StarkSt Vík 11VIII (Gautr 19)
Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Gautreks saga 19 (Starkaðr gamli Stórvirksson, Víkarsbálkr 11)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 265.
vant ‘difficult’
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vandr (adj.): difficult
at ‘to’
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5. at (nota): to (with infinitive)
fylgja ‘follow’
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2. fylgja (verb): follow, accompany
þvíat ‘because’
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þvíat (conj.): because
fremstr ‘foremost’
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framr (adj.; °compar. framari/fremri, superl. framastr/fremstr): outstanding, foremost
í ‘in’
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í (prep.): in, into
flokki ‘the troop’
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flokkr (noun m.): group, flock
stóð ‘he stood’
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standa (verb): stand
Hjuggum ‘We hewed’
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hǫggva (verb): to strike, put to death, cut, hew
hjálma ‘helmets’
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1. hjalmr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): helmet
með ‘with’
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með (prep.): with
notes
[6] með höfuðgnípum ‘with head-peaks’: The cpd höfuðgnípa is a hap. leg. and its meaning is uncertain. Most interpretations have understood the phrase með höfuðgnípum to be a metaphorical way of referring to the tall heads of the warriors inside their helmets, as in Skj B’s proposed translation vi huggede hjælmene med (på) de höje hoveder ‘we hewed the helmets with (on) the high heads’. However, other senses are possible, including that með ‘with’ might have instrumental function, and refer to some kind of weapon, or that the ‘head-peaks’ were some kind of ornament or crest on top of the warriors’ helmets. The C10th helmet from a chieftain’s grave at Gjermundbu in Ringerike has a crest with a small spike on it (Graham-Campbell 1980, no. 271; Grieg 1947). Swedish helmets from the Vendel period also bore crests, often with protective images of boars surmounting them, as did several from Anglo-Saxon England dated from C7th-11th (Marzinzik 2007, 33-42; Beowulf ll. 303-6). In the Viking Age and later, the typical Scandinavian helmet is conical, as can be seen from the figures on the Bayeux Tapestry and other witnesses (cf. Steuer 1999, 337-8).
höfuð ‘head’
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hǫfuð (noun n.; °-s; -): head < hǫfuðgnípa (noun f.)
notes
[6] með höfuðgnípum ‘with head-peaks’: The cpd höfuðgnípa is a hap. leg. and its meaning is uncertain. Most interpretations have understood the phrase með höfuðgnípum to be a metaphorical way of referring to the tall heads of the warriors inside their helmets, as in Skj B’s proposed translation vi huggede hjælmene med (på) de höje hoveder ‘we hewed the helmets with (on) the high heads’. However, other senses are possible, including that með ‘with’ might have instrumental function, and refer to some kind of weapon, or that the ‘head-peaks’ were some kind of ornament or crest on top of the warriors’ helmets. The C10th helmet from a chieftain’s grave at Gjermundbu in Ringerike has a crest with a small spike on it (Graham-Campbell 1980, no. 271; Grieg 1947). Swedish helmets from the Vendel period also bore crests, often with protective images of boars surmounting them, as did several from Anglo-Saxon England dated from C7th-11th (Marzinzik 2007, 33-42; Beowulf ll. 303-6). In the Viking Age and later, the typical Scandinavian helmet is conical, as can be seen from the figures on the Bayeux Tapestry and other witnesses (cf. Steuer 1999, 337-8).
gnípum ‘peaks’
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1. gnípa (noun f.): peak < hǫfuðgnípa (noun f.)
notes
[6] með höfuðgnípum ‘with head-peaks’: The cpd höfuðgnípa is a hap. leg. and its meaning is uncertain. Most interpretations have understood the phrase með höfuðgnípum to be a metaphorical way of referring to the tall heads of the warriors inside their helmets, as in Skj B’s proposed translation vi huggede hjælmene med (på) de höje hoveder ‘we hewed the helmets with (on) the high heads’. However, other senses are possible, including that með ‘with’ might have instrumental function, and refer to some kind of weapon, or that the ‘head-peaks’ were some kind of ornament or crest on top of the warriors’ helmets. The C10th helmet from a chieftain’s grave at Gjermundbu in Ringerike has a crest with a small spike on it (Graham-Campbell 1980, no. 271; Grieg 1947). Swedish helmets from the Vendel period also bore crests, often with protective images of boars surmounting them, as did several from Anglo-Saxon England dated from C7th-11th (Marzinzik 2007, 33-42; Beowulf ll. 303-6). In the Viking Age and later, the typical Scandinavian helmet is conical, as can be seen from the figures on the Bayeux Tapestry and other witnesses (cf. Steuer 1999, 337-8).
brynjur ‘mail-coats’
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1. brynja (noun f.; °-u (dat. brynnoni Gibb 38⁹); -ur): mailcoat
[7] brynjur: brynjum 152
ok ‘and’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
brutum ‘broke’
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brjóta (verb; °brýtr; braut, brutu; brotinn): to break, destroy
[8] brutum: brutu 152
skjöldu ‘shields’
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skjǫldr (noun m.; °skjaldar/skildar, dat. skildi; skildir, acc. skjǫldu): shield
[8] skjöldu: so 152, hjálma 590b‑cˣ
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A short prose paragraph summarises the outcome of the battle: Herþjófr’s men put up a good fight, but Víkarr’s select troop prevails in the end. The stanza is put into Starkaðr’s mouth, with the usual svá segir Starkaðr ‘so says Starkaðr’ formula.
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