Anon Óldr 18^I

Firrði hjǫrr við herðar
haus; sagði frið lausan
dylgju reyr it dýra;
drósk almr fyr grams hjalmi.
Norn kom flærð at fjǫrnis
(folktjald rufu) skjaldar;
sôr frák snǫrpum dreyra
seggjum (langbarðs eggjar).

Hjǫrr firrði haus við herðar; {it dýra reyr dylgju} sagði frið lausan; almr drósk fyr hjalmi grams. {Norn skjaldar} kom at {flærð fjǫrnis}; eggjar langbarðs rufu {folktjald}; frák sôr dreyra snǫrpum seggjum.

Sword removed skull from shoulders; {the precious reed of enmity} [SPEAR] pronounced peace over; the bow was drawn before the lord’s helmet. {The norn of the shield} [AXE] came to {deceit of the helmet} [BATTLE]; the edges of the sword ripped {the battle-tent} [SHIELD]; I have heard that wounds bled on keen warriors.

Mss: Bb(113ra)

Readings: [6] skjaldar: ‘skialldir’ Bb

Editions: Skj AI, 576-7, Skj BI, 572, Skald I, 277, NN §21; Munch and Unger 1847, 122, 141, Gullberg 1875, 16-17, 34-5.

Notes: [3] reyr dylgju ‘the reed of enmity [SPEAR]’: Reyr ‘reed’ can also appear in sword-kennings (Meissner 152), but Meissner 145 argues for ‘spear’ since the helmingr also refers to a sword (and bow). — [4] fyr hjalmi grams ‘before the lord’s helmet’: The image is rather odd. Skj B (followed in Skald) reads sagði lausan frið hjalmi ‘declared peace was over for the helmet’, which has a possible parallel in HSt Rst 16/2 friðr vasa rít at líta ‘peace was not to be seen for the shield’. However, this entails emending to fyr gram ‘before the lord’. — [5, 6] norn skjaldar ‘the norn of the shield [AXE]’: This is the sole example of norn ‘fate, weird sister’ as a base-word to an axe-kenning. Usually these kennings are based on words for, or names of, giantesses or troll-women (see Meissner 148). Hfr Lv 10/4^V (Hallfr 13) suggests that to a Christian convert, at least, the norns were also baleful, and so could have been a suitable equivalent for these malevolent supernatural females. — [5] flærð fjǫrnis ‘deceit of the helmet [BATTLE]’: The base-word of this battle-kenning is unusual, but cf. Kári Lv 4/6^V (Nj 49) malmróg ‘metal-slander’. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B), followed by Kock (Skald), reads norn skjaldar kom flærð at fjǫrni ‘the norn of the shield brought ruin to the helmet’, but this requires emendation of fjǫrnis to fjǫrni and an apparently unparalleled sense of flærð f., which is normally ‘deceit, falsehood, sin’. — [6] skjaldar ‘of the shield’: The ms. reading appears to be a corruption of an inflected form of skjǫldr m. ‘shield’, and the context and need for aðalhending suggest gen. sg. skjaldar rather than nom. pl. skildir. — [8] langbarðs ‘of the sword’: The sword-heiti langbarðr ‘long-beard’ may be a reference to swords made in Lombardy. See further Note to Eyv Hák 7/3.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
3. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. Meissner = Meissner, Rudolf. 1921. Die Kenningar der Skalden: Ein Beitrag zur skaldischen Poetik. Rheinische Beiträge und Hülfsbücher zur germanischen Philologie und Volkskunde 1. Bonn and Leipzig: Schroeder. Rpt. 1984. Hildesheim etc.: Olms.
6. Munch, P. A. and C. R. Unger, eds. 1847. Oldnorsk læsebog med tilhörende glossarium. Christiania (Oslo): Dahl.
7. Gullberg, H., ed. 1875. Óláfs drápa Tryggvasonar: fragment ur “Bergsboken”. Lund: Berling.
8. Internal references
9. R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2022, ‘Njáls saga 49 (Kári Sǫlmundarson, Lausavísur 4)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross, Kari Ellen Gade and Tarrin Wills (eds), Poetry in Sagas of Icelanders. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 5. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1290.
10. R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2012, ‘Eyvindr skáldaspillir Finnsson, Hákonarmál 7’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 182.
11. Rolf Stavnem (ed.) 2012, ‘Hallar-Steinn, Rekstefja 16’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 915.
12. Diana Whaley (ed.) 2022, ‘Hallfreðar saga 13 (Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld Óttarsson, Lausavísur 10)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross, Kari Ellen Gade and Tarrin Wills (eds), Poetry in Sagas of Icelanders. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 5. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 889.