ÞjóðA Sex 26II
Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Þjóðólfr Arnórsson, Sexstefja 26’ 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, pp. 139-40.
Mǫrk ‘with a mark’
(not checked:)
1. mǫrk (noun f.; °merkr, dat. -u/-; merkr/markir): mark (unit)
notes
[1] mǫrk ‘a mark’: A measurement of weight, equal to eight aurar ‘ounces’ or approximately 214 grams. In prose, a mark is often specified to be of silver or gold.
lét ‘had’
(not checked:)
láta (verb): let, have sth done
fyr ‘for’
(not checked:)
fyr (prep.): for, over, because of, etc.
verka ‘poetry’
(not checked:)
verki (noun m.; °-a): deed, work
notes
[1] verka ‘poetry’: Kreutzer (1977, 48) counts this among fourteen instances of verk in this sense, most in the later Christian poetry.
vekjandi ‘The rouser’
(not checked:)
vekjandi (noun m.): [rouser]
[2] vekjandi: ‘veckianndi’ F, ‘veikiandi’ E
kennings
Vekjandi hjaldrs snekkju‘The rouser of the warship’s battle ’
= WARRIOR
The rouser of the warship’s battle → WARRIOR
notes
[2, 4] vekjandi hjaldrs snekkju ‘the rouser of the warship’s battle [WARRIOR]’: These three words seem to form a single kenning, since although vekjandi hjaldrs ‘rouser of battle’ would be a very natural warrior-kenning, given that the verb vekja takes objects referring to strife, this would leave snekkju unaccounted for. The solution here is also that of Finnur Jónsson in Hkr 1893-1901, IV (recognising the rarity of the expression ‘ship’s battle’), and Skj B, also ÍF 28 and Hkr 1991. A variant on it is Kock’s snekkju hjaldrs-vekjandi ‘the warship’s battle-rouser or warrior’ (NN §§1021, 1138). Other alternatives are less satisfactory. (b) Tilgørðir hjaldrs could be taken together in the sense ‘deserving actions in battle’, or hjaldrs could be an adverbial gen. ‘in battle’ qualifying the whole of ll. 3-4, but this would be at odds with the mention of verka ‘poetry’ in l. 1 and would leave vekjandi snekkju ‘rouser of the warship’ as the kenning, which would not quite conform to the usual patterns (cf. Meissner 343, 348). (c) Sœkja, the H, Hr variant on snekkju, does not help, and probably belongs with the many unreliable readings unique to H-Hr.
snekkju ‘of the warship’s’
(not checked:)
snekkja (noun f.; °-u; -ur): warship
[2] snekkju: sœkja H, Hr
kennings
Vekjandi hjaldrs snekkju‘The rouser of the warship’s battle ’
= WARRIOR
The rouser of the warship’s battle → WARRIOR
notes
[2, 4] vekjandi hjaldrs snekkju ‘the rouser of the warship’s battle [WARRIOR]’: These three words seem to form a single kenning, since although vekjandi hjaldrs ‘rouser of battle’ would be a very natural warrior-kenning, given that the verb vekja takes objects referring to strife, this would leave snekkju unaccounted for. The solution here is also that of Finnur Jónsson in Hkr 1893-1901, IV (recognising the rarity of the expression ‘ship’s battle’), and Skj B, also ÍF 28 and Hkr 1991. A variant on it is Kock’s snekkju hjaldrs-vekjandi ‘the warship’s battle-rouser or warrior’ (NN §§1021, 1138). Other alternatives are less satisfactory. (b) Tilgørðir hjaldrs could be taken together in the sense ‘deserving actions in battle’, or hjaldrs could be an adverbial gen. ‘in battle’ qualifying the whole of ll. 3-4, but this would be at odds with the mention of verka ‘poetry’ in l. 1 and would leave vekjandi snekkju ‘rouser of the warship’ as the kenning, which would not quite conform to the usual patterns (cf. Meissner 343, 348). (c) Sœkja, the H, Hr variant on snekkju, does not help, and probably belongs with the many unreliable readings unique to H-Hr.
hann ‘he’
(not checked:)
hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...
hylli ‘favour’
(not checked:)
hylli (noun f.; °-): favour
notes
[3, 4] hylli sinnar ‘his favour’: This f. gen. sg. phrase is difficult to account for. (a) Semantically, hylli sinnar (f. gen. sg.) ‘his favour, magnanimity’ fits well with valda ‘cause’, and is taken here as its object, as by all modern eds (LP: hylli, valda and eds listed above). Valda with a gen. object is rare (so Finnur Jónsson in Hkr 1893-1901, IV) or unparalleled (ÍF 28 finds no parallel in early poetry), but would be supported by the fact that its cognates OE wealdan and OS waldan take gen. objects. (b) The other main solution would be to take tilgørðir hylli sinnar together, with the sense ‘actions deserving his favour’, though this is somewhat forced.
sinnar ‘his’
(not checked:)
3. sinn (pron.; °f. sín, n. sitt): (refl. poss. pron.)
notes
[3, 4] hylli sinnar ‘his favour’: This f. gen. sg. phrase is difficult to account for. (a) Semantically, hylli sinnar (f. gen. sg.) ‘his favour, magnanimity’ fits well with valda ‘cause’, and is taken here as its object, as by all modern eds (LP: hylli, valda and eds listed above). Valda with a gen. object is rare (so Finnur Jónsson in Hkr 1893-1901, IV) or unparalleled (ÍF 28 finds no parallel in early poetry), but would be supported by the fact that its cognates OE wealdan and OS waldan take gen. objects. (b) The other main solution would be to take tilgørðir hylli sinnar together, with the sense ‘actions deserving his favour’, though this is somewhat forced.
kennings
Vekjandi hjaldrs snekkju‘The rouser of the warship’s battle ’
= WARRIOR
The rouser of the warship’s battle → WARRIOR
notes
[2, 4] vekjandi hjaldrs snekkju ‘the rouser of the warship’s battle [WARRIOR]’: These three words seem to form a single kenning, since although vekjandi hjaldrs ‘rouser of battle’ would be a very natural warrior-kenning, given that the verb vekja takes objects referring to strife, this would leave snekkju unaccounted for. The solution here is also that of Finnur Jónsson in Hkr 1893-1901, IV (recognising the rarity of the expression ‘ship’s battle’), and Skj B, also ÍF 28 and Hkr 1991. A variant on it is Kock’s snekkju hjaldrs-vekjandi ‘the warship’s battle-rouser or warrior’ (NN §§1021, 1138). Other alternatives are less satisfactory. (b) Tilgørðir hjaldrs could be taken together in the sense ‘deserving actions in battle’, or hjaldrs could be an adverbial gen. ‘in battle’ qualifying the whole of ll. 3-4, but this would be at odds with the mention of verka ‘poetry’ in l. 1 and would leave vekjandi snekkju ‘rouser of the warship’ as the kenning, which would not quite conform to the usual patterns (cf. Meissner 343, 348). (c) Sœkja, the H, Hr variant on snekkju, does not help, and probably belongs with the many unreliable readings unique to H-Hr.
tilgørðir ‘deserving actions’
(not checked:)
tilgerð (noun f.): [deserving actions]
valda ‘determine’
(not checked:)
valda (verb): cause
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
The st. is quoted in the same context as st. 24 above. Haraldr’s greed for power and prosperity, as well as his generosity to friends, is remembered.
Stanza/chapter/text segment
Use the buttons at the top of the page to navigate between stanzas in a poem.
Information tab
- text: if the stanza has been published, the edited text of the stanza and translation are here; if it hasn't been published an old edition (usually Skj) is given for reference
- sources: a list of the manuscripts or inscriptions containing this stanza, with page and line references and links (eye button) to images where available, and transcription where available
- readings: a list of variant manuscript readings of words in the main text
- editions and texts: a list of editions of the stanza with links to the bibliography; and a list of prose works in which the stanza occurs, allowing you to navigate within the prose context
- notes and context: notes not linked to individual words are given here, along with the account of the prose context for the stanza, where relevant
Interactive tab
The text and translation are given here, with buttons to toggle whether the text is shown in the verse order or prose word order. Clicking on indiviudal words gives dictionary links, variant readings, kennings and notes, where relevant.
Full text tab
This is the text of the edition in a similar format to how the edition appears in the printed volumes.
Chapter/text segment
This view is also used for chapters and other text segments. Not all the headings shown are relevant to such sections.