AngH Lv 5^VIII (Heiðr 98)

Mun ek um þik sitjanda         silfri mæla,
en ganganda þik         gulli steypa,
svát á vega alla         velti baugar:
þriðjung Gotþjóðar,         því skaltu einn ráða.

Ek mun mæla um þik sitjanda silfri, en steypa þik ganganda gulli, svát baugar velti á alla vega: þriðjung Gotþjóðar, því skaltu einn ráða.

I will measure you, sitting, with silver, and shower you, walking, in gold, so that rings roll in all directions: a third of the land of the Goths, that you alone shall rule.

Mss: 203ˣ(110v), R715ˣ(32r) (Heiðr)

Readings: [2] mæla: ‘vila’ R715ˣ    [3] ganganda: gangandi R715ˣ    [5] vega: so R715ˣ, vegu 203ˣ    [7] Gotþjóðar: Gotþjóða R715ˣ    [8] einn: so R715ˣ, einn 203ˣ

Editions: Skj AII, 253, Skj BII, 272, Skald II, 142; Heiðr 1672, 163, FSN 1, 494-5, Heiðr 1873, 272, Heiðr 1924, 145, FSGJ 2, 57, Heiðr 1960, 50 (Heiðr); Edd. Min. 5, NK 305, ÍF Edd. II, 423.

Context: The stanza follows directly on from the previous one.

Notes: [1-6]: Cf. e.g Snegl (ÍF 9, 290-2), where King Haraldr Guðinason (Godwinson) offers to reward Halli for a poem by pouring silver on his head, telling him he can keep what sticks. Halli smears tar on his head and forms his hair into a bowl shape, thus gaining rather more reward than the king intended. See also examples listed under Fritzner: steypa 4 and, on the syntactic construction, cf. Þry 10. — [3-4]: Jón Helgason (1967, 229) observes that the idea of showering gold on a man who is walking along is an unlikely scenario and though he retains the ms. reading in his edition, in his notes proposes (in ModIcel.) en standanda þig / steypa gulli ‘and steep you, standing, in gold’. This is, of course, purely speculative. — [5] svát ‘so that’: The ms. form, svá ‘so’, reflects a later (C14th and after) practice in which að ‘at’ (here cliticised for metrical reasons) is omitted (see SkP VII, lxvii (§9.B.3); NS §265 Anm. 2b). — [7] þriðjung ‘a third’: See Note to GizGrý Lv 1/5 (Heiðr 99) on the inheritance of the hornungr ‘bastard’, as Hlǫðr is called there. The closest parallel to the situation described here appears to be in Langobardic law, which allowed an illegitimate son to inherit one third where there was one legitimate son, who inherited two thirds (Grimm 1899, 655-6). — [7] Gotþjóðar ‘of the land of the Goths’: The cpd can also mean ‘people of the Goths’, which would also be possible here. — [8]: Cf. Guðr II 26/5-6 (NK 228), where Grímhildr offers Guðrún various treasures as Atli’s bride: ein scaltu ráða | auði Buðla ‘you alone shall rule the wealth of Buðli’. — [8] því ‘that’: The precise referent for the n. demonstrative pron. is uncertain: it likely refers to all the items listed as a whole, but could possibly alternatively refer to landi, understood from Gotþjóðar if taken, as here, in the sense ‘land of the Goths’ (see previous Note).

References

1. Bibliography
2. FSN = Rafn, Carl Christian, ed. 1829-30. Fornaldar sögur nordrlanda. 3 vols. Copenhagen: Popp.
3. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. Fritzner = Fritzner, Johan. 1883-96. Ordbog over det gamle norske sprog. 3 vols. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske forlagsforening. 4th edn. Rpt. 1973. Oslo etc.: Universitetsforlaget.
5. NK = Neckel, Gustav and Hans Kuhn (1899), eds. 1983. Edda: Die Lieder des Codex Regius nebst verwandten Denkmälern. 2 vols. I: Text. 5th edn. Heidelberg: Winter.
6. NS = Nygaard, Marius. 1906. Norrøn syntax. Kristiania (Oslo): Aschehoug. Rpt. 1966.
7. Heiðr 1672 = Verelius, Olaus, ed. 1672. Hervarar Saga på Gammel Gotska. Uppsala: Curio.
8. FSGJ = Guðni Jónsson, ed. 1954. Fornaldar sögur norðurlanda. 4 vols. [Reykjavík]: Íslendingasagnaútgáfan.
9. ÍF 9 = Eyfirðinga sǫgur. Ed. Jónas Kristjánsson. 1956.
10. SkP VII = Poetry on Christian Subjects. Ed. Margaret Clunies Ross. 2007.
11. Heiðr 1924 = Jón Helgason, ed. 1924. Heiðreks saga. Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks konungs. SUGNL 48. Copenhagen: Jørgensen.
12. 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.
13. Grimm, Jakob [Jacob]. 1899. Deutsche Rechtsaltertümer. 4th rev. ed. by Andreas Heusler and Rudolf Hübner. Leipzig: Dieterich. Rpt. 1983. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft.
14. Heiðr 1873 = Bugge, Sophus, ed. 1873. Hervarar saga ok Heidreks. Det Norske oldskriftselskabs samlinger 17. Christiania (Oslo): Brøgger.
15. Jón Helgason, ed. 1967. Kviður af Gotum og Hunum: Hamðismál, Guðrúnarhvöt, Hlöðskviða. Reykjavík: Heimskringla.
16. Internal references
17. 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 367. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=23> (accessed 3 May 2024)
18. (forthcoming), ‘ Anonymous, Sneglu-Halla þáttr’ 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. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=57> (accessed 3 May 2024)
19. Not published: do not cite ()
20. Not published: do not cite ()
21. Hannah Burrows (ed.) 2017, ‘Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks 99 (Gizurr Grýtingaliði, Lausavísur 1)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 471.