Gestumbl Heiðr 19VIII (Heiðr 66)
Hannah Burrows (ed.) 2017, ‘Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks 66 (Gestumblindi, Heiðreks gátur 19)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 430.
Hverjar ‘Who’
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2. hverr (pron.): who, whom, each, every
eru ‘are’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
er ‘who’
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2. er (conj.): who, which, when
dróttin ‘lord’
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dróttinn (noun m.; °dróttins, dat. dróttni (drottini [$1049$]); dróttnar): lord, master
[2] dróttin sinn: sinn dróttinn all
notes
[2] sinn dróttin ‘their lord’: Reversing the mss’ order of these two words restores a metrical line, an emendation also made by Skald.
sinn ‘their’
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3. sinn (pron.; °f. sín, n. sitt): (refl. poss. pron.)
[2] dróttin sinn: sinn dróttinn all
notes
[2] sinn dróttin ‘their lord’: Reversing the mss’ order of these two words restores a metrical line, an emendation also made by Skald.
vápnlausar ‘weaponless’
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vápnlauss (adj.)
[3] vápnlausar: so 281ˣ, 597bˣ, R715ˣ, vápnlausan 2845
notes
[3] vápnlausar ‘weaponless’: The main ms., 2845, reads vápnlausan m. acc. sg., agreeing with dróttin, meaning it is the lord who is weaponless. The other mss agree on the f. nom. pl. form, however, supported by the solution in the H redaction, and this is also culturally more plausible, since women did not normally carry weapons while a lord normally would.
vega ‘fight’
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1. vega (verb): strike, slay
Inar ‘The’
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2. inn (art.): the
jarpari ‘darker ones’
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jarpr (adj.): brown-, brown-haired
[4] jarpari: ‘jorpsku’ 281ˣ, 597bˣ
alla ‘all’
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allr (adj.): all
daga ‘the days’
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dagr (noun m.; °-s, dat. degi/dag/dagi(Thom¹ 332¹n.); -ar): day
en ‘but’
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2. en (conj.): but, and
inar ‘the’
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2. inn (art.): the
fegri ‘fairer ones’
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fagr (adj.; °fagran; compar. fegri, superl. fegrstr): fair, beautiful
fara ‘go forth’
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fara (verb; ferr, fór, fóru, farinn): go, travel
[6] fara: frýja 281ˣ, 597bˣ, R715ˣ
Heiðrekr ‘Heiðrekr’
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Heiðrekr (noun m.): Heiðrekr
[7-8] abbrev. as ‘h k̄ h’ 2845, abbrev. as ‘heidr: k:’ 281ˣ, abbrev. as ‘h Kongr’ 597bˣ
konungr ‘King’
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konungr (noun m.; °dat. -i, -s; -ar): king
[7-8] abbrev. as ‘h k̄ h’ 2845, abbrev. as ‘heidr: k:’ 281ˣ, abbrev. as ‘h Kongr’ 597bˣ
hyggðu ‘think’
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2. hyggja (verb): think, consider
[7-8] abbrev. as ‘h k̄ h’ 2845, abbrev. as ‘heidr: k:’ 281ˣ, abbrev. as ‘h Kongr’ 597bˣ
at ‘about’
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3. at (prep.): at, to
[7-8] abbrev. as ‘h k̄ h’ 2845, abbrev. as ‘heidr: k:’ 281ˣ, abbrev. as ‘h Kongr’ 597bˣ
gátu ‘the riddle’
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gáta (noun f.)
[7-8] abbrev. as ‘h k̄ h’ 2845, abbrev. as ‘heidr: k:’ 281ˣ, abbrev. as ‘h Kongr’ 597bˣ
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
Heiðrekr’s response reads (Heiðr 1960, 38): þat er hnettafl; inar døkkri verja hnefann, en hvítar sœkja ‘that is hnefatafl; the darker defend the hnefi, but the white ones attack’. The H redaction reads (Heiðr 1924, 71): þat er hneftafl; tǫflur drepaz vápnalausar um hnefann ok fylgja honum enar rauðu ‘that is hneftafl; the töflur kill each other without weapons around the hnefi, and the red ones escort him’. Hnefatafl (also called hneftafl or just tafl ‘tables’, an earlier and generic word for board-games) was a game played on a square grid with an odd number of rows per side, leaving a distinct centre square on which stood the hnefi or ‘king’ piece. The hnefi was surrounded by his defenders, outnumbered by the opposing attacking pieces, which started the game on the outer squares of the board, in a 2:1 ratio. The object for the defending side was for the king to reach the outer edge of the board, while the attacking side could win by capturing the hnefi. Evidence of the playing of the game has been found throughout Scandinavia and the British Isles, with analogues in other Northern European cultures. It is mentioned in several places in Old Norse literature, often as an indicator of the players’ status, including in Vsp 8, which relates that the Æsir teflðo ‘played tafl’ in the Golden Age early in the world’s history (Vsp 61 tells that their playing-pieces will be once again discovered in the new world after Ragnarǫk), and in Rv Lv 1/1II, where the ability to play the game is listed among the íþróttir ‘skills’ of Rǫgnvaldr Kali Kolsson, jarl of Orkney. For further information see Helmfrid (2005), Bayless (2005), Murray (1913, 428-37; 1978, 58-64) and Fiske (1905). — Cf. Heiðr 73 and 79, which also refer to aspects of the game tafl.
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