FriðÞ Lv 26^VIII (Frið 32)

Kysta ek unga         Ingibjörgu,
Belja dóttur,         í Baldrshaga.
Svá skulu árar         á Elliða
báðar brotna         sem bogi Helga.

Ek kysta unga Ingibjörgu, dóttur Belja, í Baldrshaga. Svá skulu báðar árar á Elliða brotna sem bogi Helga.

I kissed the young Ingibjǫrg, daughter of Beli, in Baldrshagi. Both oars on Elliði shall break, just like Helgi’s bow.

Mss: 510(95r), 568ˣ(102r), 27ˣ(137v), papp17ˣ(361r), 109a IIˣ(150v), 1006ˣ(590-591), 173ˣ(90r) (Frið)

Readings: [5] skulu: ‘[…]’ 568ˣ    [6] á Elliða: Elliða báðar 27ˣ    [7] báðar brotna: brotna sundr 27ˣ, báðar bresta papp17ˣ, 109a IIˣ, 1006ˣ, 173ˣ

Editions: Skj AII, 276, Skj BII, 298, Skald II, 157; Falk 1890, 83, Frið 1893, 26, 54, 81, Frið 1901, 38, Frið 1914, 25; Edd. Min. 101-2.

Context: Helgi regains consciousness (see Frið 28/3-4 and Note) and sets off with some men down to the harbour in pursuit of Friðþjófr. The latter has had all other ships scuttled, so Helgi cannot reach his enemy by boat. He takes aim at Friðþjófr with his bow, which breaks in two when he bends it with great force. Friðþjófr sees this, and bends forcefully over Elliði’s oars, which also break. He then speaks this stanza.

Notes: [All]: This stanza is in both the A and B redaction mss. The metre is fornyrðislag. — [All]: In the absence of any rational explanation for the motif of the reciprocal breaking of bow and oars, it is tempting to understand it as symbolic of the two adversaries’ frustration, Helgi’s at being unable to reach Friðþjófr in order to kill him, Friðþjófr’s at being unable to reach Ingibjǫrg. — [1-2]: Collocation of adj. ungr and the pers. n. Ingibjǫrg occurs also in Frið 35/3-4 and Ǫrv 18/3-4 and 22/1-2, though the Ingibjǫrg in question in Ǫrv is the daughter of a Swedish king. — [3] Belja ‘of Beli’: Name of the king of Sogn, father of Helgi, Hálfdan and Ingibjǫrg. In other places, a giant name, whose meaning is ‘Roarer’, notably name of a giant killed by the god Freyr (Gylf, SnE 2005, 31; cf. AEW: Beli). — [7] brotna ‘break’: The B redaction mss have bresta ‘burst, break’.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
3. AEW = Vries, Jan de. 1962. Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch. 2nd rev. edn. Rpt. 1977. Leiden: Brill.
4. SnE 2005 = Snorri Sturluson. 2005. Edda: Prologue and Gylfaginning. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2nd edn. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
5. Edd. Min. = Heusler, Andreas and Wilhelm Ranisch, eds. 1903. Eddica Minora: Dichtungen eddischer Art aus den Fornaldarsögur und anderen Prosawerken. Dortmund: Ruhfus. Rpt. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft.
6. Frið 1893 = Larsson, Ludvig, ed. 1893b. Sagan ock rimorna om Friðþiófr hinn frækni. SUGNL 22. Copenhagen: Malmström.
7. Frið 1901 = Larsson, Ludvig, ed. 1901. Friðþjófs saga ins frœkna. ASB 9. Halle: Niemeyer.
8. Frið 1914 = Wenz, Gustaf, ed. 1914. Die Friðþjófssaga in ihrer Überlieferung untersucht und der ältesten Fassung kritisch herausgegeben. Halle: Niemeyer.
9. Falk, Hjalmar. 1890. ‘Om Friðþjófs saga’. ANF 6, 60-102.
10. Internal references
11. 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Ǫrvar-Odds saga’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 804. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=35> (accessed 6 May 2024)
12. (forthcoming), ‘ Snorri Sturluson, Gylfaginning’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=113> (accessed 6 May 2024)
13. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Friðþjófs saga ins frœkna 28 (Friðþjófr Þorsteinsson, Lausavísur 22)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 225.
14. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Friðþjófs saga ins frœkna 35 (Friðþjófr Þorsteinsson, Lausavísur 29)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 233.