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Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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ǪrvOdd Ævdr 52VIII (Ǫrv 122)

Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Ǫrvar-Odds saga 122 (Ǫrvar-Oddr, Ævidrápa 52)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 928.

Ǫrvar-OddrÆvidrápa
515253

Sigldum ‘We sailed’

(not checked:)
2. sigla (verb): sail

[1] Sigldum síðan: Lét ek suðr í haf 343a, 471, 173ˣ

notes

[All]: This is the first of seven stanzas or part-stanzas that are found in ms. 7 (but not in 344a) as well as in the younger mss within the continuous Ævdr. The other six stanzas are Ævdr 53 (Ǫrv 123), Ævdr 64 (Ǫrv 134), Ævdr 68 (Ǫrv 138), Ævdr 69 (Ǫrv 139), Ævdr 70 (Ǫrv 140) and Ævdr 71 (Ǫrv 141). In most instances of the stanzas within this group the wording of the text in 7 differs significantly from that of the younger mss. which largely agree with one another, as in the present case. Ǫrv 1888, 117 gives 7’s text, while presenting that of 343a on p. 205; Ǫrv 1892 has the text of 7 on both pp. 65 and 99. Edd. Min. 57 also has the text of 7. Skj B presents the first helmingr from 7, and the second from 343a, while Skald has ll. 1-7 from 7, and the final line from 343a. FSGJ gives the text of the younger mss within the Ævdr. The text of 343a is given here: [[ALT]] The translation of at (l. 3) assumes a suppressed svá ‘such’ in the first clause.

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síðan ‘then’

(not checked:)
síðan (adv.): later, then

[1] Sigldum síðan: Lét ek suðr í haf 343a, 471, 173ˣ

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suðr ‘south’

(not checked:)
2. suðr (adv.): south, in the south

[2] suðr langt í haf: langt um farit 343a, 471, svá langt um farit 173ˣ

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langt ‘a long way’

(not checked:)
langr (adj.; °compar. lengri, superl. lengstr): long

[2] suðr langt í haf: langt um farit 343a, 471, svá langt um farit 173ˣ

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í ‘in’

(not checked:)
í (prep.): in, into

[2] suðr langt í haf: langt um farit 343a, 471, svá langt um farit 173ˣ

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haf ‘the ocean’

(not checked:)
hafa (verb): have

[2] suðr langt í haf: langt um farit 343a, 471, svá langt um farit 173ˣ

notes

[All]: The circumstances underlying this stanza are only explicit in 7’s version of the prose saga (Ǫrv 1888, 117): Eptir þat siglir Oddr út til Jórsalalands, ok þá fekk hann storm svá mikinn ok grunnsævi, at þar braut skip hans ǫll. Þar týnduz ok menn hans allir, svá at einn komz hann á land með því móti, at hann rak með skipflaki nǫkkuru til lands ‘After that [i.e. his baptism by an abbot in Sicily] Oddr sails out to Palestine, and there he encountered such a great storm as well as shallow water, that all his ships were wrecked there. There all his men were also lost, so that he came ashore alone by drifting towards land with some flotsam’. The other mss do not mention a storm at sea, and state that Oddr travelled to the River Jordan after his meeting with Christians in Aquitaine. Thus the events referred to in this stanza actually follow the events mentioned in Ævdr 53 (Ǫrv 123). In 7, but not in the younger mss, Ævdr 53 precedes Ævdr 52.

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áðr ‘before’

(not checked:)
áðr (adv.; °//): before

[3] áðr: at 343a, 471, 173ˣ

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grunnsævi ‘treacherous’

(not checked:)
grunnsævi (noun n.)

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grimmu ‘shallows’

(not checked:)
grimmr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): fierce

[4] grimmu: gildu 343a, 471, 173ˣ

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mættak ‘came upon’

(not checked:)
mœta (verb): meet

[4] mættak: mætti 471, mætta 173ˣ

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svá ‘so’

(not checked:)
svá (adv.): so, thus

[5] svá at: varð ek 343a, 471, 173ˣ

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at ‘that’

(not checked:)
4. at (conj.): that

[5] svá at: varð ek 343a, 471, 173ˣ

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saman ‘’

(not checked:)
saman (adv.): together

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en ‘and’

(not checked:)
2. en (conj.): but, and

[6] en öllu firðr: en annan veg 343a, 471, 173ˣ

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öllu ‘of all’

(not checked:)
allr (adj.): all

[6] en öllu firðr: en annan veg 343a, 471, 173ˣ

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firðr ‘deprived’

(not checked:)
2. firra (verb): keep (from), remove

[6] en öllu firðr: en annan veg 343a, 471, 173ˣ

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gumna ‘of men’

(not checked:)
gumi (noun m.; °-a; gumar/gumnar): man

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sinni ‘company’

(not checked:)
2. sinni (noun n.; °-s;): time, occasion; company, following

[7] sinni: mengi 343a, 471, 173ˣ

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gekk ‘went’

(not checked:)
2. ganga (verb; geng, gekk, gengu, genginn): walk, go

[8] gekk ek annan veg: gekk helvegu 343a, 471, 173ˣ

notes

[8]: The younger mss have gekk helvegu ‘went along the roads to Hel’, i.e. they died. Cf. Vsp 52/7 (NK 12) troða halir helveg ‘men tread the road to Hel’. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B and LP: helvegr) emends to helvega (acc. pl.), but emendation is not required, as vegr may sometimes have the inflexions of u-stem nouns in nom. and acc. pl. (ANG §358.4).

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ek ‘I’

(not checked:)
ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me

[8] gekk ek annan veg: gekk helvegu 343a, 471, 173ˣ

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annan ‘another’

(not checked:)
1. annarr (pron.; °f. ǫnnur, n. annat; pl. aðrir): (an)other, second

[8] gekk ek annan veg: gekk helvegu 343a, 471, 173ˣ

notes

[8]: The younger mss have gekk helvegu ‘went along the roads to Hel’, i.e. they died. Cf. Vsp 52/7 (NK 12) troða halir helveg ‘men tread the road to Hel’. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B and LP: helvegr) emends to helvega (acc. pl.), but emendation is not required, as vegr may sometimes have the inflexions of u-stem nouns in nom. and acc. pl. (ANG §358.4).

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veg ‘way’

(not checked:)
1. veggr (noun m.; °-jar/-s(Páll²A 257³³), dat. -/-i(kun defin.); -ir): wall

[8] gekk ek annan veg: gekk helvegu 343a, 471, 173ˣ

notes

[8]: The younger mss have gekk helvegu ‘went along the roads to Hel’, i.e. they died. Cf. Vsp 52/7 (NK 12) troða halir helveg ‘men tread the road to Hel’. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B and LP: helvegr) emends to helvega (acc. pl.), but emendation is not required, as vegr may sometimes have the inflexions of u-stem nouns in nom. and acc. pl. (ANG §358.4).

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[5-8]: There are several reasons to think that the younger mss’ version of this helmingr is less good than that of 7: first, the sense is dubious in context and it is unclear who the crowd of men are who travelled the roads to Hel. While it is clear that Oddr himself follows his baptism by travelling to the Holy Land and thus acquiring Christian virtue, the only people who could be seen as travelling the roads to Hel are a band of robbers who, in the episode referred to in Ævdr 53, attacked and killed a bishop, and were killed by Oddr in return.

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