Hróksv Hrkv 1VIII (Hálf 51)
Hubert Seelow (ed.) 2017, ‘Hálfs saga ok Hálfsrekka 51 (Hrókr inn svarti, Hrókskviða 1)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 345.
Nú ‘Now’
(not checked:)
nú (adv.): now
mun ‘will’
(not checked:)
munu (verb): will, must
segja ‘tell’
(not checked:)
segja (verb): say, tell
sonr ‘the son’
(not checked:)
sonr (noun m.; °-ar, dat. syni; synir, acc. sonu, syni): son
kennings
Sonr Hámundar‘the son of Hámundr ’
= Hrókr inn svarti
the son of Hámundr → Hrókr inn svarti
notes
[2] sonr Hámundar ‘the son of Hámundr [= Hrókr inn svarti]’: The prose text claims (Hálf 1981, 177) that Hámundr inn frækni ‘the Bold’ was a hersir, a Norwegian district chieftain. His sister Gunnlǫð was married to Álfr jarl inn gamli ‘the Old’ from Hordaland (Hǫrðaland) and their two sons were the two brothers named Steinn, Innsteinn and Útsteinn.
Hámundar ‘of Hámundr’
(not checked:)
Hámundr (noun m.): Hámundr
kennings
Sonr Hámundar‘the son of Hámundr ’
= Hrókr inn svarti
the son of Hámundr → Hrókr inn svarti
notes
[2] sonr Hámundar ‘the son of Hámundr [= Hrókr inn svarti]’: The prose text claims (Hálf 1981, 177) that Hámundr inn frækni ‘the Bold’ was a hersir, a Norwegian district chieftain. His sister Gunnlǫð was married to Álfr jarl inn gamli ‘the Old’ from Hordaland (Hǫrðaland) and their two sons were the two brothers named Steinn, Innsteinn and Útsteinn.
hvert ‘what’
(not checked:)
2. hverr (pron.): who, whom, each, every
eðli ‘the parentage’
(not checked:)
eðli (noun n.; °-s; dat. -um): nature
notes
[3] eðli ‘parentage’: The noun eðli has several possible meanings of which ‘parentage’ is one (cf. ONP: eðli 2 ‘origin, descent, extraction’). Other eds (cf. Skj B’s hvorledes vi brødre var i karakter ‘how we brothers were in character’) understand eðli in the sense of ‘nature, (true) character’ (ONP: eðli 3), and this interpretation is also possible.
var ‘was’
(not checked:)
2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
okkart ‘of us’
(not checked:)
vér (pron.; °gen. vár, dat./acc. oss): we, us, our
Var ‘was’
(not checked:)
2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
[5] Var minn faðir: minn var faðir 2845
notes
[5] var minn faðir ‘my father was’: The ms. has these words in the unusual order minn var faðir; as this order makes the line unmetrical, the line has been emended here, as with most eds, to give a metrical line.
notes
[5] var minn faðir ‘my father was’: The ms. has these words in the unusual order minn var faðir; as this order makes the line unmetrical, the line has been emended here, as with most eds, to give a metrical line.
notes
[5] var minn faðir ‘my father was’: The ms. has these words in the unusual order minn var faðir; as this order makes the line unmetrical, the line has been emended here, as with most eds, to give a metrical line.
miklu ‘much’
(not checked:)
mikill (adj.; °mikinn): great, large
fremri ‘superior’
(not checked:)
framr (adj.; °compar. framari/fremri, superl. framastr/fremstr): outstanding, foremost
haukr ‘hawk’
(not checked:)
1. haukr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-; -ar): hawk
notes
[7] haukr ‘hawk’: On the comparison of brave warriors to hawks, see Note to Hálf 29/1.
görr ‘a real’
(not checked:)
1. gǫrr (adj.): ample, perfect
at ‘in regard’
(not checked:)
3. at (prep.): at, to
hug ‘to courage’
(not checked:)
hugr (noun m.): mind, thought, courage
en ‘to’
(not checked:)
2. en (conj.): but, and
Haki ‘Haki’
(not checked:)
Haki (noun m.): Haki
notes
[8] Haki: Here the name of a king in Skåne (Skáney), at whose court Hrókr has taken refuge. Elsewhere Haki ‘Hook’ is a sea-king name (Þul Sækonunga 2/7III, Þul Sea-kings 1/8III) or the name of a famous pirate, brother of the legendary Hagbarðr (see Anon (FoGT) 24/1III and Note there).
yðvarr ‘your’
(not checked:)
yðvarr (pron.; °f. yður; pl. yðrir): your
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
This stanza is introduced by the words: Brynhildr kóngsdóttir sá, hvar maðr stórr stóð við eik eina. Hún heyrði, at hann kvað ‘Brynhildr the king’s daughter saw where a tall man was standing by an oak tree. She heard that he said’.
There is more than a trace of the mannjafnaðr in this and the following stanza of Hrkv, in that Hrókr compares King Haki and later Vifill, his rival for Brynhildr’s hand, unfavourably with himself and his father in terms of courage. — [3-4]: In the phrase eðli okkart bræðra ‘the parentage of us two brothers’, it should be noted that grammatically okkart qualifies eðli, not bræðra.
Stanza/chapter/text segment
Use the buttons at the top of the page to navigate between stanzas in a poem.
Information tab
- text: if the stanza has been published, the edited text of the stanza and translation are here; if it hasn't been published an old edition (usually Skj) is given for reference
- sources: a list of the manuscripts or inscriptions containing this stanza, with page and line references and links (eye button) to images where available, and transcription where available
- readings: a list of variant manuscript readings of words in the main text
- editions and texts: a list of editions of the stanza with links to the bibliography; and a list of prose works in which the stanza occurs, allowing you to navigate within the prose context
- notes and context: notes not linked to individual words are given here, along with the account of the prose context for the stanza, where relevant
Interactive tab
The text and translation are given here, with buttons to toggle whether the text is shown in the verse order or prose word order. Clicking on indiviudal words gives dictionary links, variant readings, kennings and notes, where relevant.
Full text tab
This is the text of the edition in a similar format to how the edition appears in the printed volumes.
Chapter/text segment
This view is also used for chapters and other text segments. Not all the headings shown are relevant to such sections.