Anon (FoGT) 25^III

Mætr Hákon vann
en Magnús fann
hjörr Eiríks hiekk
hans bróðir giekk
langfeðra láð,
lögvizku ráð;
á rítar slóð;
að refsa þjóð.

Mætr Hákon vann láð langfeðra, en Magnús fann ráð lögvizku; hjörr Eiríks hiekk á {slóð rítar}; bróðir hans giekk að refsa þjóð.

Excellent Hákon won his paternal ancestors’ land, but Magnús gained counsel of legal learning; Eiríkr’s sword hung upon {the shield’s track} [ARM]; his brother was busied with punishing people.

Mss: W(116) (FoGT)

Editions: Skj AII, 217, Skj BII, 235, Skald II, 122; SnE 1848-87, II, 224-5, III, 159-60, FoGT 1884, 138, 276-7, FoGT 2004, 46-7, 72, 133-4, FoGT 2014, 28-31, 113-14.

Context: This stanza follows shortly after st. 24 as the fifth example of antitheton. The prose text explains that this variation comprises four clauses, each of which begins in the first helmingr and finishes in the second, in the order abcd: abcd. Stanza 26 is, as the prose also explains, a rearrangement of this sequence using almost the same wording, in the order abcd: dcba.

Notes: [All]: ÞSjár Frag 3, transmitted in mss R, Tˣ and W of SnE (Skm), provides an earlier example of exactly the same rhetorical practice as is illustrated here, with each line of the first helmingr forming an independent clause with the corresponding line of the second helmingr. It is interesting that in Þórðr Sjáreksson’s stanza the subject-matter of the clauses is taken from Old Norse myth and legend, while here it comes from Norwegian history. This may suggest that there was a requirement in all forms of what FoGT terms antitheton that the subject-matter comprise condensed references to myth, legend or, in this case, historical figures. In the Latin treatises, examples given are of Old Testament characters. Like ÞSjár Frag 3, this stanza and st. 26 are in runhent metre (here, fornyrðislag, Types E and B).  — [1] Hákon: King Hákon Hákonarson of Norway (r. 1217-63). Hákon was claimed as the illegitimate son of King Hákon Sverrisson (d. 1 January 1204) and Inga of Varteig. He was born after the death of his putative father, and began his rule under the regency of Skúli jarl Bárðarson, hence perhaps the emphasis of l. 5 that he won the land of his paternal ancestors. — [2] Magnús: Magnús lagabœtir ‘Law-mender’ Hákonarson (r. 1263-80), son of the king mentioned in l. 1. As his nickname and l. 6 of this stanza indicate, Magnús was celebrated for having modified and unified the laws of Norway. He also promulgated a new law code for Iceland, Jónsbók ‘Jón’s book’ (see NGL IV, 183-340), which was sent to the island in 1280 and ratified by the alþingi (the general legal assembly) in 1281. — [3] Eiríks ‘Eiríkr’s’: The elder son of Magnús Hákonarson (r. 1280-99). He gained the nickname ‘Priest-hater’ from his poor relations with the Church, but otherwise enjoyed a peaceful rule. — [4] bróðir hans ‘his brother’: This was Eiríkr’s younger brother, Hákon háleggr ‘High-leg’ Magnússon (r. 1299-1319), who succeeded him on the throne of Norway because Eiríkr died childless. Line 8 arguably alludes to Hákon’s reputation for successfully curbing the power of the Norwegian magnates. Hákon is probably also referred to in st. 7/1 above, where he is characterised as handsterkr ‘strong-handed’, doubtless another allusion to his tough domestic policies. On the implications of these references to Hákon’s reign, referred to in the past tense both here and in st. 7, for the dating of the anonymous poetry in FoGT, see st. 7 Note to [All].

References

1. Bibliography
2. SnE 1848-87 = Snorri Sturluson. 1848-87. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar: Edda Snorronis Sturlaei. Ed. Jón Sigurðsson et al. 3 vols. Copenhagen: Legatum Arnamagnaeanum. Rpt. Osnabrück: Zeller, 1966.
3. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. NGL = Keyser, R. et al., eds. 1846-95. Norges gamle love indtil 1387. 5 vols. Christiania (Oslo): Gröndahl.
5. FoGT 1884 = Björn Magnússon Ólsen, ed. 1884. Den tredje og fjærde grammatiske afhandling i Snorres Edda tilligemed de grammatiske afhandlingers prolog og to andre tillæg. SUGNL 12. Copenhagen: Knudtzon.
6. FoGT 2004 = Longo, Michele, ed. [2004]. ‘Il Quarto Trattato Grammaticale Islandese: Testo, Traduzione e Commento’. Dottorato di Ricerca in ‘Linguistica Sincronica e Diacronica’ (XV Ciclo). Palermo: Università degli Studi di Palermo, Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia.
7. FoGT 2014 = Clunies Ross, Margaret and Jonas Wellendorf, eds. 2014. The Fourth Grammatical Treatise. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
8. Internal references
9. Edith Marold 2017, ‘Snorra Edda (Prologue, Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál)’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols [check printed volume for citation].
10. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, The Fourth Grammatical Treatise’ 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=34> (accessed 30 April 2024)
11. (forthcoming), ‘ Snorri Sturluson, Skáldskaparmál’ 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=112> (accessed 30 April 2024)
12. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Þórðr Særeksson (Sjáreksson), Fragments 3’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 478.