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.
text and translation
Hverjar eru þær drósir, er um dróttin sinn
vápnlausar vega?
Inar jarpari hlífa um alla daga,
en inar fegri fara.
Heiðrekr konungr, hyggðu at gátu.
Hverjar eru þær drósir, er vega vápnlausar um dróttin sinn? Inar jarpari hlífa um alla daga, en inar fegri fara. Heiðrekr konungr, hyggðu at gátu.
‘Who are those girls, who fight weaponless around their lord? The darker ones protect [him] during all the days, but the fairer ones go forth [to attack]. King Heiðrekr, think about the riddle. ’
notes and context
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.
readings
- [1] drósir: so R715ˣ, brúðir all others
- [2] um: so 281ˣ, 597bˣ, R715ˣ, om. 2845
- [2] dróttin sinn: sinn dróttinn all
- [3] vápnlausar: so 281ˣ, 597bˣ, R715ˣ, vápnlausan 2845
- [4] jarpari: ‘jorpsku’ 281ˣ, 597bˣ
- [5] hlífa: ‘lifa’ 281ˣ, 597bˣ
- [5] um: om. 281ˣ, 597bˣ
- [6] fara: frýja 281ˣ, 597bˣ, R715ˣ
- [7-8] abbrev. as ‘h k̄ h’ 2845, abbrev. as ‘heidr: k:’ 281ˣ, abbrev. as ‘h Kongr’ 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) — 71v/6 - 71v/8
imagesHverjar eru þær drósir,
er sinn dróttinn
vápnlausan vega?
Inar jarpari
hlífa um alla daga,
en inar fegri fara.
,
.hveriar eru þæ̋r | burder er siɴn drottiɴn uỏpnlꜹsaɴ uega eɴar iarparí hlifa um alla daga eɴn | enar fegri fara h k h
(HB)
-
AM 281 4°x (281x) — 100r/12 - 100r/14
imagesHverjar eru þær drósir,
er um sinn dróttinn
vápnlausar vega?
Inar †jorpsku†
†lifa† alla daga,
en inar fegri frýja.
,
.hveriar | eru þær brűder er vmm sinn drottinn vopna lausar vega⸝ enar jorpskuli⸝ | fa alla daga enn hinar fegri frija⸝ heidr: k:
(HB)
-
AM 597 b 4°x (597bx) — 50r/26 - 50r/27
imagesHverjar eru þær drósir,
er um sinn dróttinn
vápnlausar vega?
Inar †jorpsku†
†lifa† alla daga,
en inar fegri frýja.
,
.hverjar eru þær bruder er umm sinn drottenn vapnalausar vega | enar Jørpsku lifa alla daga⸝ en hinar fegri frya⸝ heidreckur Kongur
(HB)
-
UppsUB R 715x (R715x) — 28r/8 - 28r/10 [1-3, 5-6]
imagesHverjar eru þær drósir,
er um sinn dróttinn
vápnlausar vega?
Inar jarpari
hlífa um alla daga,
en inar fegri frýja.
Heiðrekr konungr,
hyggðu at gátu.huoriar ero þær dr | osir vmm sin drottinn vopnlausar hlӳ | fa vmm alla daga Enn hinn fegri fria | H k h
(HB)
-
AM 203 folx (203x) — 104r/15 - 104r/19
images
editions and texts
Skj: Anonyme digte og vers [XIII], D. 5. Heiðreks gátur 13: AII, 223-4, BII, 242, Skald II, 126, NN §2833; Heiðr 1672, 147, FSN 1, 473, Heiðr 1873, 249, 338, Heiðr 1924, 68, 71, 134, FSGJ 2, 43, Heiðr 1960, 37-8; Edd. Min. 113.
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