Ásb Lv 2^VIII (OStór 3)

Sinni má engi         íþrótt treysta;
aldri er hann svá sterkr         né stórr í huga.
Svá bregz hverjum         á banadægri
hjarta ok megin,         sem heill bilar.

Engi má treysta íþrótt sinni; hann er aldri svá sterkr né stórr í huga. Svá bregz hjarta ok megin hverjum á banadægri, sem heill bilar.

No one may trust in his own accomplishment; he is never so strong or courageous. Thus to every man on his death-day heart and strength fail as good fortune fails.

Mss: Flat(70va), 2845(23r-v), 554h βˣ(63r) (OStór)

Readings: [1] engi: enginn 554h βˣ    [3] sterkr: stór 2845, 554h βˣ    [4] né: ok 2845;    stórr: sterkr 2845, 554h βˣ    [5] bregz: bregdaz 2845    [6] ‑dægri: ‘deige’ 554h βˣ    [7] hjarta ok megin: ‘hiartamegne’ 554h βˣ

Editions: Skj AII, 342, Skj BII, 365, Skald II, 197, NN §129; ÓT 1689, 13, Fms 3, 217, Flat 1860-8, I, 527, Þorleifur Jónsson 1904, 212, Guðni Jónsson 1935, 182-3 (ch. 7), Guðni Jónsson 1946-9, 11, 457-8 (ch. 7), Faulkes 2011b, 68-9 (ch. 7) (OStór).

Context: Ormr returns to Iceland after he has heard news of his father’s death, but Ásbjǫrn becomes eager to go north to the Sauðeyjar off the coast of Møre. Leaving his men on the coast of the outer of the two islands, Ásbjǫrn goes inland to the giant Brúsi’s cave, where the giant snatches him up and dashes him to the ground as soon as he enters. After having been effortlessly overpowered by Brúsi, Ásbjǫrn utters this stanza.

Notes: [3-4]: These two lines are unmetrical in their present state, unless l. 3 sterkr is desyllabified to sterkur and l. 4 is treated as málaháttr. — [4] stórr í huga ‘courageous’: Lit. ‘great in mind’. — [8] heill ‘good fortune’: This noun could be a personification in the sense ‘guardian spirit’; cf. Faulkes (2011b, 93-4 n.).

References

1. Bibliography
2. Fms = Sveinbjörn Egilsson et al., eds. 1825-37. Fornmanna sögur eptir gömlum handritum útgefnar að tilhlutun hins norræna fornfræða fèlags. 12 vols. Copenhagen: Popp.
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. Guðni Jónsson, ed. 1946-9. Íslendinga sögur. 13 vols. Reykjavík: Íslendingasagnaútgáfan. Rpt. 1953.
6. Faulkes, Anthony. 2011b. Two Icelandic Stories: Hreiðars þáttr, Orms þáttr. New edition. London: Viking Society. First published [n. d. (1967)].
7. ÓT 1689 = [Anonymous] 1689. Saga þess haloflega herra Olafs Tryggvasonar, Noregs kongs. Skálholt: Jón Snorrason.
8. Þorleifur Jónsson. 1904. Fjörutíu Íslendinga-Þættir. Reykjavík: Sigurður Kristjánsson.
9. Guðni Jónsson, ed. 1935. Íslendinga þættir. Reykjavík: Sigurður Kristjánsson.
10. Internal references
11. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Flateyjarbók’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=44> (accessed 26 April 2024)
12. 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Orms þáttr Stórólfssonar’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 602. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=80> (accessed 26 April 2024)