Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Valgarðr á Velli, Poem about Haraldr harðráði 9’ 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. 307-8.
Dvalði daprt of skilða
(drifu, þeirs eptir lifðu)
ferð, en fengin urðu
fǫgr sprund (Danir undan).
Láss helt líki drósar;
leið fyr yðr til skeiða
(bitu fíkula fjǫtrar)
fljóð mart (hǫrund bjartir).
Dvalði daprt of skilða ferð; Danir, þeirs lifðu eptir, drifu undan, en fǫgr sprund urðu fengin. Láss helt líki drósar; mart fljóð leið fyr yðr til skeiða; bjartir fjǫtrar bitu hǫrund fíkula.
The pitifully scattered crowd was delayed; the Danes who were still alive fled away, but fair women were captured. A lock secured the girl’s body; many a maiden went before you to the warships; bright fetters bit greedily into the flesh.
Mss: Kˣ(532v-533r), 39(21rb), F(44ra), E(13r), J2ˣ(264v) (Hkr); FskBˣ(65v) (Fsk); Mork(3v) (Mork); H(29r), Hr(21rb) (H-Hr)
Readings: [1] Dvalði: so 39, F, E, Dulði Kˣ, J2ˣ, Dvǫlðum FskBˣ, Dvǫlðu Mork, H, Hr; daprt: djarft 39, F, ‘dafrt’ E; of: om. E, ok Hr [2] drifu: ‘drifa’ F; þeirs (‘þeir er’): þeir sem H [4] sprund: sprund en E [5] helt: hefr E; drósar: ‘drosat’ E [6] leið: leiðr 39, F; til skeiða: of skeiðar F, til skeiðar E, FskBˣ [7] bitu: ‘bittv’ H; fjǫtrar: ‘fionrar’ E, ‘fiortrar’ H [8] fljóð: fjǫl‑ E; bjartir: ‑bjartra FskBˣ, ‑bjarta Mork, ‑bjartar Hr
Editions: Skj AI, 392, Skj BI, 362, Skald I, 181, NN §§876, 2989E; ÍF 28, 94 (HSig ch. 19), F 1871, 203, E 1916, 45; ÍF 29, 241 (ch. 52); Mork 1867, 18, Mork 1928-32, 90, Andersson and Gade 2000, 152, 474 (MH); Fms 6, 176 (HSig ch. 17).
Context: As sts 7-8 above.
Notes: [All]: For the capture and possible mistreatment of women by marauding vikings, see Note to ÞjóðA Magn 7/5, 6, Grani Har 1/1, 4, st. 3/4 above and Hskv Útdr 5. — [1, 3] dvalði daprt of skilða ferð ‘the pitifully scattered crowd was delayed’: Dvalði (3rd pers. sg. pret. indic.) ‘was delayed’ is used impersonally with daprt of skilða ferð ‘the pitifully scattered crowd’ in the acc. (see Fritzner: dvelja 1). Dulði (3rd pers. sg. pret. indic.) ‘suppressed’ (so Kˣ, J2ˣ) must be a scribal error. FskBˣ has dvǫlðum (1st pers. pl. pret. indic.) ‘we delayed’, but it is highly unlikely that Valgarðr had been part of this expedition. Mork (and H-Hr) reads dvǫlðu daprt of skilða ferð ‘they delayed the pitifully scattered crowd’, which is possible but less likely in view of the ms. witnesses. — [6] til skeiða ‘to the warships’: See Note to st. 1/2 above. — [8] bjartir (m. nom. pl.) ‘bright’: The variant forms of the adj. bjartr ‘bright, fair’ give the following readings of ll. 7, 8: fjǫtrar bitu hǫrund bjartra fíkula ‘fetters bit greedily into the flesh of the fair ones (so FskBˣ; ÍF 29; Skald; NN §2989E); fjǫtrar bitu bjarta hǫrund fíkula ‘fetters bit greedily into fair flesh’ (so Mork). Skj B adopts the FskBˣ variant bjartra (gen. pl.) and connects it with skeiða (f. gen. pl.) in the previous cl., which creates an awkward tripartite l. (see NN §§876, 2989E).
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