Anon (Hálf) 2VIII (Hálf 5)
Hubert Seelow (ed.) 2017, ‘Hálfs saga ok Hálfsrekka 5 (Anonymous Lausavísur, Lausavísur from Hálfs saga ok Hálfsrekka 2)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 308.
introduction
This is yet another prophetic stanza spoken by a supernatural being, in this case a mountain in the shape of a huge man, who plays no further part in the saga narrative. However, the elements of his prophecy are fulfilled in the same sequence in the saga as they occur in the stanza, thus providing a pattern for the remainder of Hjǫrleifr’s life history, and suggesting that his aggressive and womanising behaviour is out of tune with the natural world, whose messengers convey a series of prophecies of doom, a subliminal message also expressed in Hálf 3 and 4.
text and translation
Ek sé Hringju haug um orpinn,
en Hera hníga hvátinn spjóti.
Sé ek Hjörleifi haptbönd snúin,
en Hreiðari höggvinn gálga.
Ek sé haug um orpinn Hringju, en Hera hníga hvátinn spjóti. Ek sé haptbönd snúin Hjörleifi, en gálga höggvinn Hreiðari.
‘I see a burial mound thrown up for Hringja and [see] Heri fall dead, pierced by a spear. I see captive bonds twisted for Hjǫrleifr and gallows hewn for Hreiðarr. ’
notes and context
Attending a kings’ meeting at Konungahella (Kungälv, Bohuslän), Hjǫrleifr makes friends with King Hreiðarr of Sjáland (Sjælland) and his son Heri. Urged by Heri, Hreiðarr invites Hjǫrleifr to his home. There Hjǫrleifr sees Hreiðarr’s daughter Hringja and marries her; then he sets out to travel back to Norway with his bride. The stanza is introduced by the words: Í Jótlandshafi lá Hjörleifr í lognrétt, ok er hann fór í sólarupprás, sá hann í norðr koma upp ór sjónum mikit fjall ok jafnt vaxit sem mann. Þat kvað … ‘In the Jutland sea [Kattegat and/or Skagerrak] Hjǫrleifr lay becalmed, and when he went forth at sunrise, he saw a big mountain come up from the sea in the north, shaped just like a man. It said …’.
readings
sources
Text is based on reconstruction from the base text and variant apparatus and may contain alternative spellings and other normalisations not visible in the manuscript text. Transcriptions may not have been checked and should not be cited.
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GKS 2845 4° (2845) — 33v/7 - 33v/9
imagesEk sé Hringju
haugum orpinn,
en Hera hingat
hvátinn spjóti.
Sé ek Hjörleifi
†hauptbaund† snúin,
en Hreiðari
höggvinn gálga.Eg se hringíu ha ǀ ugum orpín en hera hingat huatín spíotí se eg híorleifi haupt ǀ baund snuín En hreidari hugín galga
(HS)
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