Gestumbl Heiðr 18^VIII (Heiðr 65)

Hannah Burrows (ed.) 2017, ‘Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks 65 (Gestumblindi, Heiðreks gátur 18)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 429.

text and translation

notes and context

In the H redaction, before propounding the riddle Gestumblindi says (Heiðr 1924, 70): liðar verðr sá at leita, er lítit sax hefir ok mjǫk er fáfróðr, ok vilda ek enn tala fleira, eða … ‘He who has a small short-sword and is very short of knowledge must seek the joint, but I would like to speak yet more, so …’. (A similar proverb occurs in Saxo 2015, I, v. 3. 12, pp. 284-5). The implication is that Gestumblindi/Óðinn could seek the easiest way out, i.e. by propounding his unanswerable question (Heiðr 84), but that he is enjoying the contest and intends to prolong it.

Heiðrekr’s response is (Heiðr 1960, 36): þat eru hvannir tvær ok hvannarkálfr á milli þeira ‘That is two angelicas and a young angelica [lit. angelica-calf] between them’. Two species of angelica are native to Iceland: garden angelica (angelica archangelica) and wild angelica (angelica sylvestris/sylvatica). It was traditionally an important food and medicinal plant in Iceland and elsewhere in Scandinavia: on historical uses and for other references in Old Norse texts see Fosså (2006) and Guðrún P. Helgadóttir (1981). — [4-5]: Angelica’s main method of reproduction is seeding; plants can self-seed (Garland 2004, 31). Vegetative reproduction of the various sub-species of angelica is not well-documented in modern sources, but there is substantial evidence that the plant will produce off-shoots in or after its second year, especially if it is cut back (e.g. Ojala 1985, 193; Grieve 1931; Garland 2004, 31-2; Small 2006, 164-5), perhaps particularly in cooler climates (Vashistha et al. 2009, 76; Billings 1974, 434). This latter habit seems to be what is meant by the imagery of the riddle and the solution. — [5]: The H-redaction reading is clearly superior here, metrically as well as in terms of effect, to 2845’s þar til er ‘until’. — [6]: The same line is found in Heiðr 68/6, where the solution is ‘waves’.

readings

• [1] rýgjar: ‘Ryger’ 281ˣ, ‘Rygier’ 597bˣ, ‘eygar’ corrected from ‘ey(?)i[…]’ in the hand of JR R715ˣ
• [3] kona: ‘kvona’ 597bˣ
• [4] Mær: so 281ˣ, 597bˣ, þar 2845
• [4] við: so 281ˣ, 597bˣ, til 2845
• [4] meyju: so 281ˣ, 597bˣ, er 2845
• [5] um: om. R715ˣ
• [5] getr: ‘gietur of gonn’ corrected from ‘gietur yfir garn’ in the hand of JR R715ˣ
• [6] ok: kvenna R715ˣ
• [6] eigut: eigi 281ˣ, 597bˣ, eigur R715ˣ
• [6] þær: þær þess 281ˣ, 597bˣ, þat R715ˣ
• [6] vera: at vera 281ˣ, 597bˣ
• [7-8] abbrev. as ‘h kr h’ 2845, abbrev. as ‘heidr: k^r:’ 281ˣ, abbrev. as ‘h: K:’ 597bˣ

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.

• GKS 2845 4° (2845) — 71r/20 - 71r/22

  Hverjar eru þær rýgjar
  á reginfjalli,
  elr við kván kona?
  þar til er
  mög um getr,
  ok eigut þær varðir vera.
  ,
  .

  huoriar eru þæ̋r rygíar a regíɴ | fialli elr uid kuan kona þar til er maug um getr ok eigod þær | uarder uera h kr h

  (HB)

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• AM 281 4°x (281x) — 100r/10 - 100r/11

  Hverjar eru þær †Ryger†
  á reginfjalli,
  elr við kván kona?
  Mær við meyju
  mög um getr,
  ok eigi þær þess varðir at vera.
  ,
  .

  hvoriar eru þær Rygr  Reiginn fialli⸝ elur vid kuon kona⸝ mær vid me | iu møg ofgetur⸝ og eige þær þess varder ad vera. heidr: k

  (HB)

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• AM 597 b 4°x (597bx) — 50r/23 - 50r/24

  Hverjar eru þær †Rygier†
  á reginfjalli,
  elr við kván †kvona†?
  Mær við meyju
  mög um getr,
  ok eigi þær þess varðir at vera.
  ,
  .

  hverjar eru. þær Rygier a Reigenn fialle⸝ elur vid kvon kvona⸝ mær | vid meyu møg ef getur⸝ og eige þær þess varder ad vera heidreckur Kongur

  (HB)

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• UppsUB R 715x (R715x) — 27v/20 - 27v/22 [1-2, 5-6]

  Hverjar eru þær †eygar†
  á reginfjalli,
  elr við kván kona?
  Mær við meyju
  mög †gietur of gonn†,
  kvenna eigur þat varðir vera.
  Heiðrekr konungr,
  hyggðu at gátu.

  huoriar eru | þær eӳgar a Re⸜g⸝ inn fiallj mog gietur | (of) yfir gonn kuenna eigur þad vardir vera

  (HB)

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• AM 203 folx (203x) — 103v/11 - 103v/17

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