Herv Lv 18^VIII (Heiðr 44)

Ek mun ganga         til gjálfrmara;
nú er hilmis mær         í hugum góðum.
Lítt ræki ek þat,         lofðunga niðr,
hvé synir mínir         síðan deila.

Ek mun ganga til {gjálfrmara}; nú er mær hilmis í góðum hugum. Ek ræki þat lítt, niðr lofðunga, hvé synir mínir deila síðan.

I will go to {the sea-horses} [SHIPS]; now the prince’s girl is in good spirits. I care little, son of rulers, how my sons contend afterwards.

Mss: Hb(74v), 2845(65v) (ll. 1-7), R715ˣ(14v) (Heiðr)

Readings: [3] nú: mun corrected from nú in the hand of JR R715ˣ;    er hilmis: ei corrected from er hilmis in the hand of JR R715ˣ    [4] hugum: huga 2845, hug R715ˣ    [5] ræki ek: so 2845, R715ˣ, hræðumz Hb    [6] lofðunga: lofðunga corrected from lofðungit in the scribal hand Hb;    niðr: vinr 2845, R715ˣ    [7] hvé: hvat 2845, R715ˣ;    synir mínir: ‘s.’ 2845

Editions: Skj AII, 249, Skj BII, 269, Skald II, 140; Heiðr 1672, 94, FSN 1, 441, 522, Heiðr 1873, 221, 321, Heiðr 1924, 32, 112, FSGJ 2, 21, Heiðr 1960, 18-19; Edd. Min. 19.

Notes: [All]: A lacuna of one folio in 2845 begins part way through l. 7; the rest of the dialogue between Hervǫr and Angantýr is now lost from that ms. — [2] gjálfrmara ‘the sea-horses [SHIPS]’: Verelius emended (quite unnecessarily) to ‑manna ‘sea-men, sailors’ (Heiðr 1672, 94). Though this exact cpd gjálfrmara is unique in poetry, similar kennings occurr in Pl 48/8^VII (gjalfrhestr ‘sea-stallion’), Bǫlv Hardr 8/3^II (gjalfrstóð ‘surge-steed’) and HHund I 30/7 (gjalfrdýr ‘sea-beast’). — [5] ek ræki ‘I care’: Mss 2845 and R715ˣ are in agreement on this reading, similarly preferred by Skj B and Skald, against Hb’s hræðumz ‘I fear’, which also gives good sense. Either reading is possible metrically. — [7-8]: Hervǫr goes on to have two sons, the good-natured and popular Angantýr and the trouble-making Heiðrekr, who is sent away to be fostered. There is no indication of sibling ‘contention’ until Heiðrekr kills his brother with an indiscriminately-thrown stone. Tyrfingr is not involved in that trouble. Tolkien (Heiðr 1960, xi) suggests a now-lost account of strife between them may have once existed. Hervǫr’s grandsons, on the other hand, the sons of Heiðrekr, contend over their inheritance in what becomes a battle between nations, resulting in one brother slaying the other (cf. Schück 1918, 79; Heiðr 1960, xi and n. 3).

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. FSN = Rafn, Carl Christian, ed. 1829-30. Fornaldar sögur nordrlanda. 3 vols. Copenhagen: Popp.
4. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. Heiðr 1672 = Verelius, Olaus, ed. 1672. Hervarar Saga på Gammel Gotska. Uppsala: Curio.
6. FSGJ = Guðni Jónsson, ed. 1954. Fornaldar sögur norðurlanda. 4 vols. [Reykjavík]: Íslendingasagnaútgáfan.
7. Heiðr 1924 = Jón Helgason, ed. 1924. Heiðreks saga. Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks konungs. SUGNL 48. Copenhagen: Jørgensen.
8. Heiðr 1960 = Tolkien, Christopher, ed. and trans. 1960. Saga Heiðreks konungs ins vitra / The Saga of King Heidrek the Wise. Nelson Icelandic Texts. London etc.: Nelson.
9. Heiðr 1873 = Bugge, Sophus, ed. 1873. Hervarar saga ok Heidreks. Det Norske oldskriftselskabs samlinger 17. Christiania (Oslo): Brøgger.
10. Schück, Henrik. 1918. Studier i Hervararsagan. Uppsala Universitäts Årsskrift 1918. Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksell.
11. Internal references
12. Jonna Louis-Jensen and Tarrin Wills (eds) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Plácitusdrápa 48’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 211.
13. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Bǫlverkr Arnórsson, Drápa about Haraldr harðráði 8’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 293.
14. Not published: do not cite ()