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.
Oddr ‘Oddr’
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oddr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): point of weapon
[1] Oddr sveigði álm: so all others, Sveigða ek álm 344a
sveigði ‘bent’
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sveigja (verb): bend
[1] Oddr sveigði álm: so all others, Sveigða ek álm 344a
álm ‘the bow’
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almr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): bow, elm-bow
[1] Oddr sveigði álm: so all others, Sveigða ek álm 344a
ör ‘the arrow’
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ǫr (noun f.; °dat. -/-u; ǫrvar/ǫrar): arrow
fló ‘flew’
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fljúga (verb): fly
af ‘from’
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af (prep.): from
streng ‘the string’
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strengr (noun m.; °-jar; -ir): string, rope, bow-string
[2] streng: so 173ˣ, ‘streignum’ 344a, strengjum 343a, 471
notes
[2] streng ‘string’: Only 173ˣ has the metrically required form of the dat. sg. of strengr ‘[bow]-string’ and its reading has been adopted by all previous eds.
Jólfs ‘Jólfr’s’
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Jolfr (noun m.): [Jólfr]
notes
[3] smíði Jólfs ‘Jólfr’s handiwork’: A reference to a weapon, in the prose texts said to comprise three stone arrows, that a mysterious old man named Jólfr lends Oddr before he visits King Herrauðr’s court. Oddr uses these to wound Álfr bjálki (in the younger mss) or to kill Gyða (in 7). Jólfs smíði is listed among other arrow-names in Þul Ǫrvar 2/5III; for a discussion, see SnE 1998, II, 228 n. to st. 466/7-8. Although this is not stated directly in the prose text, the implication is that Jólfr is an Odinic figure. His name is possibly reminiscent of certain names for Óðinn (cf. discussion in Edd. Min. lxviii). As Boer commented in several notes to his 1892 edn (Ǫrv 1892, 90-1), the sense of the prose text is at odds with the sense of these stanzas, in that, among other things, Oddr benefits from the thinly disguised Óðinn’s help in the prose, while declaring himself opposed to the pagan gods and to Óðinn in particular in the poetry. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B and LP: Jólfssmíði) treated Jólfs smíði as a cpd or hyphenated name (Skj B) for the stone arrow(s). It is not clear whether the phrase refers to a single arrow or whether smíði is a collective noun. The phrase also occurs at Ǫrv 67/2.
smíði ‘handiwork’
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2. smíði (noun n.; °-s; -): well-made, -crafted
notes
[3] smíði Jólfs ‘Jólfr’s handiwork’: A reference to a weapon, in the prose texts said to comprise three stone arrows, that a mysterious old man named Jólfr lends Oddr before he visits King Herrauðr’s court. Oddr uses these to wound Álfr bjálki (in the younger mss) or to kill Gyða (in 7). Jólfs smíði is listed among other arrow-names in Þul Ǫrvar 2/5III; for a discussion, see SnE 1998, II, 228 n. to st. 466/7-8. Although this is not stated directly in the prose text, the implication is that Jólfr is an Odinic figure. His name is possibly reminiscent of certain names for Óðinn (cf. discussion in Edd. Min. lxviii). As Boer commented in several notes to his 1892 edn (Ǫrv 1892, 90-1), the sense of the prose text is at odds with the sense of these stanzas, in that, among other things, Oddr benefits from the thinly disguised Óðinn’s help in the prose, while declaring himself opposed to the pagan gods and to Óðinn in particular in the poetry. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B and LP: Jólfssmíði) treated Jólfs smíði as a cpd or hyphenated name (Skj B) for the stone arrow(s). It is not clear whether the phrase refers to a single arrow or whether smíði is a collective noun. The phrase also occurs at Ǫrv 67/2.
beit ‘bit’
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bíta (verb; °bítr; beit, bitu; bitinn): bite
[3] beit: so all others, om. 344a
notes
[3] beit ‘bit’: This verb, necessary both for sense and metrically, is omitted in 344a, but all other mss have it.
Álf ‘Álfr’
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alfr (noun m.; °; -ar): elf
í ‘right’
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í (prep.): in, into
gegnum ‘through’
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gegnum (prep.): through
Dugðu ‘lent help’
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duga (verb; °dugir; dugði; dugat): help, befit
[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
svá ‘to the extent’
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svá (adv.): so, thus
[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
blót ‘The sacrifices’
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blót (noun n.; °-s; -): sacrifice
[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
at ‘that’
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4. at (conj.): that
[6] at yfir honum hlakka: svá at Bjálki þiggi 343a, svá hann þiggi 471, 173ˣ
yfir ‘over’
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yfir (prep.): over
[6] at yfir honum hlakka: svá at Bjálki þiggi 343a, svá hann þiggi 471, 173ˣ
honum ‘him’
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hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...
[6] at yfir honum hlakka: svá at Bjálki þiggi 343a, svá hann þiggi 471, 173ˣ
hlakka ‘exult’
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hlakka (verb): [screams, exult]
[6] at yfir honum hlakka: svá at Bjálki þiggi 343a, svá hann þiggi 471, 173ˣ
bæði ‘both’
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báðir (pron.; °gen. beggja (báðra), nom./acc. n. bǽði): both
[7] bæði hrafnar: hlakka hrafnar 343a, 471, 173ˣ
hrafnar ‘ravens’
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hrafn (noun m.; °hrafns; dat. hrafni; hrafnar): raven
[7] bæði hrafnar: hlakka hrafnar 343a, 471, 173ˣ
ok ‘and’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
[8] ok hrægjóðar: yfir hræi Bjálka 343a, ‘yfir hræi […]’ 471, um hræ Bjálka 173ˣ
hræ ‘carrion’
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hræ (noun n.; °; -): corpse, carrion < hrægjóðr (noun m.)
[8] ok hrægjóðar: yfir hræi Bjálka 343a, ‘yfir hræi […]’ 471, um hræ Bjálka 173ˣ
notes
[8] hrægjóðar ‘carrion-ospreys’: A hap. leg. cpd and one not recorded in LP. Most compounds in hræ- form kennings and one would expect the second element of this cpd to refer to some other kind of bird than a bird of prey. Doubtless because hræ ‘corpse’ cannot here have a determinative function, Meissner 120 does not include the cpd hrægjóðr among kennings for raven/eagle, though gjóðr ‘osprey’ occurs as a base-word in several kennings of this type.
gjóðar ‘ospreys’
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gjóðr (noun m.; °-s; -ar): osprey < hrægjóðr (noun m.)
[8] ok hrægjóðar: yfir hræi Bjálka 343a, ‘yfir hræi […]’ 471, um hræ Bjálka 173ˣ
notes
[8] hrægjóðar ‘carrion-ospreys’: A hap. leg. cpd and one not recorded in LP. Most compounds in hræ- form kennings and one would expect the second element of this cpd to refer to some other kind of bird than a bird of prey. Doubtless because hræ ‘corpse’ cannot here have a determinative function, Meissner 120 does not include the cpd hrægjóðr among kennings for raven/eagle, though gjóðr ‘osprey’ occurs as a base-word in several kennings of this type.
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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.
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