ǪrvOdd Lv 29VIII (Ǫrv 65)
Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Ǫrvar-Odds saga 65 (Ǫrvar-Oddr, Lausavísur 29)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 880.
text and translation
Oddr sveigði álm, ör fló af streng,
Jólfs smíði beit Álf í gegnum.
Dugðu svá blót, at yfir honum hlakka
bæði hrafnar ok hrægjóðar.
Oddr sveigði álm, ör fló af streng, smíði Jólfs beit í gegnum Álf. Blót dugðu svá, at bæði hrafnar ok hrægjóðar hlakka yfir honum.
‘Oddr bent the bow, the arrow flew from the string, Jólfr’s handiwork bit right through Álfr. The sacrifices lent help to the extent that both ravens and carrion-ospreys exult over him. ’
notes and context
Oddr responds to Gyðja’s threat to bring back Álfr from the dead.
This stanza is corrupted in all mss, and there is a considerable divergence between them, in that, as often, 344a has a rather different text from the younger mss, especially in ll. 1 and 5-8. Previous eds have mostly tried to compromise between the versions, so that their texts are composites, and follow no one base ms. The exception is Ǫrv 1888, which reproduces an emended text of 344a, a policy also followed here. Edd. Min., Skj B and Skald have composite texts, to a greater or lesser extent following the younger mss, while Skj A reproduces the text of 344a. The main difficulties occur in ll. 5-6, which do not alliterate. — [5-6]: The utterance has to be understood as deeply ironic: Oddr means that one can see from the behaviour of the carrion birds that Álfr is dead and that Gyðja’s sacrifices have been of no help. Lines 5-6 are unmetrical in all mss because they have no alliteration. Skj B offers býðrat blót honum | svát hann þiggi ‘you will not offer him sacrifice(s) such that he can receive’ based on the younger mss, while Skald rearranges the wording to give býðrat hónum | blot, svát þiggi (see NN §2602). Edd. Min. has l. 5 according to 344a, and a l. 6 that follows no ms. reading. — [7-8]: The younger mss agree on l. 7 hlakka hrafnar ‘ravens exult’, but have slightly differing versions of l. 8. Skj B and Skald adopt of hræi Bjálka ‘over Bjálki’s corpse’, which is the reading of 343a and (reportedly by earlier eds) 471, which is now illegible in part.
readings
- [1] Oddr sveigði álm: so all others, Sveigða ek álm 344a
- [2] streng: so 173ˣ, ‘streignum’ 344a, strengjum 343a, 471
- [3] beit: so all others, om. 344a
- [5] Dugðu svá blót: dugðu blót svá 344a, býðr ei þú blót honum 343a, býðr þú honum ei blót 471, bið attu á honum blót 173ˣ
- [6] at yfir honum hlakka: svá at Bjálki þiggi 343a, svá hann þiggi 471, 173ˣ
- [7] bæði hrafnar: hlakka hrafnar 343a, 471, 173ˣ
- [8] ok hrægjóðar: yfir hræi Bjálka 343a, ‘yfir hræi […]’ 471, um hræ Bjálka 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 344 a 4° (344a) — 23v/13 - 23v/14
imagesSveigða ek álm ,
ör fló af †streignum†,
Jólfs smíði
Álf í gegnum.
dugðu blót svá ,
at yfir honum hlakka
bæði hrafnar
ok hrægjóðar.Sveigda ek alm ꜹr flo af st | reignum · iolfs smidi alf igegnvm · dvgdv blott sva at yfir honum hlacka bædi hrafnar ok hrægiodar ·
(HA)
-
AM 343 a 4° (343a) — 79r/1 - 79r/3
Oddr sveigði álm,
images
ör fló af strengjum,
Jólfs smíði beit
Álf í gegnum.
býðr ei þú blót honum ,
svá at Bjálki þiggi
hlakka hrafnar
yfir hræi Bjálka . -
AM 471 4° (471) — 91v - 91v
Oddr sveigði álm,
images
ör fló af strengjum,
Jólfs smíði beit
Álf í gegnum.
býðr þú honum ei blót ,
svá hann þiggi
hlakka hrafnar
†yfir hræi […]† . -
AM 173 folx (173x) — 57r/33 - 57v/3
Oddr sveigði álm,
images
ör fló af streng,
Jólfs smíði beit
Álf í gegnum.
bið attu á honum blót ,
svá hann þiggi
hlakka hrafnar
um hræ Bjálka . -
AM 344 b 4°x (344bx) — 30v/4 - 30v/6
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.