KrákÁsl Lv 9^VIII (Ragn 30)

Rory McTurk (ed.) 2017, ‘Ragnars saga loðbrókar 30 (Kráka/Áslaug Sigurðardóttir, Lausavísur 9)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 684.

introduction

This stanza and Ragn 31, both spoken by Áslaug, clearly belong together. They are quoted in a chapter (18) of the Y-redaction (preserved in 1824b) of Ragn that apparently did not form part of the X-redaction (preserved in 147), and which rounds off the saga’s account of Ragnarr’s sons, beginning with Hvítserkr.

text and translation

notes and context

Áslaug-Randalín lives to hear, as an old woman, the news of Hvítserkr’s heroic death in the east; once defeated in battle, he chose to burn to death on the piled heads of the slain, as she here describes.

This stanza presents few difficulties of interpretation. Hvítserkr (not a historical figure) is mentioned in the mid-C12th poem Háttalykill (RvHbreiðm Hl 21/1^III), not specifically as a son of Ragnarr, but close to sts 11-20 in which Ragnarr, Ælle, and inn beinlausi ‘the boneless one’, as well as Agnarr, Bjǫrn and Sigurðr are also mentioned; cf. McTurk (1991a, 89-90). In Saxo (Saxo 2015, I, ix. 4. 17, pp. 644-5), he appears as Withsercus, a son of Regnerus Lothbrog by his third wife Suanlogha. According to Saxo (Saxo 2015, I, ix. 4. 21, pp. 648-9), Withsercus is appointed King of the Scythians by his father Regnerus, but later (Saxo 2015, I, ix. 4. 29-32, pp. 654-7) is treacherously attacked by Daxon, King of the Hellespont, and eventually captured from the top of a pile of corpses while fighting off his assailants. Daxon is moved by his physical beauty to offer him his daughter in marriage, but Withsercus prefers to be bound and burnt to death with his captive friends. Regnerus avenges his death by banishing Daxon to Utgarthia, but later restores Daxon to his kingdom, insisting on an annual tribute from him. Withsercus’s choice of the manner of his own death and his refusal of the offer of his conqueror’s daughter in marriage recall the story of Eiríkr’s death reflected in Ragn 11-14, above, and de Vries (1927b, 136-7; cf. 1928c, 125) argues that this story influenced that of Hvítserkr’s death as described by Saxo and in Ragn 30 and 31. This is indeed likely, though, to judge from numerous differences in detail, Saxo may have had available to him not the full story of Eiríkr’s death but a version of the story of Hvítserkr’s already influenced by it.

readings

• [1] er: om. 1824b
• [6] höggvins: ‘havggvís’ 1824b
• [8] þróttar‑: ‘þrotar’ 1824b

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.

• NKS 1824 b 4° (1824b) — 74v/17 - 74v/20

  Sonr beið einn, sá ek átta,
  í austrvegi dauða;
  Hvítserkr var sá heitinn,
  hvergi gjarn at flýja.
  Hitnaði hann af höfðum
  †havggvís† vals at rómu;
  kaus þann bana þengill
  †þrotar†snjallr, áðr felli.

  Sonr beíð eínn sa ek atta. i austr vegí dauda. | hvitꜱerkr var sa heítínn. hvergí gíarnn at flygia. hitnade hann af | havfdvm. havggvís vals at romv. kaus þann bana þeíng | ill. þrotar ꜱníallr aðr fellí.

  (RM)

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