StarkSt Vík 29VIII (Gautr 37)
Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Gautreks saga 37 (Starkaðr gamli Stórvirksson, Víkarsbálkr 29)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 280.
Þaðan ‘From there’
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þaðan (adv.): from there
notes
[1] þaðan ‘from there’: As Ranisch comments (Gautr 1900, 32 n.), this adv. may be a later addition to the line, because otherwise the line is hypometrical.
notes
[1] vappaðak ‘I wandered’: The verb vappa ‘wander aimlessly, go unsteadily’ is uncommon in Old Norse, but cf. Egill Lv 39/7V (Eg 69).
k ‘I’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
[1] vappaðak: so 152, vappaði ek 590b‑cˣ
notes
[1] vappaðak ‘I wandered’: The verb vappa ‘wander aimlessly, go unsteadily’ is uncommon in Old Norse, but cf. Egill Lv 39/7V (Eg 69).
viltar ‘bewildering’
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villtr (adj./verb p.p.): [astray]
notes
[2] viltar brautir ‘bewildering ways’: Viltar ‘bewildering’ is f. acc. pl. of an adj. formed from the p. p. of villa ‘falsify, lead astray’. Ms. 152 has götur ‘paths’ where 579b-cˣ has brautir.
brautir ‘ways’
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1. braut (noun f.; °dat. -/-u; -ir): path, way; away
[2] brautir: götur (‘gótr’) 152
notes
[2] viltar brautir ‘bewildering ways’: Viltar ‘bewildering’ is f. acc. pl. of an adj. formed from the p. p. of villa ‘falsify, lead astray’. Ms. 152 has götur ‘paths’ where 579b-cˣ has brautir.
Hörðum ‘to the Hǫrðar’
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Hǫrðar (noun m.): the Hǫrðar
notes
[3] leiðr Hörðum ‘hateful to the Hǫrðar’: Starkaðr was hateful to the Hǫrðar, the people of Hordaland (ON Hǫrðaland), because it was there that he killed Víkarr. According to the prose text (Gautr 1900, 30): ok af þessu verki varð hann fyrst landflótti af Hǫrðalandi ‘and because of this deed he was first banished from Hordaland’.
leiðr ‘hateful’
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2. leiðr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): hateful, loathsome
notes
[3] leiðr Hörðum ‘hateful to the Hǫrðar’: Starkaðr was hateful to the Hǫrðar, the people of Hordaland (ON Hǫrðaland), because it was there that he killed Víkarr. According to the prose text (Gautr 1900, 30): ok af þessu verki varð hann fyrst landflótti af Hǫrðalandi ‘and because of this deed he was first banished from Hordaland’.
með ‘with’
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með (prep.): with
huga ‘mind’
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hugr (noun m.): mind, thought, courage
illan ‘a dark’
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illr (adj.): bad, evil, unwell
hringa ‘in rings’
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1. hringr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -; -ar): ring; sword
[5] hringa: hrings 152
notes
[5-6] vanr hringa ok hróðrkvæða ‘lacking in rings and poems of praise’: The cpd hróðrkvæði ‘poem of praise’ is a hap. leg., although its two component elements are well attested. It is understood here as an example of the rhetorical figure hysteron proteron, in which that which should come last (rings as a reward for praise-poems) is put first, emphasising that Starkaðr neither has the opportunity to compose praise-poems nor to be rewarded for them. LP: hróðrkvæði, on the other hand, assumes the cpd refers to poetry or generally laudatory opinions expressed by others about Starkaðr, though this seems less likely given that Starkaðr’s poetic skills are attested in a number of Old Norse sources and in Saxo (cf. Clunies Ross 2006a). It is also possible that vanr hringa ok hróðrkvæða could refer to a general lack of courtly culture in the environment in which Starkaðr found himself.
vanr ‘lacking’
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2. vanr (adj.): lacking
notes
[5-6] vanr hringa ok hróðrkvæða ‘lacking in rings and poems of praise’: The cpd hróðrkvæði ‘poem of praise’ is a hap. leg., although its two component elements are well attested. It is understood here as an example of the rhetorical figure hysteron proteron, in which that which should come last (rings as a reward for praise-poems) is put first, emphasising that Starkaðr neither has the opportunity to compose praise-poems nor to be rewarded for them. LP: hróðrkvæði, on the other hand, assumes the cpd refers to poetry or generally laudatory opinions expressed by others about Starkaðr, though this seems less likely given that Starkaðr’s poetic skills are attested in a number of Old Norse sources and in Saxo (cf. Clunies Ross 2006a). It is also possible that vanr hringa ok hróðrkvæða could refer to a general lack of courtly culture in the environment in which Starkaðr found himself.
ok ‘and’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
notes
[5-6] vanr hringa ok hróðrkvæða ‘lacking in rings and poems of praise’: The cpd hróðrkvæði ‘poem of praise’ is a hap. leg., although its two component elements are well attested. It is understood here as an example of the rhetorical figure hysteron proteron, in which that which should come last (rings as a reward for praise-poems) is put first, emphasising that Starkaðr neither has the opportunity to compose praise-poems nor to be rewarded for them. LP: hróðrkvæði, on the other hand, assumes the cpd refers to poetry or generally laudatory opinions expressed by others about Starkaðr, though this seems less likely given that Starkaðr’s poetic skills are attested in a number of Old Norse sources and in Saxo (cf. Clunies Ross 2006a). It is also possible that vanr hringa ok hróðrkvæða could refer to a general lack of courtly culture in the environment in which Starkaðr found himself.
hróðr ‘of praise’
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hróðr (noun m.): encomium, praise < hróðrkvæði (noun n.)
[6] hróðr‑: so 152, hróðs 590b‑cˣ
notes
[5-6] vanr hringa ok hróðrkvæða ‘lacking in rings and poems of praise’: The cpd hróðrkvæði ‘poem of praise’ is a hap. leg., although its two component elements are well attested. It is understood here as an example of the rhetorical figure hysteron proteron, in which that which should come last (rings as a reward for praise-poems) is put first, emphasising that Starkaðr neither has the opportunity to compose praise-poems nor to be rewarded for them. LP: hróðrkvæði, on the other hand, assumes the cpd refers to poetry or generally laudatory opinions expressed by others about Starkaðr, though this seems less likely given that Starkaðr’s poetic skills are attested in a number of Old Norse sources and in Saxo (cf. Clunies Ross 2006a). It is also possible that vanr hringa ok hróðrkvæða could refer to a general lack of courtly culture in the environment in which Starkaðr found himself.
kvæða ‘poems’
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kvæði (noun n.; °-s; -): poem < hróðrkvæði (noun n.)
notes
[5-6] vanr hringa ok hróðrkvæða ‘lacking in rings and poems of praise’: The cpd hróðrkvæði ‘poem of praise’ is a hap. leg., although its two component elements are well attested. It is understood here as an example of the rhetorical figure hysteron proteron, in which that which should come last (rings as a reward for praise-poems) is put first, emphasising that Starkaðr neither has the opportunity to compose praise-poems nor to be rewarded for them. LP: hróðrkvæði, on the other hand, assumes the cpd refers to poetry or generally laudatory opinions expressed by others about Starkaðr, though this seems less likely given that Starkaðr’s poetic skills are attested in a number of Old Norse sources and in Saxo (cf. Clunies Ross 2006a). It is also possible that vanr hringa ok hróðrkvæða could refer to a general lack of courtly culture in the environment in which Starkaðr found himself.
lauss ‘less’
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lauss (adj.; °compar. lausari): loose, free, without < dróttinlauss (adj.): °without a lord/master
dapr ‘depressed’
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dapr (adj.): gloomy
alls ‘whole’
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allr (adj.): all
hugar ‘mind’
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hugr (noun m.): mind, thought, courage
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
As for Vík 26.
Lines 3, 5 and 7 are in kviðuháttr metre, the rest in fornyrðislag (but see Note to l. 1 below). — Starkaðr’s self-depiction as a social outcast, depressed and lacking the most valuable benefits of a courtly life, especially material wealth, the opportunity to compose poetry and the company of a lord, is strongly reminiscent of similar self-presentation in the Old English poems Deor, ll. 35-41 and (without the poetry theme) The Wanderer ll. 20-9.
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