ǪrvOdd Ævdr 56VIII (Ǫrv 126)
Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Ǫrvar-Odds saga 126 (Ǫrvar-Oddr, Ævidrápa 56)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 933.
text and translation
Réð ek skunda frá skatna liði,
unz hittak breiða borg Jórsala,
Þar réð ek allr í á fara,
ok kunna ek þá Kristi at þjóna.
Ek réð skunda frá liði skatna, unz hittak breiða Jórsalaborg. Þar réð ek allr fara í á, ok ek kunna þá at þjóna Kristi.
‘I hurried away from the band of men until I reached wide Jerusalem. There I immersed myself completely in the river, and I was then able to serve Christ. ’
notes and context
The prose texts comparable with this stanza vary significantly in both the sequence of events that takes place after Oddr has told his companions he wants to get away and in the degree of explicitness of their treatment of Oddr’s involvement with the Christian faith. Ms. 344a and the younger mss 343a and 471 tell that, following their adventures in Aquitaine, where they accept Christianity, though Oddr does so only half-heartedly, Oddr is obliged to escape from his companions by night, because they are keeping a watchful eye on him and do not want him to leave them (Ǫrv 1888, 118). He travels from land to land until he comes to the River Jordan and there he takes off all his clothes and bathes in the river. No mention is made of his visiting Jerusalem or of serving Christ. He then wanders through many wild regions until he meets the old man Jólfr. In ms. 7, after he has visited the Greek islands and then Aquitaine, and the ms. quotes Ævdr 53 (Ǫrv 124) in support of this, the prose text has him visit Sicily, where he is baptised by an abbot named Hugi. He then sails off for Palestine (Jórsalaland), and encounters a fierce storm, in which his ship is broken up and all his men lost. Oddr recites Ævdr 52 (Ǫrv 122) in support of this adventure. It turns out that he has arrived in Jórsalaland and he makes for the River Jordan (Ǫrv 1888, 118-19), where he takes off all his clothes, including his magic shirt, which keeps its magic properties even after he has bathed in the river. After this, he travels to Syrland (Syria) and embarks on a period of wandering. — [7-8]: These lines are much more overtly Christian than any of the prose texts, which represent Oddr as, on the whole, ambivalent towards the Christian faith.
readings
- [3] unz: om. 471
- [5] Þar réð ek: so 471, réð ek 343a, réð ek þar 173ˣ
- [7] ok: om. 471, 173ˣ
- [7] þá: þar 173ˣ
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) — 81r/35 - 81r/36
imagesRéð ek skunda
frá skatna liði,
unz hittak breiða
borg Jórsala,
réð ek allr
í á fara,
ok kunna ek þá
Kristi at þjóna.Ried ec skunda fra skatna lidi | unz hittac breida borg iossala · ʀied ec allr j ꜳ̋ fara · ok kunna ek þá kristi at þiona |
(HA)
-
AM 471 4° (471) — 95v - 95v
Réð ek skunda
images
frá skatna liði,
hittak breiða
borg Jórsala,
Þar réð ek allr
í á fara,
kunna ek þá
Kristi at þjóna. -
AM 173 folx (173x) — 64rb/4 - 64rb/11
Réð ek skunda
images
frá skatna liði,
unz hittak breiða
borg Jórsala,
réð ek þar allr
í á fara,
kunna ek þar
Kristi at þjóna. -
AM 344 b 4°x (344bx) — 34r/27 - 34r/28
editions and texts
Stanza/chapter/text segment
Use the buttons at the top of the page to navigate between stanzas in a poem.
Information tab
- text: if the stanza has been published, the edited text of the stanza and translation are here; if it hasn't been published an old edition (usually Skj) is given for reference
- sources: a list of the manuscripts or inscriptions containing this stanza, with page and line references and links (eye button) to images where available, and transcription where available
- readings: a list of variant manuscript readings of words in the main text
- editions and texts: a list of editions of the stanza with links to the bibliography; and a list of prose works in which the stanza occurs, allowing you to navigate within the prose context
- notes and context: notes not linked to individual words are given here, along with the account of the prose context for the stanza, where relevant
Interactive tab
The text and translation are given here, with buttons to toggle whether the text is shown in the verse order or prose word order. Clicking on indiviudal words gives dictionary links, variant readings, kennings and notes, where relevant.
Full text tab
This is the text of the edition in a similar format to how the edition appears in the printed volumes.
Chapter/text segment
This view is also used for chapters and other text segments. Not all the headings shown are relevant to such sections.