Kate Heslop (ed.) 2012, ‘Anonymous Poems, Óláfs drápa Tryggvasonar 26’ 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. 1056.
(not checked:)
3. bera (verb; °berr; bar, báru; borinn): bear, carry
(not checked:)
hafa (verb): have
(not checked:)
hróðr (noun m.): encomium, praise
(not checked:)
2. enn (adv.): still, yet, again
(not checked:)
hjǫrr (noun m.): sword
(not checked:)
2. hóf (noun n.; °-s; gen. -a): moderation, reason
(not checked:)
sœma (verb): honour
(not checked:)
vel (adv.): well, very
(not checked:)
lófi (noun m.; °-a; -ar): palm of hand
(not checked:)
lófi (noun m.; °-a; -ar): palm of hand
(not checked:)
eldr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-(HómÍsl¹(1993) 24v²⁴); -ar): fire
(not checked:)
eldr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-(HómÍsl¹(1993) 24v²⁴); -ar): fire
(not checked:)
þeyr (noun m.; °; -jar/-ir): breeze, thawing wind
(not checked:)
þeyr (noun m.; °; -jar/-ir): breeze, thawing wind
(not checked:)
fyr (prep.): for, over, because of, etc.
(not checked:)
2. Áss (noun m.; °áss, dat. ási/ás; ásar): god
(not checked:)
ítr (adj.): glorious
(not checked:)
1. árr (noun m.; °dat. ár; ǽrir/árar, acc. áru): messenger
[4] ôr: ítr Bb
[4] ôr ‘envoy’: Ms. ítr ‘magnificent’ would seem most naturally to belong with the rest of l. 4, yielding ítr mest* at hlut flestum ‘most magnificent in most respects’. But the only word with which ítr (m. nom. sg.) can agree is the suffixed -k of hefk ‘I have’ in l. 1, which is implausible both syntactically and semantically (the statement that the skald is ‘most magnificent’ accords poorly with the modesty topoi elsewhere in the poem). Skj B emends to ôr (dat. of ôrr ‘envoy, messenger’), which has the additional advantage of providing a dat. obj. for sœmði ‘suited’. Kock’s construal (NN §1223; Skald) involves reading ítrs and taking it as a substantive qualifying hróðr (i.e. ‘praise of the magnificent one’), and is not convincing overall.
(not checked:)
meiri (adj. comp.; °meiran; superl. mestr): more, most
(not checked:)
meiri (adj. comp.; °meiran; superl. mestr): more, most
[4] mest*: mestr Bb
[4] mest* ‘greatest’: There is no m. nom. sg. noun in the helmingr for ms. mestr ‘most’ (adj.) to qualify, so it must be emended, here to n. nom. sg. (modifying hóf ‘restraint’); mest could alternatively be taken as an adv.
(not checked:)
3. at (prep.): at, to
(not checked:)
hlutr (noun m.; °-ar, dat. -i/-; -ir, acc. -i/-u): part, thing
(not checked:)
fleiri (adj. comp.; °superl. flestr): more, most
(not checked:)
áðr (adv.; °//): before
(not checked:)
munu (verb): will, must
(not checked:)
óss (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): estuary, mouth
[5] óss ‘of the estuary’: Ms. ‘oss’ is taken in Skj B as oss ‘to us, our’, hence oss mun áðr þrjóta at brag ‘my powers in composing will be exhausted before ...’, and the determinant of the gold-kenning as not óss but fljóts in l. 8 (see Note below).
(not checked:)
óss (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): estuary, mouth
[5] óss ‘of the estuary’: Ms. ‘oss’ is taken in Skj B as oss ‘to us, our’, hence oss mun áðr þrjóta at brag ‘my powers in composing will be exhausted before ...’, and the determinant of the gold-kenning as not óss but fljóts in l. 8 (see Note below).
(not checked:)
2. an (conj.): than
(not checked:)
glóð (noun f.): ember
(not checked:)
glóð (noun f.): ember
(not checked:)
elri (noun n.): alder-tree
(not checked:)
þrekr (noun m.): powerful
[6] at virkum ‘for the dear one’: This interpretation avoids emendation, but is slightly forced and does not provide aðalhending in l. 6. Skj B emends þrek to sterks ‘strong’, qualifying elris ‘of the alder’ in the man-kenning, and virkum to verkum ‘deeds’, as dat. object of yppa ‘extol, raise up’.
(not checked:)
3. at (prep.): at, to
(not checked:)
virkr (adj.): considerate
[6] at virkum ‘for the dear one’: This interpretation avoids emendation, but is slightly forced and does not provide aðalhending in l. 6. Skj B emends þrek to sterks ‘strong’, qualifying elris ‘of the alder’ in the man-kenning, and virkum to verkum ‘deeds’, as dat. object of yppa ‘extol, raise up’.
(not checked:)
greppr (noun m.; °; -ar): poet, man
(not checked:)
mega (verb): may, might
(not checked:)
allr (adj.): all
(not checked:)
yppa (verb): extol, lift up
(not checked:)
ǫrnfljótr (adj.): [eagle-swift]
[8] ǫrnfljótr: ‘orn fliotr’ or ‘orn fliotz’ Bb
[8] ǫrnfljótr ‘eagle-swift’: This unusual epithet (though cf. NN §2991) comments on the skald’s speed in composing, a common boast, especially in later poetry (Kreutzer 1977, 206-7). ‘Eagle’ may possibly allude to Óðinn (alias Bǫlverkr) taking the shape of an eagle to carry off the mead of poetry (SnE 1998, I, 4-5). If the ms. reading is rather gen. sg. ǫrnfljóts, the epithet will qualify elris glóða óss ‘alder of the embers of the estuary [GOLD > GENEROUS MAN]’. Finnur Jónsson in Skj B emends ǫrn to ǫrr ‘bold’ and reads fljóts ‘of the river’, providing the determinant of the gold-kenning (see Note to l. 5 óss).
(not checked:)
3. at (prep.): at, to
(not checked:)
bragr (noun m.; °-ar): poem, poetry
(not checked:)
þrjóta (verb; str. 2; þrýtr, þraut, þrutu, þrotinn): end, fail
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
Borit hefk hróðr enn hjǫrva |
I have, further, borne praise before gods of the breeze of swords [BATTLE > WARRIORS]; the greatest restraint suited well the envoy of fires of the palm [GOLD > GENEROUS MAN] in most respects. The poem for the dear one [Óláfr] will come to an end before the eagle-swift poet will be able to extol all the valour of the alder of the embers of the estuary [GOLD > GENEROUS MAN].
[1-4]: As it stands in the ms. this stanza appears to be corrupt, and the first helmingr cannot be construed without emending (see Notes below). There appear to be two tvíkent kennings, the first with ôsu ‘gods’ (l. 3) as base-word, referring to the audience, and the second with ôr ‘envoy’ (l. 4, emended from ítr) as base-word, referring either to the skald or to Óláfr himself. The determinants of the two kennings could be reversed, but this would result in a tripartite l. 3. — [5-8]: The helmingr is problematic and has been emended by all previous eds (see Nj 1875-8, II, 63-7 for a survey of the early scholarship). The construal tentatively proposed in the Text above avoids emendation.
Use the buttons at the top of the page to navigate between stanzas in a poem.
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.
This is the text of the edition in a similar format to how the edition appears in the printed volumes.
This view is also used for chapters and other text segments. Not all the headings shown are relevant to such sections.