Framarr Lv 4VIII (Ket 41)
Beatrice La Farge (ed.) 2017, ‘Ketils saga hœngs 41 (Framarr víkingakonungr, Lausavísur 4)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 595.
text and translation
Hugr er í Hængi; hvass er Dragvendill;
beit hann orð Óðins, sem ekki væri.
Bráz nú Baldrs faðir; brigt er at trúa honum;
njóttu heill handa; hér munum skiljaz.
Hugr er í Hængi; Dragvendill er hvass; hann beit orð Óðins, sem ekki væri. Nú bráz {faðir Baldrs}; at trúa honum er brigt; njóttu heill handa; hér munum skiljaz.
‘There is courage in Hœngr (‘Salmon’); Dragvendill is sharp; he bit Óðinn’s word, as if it were nothing. Now the father of Baldr <god> [= Óðinn] has been deceptive; to put one’s trust in him is uncertain; enjoy safe and sound [the work of] your hands; here we will part.’
notes and context
Before Ketill strikes at Framarr for the third time he turns the sword so that the second cutting edge of the blade will strike. This time the sword slices Framarr through vertically from the shoulder down to the hip. Before he dies Framarr speaks a last stanza in which he acknowledges Ketill’s courage and Óðinn’s ineffectuality and treachery. In the saga this stanza is introduced by the words: Þá kvað Framarr vísu ‘Then Framarr spoke a stanza’.
This concluding stanza sums up the themes of the preceding ones and allows Framarr to die with gracious words on his lips: Ketill is courageous (cf. Ket 38, Ket 40); Óðinn’s spells cannot dull the blade of Ketill’s sword Dragvendill (cf. Ket 36); Óðinn is not to be trusted (cf. Ket 32, Ket 33). There are also echoes of the wording of Ket 38: hugr (38/8), hvass (38/3). — [5-6]: This long-line contains a play on the etymologically related words bráz (= 3rd pers. sg. pret. of the m. v. bregðaz ‘change, deceive, fail’) and brigt (n. sg. nom. of the adj. brigðr ‘uncertain, fickle, treacherous’). Óðinn’s unreliability or treachery to his supposed ‘favourites’ is a theme in many Old Norse texts. In the Brávalla legend, there is treachery towards Haraldr hilditǫnn ‘War-tooth’ (Fornk ch. 8, ÍF 35, 62-3; Saxo 2015, I, vii. 10. 3, pp. 512-15, I, vii. 10. 6, pp. 516-19, I, vii. 12. 1, pp. 530-3, I, viii. 4. 9, pp. 548-9, and in Vǫls (chs 11-12, Vǫls 1906-8, 27-9), Óðinn causes his favourite, Sigmundr, to fall in battle against the sons of Hundingr.
readings
- [1] Hængi: Hangi 471
- [5] Baldrs: so 1006ˣ, 173ˣ, 109a IIˣ, Baldr 343a, 471
- [6] brigt: ‘beigdt’ possibly corrected to ‘brigdt’ 471
- [8] munum: munu við 471
sources
Text is based on reconstruction from the base text and variant apparatus and may contain alternative spellings and other normalisations not visible in the manuscript text. Transcriptions may not have been checked and should not be cited.
-
AM 343 a 4° (343a) — 57v/31 - 57v/32
Hugr er í Hængi;
images
hvass er Dragvendill;
beit hann orð Óðins,
sem ekki væri.
Bráz nú Baldr faðir;
brigt er at trúa honum;
njóttu heill handa;
hér munum skiljaz. -
AM 471 4° (471) — 56v - 56v
Hugr er í Hangi;
images
hvass er Dragvendill;
beit hann orð Óðins,
sem ekki væri.
Bráz nú Baldr faðir;
†beigdt† er at trúa honum;
njóttu heill handa;
hér munu við skiljaz. -
AM 173 folx (173x) — 11v/4 - 11v/11
Hugr er í Hængi;
hvass er Dragvendill;
beit hann orð Óðins,
sem ekki væri.
Bráz nú Baldrs faðir;
brigt er at trúa honum;
njóttu heill handa;
hér munum skiljaz.Hugr er i Hængi | hvass er Dragvendill | heiti hann orð oðins | sem eigi er veʀi | brazt nu Balldrs faþir | brigt er at trua honum | niottu nu heill handa | her manom við skiliaz |
(VEÞ)
-
GKS 1006 folx (1006x) — 621 - 621
Hugr er í Hængi;
images
hvass er Dragvendill;
beit hann orð Óðins,
sem ekki væri.
Bráz nú Baldrs faðir;
brigt er at trúa honum;
njóttu heill handa;
hér munum skiljaz. -
AM 109 a II 8°x (109a IIx) — 162r/18 - 162r/21
Hugr er í Hængi;
images
hvass er Dragvendill;
beit hann orð Óðins,
sem ekki væri.
Bráz nú Baldrs faðir;
brigt er at trúa honum;
njóttu heill handa;
hér munum skiljaz. -
AM 340 4°x (340x) — 23/19 - 23/22
imageshugur er J hænge , hua | ß er draguendill , beyt hann ardar Odínz , sem eckj væri , | bräst nu Balldurz Fader , brýgt er ad trua honum , | niottu heill handa , hier munum skýlíast.
(VEÞ)
-
AM 342 4°x (342x) — 74r/8 - 74r/11
images -
AM 552 q 4°x (552qx) — 8v/4 - 8v/6
images -
AM 109 a I 8°x (109a Ix) — 77r/11 - 77r/14
images
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