FriðÞ Lv 30VIII (Frið 36)
Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Friðþjófs saga ins frœkna 36 (Friðþjófr Þorsteinsson, Lausavísur 30)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 234.
Þá ‘when’
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2. þá (adv.): then
hét ‘was called’
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2. heita (verb): be called, promise
ek ‘I’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
Friðþjófr ‘Friðþjófr (‘Peace-thief’)’
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Friðþjófr (noun m.)
notes
[1] Friðþjófr ‘(“Peace-thief”)’: Some eds (so Skj B) emend the text here to Valþjófr (taking this name from l. 13), on the ground that Friðþjófr would not state his actual name in such a stanza, designed to keep King Hringr guessing about his identity. Later in the saga prose, however, Hringr is made to say that he knew who Friðþjófr was as soon as he saw him (Frið 1901, 47; Frið 1914, 31), so it may be unwise to apply modern-day rationality to the use of conventional motifs in saga literature.
er ‘’
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2. er (conj.): who, which, when
ek ‘I’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
[2] ek: so 1006ˣ, 173ˣ, om. papp17ˣ, 109a IIˣ
fór ‘travelled’
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fara (verb; ferr, fór, fóru, farinn): go, travel
með ‘with’
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með (prep.): with
víkingum ‘vikings’
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víkingr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): viking
en ‘and’
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2. en (conj.): but, and
Herþjófr ‘Herþjófr (‘Army-thief’)’
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Herþjófr (noun m.)
er ‘when’
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2. er (conj.): who, which, when
ek ‘I’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
ekkjur ‘widows’
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1. ekkja (noun f.; °-u; -ur, gen. ekkna): widow, woman
grætta ‘weep’
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grœta (verb): weep
Geirþjófr ‘Geirþjófr (‘Spear-thief’)’
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Geirþjófr (noun m.)
er ‘when’
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2. er (conj.): who, which, when
ek ‘I’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
gaflökum ‘throwing spears’
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gaflak (noun n.): [javelin]
notes
[6] gaflökum ‘throwing spears’: Old Norse gaflak, first appearing in prose texts c. 1270 (cf. ONP: gaflak), is possibly derived from late OE gafeluc (cf. OFr. javelot, MHG gabilot) and refers to some kind of throwing spear or javelin (cf. Þul Spjóts l. 7III and Note there). For the etymology, see OED: gavelock.
fleygða ‘let fly’
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fleygja (verb): fling
Gunnþjófr ‘Gunnþjófr (‘Battle-thief’)’
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Gunnþjófr (noun m.)
er ‘when’
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2. er (conj.): who, which, when
ek ‘I’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
gekk ‘went’
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2. ganga (verb; geng, gekk, gengu, genginn): walk, go
at ‘towards’
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3. at (prep.): at, to
Eyþjófr ‘Eyþjófr (‘Island-thief’)’
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Eyþjófr (noun m.)
er ‘when’
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2. er (conj.): who, which, when
ek ‘I’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
útsker ‘outlying skerries’
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útsker (noun n.): [outer skerries]
rænta ‘plundered’
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ræna (verb): rob
Helþjófr ‘Helþjófr (‘Hel-thief’)’
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helþjófr (noun m.)
notes
[11-12] Helþjófr, er ek henta smáb*örn* ‘Helþjófr (“Hel-thief”), when I seized little children’: Some eds (e.g. Edd. Min.) have adopted the reading of papp17ˣ in l. 12 smábjörnu (other mss having smábornu) in the sense ‘little bears’, sensing a possible connection with the name Húnþjófr, which appears in a corresponding passage of Friðþjófs rímur (IV, 55, 3, Frið 1893, 123) and which could be understood to contain the element húnn ‘bear cub’ or ‘boy, young man’ (cf. LP: húnn). The slight emendation to smábörn ‘little children’ was proposed by Falk, and seems far more probable than the over-ingenious bear cub hypothesis. Both Skj B and Skald emend to smábǫrnum (dat. pl.), though henda ‘catch, seize’ takes the acc.
er ‘when’
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2. er (conj.): who, which, when
notes
[11-12] Helþjófr, er ek henta smáb*örn* ‘Helþjófr (“Hel-thief”), when I seized little children’: Some eds (e.g. Edd. Min.) have adopted the reading of papp17ˣ in l. 12 smábjörnu (other mss having smábornu) in the sense ‘little bears’, sensing a possible connection with the name Húnþjófr, which appears in a corresponding passage of Friðþjófs rímur (IV, 55, 3, Frið 1893, 123) and which could be understood to contain the element húnn ‘bear cub’ or ‘boy, young man’ (cf. LP: húnn). The slight emendation to smábörn ‘little children’ was proposed by Falk, and seems far more probable than the over-ingenious bear cub hypothesis. Both Skj B and Skald emend to smábǫrnum (dat. pl.), though henda ‘catch, seize’ takes the acc.
ek ‘I’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
notes
[11-12] Helþjófr, er ek henta smáb*örn* ‘Helþjófr (“Hel-thief”), when I seized little children’: Some eds (e.g. Edd. Min.) have adopted the reading of papp17ˣ in l. 12 smábjörnu (other mss having smábornu) in the sense ‘little bears’, sensing a possible connection with the name Húnþjófr, which appears in a corresponding passage of Friðþjófs rímur (IV, 55, 3, Frið 1893, 123) and which could be understood to contain the element húnn ‘bear cub’ or ‘boy, young man’ (cf. LP: húnn). The slight emendation to smábörn ‘little children’ was proposed by Falk, and seems far more probable than the over-ingenious bear cub hypothesis. Both Skj B and Skald emend to smábǫrnum (dat. pl.), though henda ‘catch, seize’ takes the acc.
henta ‘seized’
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2. henta (verb; °-nt-)
notes
[11-12] Helþjófr, er ek henta smáb*örn* ‘Helþjófr (“Hel-thief”), when I seized little children’: Some eds (e.g. Edd. Min.) have adopted the reading of papp17ˣ in l. 12 smábjörnu (other mss having smábornu) in the sense ‘little bears’, sensing a possible connection with the name Húnþjófr, which appears in a corresponding passage of Friðþjófs rímur (IV, 55, 3, Frið 1893, 123) and which could be understood to contain the element húnn ‘bear cub’ or ‘boy, young man’ (cf. LP: húnn). The slight emendation to smábörn ‘little children’ was proposed by Falk, and seems far more probable than the over-ingenious bear cub hypothesis. Both Skj B and Skald emend to smábǫrnum (dat. pl.), though henda ‘catch, seize’ takes the acc.
smá ‘little’
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smár (adj.): small < smábarn (noun n.)
notes
[11-12] Helþjófr, er ek henta smáb*örn* ‘Helþjófr (“Hel-thief”), when I seized little children’: Some eds (e.g. Edd. Min.) have adopted the reading of papp17ˣ in l. 12 smábjörnu (other mss having smábornu) in the sense ‘little bears’, sensing a possible connection with the name Húnþjófr, which appears in a corresponding passage of Friðþjófs rímur (IV, 55, 3, Frið 1893, 123) and which could be understood to contain the element húnn ‘bear cub’ or ‘boy, young man’ (cf. LP: húnn). The slight emendation to smábörn ‘little children’ was proposed by Falk, and seems far more probable than the over-ingenious bear cub hypothesis. Both Skj B and Skald emend to smábǫrnum (dat. pl.), though henda ‘catch, seize’ takes the acc.
b*örn* ‘children’
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barn (noun n.; °-s; bǫrn/barn(JKr 345³), dat. bǫrnum/barnum): child < smábarn (noun n.)
[12] ‑b*örn*: björnu papp17ˣ, 109a IIˣ, ‑bornu 1006ˣ, 173ˣ
notes
[11-12] Helþjófr, er ek henta smáb*örn* ‘Helþjófr (“Hel-thief”), when I seized little children’: Some eds (e.g. Edd. Min.) have adopted the reading of papp17ˣ in l. 12 smábjörnu (other mss having smábornu) in the sense ‘little bears’, sensing a possible connection with the name Húnþjófr, which appears in a corresponding passage of Friðþjófs rímur (IV, 55, 3, Frið 1893, 123) and which could be understood to contain the element húnn ‘bear cub’ or ‘boy, young man’ (cf. LP: húnn). The slight emendation to smábörn ‘little children’ was proposed by Falk, and seems far more probable than the over-ingenious bear cub hypothesis. Both Skj B and Skald emend to smábǫrnum (dat. pl.), though henda ‘catch, seize’ takes the acc.
Valþjófr ‘Valþjófr (‘Slain men-thief’)’
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Valþjófr (noun m.): [lay]
notes
[13] Valþjófr ‘(“Slain men-thief”)’: The first element of this name is understood here to derive from valr ‘the dead slain in battle’, but it may possibly derive from val ‘choice’ or val- ‘foreign’ (cf. Bugge 1890, 230). On the name and its likely connotations in Anglo-Norman, see Edmonds (2015).
þá ‘when’
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2. þá (adv.): then
ek ‘I’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
var ‘was’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
æðri ‘higher than’
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œðri (adj. comp.): nobler, higher
mönnum ‘men’
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maðr (noun m.): man, person
Nú ‘Now’
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nú (adv.): now
hef ‘have’
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hafa (verb): have
ek ‘I’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
sveimat ‘roamed around’
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sveima (verb): surge
síðan ‘since’
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síðan (adv.): later, then
með ‘with’
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með (prep.): with
notes
[16] með saltkörlum ‘with salt burners’: In early Norway and Iceland, salt was often produced by boiling seawater or burning seaweed on the seashore (Foote and Wilson 1980, 164; Buckland 2008, 599-600). See also Anon (HSig) 4/1-4II for another reference in Old Norse poetry to the activity of burning seaweed to obtain salt.
salt ‘salt’
notes
[16] með saltkörlum ‘with salt burners’: In early Norway and Iceland, salt was often produced by boiling seawater or burning seaweed on the seashore (Foote and Wilson 1980, 164; Buckland 2008, 599-600). See also Anon (HSig) 4/1-4II for another reference in Old Norse poetry to the activity of burning seaweed to obtain salt.
körlum ‘burners’
notes
[16] með saltkörlum ‘with salt burners’: In early Norway and Iceland, salt was often produced by boiling seawater or burning seaweed on the seashore (Foote and Wilson 1980, 164; Buckland 2008, 599-600). See also Anon (HSig) 4/1-4II for another reference in Old Norse poetry to the activity of burning seaweed to obtain salt.
hjálpar ‘help’
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hjǫlp (noun f.; °hjalpar; hjalpir/hjalpar): help, salvation
þurfandi ‘needing’
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þurfandi (noun m.; °-a; -endr): [dependent on]
áðr ‘before’
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áðr (adv.; °//): before
en ‘’
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2. en (conj.): but, and
hingat ‘here’
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hingat (adv.): (to) here
kom ‘I came’
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koma (verb; kem, kom/kvam, kominn): come
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
I was called Friðþjófr (‘Peace-thief’), when I travelled with vikings, and Herþjófr (‘Army-thief’), when I made widows weep, Geirþjófr (‘Spear-thief’), when I let fly throwing spears, Gunnþjófr (‘Battle-thief’), when I went towards the host, Eyþjófr (‘Island-thief’), when I plundered outlying skerries, Helþjófr (‘Hel-thief’), when I seized little children, Valþjófr (‘Slain men-thief’), when I was higher than [other] men. Now I have since roamed around with salt burners, needing help, before I came here.
Friðþjófr approaches King Hringr’s court disguised as a wayfarer in a shaggy cloak. He claims to be engaged in the burning of salt (saltbrenna). When he comes before the king, Hringr asks him his name, and this stanza forms the answer.
This stanza, together with the surrounding prose, is only in the B redaction mss. Metrically and stylistically, it is unlike all the other stanzas in Frið, and clearly belongs to an enumerative model, in which an individual, usually in disguise, tells about his many adventures by means of a long list of names he has acquired on account of them. The god Óðinn is the prototype of this kind of figure, and Grí 48-50, quoted by Snorri Sturluson with commentary in Gylf (SnE 2005, 21-2), is the prototypical poetic realisation of this motif. It is a moot point as to how ll. 5-14 of the text should be divided metrically, as here (with Edd. Min., observing that er ek would normally be in dip) or after er ek (so Frið 1901 and Skald). Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) gives up on this question and places ll. 3-12 in square brackets, presumably to indicate that he sees them as a late interpolation. The stanza is a mixture of metres, fornyrðislag, málaháttr and kviðuháttr. — The Odinic model does not really suit the chivalrous character of Friðþjófr, as presented in the rest of the saga, both prose and poetry; however, the figure of the wandering hero in disguise is a conventional motif in other fornaldarsögur, such as Ǫrv, where the wanderer calls himself by a pseudonym (often Víðfǫrull ‘Widely-travelled’ or, in some mss of Ǫrv, Næframaðr ‘Bark-man’). In Frið 36, the many names Friðþjófr calls himself are all based on the semantic sense of the second element of his name ‑þjófr ‘thief’, while the first elements vary appropriately according to the activities with which they are associated. Most of these activities are of a martial or aggressive nature, which does not fit particularly well with Friðþjófr’s character in the saga. On names in ‑þjófr, see Bugge (1890, 225-36).
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