Gestumbl Heiðr 5VIII (Heiðr 52)
Hannah Burrows (ed.) 2017, ‘Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks 52 (Gestumblindi, Heiðreks gátur 5)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 414.
text and translation
Hverr er sá inn mikli, er líðr mold yfir?
Svelgr hann vötn ok við;
glygg hann óaz, en gumna eigi,
ok yrkir á sól til saka.
Heiðrekr konungr, hyggðu at gátu.
Hverr er sá inn mikli, er líðr yfir mold? Hann svelgr vötn ok við; hann óaz glygg, en eigi gumna, ok yrkir á sól til saka. Heiðrekr konungr, hyggðu at gátu.
‘Who is that, the great one, who moves over the earth? He swallows lakes and wood; he fears the wind, but not men, and sets upon the sun to harm [it]. King Heiðrekr, think about the riddle. ’
notes and context
Heiðrekr’s response is (Heiðr 1960, 38-9): þat er myrkvi; hann líðr yfir jǫrðina, svá at ekki sér fyrir honum ok eigi sól, en hann er af, þegar vind gerir á ‘that is fog: he moves over the earth, so that one cannot see because of him, and the sun cannot [be seen], but he is off, as soon as the wind gets up’. The H redaction (including 203ˣ) adds (Heiðr 1924, 61): ok megu menn ekki at honum gera; hann drepr skíni sólar. En vélasamlega berr þú upp slíkar gátur ok vandmæli, hverr sem þú ert ‘and men cannot do anything with him; he kills the shining of the sun. But you offer up such riddles and difficult questions craftily, whoever you are’. — [2]: A similar phrase occurs in Gestumbl Heiðr 20/2 (Heiðr 67) and Vafþr 48/5.
readings
- [2] líðr: ferr 281ˣ, 597bˣ, 203ˣ
- [3] Svelgr: ‘sulgir’ R715ˣ
- [3] vötn: vatn R715ˣ
- [3] við: viðu R715ˣ, veisur 281ˣ, 597bˣ
- [4] glygg: so 281ˣ, 597bˣ, ‘glug’ 2845, 203ˣ, ‘glÿs’ R715ˣ
- [4] óaz (‘oast’): óast corrected from ‘öas[…]’ in the hand of JR R715ˣ
- [5] gumna: dóma 281ˣ, ‘goma’ corrected from guma in the margin in another hand 597bˣ
- [5] eigi: ‘eÿ’ corrected from ‘ei[…]’ in the hand of JR R715ˣ, ei 281ˣ, 597bˣ
- [6] ok yrkir á sól: ‘og irkir a sol
og irkja a sok’ R715ˣ - [7-8] abbrev. as ‘h k h a ɢ’ 2845, abbrev. as ‘heidr·· k: higg at g.’ 281ˣ, abbrev. as ‘h. K h. þ̳ ad g:’ 597bˣ, ‘h. k. h ad G’ 203ˣ
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/11 - 71v/13
imagesHverr er sá inn mikli,
er líðr mold yfir?
Svelgr hann vötn ok við;
†glug† hann óaz,
en gumna eigi,
ok yrkir á sól til saka.
,
.huerr er sa eɴn mí | kli er lidr molld yfir suelgr hann uotn ok uid glug hann oazt eɴn gumna | eigi ok yrkir a sol til saka heidrekr konungr hygðu at ɢatu
(HB)
-
UppsUB R 715x (R715x) — 28v/3 - 28v/7 [1-6]
imagesHverr er sá inn mikli,
er líðr mold yfir?
†sulgir† hann vatn ok viðu;
†glÿs† hann óast,
en gumna †eÿ†,
†og irkir a solog irkja a sok† til saka.
Heiðrekr konungr,
hyggðu at gátu.huor er sa | hinn miklj er ldur molld fir sulgir | hann vatn og vdu gls hann őast enn gu | mna e og irkir a sol
og irkja a sok| til saka(HB)
-
AM 281 4°x (281x) — 99r/19 - 99r/21
imagesHverr er sá inn mikli,
er ferr mold yfir?
Svelgr hann vötn ok veisur;
glygg hann óaz,
en dóma ei,
ok yrkir á sól til saka.
,
.hver er sa hinn mikle er fer molld | yfir⸝ svelgir hann vøtn og veisur⸝ gligg hann oazt enn doma ei og yrker a | sől til saka⸝ heidrekur kongur higg at gatu
(HB)
-
AM 597 b 4°x (597bx) — 49r/28 - 49r/29
imagesHverr er sá inn mikli,
er ferr mold yfir?
Svelgr hann vötn ok veisur;
glygg hann óaz,
en †goma† ei,
ok yrkir á sól til saka.
,
.hver er sa hinn mikle er fer molld yfer⸝ Svelgir hann votn og veysur⸝ glgg | hann oast en (goma) ei og yrker a sől til saka? heidrekur Kongur hygg þu ad gtu
(HB)
-
AM 203 folx (203x) — 104va/8 - 104va/14
imagesHverr er sá inn mikli,
er ferr mold yfir?
Svelgr hann vötn ok við;
†glug† hann óaz,
en gumna eigi,
ok yrkir á sól til saka.
,
.huor er sa hinn mikle | er fer molld yfer | svelgur hann vǫtn og vid | glug hann oast enn | gumna eigi og yrker | ꜳ sől til saka. | h. k. h ad G.
(HB)
editions and texts
Skj: Anonyme digte og vers [XIII], D. 5. Heiðreks gátur 15: AII, 224, BII, 243, Skald II, 126; Heiðr 1672, 147, FSN 1, 474-5, Heiðr 1873, 238-9, 338-9, Heiðr 1924, 60-1, 70, 135, FSGJ 2, 44, Heiðr 1960, 38; Edd. Min. 108.
Stanza/chapter/text segment
Use the buttons at the top of the page to navigate between stanzas in a poem.
Information tab
- text: if the stanza has been published, the edited text of the stanza and translation are here; if it hasn't been published an old edition (usually Skj) is given for reference
- sources: a list of the manuscripts or inscriptions containing this stanza, with page and line references and links (eye button) to images where available, and transcription where available
- readings: a list of variant manuscript readings of words in the main text
- editions and texts: a list of editions of the stanza with links to the bibliography; and a list of prose works in which the stanza occurs, allowing you to navigate within the prose context
- notes and context: notes not linked to individual words are given here, along with the account of the prose context for the stanza, where relevant
Interactive tab
The text and translation are given here, with buttons to toggle whether the text is shown in the verse order or prose word order. Clicking on indiviudal words gives dictionary links, variant readings, kennings and notes, where relevant.
Full text tab
This is the text of the edition in a similar format to how the edition appears in the printed volumes.
Chapter/text segment
This view is also used for chapters and other text segments. Not all the headings shown are relevant to such sections.