Hróksv Hrkv 20^VIII (Hálf 70)

Sá hefir dagr um mik         daprastr komit
miklu í heimi,         svá at menn vitu.
*Una þykkjumz vér         aldri síðan,
at fylgja máttuma         frændum hollum.

Sá dagr hefir komit um mik, miklu daprastr í heimi, svát menn vitu. Síðan þykkjumz vér aldri *una, at máttuma fylgja hollum frændum.

That day has come upon me, the very saddest in the world, as far as men know. We [I] think that we [I] shall never be happy again that we were [I was] not able to follow [my] loyal kinsmen.

Mss: 2845(38v) (Hálf)

Readings: [5] *Una: Muna 2845    [6] aldri: allir 2845    [7] máttuma: máttum 2845    [8] frændum: fræðum 2845

Editions: Skj AII, 268, Skj BII, 290, Skald II, 152-3, NN §2384; Hálf 1864, 37, Hálf 1909, 128, FSGJ 2, 130, Hálf 1981, 135, 195; Edd. Min. 47.

Notes: [5-8]: The second helmingr of this stanza is difficult to understand without considerable emendation, and it lacks alliteration in ll. 5-6. The word allir ‘all’ in l. 6 shows that it is vocalic alliteration that is lacking, and so earlier eds have sought to emend muna ‘remember’ (l. 5) to una ‘be happy’ and allir ‘all’ to aldri ‘never’, giving the sense ‘we think that we shall never be happy again’. In the present edn, as in others (e.g. Skj B), the pl. number is taken to refer to Hrókr himself, since almost all the other Hálfsrekkar are dead. Bugge (Hálf 1864) and Skj B further emend the verb máttum ‘we were able’ in l. 7 to the negated máttuma ‘we were not able’ on grounds of sense, given that the cause of Hrókr’s sadness appears to be his inability to follow his loyal kinsmen. This edn has also adopted the emendation to máttuma. — [8] frændum ‘kinsmen’: Emended by all eds from ms. fræðum, which does not fit the context.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
3. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. FSGJ = Guðni Jónsson, ed. 1954. Fornaldar sögur norðurlanda. 4 vols. [Reykjavík]: Íslendingasagnaútgáfan.
6. Edd. Min. = Heusler, Andreas and Wilhelm Ranisch, eds. 1903. Eddica Minora: Dichtungen eddischer Art aus den Fornaldarsögur und anderen Prosawerken. Dortmund: Ruhfus. Rpt. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft.
7. Hálf 1981 = Seelow, Hubert, ed. 1981. Hálfs saga ok Hálfsrekka. RSÁM 20. Reykjavík: Stofnun Árna Magnússonar.
8. Hálf 1864 = Bugge, Sophus, ed. 1864. Saga af Hálfi ok Hálfsrekkum. Norrøne Skrifter af sagnhistorisk Indhold 1. Christiania (Oslo): Det Nordiske Oldskriftselskab.
9. Hálf 1909 = Andrews, A. Le Roy, ed. 1909. Hálfs saga ok Hálfsrekka. ASB 14. Halle: Niemeyer.