ǪrvOdd Lv 5^VIII (Ǫrv 13)

Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Ǫrvar-Odds saga 13 (Ǫrvar-Oddr, Lausavísur 5)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 826.

introduction

The following seventeen stanzas are attributed to the dying Hjálmarr in the various mss of Heiðr and Ǫrv, except for the first (Ǫrv 13), which is spoken by Oddr. They have conventionally been regarded as a poem often entitled ‘Hjálmarr’s death-song’.

1. Eight stanzas (Ǫrv 13-20) are present both in mss of Heiðr (2845 and R715ˣ) and in the following mss of Ǫrv: 344a, 343a, 471 and 173ˣ, although Ǫrv 20 is missing from 344a (see Table 1). However, the order of the stanzas, as given here (and in Skj and Skald) follows the order in which they appear in the 2845 ms. of Heiðr and not the order of the Ǫrv mss. R715ˣ, which is a ms. of Heiðr that neither Skj nor Skald made use of, follows the same order of stanzas as 2845, except that the order of Ǫrv 18 and 19 is reversed in R715ˣ. Both Heiðr mss are witness to Ǫrv 13-20 only.

2. In addition, four stanzas (Ǫrv 21-4) appear in mss 344a, 343a, 471 and 173ˣ of Ǫrv only, and these were labelled Addendum α in Skj and Skald.

3. Five other stanzas (Ǫrv 25-9), consisting of a roll-call of Hjálmarr’s comrades, are found only in the younger Ǫrv mss 343a, 471 and 173ˣ. Skj and Skald label these Addendum β.

Both the diversity of the ms. record across the two sagas and the differing order of stanzas between them and within the Ǫrv mss point to considerable variation on the one hand, and amplification on the other, in the traditions that supported the generation of stanzas that were attracted to the topic of Hjálmarr’s death-song, which is a variant of the so-called ævidrápa tradition, recte ævikviða, as most such poems contain no refrain, that we also find in Ǫrvar-Oddr’s Ævidrápa. In that case, too, there is an observable tendency to amplify in the younger mss.

Table 2 below shows the order of Ǫrv 13-29 in the various mss of both sagas. See also Table 1 which sets out the distribution of the stanzas across the mss.

TABLE 2
Order of Ǫrv 13-29 in the manuscripts of Heiðr and Ǫrv

2845								R715ˣ		344a								343a								471									173ˣ
13								13		13								13								13									13
14								14		14								14								14									14
15								15		21								21								21									21
16								16		19								19								19									19
17								17		17								22								17									17
18								19		22								17								22									22
19								18		23								23								23									23
20								20		15								15								15									15
✗								✗		18								18								18									18
✗								✗		24								24								24									24
✗								✗		16								25								25									25
✗								✗		✗								26								26									27
✗								✗		✗								27								27									28
✗								✗		✗								28								28									26
✗								✗		✗								29								29									29
✗								✗		✗								16								16									16
✗								✗		✗								20								20									20

text and translation

notes and context

In both Ǫrv and Heiðr, Oddr speaks this stanza at the end of the fight against the berserks, when Hjálmarr has killed Angantýr but has himself sustained mortal wounds.

It can be seen here that R715ˣ must derive from a version of the stanza that is much closer to that of the Ǫrv mss than to the exemplar of 2845. Ms. 344a has only the first two lines of this stanza. — [7-8]: For the idiom fara um (or of) fjǫrvi ‘die, come to the end of one’s life’, cf. Lok 57/6.

readings

• [2] brugðit: so all others, ‘brugit’ 2845
• [3] kveð ek: sé ek 173ˣ
• [4] margar: miklar R715ˣ, 343a, 471, 173ˣ
• [6] en á hlið: so R715ˣ, 343a, 471, 173ˣ, ok in síða 2845
• [7] kveð ek: held ek 173ˣ
• [8] um: so 343a, 173ˣ, ok 2845, á R715ˣ, om. 173ˣ
• [8] farit: ‘fari’ R715ˣ

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.

• GKS 2845 4° (2845) — 63v/21 - 64r/1

  Hvat er þér, Hjálmarr?
  Hefr þú lit †brugit†.
  Þik kveð ek mæða
  margar undir.
  Hjálmr er þinn höggvinn,
  ok in síða brynja;
  nú kveð ek fjörvi
  ok farit þínu.

  Huat er þier hialmar hefir þu lit brugit | þik qved ek mæda margar undir hialmr er þiɴ hꜹgiɴ ok || iɴ sida brynia nu ku\e/d ek fiorvi ok farit þinu

  (HA)

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• UppsUB R 715x (R715x) — 10r/22 - 10v/1

  Hvat er þér, Hjálmarr?
  Hefr þú lit brugðit.
  Þik kveð ek mæða
  miklar undir.
  Hjálmr er þinn höggvinn,
  en á hlið brynja;
  nú kveð ek fjörvi
  á †fari† þínu.

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• AM 344 a 4° (344a) — 17v/3 - 17v/4 [1-2]

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• AM 343 a 4° (343a) — 68r/38 - 68r/40

  Hvat er þér, Hjálmarr?
  Hefr þú lit brugðit.
  Þik kveð ek mæða
  miklar undir.
  Hjálmr er þinn höggvinn,
  en á hlið brynja;
  nú kveð ek fjörvi
  um farit þínu.

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• AM 471 4° (471) — 75r/2 - 75r/4

  Hvat er þér, Hjálmarr?
  Hefr þú lit brugðit.
  Þik kveð ek mæða
  miklar undir.
  Hjálmr er þinn höggvinn,
  en á hlið brynja;
  nú kveð ek fjörvi
  um farit þínu.

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• AM 173 folx (173x) — 36r/29 - 26v/3

  Hvat er þér, Hjálmarr?
  Hefr þú lit brugðit.
  Þik sé ek mæða
  miklar undir.
  Hjálmr er þinn höggvinn,
  en á hlið brynja;
  nú held ek fjörvi
  farit þínu.

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• AM 344 b 4°x (344bx) — 14v/18 - 14v/20

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