ǪrvOdd Ævdr 21^VIII (Ǫrv 91)

Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Ǫrvar-Odds saga 91 (Ǫrvar-Oddr, Ævidrápa 21)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 903.

Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses

This stanza is found in all mss in the context of the prose narrative to which it relates (Ǫrv 1888, 48-9) and in addition in 343a, 471 and 173ˣ as st. 21 of the continuous Ævdr. Thus this stanza occurs twice in mss 343a, 471 and 173ˣ, but once only in 7 and 344a. — It can be seen from this stanza that several variants distinguish the texts of stanzas in the continuous Ævdr from the texts of the same stanzas in the prose text. As often, 344a stands alone. Significant variants to occur only in the continuous Ævdr in this stanza are skaut ‘shot’ (l. 5) and einum þussi ‘an ogre’ (l. 6). — This stanza may relate to a section of the prose saga (Ǫrv 1888, 42-5) which tells how a giantess named Greip wades across to the island from the mainland to attack Oddr and his men. Oddr takes up a position behind the bear he has killed and flayed and placed on a headland. He has put glowing embers in the animal’s mouth and he shoots an arrow through the bear towards the giantess, but she deflects it with her hand. Then Oddr shoots another arrow which strikes her in the eye and flies out the back of her head. His third arrow goes through her other eye (not her breast, as in the stanza). A little later in the narrative, and immediately before Ǫrv 91 is cited in the prose text, a comparable incident occurs: Oddr and Ásmundr are now on the mainland and have entered a cave where the giantess’s father and mother are sitting. Here Oddr again shoots his arrows, one hitting the giant’s wife in the armpit, another the giant’s eye. — [5-8]: In this edn, the referent of einu flagði ‘an ogress’ (l. 6) and Freyju bjarga ‘Freyja <goddess> of cliffs [GIANTESS]’ (l. 8) is considered to be one and the same, and to relate to the visit of the giantess Greip to the island. However, it is possible that the two referents are to different persons. If the reading einum þussi ‘an ogre’ is adopted, it is clear that there are two separate opponents; even if einu flagði is retained, however, there may still be two opponents, as flagð, being n., sometimes refers to a male being, though more commonly to a female. Skj B obviously thinks there are two separate adversaries, and translates jeg ramte en trold ‘I hit a troll’. In Ǫrv 92/4 flögð refers to all the giants, both male and female.