-10, 23 (and SnE 2005, 32-4), Valhǫll is a vast building with 540 doors, roofed with spears and shields and furnished with mail-shirts; see also Simek (1993, 346-8).
ryðja ‘I was preparing’
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2. ryðja (verb): to clear (free) land
[3] ryðja: riði 301ˣ, at ryðja W
fyr ‘for’
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fyr (prep.): for, over, because of, etc.
vegnu ‘a slain’
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1. vega (verb): strike, slay
folki ‘army’
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folk (noun n.): people
notes
[5, 6] vakða; bað ‘awakened; commanded’: The subj. forms vekða and bæða in some of the mss of SnE are possible, and they are preferred by Sahlgren (1927-8, I, 5 n. 1), but appear to be secondary.
ek ‘I’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
einherja ‘the einherjar’
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einherja (noun f.): [einherjar]
notes
[5] einherja ‘the einherjar’: These are the slain champions chosen to dwell in Valhǫll by Óðinn (Grí 8) and his agents the valkyries (Eyv Hák 1). They share a life of perpetual feasting and training in readiness to defend the gods (see st. 7 and SnE 2005, 21, 30, 32-4). The word seems to be compounded from einn ‘one’ and heri, pl. herjar ‘warrior(s)’, but the original sense is uncertain.
bað ‘asked’
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biðja (verb; °biðr; bað, báðu; beðinn (beiþ- Martin¹ 573, bỏþ- HákEirsp 661, cf. ed. intr. xl)): ask for, order, pray
[6] bað: bæða R, Tˣ, U, ‘beidd[...]’ B
notes
[5, 6] vakða; bað ‘awakened; commanded’: The subj. forms vekða and bæða in some of the mss of SnE are possible, and they are preferred by Sahlgren (1927-8, I, 5 n. 1), but appear to be secondary.
ek ‘I’
(not checked:)
ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
upp ‘up’
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upp (adv.): up
rísa ‘to get’
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rísa (verb): rise, raise
notes
[6, 7, 8] rísa upp at stráa ..., at leyðra ‘to get up to strew ..., to rinse’: The infinitives at stráa ‘to strew’ and leyðra ‘to rinse’ appear to be dependent on rísa ‘get up’, and hence the einherjar are the agents of these tasks in honour of Eiríkr – tasks less menial than might appear, if the benches in Valhǫll are strewn with mail-shirts rather than the usual straw (see Note to l. 3 above). It is conceivable, though unlikely, that the agent of at stráa and at leyðra is unexpressed (cf. NS §207) and different.
bekki ‘strew’
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1. bekkr (noun m.; °-jar/-s, dat. -/-i; -ir): bench
at ‘to’
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5. at (nota): to (with infinitive)
notes
[6, 7, 8] rísa upp at stráa ..., at leyðra ‘to get up to strew ..., to rinse’: The infinitives at stráa ‘to strew’ and leyðra ‘to rinse’ appear to be dependent on rísa ‘get up’, and hence the einherjar are the agents of these tasks in honour of Eiríkr – tasks less menial than might appear, if the benches in Valhǫll are strewn with mail-shirts rather than the usual straw (see Note to l. 3 above). It is conceivable, though unlikely, that the agent of at stráa and at leyðra is unexpressed (cf. NS §207) and different.
stráa ‘the benches’
(not checked:)
2. strá (verb): [benches]
notes
[6, 7, 8] rísa upp at stráa ..., at leyðra ‘to get up to strew ..., to rinse’: The infinitives at stráa ‘to strew’ and leyðra ‘to rinse’ appear to be dependent on rísa ‘get up’, and hence the einherjar are the agents of these tasks in honour of Eiríkr – tasks less menial than might appear, if the benches in Valhǫll are strewn with mail-shirts rather than the usual straw (see Note to l. 3 above). It is conceivable, though unlikely, that the agent of at stráa and at leyðra is unexpressed (cf. NS §207) and different.
borð ‘the drinking’
(not checked:)
borð (noun n.; °-s; -): side, plank, board; table < borðker (noun n.): °drinking vessel, beaker, goblet
[8] borð‑: ‘bor‑’ FskAˣ, 52ˣ, 301ˣ, bjór‑ R, Tˣ, W, B
notes
[8] borðker ‘the drinking cups’: Lit. ‘table-cups, cups at table’. This, the reading of 761bˣ and U, gives better sense than bjórker ‘beer casks’ (cf. ǫlker ‘ale cask’), the reading of the other SnE mss. It is also adopted by Müller (1837), Fsk 1902-3 and ÍF 29.
ker ‘cups’
(not checked:)
ker (noun n.): vessel < borðker (noun n.): °drinking vessel, beaker, goblet
notes
[8] borðker ‘the drinking cups’: Lit. ‘table-cups, cups at table’. This, the reading of 761bˣ and U, gives better sense than bjórker ‘beer casks’ (cf. ǫlker ‘ale cask’), the reading of the other SnE mss. It is also adopted by Müller (1837), Fsk 1902-3 and ÍF 29.
leyðra ‘rinse’
(not checked:)
leyðra (verb): [rinse]
[8] leyðra: so R, W, U, B, ‘lyðra’ 761bˣ, FskAˣ, 52ˣ, 301ˣ, lendra Tˣ
val ‘val’
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1. valr (noun m.; °dat. -i; -ir): corpse, the slain < valkyrja (noun f.): valkyrie
kyrjur ‘kyries’
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-kyrja (noun f.): [kyries] < valkyrja (noun f.): valkyrie
vín ‘wine’
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vín (noun n.; °-s; -): wine
bera ‘to bring’
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3. bera (verb; °berr; bar, báru; borinn): bear, carry
sem ‘as if’
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sem (conj.): as, which
vísi ‘a leader’
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vísi (noun m.; °-a): leader
[10] vísi: so R, Tˣ, W, U, vísir 761bˣ, FskAˣ, 52ˣ, 301ˣ, B
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In Fsk, the whole of the extant poem is cited without interruption after an account of the fall of Eiríkr blóðøx and Gunnhildr’s commissioning of the work (see Introduction). In SnE (Skm), Snorri quotes this stanza in a collection of stanzas illustrating poetic references to Óðinn (mostly kennings).
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