HlǫðH Lv 2VIII (Heiðr 94)
Hannah Burrows (ed.) 2017, ‘Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks 94 (Hlǫðr Heiðreksson, Lausavísur 2)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 463.
Til ‘for’
(not checked:)
til (prep.): to
annars ‘another’
(not checked:)
1. annarr (pron.; °f. ǫnnur, n. annat; pl. aðrir): (an)other, second
vér ‘We’
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vér (pron.; °gen. vár, dat./acc. oss): we, us, our
notes
[All]: This stanza is a mixture of fornyrðislag and málaháttr. The R redaction contains a somewhat different version of this stanza, without the first four lines (the content of which are rendered into prose), with lines in different order and with some variant readings. The R version is presented here as an alternate stanza: [[ALT]] Prose Order: Ek vil hafa hálft alt, þat er Heiðrekr átti: kú ok af kálfi, þjótandi kvern, al ok af oddi, einum skatti, þý ok af þræli ok þeirra barni, þat it meira hrís, er heitir Myrkvið*r, þá inu góðu gröf, er stendr á Gota þjóðar, þann in meira stein, er stendr á stǫðum Danpar, hálfar herváðir, þær er Heiðrekr átti, lönd ok lýða ok ljósa bauga. Translation: I wish to have half of all that Heiðrekr owned: of cow and of calf, of resounding handmill, of awl and of weapon-point, of singular treasure, of bondwoman and of slave, and of their child; that great forest which is called Myrkviðr, that good grave which stands in the land of the Goths, that great stone which stands on the banks of the Dnieper, half the war-garments which Heiðrekr owned, lands and people and bright rings.
hingat ‘here’
(not checked:)
hingat (adv.): (to) here
fórum ‘have come’
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fara (verb; ferr, fór, fóru, farinn): go, travel
notes
[All]: Ms. 203ˣ, as 2845, does not contain ll. 1-4 and has the same l. 5 as 2845, but seems to become a U-redaction ms. from l. 7, as it follows the order of the lines in R715ˣ rather than in 2845. Skj B and Skald do not print ll. 1-4 and prefer 2845’s reading for l. 5, but subsequently follow the order of U without explanation. Jón Helgason (1967, 224) suggests that the scribe of 2845 confused átti at the end of l. 6 with skatti at the end of l. 8, copying ll. 9-10 after átti instead of skatti.
en ‘than’
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2. en (conj.): but, and
öl ‘ale’
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ǫl (noun n.; °-s; -): ale
at ‘to’
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5. at (nota): to (with infinitive)
notes
[All]: The unusual length of the stanza is demanded by the syntax, since the list is without a main verb after l. 5. The syntax of the list is inconsistent, however: in ll. 7-12 the first object is in the acc. case (parallel with hálft alt …) and the second (with prep. af ‘of, from’) in the dat. case. Line 13 is also in the dat., but 15, 17, 19 and 21 switch back to the acc. Though the Old Norse constructions do not use the gen. case, ModE. ‘of’ has been used here for the Translation for the sake of idiom. Other eds, most of which take 2845 as the main ms., prefer to create two separate stanzas of eight and ten lines respectively (the second beginning at hrís þat (a variant of l. 13 in the present edn, or l. 9 of the R redaction).
drekka ‘drink’
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2. drekka (verb; °drekkr; drakk, drukku; drukkinn/drykkinn): drink
þiggja ‘to receive’
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þiggja (verb): receive, get
notes
[4] af ‘from’: Following a suggestion by Jón Helgason (Heiðr 1924, 143 n. 2), Heiðr 1960 emends the line to þigg ek ei, þjóðann ‘I do not accept, prince’ and ÍF Edd. II, 422 þigga ek, þjóðann ‘I do not accept, prince’. However, the slightly less intrusive change ef > af gives good sense, assuming that þiggja is in apposition with drekka with the sense ‘we have come here for another reason than to receive ...’. The emendation is also made in Heiðr 1672.
þjóðan ‘the prince’
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þjóð (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -/-u; -ir): people
þínar ‘your’
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þinn (pron.; °f. þín, n. þitt): your
veigar ‘draughts’
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veig (noun f.): strong drink
ek ‘I’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
hálft ‘half’
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halfr (adj.): half
alt ‘of all’
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allr (adj.): all
er ‘’
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2. er (conj.): who, which, when
Heiðrekr ‘Heiðrekr’
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Heiðrekr (noun m.): Heiðrekr
[6] Heiðrekr: ‘Heid’ R715ˣ, Heiðrek 203ˣ, ‘heidrr’ 2845
átti ‘owned’
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2. eiga (verb; °á/eigr (præs. pl. 3. pers. eigu/eiga); átti, áttu; átt): own, have
notes
[7] al ok af oddi ‘of awl and of weapon-point’: Used pars pro toto for tools and weapons. Alr is a hap. leg. in poetry.
notes
[7] al ok af oddi ‘of awl and of weapon-point’: Used pars pro toto for tools and weapons. Alr is a hap. leg. in poetry.
notes
[7] al ok af oddi ‘of awl and of weapon-point’: Used pars pro toto for tools and weapons. Alr is a hap. leg. in poetry.
oddi ‘weapon-point’
(not checked:)
oddr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): point of weapon
notes
[7] al ok af oddi ‘of awl and of weapon-point’: Used pars pro toto for tools and weapons. Alr is a hap. leg. in poetry.
einum ‘of singular’
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1. einn (num. cardinal; °f. ein, n. eitt; pl. einir; superl. debil. -asti(Anna238(2001) 155³²)): one; alone
notes
[8] einum ‘singular’: LP: einn 1 suggests the translation en, udelt ‘whole, undivided’, tentatively adopted in Skj B and Heiðr 1960. Bugge (Heiðr 1873, 269 n. 7), however, suggested enestaaende, udmærket ‘unique, exceptional’, which is perhaps preferable in terms of sense; cf. DOE: ān A5, Beowulf l. 1885 (Beowulf 2008, 63) þat wæs ān cyning ‘that was an exceptional king’.
skatti ‘treasure’
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skattr (noun m.; °dat. -i; -ar): treasure, wealth
kú ‘of cow’
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kýr (noun f.; °kýr, dat. kú; kýr): cow
af ‘of’
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af (prep.): from
kálfi ‘calf’
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kalfr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): calf
kvern ‘handmill’
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kvern (noun f.; °-ar; -ir/-ar): [hand-mill]
þjótandi ‘of resounding’
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þjóta (verb): roar
þý ‘of bondwoman’
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þý (noun f.; °-jar/-ar, acc. -ju; -jar): bondswoman
[11] þý: so 203ˣ, 2845, því R715ˣ
af ‘of’
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af (prep.): from
þræli ‘slave’
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þræll (noun m.; °þrǽls, dat. þrǽli/þrǽl; þrǽlar): slave, servant
ok ‘and’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
þeirra ‘of their’
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hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...
börnum ‘children’
(not checked:)
barn (noun n.; °-s; bǫrn/barn(JKr 345³), dat. bǫrnum/barnum): child
[12] börnum: so 203ˣ, bænum R715ˣ, barni 2845
notes
[13-14] því inu mæta hrísi, er heitir Myrkviðr ‘that excellent forest, which is called Myrkviðr’: Ms. 2845’s reading, meira ‘great’ in place of mæta ‘excellent’, is assumed by most eds to be an error for mæra ‘renowned’; cf. Akv 5/7-8 (NK 241) hrís þat iþ mœra, | er meðr Myrcvið kalla ‘that renowned forest, which men call Myrkviðr’. Hrís usually means ‘brushwood’, but its sense is extended here and in the Akv instance (cf. LP: hrís). Myrkviðr is lit. ‘dark forest’ and can be both a specific p. n. and a generic term, used to refer to various border forests (Eggers 2002, 460-1) or forested areas; cf. Eskál Vell 26/3I and Note. Though 2845 and 203ˣ agree on the pl. Myrkviðir heita ‘are called Myrkviðir’, the sg. is more likely in terms of sense and accords with instances of the p. n. elsewhere in the corpus, and is necessary to agree with the sg. l. 13.
því ‘of’
[13] því: þat 2845
notes
[13-14] því inu mæta hrísi, er heitir Myrkviðr ‘that excellent forest, which is called Myrkviðr’: Ms. 2845’s reading, meira ‘great’ in place of mæta ‘excellent’, is assumed by most eds to be an error for mæra ‘renowned’; cf. Akv 5/7-8 (NK 241) hrís þat iþ mœra, | er meðr Myrcvið kalla ‘that renowned forest, which men call Myrkviðr’. Hrís usually means ‘brushwood’, but its sense is extended here and in the Akv instance (cf. LP: hrís). Myrkviðr is lit. ‘dark forest’ and can be both a specific p. n. and a generic term, used to refer to various border forests (Eggers 2002, 460-1) or forested areas; cf. Eskál Vell 26/3I and Note. Though 2845 and 203ˣ agree on the pl. Myrkviðir heita ‘are called Myrkviðir’, the sg. is more likely in terms of sense and accords with instances of the p. n. elsewhere in the corpus, and is necessary to agree with the sg. l. 13.
notes
[13-14] því inu mæta hrísi, er heitir Myrkviðr ‘that excellent forest, which is called Myrkviðr’: Ms. 2845’s reading, meira ‘great’ in place of mæta ‘excellent’, is assumed by most eds to be an error for mæra ‘renowned’; cf. Akv 5/7-8 (NK 241) hrís þat iþ mœra, | er meðr Myrcvið kalla ‘that renowned forest, which men call Myrkviðr’. Hrís usually means ‘brushwood’, but its sense is extended here and in the Akv instance (cf. LP: hrís). Myrkviðr is lit. ‘dark forest’ and can be both a specific p. n. and a generic term, used to refer to various border forests (Eggers 2002, 460-1) or forested areas; cf. Eskál Vell 26/3I and Note. Though 2845 and 203ˣ agree on the pl. Myrkviðir heita ‘are called Myrkviðir’, the sg. is more likely in terms of sense and accords with instances of the p. n. elsewhere in the corpus, and is necessary to agree with the sg. l. 13.
mæta ‘excellent’
(not checked:)
mætr (adj.; °compar. -ri/-ari, superl. -astr): honoured, respected
[13] mæta: mæra corrected from mæta in another hand 203ˣ, meira 2845
notes
[13-14] því inu mæta hrísi, er heitir Myrkviðr ‘that excellent forest, which is called Myrkviðr’: Ms. 2845’s reading, meira ‘great’ in place of mæta ‘excellent’, is assumed by most eds to be an error for mæra ‘renowned’; cf. Akv 5/7-8 (NK 241) hrís þat iþ mœra, | er meðr Myrcvið kalla ‘that renowned forest, which men call Myrkviðr’. Hrís usually means ‘brushwood’, but its sense is extended here and in the Akv instance (cf. LP: hrís). Myrkviðr is lit. ‘dark forest’ and can be both a specific p. n. and a generic term, used to refer to various border forests (Eggers 2002, 460-1) or forested areas; cf. Eskál Vell 26/3I and Note. Though 2845 and 203ˣ agree on the pl. Myrkviðir heita ‘are called Myrkviðir’, the sg. is more likely in terms of sense and accords with instances of the p. n. elsewhere in the corpus, and is necessary to agree with the sg. l. 13.
er ‘which’
(not checked:)
2. er (conj.): who, which, when
notes
[13-14] því inu mæta hrísi, er heitir Myrkviðr ‘that excellent forest, which is called Myrkviðr’: Ms. 2845’s reading, meira ‘great’ in place of mæta ‘excellent’, is assumed by most eds to be an error for mæra ‘renowned’; cf. Akv 5/7-8 (NK 241) hrís þat iþ mœra, | er meðr Myrcvið kalla ‘that renowned forest, which men call Myrkviðr’. Hrís usually means ‘brushwood’, but its sense is extended here and in the Akv instance (cf. LP: hrís). Myrkviðr is lit. ‘dark forest’ and can be both a specific p. n. and a generic term, used to refer to various border forests (Eggers 2002, 460-1) or forested areas; cf. Eskál Vell 26/3I and Note. Though 2845 and 203ˣ agree on the pl. Myrkviðir heita ‘are called Myrkviðir’, the sg. is more likely in terms of sense and accords with instances of the p. n. elsewhere in the corpus, and is necessary to agree with the sg. l. 13.
Myrkviðr ‘Myrkviðr’
(not checked:)
myrkviðr (noun m.): [murky forest]
[14] Myrkviðr: Mirkviðir 203ˣ, 2845
notes
[13-14] því inu mæta hrísi, er heitir Myrkviðr ‘that excellent forest, which is called Myrkviðr’: Ms. 2845’s reading, meira ‘great’ in place of mæta ‘excellent’, is assumed by most eds to be an error for mæra ‘renowned’; cf. Akv 5/7-8 (NK 241) hrís þat iþ mœra, | er meðr Myrcvið kalla ‘that renowned forest, which men call Myrkviðr’. Hrís usually means ‘brushwood’, but its sense is extended here and in the Akv instance (cf. LP: hrís). Myrkviðr is lit. ‘dark forest’ and can be both a specific p. n. and a generic term, used to refer to various border forests (Eggers 2002, 460-1) or forested areas; cf. Eskál Vell 26/3I and Note. Though 2845 and 203ˣ agree on the pl. Myrkviðir heita ‘are called Myrkviðir’, the sg. is more likely in terms of sense and accords with instances of the p. n. elsewhere in the corpus, and is necessary to agree with the sg. l. 13.
notes
[13-14] því inu mæta hrísi, er heitir Myrkviðr ‘that excellent forest, which is called Myrkviðr’: Ms. 2845’s reading, meira ‘great’ in place of mæta ‘excellent’, is assumed by most eds to be an error for mæra ‘renowned’; cf. Akv 5/7-8 (NK 241) hrís þat iþ mœra, | er meðr Myrcvið kalla ‘that renowned forest, which men call Myrkviðr’. Hrís usually means ‘brushwood’, but its sense is extended here and in the Akv instance (cf. LP: hrís). Myrkviðr is lit. ‘dark forest’ and can be both a specific p. n. and a generic term, used to refer to various border forests (Eggers 2002, 460-1) or forested areas; cf. Eskál Vell 26/3I and Note. Though 2845 and 203ˣ agree on the pl. Myrkviðir heita ‘are called Myrkviðir’, the sg. is more likely in terms of sense and accords with instances of the p. n. elsewhere in the corpus, and is necessary to agree with the sg. l. 13.
gröf ‘grave’
(not checked:)
grǫf (noun f.): grave
notes
[11, 13] gröf; stein ‘grave; stone’: The gröf ‘grave’ is presumably a sacred or ritual place; the steinn ‘stone’ may be too (see Heiðr 1960, xxv). Kock (NN §§2376, 2044) compares MHG stein ‘castle’ and suggests that meaning here, but a sacred stone (ARG I, 347-9; cf. Guðr III 3/4) would be possible in the context (cf. Heiðr 1956, 85 n.) A boundary marker would also be plausible.
ina ‘’
(not checked:)
2. inn (art.): the
helgu ‘holy’
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heilagr (adj.; °helgan; compar. -ari, superl. -astr): holy, sacred
[15] helgu: góðu 2845
er ‘which’
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2. er (conj.): who, which, when
stendr ‘stands’
(not checked:)
standa (verb): stand
á ‘in’
(not checked:)
3. á (prep.): on, at
Got ‘the land’
(not checked:)
(unlinked proper noun) < gotþjóð (noun f.)
[16] Gotþjóðu: ‘got þiőda’ 203ˣ, ‘gautu þiodar’ 2845
þjóðu ‘of the Goths’
(not checked:)
þjóð (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -/-u; -ir): people < gotþjóð (noun f.)
[16] Gotþjóðu: ‘got þiőda’ 203ˣ, ‘gautu þiodar’ 2845
stein ‘stone’
(not checked:)
steinn (noun m.; °steins; steinar): stone, colour
[17] stein: so 2845, steininn R715ˣ, stein corrected from steininn in another hand 203ˣ
notes
[11, 13] gröf; stein ‘grave; stone’: The gröf ‘grave’ is presumably a sacred or ritual place; the steinn ‘stone’ may be too (see Heiðr 1960, xxv). Kock (NN §§2376, 2044) compares MHG stein ‘castle’ and suggests that meaning here, but a sacred stone (ARG I, 347-9; cf. Guðr III 3/4) would be possible in the context (cf. Heiðr 1956, 85 n.) A boundary marker would also be plausible.
fagra ‘fair’
(not checked:)
fagr (adj.; °fagran; compar. fegri, superl. fegrstr): fair, beautiful
[17] fagra: meira 2845
er ‘which’
(not checked:)
2. er (conj.): who, which, when
stendr ‘stands’
(not checked:)
standa (verb): stand
á ‘on’
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3. á (prep.): on, at
stöðum ‘the banks’
(not checked:)
1. staðr (noun m.; °-ar/-s; -ir): place
notes
[18] stöðum Danpar ‘the banks of the Dnieper’: The same stanza in Akv which echoes ll. 1-2 here (see Note to ll. 13-14) refers to staði Danpar, recently translated by Carolyne Larrington (2014, 205) as ‘farms on the Dnieper’. The present translation, taking stöðum to be the dat. pl. of the f. noun stǫð ‘landing place’, follows Tolkien (1955-6, 157). The relation of the name Danpr to the Gothic name of the river Dnieper, appearing as Danaper in Jordanes’ Getica (Mommsen 1882, §5, cf. Danaber §52), was first noted by P. A. Munch (1967 [1880], 174-5) and has since received general acceptance (Tolkien 1955-6, 157).
notes
[18] stöðum Danpar ‘the banks of the Dnieper’: The same stanza in Akv which echoes ll. 1-2 here (see Note to ll. 13-14) refers to staði Danpar, recently translated by Carolyne Larrington (2014, 205) as ‘farms on the Dnieper’. The present translation, taking stöðum to be the dat. pl. of the f. noun stǫð ‘landing place’, follows Tolkien (1955-6, 157). The relation of the name Danpr to the Gothic name of the river Dnieper, appearing as Danaper in Jordanes’ Getica (Mommsen 1882, §5, cf. Danaber §52), was first noted by P. A. Munch (1967 [1880], 174-5) and has since received general acceptance (Tolkien 1955-6, 157).
hálfar ‘half’
(not checked:)
halfr (adj.): half
herborgir ‘the war-fortifications’
(not checked:)
Herborg (noun f.)
[19] herborgir: so 203ˣ, ‘her bar’ R715ˣ, herváðir 2845JH
Heiðrekr ‘Heiðrekr’
(not checked:)
Heiðrekr (noun m.): Heiðrekr
átti ‘owned’
(not checked:)
2. eiga (verb; °á/eigr (præs. pl. 3. pers. eigu/eiga); átti, áttu; átt): own, have
[20] átti: ‘ati’ 2845JH
lýða ‘people’
(not checked:)
lýðr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -; -ir): one of the people
[21] ok lýða: om. 2845
ok ‘and’
(not checked:)
3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
ljósa ‘bright’
(not checked:)
ljóss (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): bright
bauga ‘rings’
(not checked:)
baugr (noun m.; °dat. -i/-; -ar): ring
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
We have come here for another [reason] than to drink ale, to receive from the prince your draughts, unless I have half of all that Heiðrekr owned: of awl and of weapon-point, of singular treasure, of cow and of calf, of resounding handmill, of bondwoman and of slave, and of their children; of that excellent forest which is called Myrkviðr, that holy grave, which stands in the land of the Goths, that fair stone, which stands on the banks of the Dnieper, half the war-fortifications which Heiðrekr owned, lands and people and bright rings.
In the U redaction this stanza follows directly from the previous one. In R, which does not contain that stanza, Angantýr welcomes Hlǫðr in prose and invites him to drink; Hlǫðr replies that he has come for another reason (Heiðr 1960, 48) en at kýla vǫmb vára ‘than to fill our bellies’.
[5]: From this point 203ˣ switches to copying from a U-redaction exemplar, and has independent textual value. — [19-20]: Wear to 2845 has made these lines very difficult to read; the Readings and Transcription have been taken from Heiðr 1924. — [21-22]: These lines are placed within square brackets in Skj B and omitted altogether in Skald, presumably to further increase the regularity of the stanza (cf. Note to [All] above), but they occur in all three mss (albeit partially in 2845).
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