Anon (Ragn) 7VIII (Ragn 37)
Rory McTurk (ed.) 2017, ‘Ragnars saga loðbrókar 37 (Anonymous Lausavísur, Lausavísur from Ragnars saga loðbrókar 7)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 697.
Fylgðum ‘accompanied’
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2. fylgja (verb): follow, accompany
Birni ‘Bjǫrn’
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2. Bjǫrn (noun m.): Bjǫrn
báðir ‘We both’
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báðir (pron.; °gen. beggja (báðra), nom./acc. n. bǽði): both
at ‘in’
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3. at (prep.): at, to
branda ‘of swords’
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brandr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): sword, prow; fire
kennings
hverjum gný branda;‘every clash of swords; ’
= BATTLE
every clash of swords; → BATTLE
gný ‘clash’
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gnýr (noun m.): din, tumult
kennings
hverjum gný branda;‘every clash of swords; ’
= BATTLE
every clash of swords; → BATTLE
hverjum ‘every’
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2. hverr (pron.): who, whom, each, every
kennings
hverjum gný branda;‘every clash of swords; ’
= BATTLE
every clash of swords; → BATTLE
váru ‘they were’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
reyndir ‘proven’
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reyna (verb): test, try, experience
rekkar ‘warriors’
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rekkr (noun m.; °; -ar): man, champion
en ‘and’
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2. en (conj.): but, and
Ragnari ‘Ragnarr’
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Ragnarr (noun m.): Ragnarr
stundum ‘sometimes’
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stundum (adv.): at times, sometimes
Var ‘was’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
ek ‘I’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
þar ‘where’
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þar (adv.): there
er ‘’
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2. er (conj.): who, which, when
bragnar ‘men’
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bragnar (noun m.): men, warriors
börðuz ‘fought’
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2. berja (verb; °barði; barðr/bariðr/barinn): fight
á ‘in’
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3. á (prep.): on, at
notes
[6] á Bolgaralandi ‘in Bolgaraland’: I.e. in the land of the Bulgars. The Bulgars, originally a Turkic nomadic people, lived in two locations in the Viking Age, having divided into two branches in the mid-C7th: the Balkans (in roughly the area of modern Bulgaria) and the middle Volga (Haywood 2000, 38). If Bolgaraland ‘the land of the Bulgars’ in l. 6 refers to one of these two locations, and if the bragnar ‘men’ in l. 5 are Ragnarr and Bjǫrn, referred to in the first half-stanza, there is no clear evidence of these figures having fought as far east as this, either in history or legend. It seems safest not to look for a precise location of Bolgaraland here, and to follow Renaud (2005, 70 n. 59) in seeing ll. 5-6 as referring generally to the activities of the sons of Ragnarr loðbrók in southern Europe.
Bolgaralandi ‘Bolgaraland’
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Bolgaraland (noun n.)
notes
[6] á Bolgaralandi ‘in Bolgaraland’: I.e. in the land of the Bulgars. The Bulgars, originally a Turkic nomadic people, lived in two locations in the Viking Age, having divided into two branches in the mid-C7th: the Balkans (in roughly the area of modern Bulgaria) and the middle Volga (Haywood 2000, 38). If Bolgaraland ‘the land of the Bulgars’ in l. 6 refers to one of these two locations, and if the bragnar ‘men’ in l. 5 are Ragnarr and Bjǫrn, referred to in the first half-stanza, there is no clear evidence of these figures having fought as far east as this, either in history or legend. It seems safest not to look for a precise location of Bolgaraland here, and to follow Renaud (2005, 70 n. 59) in seeing ll. 5-6 as referring generally to the activities of the sons of Ragnarr loðbrók in southern Europe.
því ‘hence’
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því (adv.): therefore, because
bar ‘bore’
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3. bera (verb; °berr; bar, báru; borinn): bear, carry
ek ‘I’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
sár ‘a wound’
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2. sár (noun n.; °-s; -): wound
á ‘in’
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3. á (prep.): on, at
síðu ‘side’
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1. síða (noun f.; °-u; -ur): side
sittu ‘sit’
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sitja (verb): sit
innar ‘in’
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innar (adv.): further in, inside
meir ‘further’
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meirr (adv.): more
granni ‘neighbour’
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granni (noun m.; °-a; -ar): neighbour, comrade
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
The second of the two speakers states that both of them were followers of Bjǫrn (járnsíða) and Ragnarr, and the prose which follows the stanza confirms that they have finally recognised one another as former companions.
The Ragnarr and Bjǫrn referred to in ll. 1 and 4 are presumably Ragnarr loðbrók, the hero of Ragn, and Bjǫrn járnsíða ‘Ironside’, the second of Ragnarr’s five sons by Kráka-Áslaug (see the Contexts of Ragn 7 and 8 above). On the historical prototype(s) of Ragnarr loðbrók, see the Introduction. The historical prototype of Bjǫrn járnsíða appears to have been one Berno, who according to the Chronicon Fontanellense for 855 (Pertz 1829, 304) and the contemporary Annales Bertiniani for 858 (Rau 1969, 96-7) was active between those years as a viking leader on the Seine. This Berno also seems to have been the prototype of the viking leader referred to as Lotroci regis filius, nomine Bier Coste … ferree ‘the son of King Lothrocus, named Bier of the Iron Side’ by William of Jumièges, writing in c.1070 (van Houts 1992-5, I, 8-11, 16-17). According to William, this Bier, son of Lothrocus, sailed with the viking Hastingus to Rome in order to conquer it, but bad weather forced them to land at Luni, which they took by a ruse and destroyed, mistaking it for Rome. On discovering their mistake they parted company and Bier sailed first to England, suffering shipwreck en route, and then to Frisia, where he died (van Houts 1992-5, I, 8-9, 22-7). William’s account of the conquest of Luni by Hastingus, derived from Dudo of St Quentin (who makes no mention of Bier; see Lair 1865, 129-38) is almost certainly unhistorical (de Vries 1923a, 254-5; 1928d, 122-5; Christiansen 1998, 16-20, 184 n. 88); it finds an echo in Ragn’s account of how the sons of Ragnarr, having proceeded victoriously to Luni, abandoned there the idea of going as far as Rome (see the Context of Ragn 23, above, and McTurk 1991a, 108-10, cf. 206-7, 226-7). It is not impossible, however, that Bier’s historical prototype Berno was active in the Mediterranean as well as on the Seine (de Vries 1923a, 253-6). — [8]: No more specific translation than what is given above is possible, in view of the inconsistency in the accompanying prose of Ragn; see the Note to st. 36/2, above.
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