Innsteinn Innkv 9VIII (Hálf 29)
Hubert Seelow (ed.) 2017, ‘Hálfs saga ok Hálfsrekka 29 (Innsteinn Gunnlaðarson, Innsteinskviða 9)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 327.
Rýkr ‘smoke’
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rjúka (verb): smoke, reek
notes
[1] rýkr um hauka ‘there is smoke around the hawks’: Here and in several other instances in the Hálf stanzas, the noun haukr (and the cpd haukmaðr) is used metaphorically to apply, not to birds of prey, but to keen, bold warriors; cf. Hálf 54/2 and 64/2. This sense is not uncommon in Old Norse poetry; cf. LP: haukr 2, Arn Hryn 3/5II and Note there.
um ‘around’
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1. um (prep.): about, around
notes
[1] rýkr um hauka ‘there is smoke around the hawks’: Here and in several other instances in the Hálf stanzas, the noun haukr (and the cpd haukmaðr) is used metaphorically to apply, not to birds of prey, but to keen, bold warriors; cf. Hálf 54/2 and 64/2. This sense is not uncommon in Old Norse poetry; cf. LP: haukr 2, Arn Hryn 3/5II and Note there.
hauka ‘the hawks’
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1. haukr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-; -ar): hawk
notes
[1] rýkr um hauka ‘there is smoke around the hawks’: Here and in several other instances in the Hálf stanzas, the noun haukr (and the cpd haukmaðr) is used metaphorically to apply, not to birds of prey, but to keen, bold warriors; cf. Hálf 54/2 and 64/2. This sense is not uncommon in Old Norse poetry; cf. LP: haukr 2, Arn Hryn 3/5II and Note there.
í ‘in’
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í (prep.): in, into
höll ‘hall’
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1. hǫll (noun f.; °hallar, dat. -u/-; hallir): hall
konungs ‘the king’s’
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konungr (noun m.; °dat. -i, -s; -ar): king
ván ‘to be expected’
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ván (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -/-u; -ir): hope, expectation
er ‘it is’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
at ‘that’
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4. at (conj.): that
drjúpi ‘will drip’
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1. drjúpa (verb; °drýpr; draup, drupu; dropinn): drip; droop, bow down
[3] drjúpi: rjúki 2845
notes
[3] drjúpi ‘will drip’: The ms.’s rjúki ‘will smoke’ is obviously influenced by rýkr ‘there is smoke, it is smoking’ in l. 1. The emendation drjúpi, first suggested by Bugge (Hálf 1864), is in accordance with the preceding prose, and has been followed by subsequent eds.
vax ‘wax’
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vax (noun n.; °-): [wax]
af ‘from’
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af (prep.): from
söxum ‘the swords’
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2. sax (noun n.; °-; *-): sword, prow
Mál ‘time’
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1. mál (noun n.; °-s; -): speech, matter
er ‘It is’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
gulli ‘gold’
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gull (noun n.): gold
ok ‘and’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
gersimum ‘treasures’
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gǫrsemi (noun f.): costly thing, treasure
hjálmum ‘helmets’
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1. hjalmr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): helmet
skipta ‘to share’
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skipta (verb): share, divide, exchange
með ‘with’
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með (prep.): with
Hálfs ‘Hálfr’s’
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Hálfr (noun m.): Hálfr
rekkum ‘champions’
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rekkr (noun m.; °; -ar): man, champion
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
This stanza is preceded by a prose paragraph. Hálfr attends King Ásmundr’s banquet with half his troops. When the guests have fallen asleep, Ásmundr and his men set fire to the hall. One of Hálfr’s champions wakes up and, realising that the hall is filled with smoke, says: Rjúka mun um hauka vára nú ‘Now there will be smoke around our hawks’. He then goes back to sleep. Another of Hálfr’s men wakes up and, realising that the hall is on fire, says: Drjúpa man nú vax af söxum ‘Now wax will drip from the swords’. He then lies down again. Then King Hálfr awakes. He rises, wakes up his men and orders them to take their arms. They attempt to get out by jumping against the walls. The stanza is introduced by the words: Þá kvað Innsteinn ‘Then Innsteinn said’.
The stanza is spoken by Innsteinn and warns indirectly that the hall is on fire. In the prose text ll. 1-2 are attributed to one of the Hálfsrekkar, and ll. 3-4 to another, while the hortatory remarks of the second helmingr are attributed in the prose to King Hálfr, who in the poem seems not to have yet woken from his postprandial sleep. — [3-4]: Munch (1852-63, I, i, 304 n. 1) suggests that wax, smeared on the warriors’ weapons to prevent corrosion, will melt in the heat of the fire and drip down. It seems that sword blades may have been coated with a thin layer of wax to prevent them rusting.
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