Jonna Louis-Jensen and Tarrin Wills (eds) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Plácitusdrápa 44’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 208.
Enn bað ungra manna
ítr gramr fira samna
fljótt, ef fámeðr þœttisk
ferð, Plácitus verða.
Svinns kómu þá seima
sendis heim (né kenndi
hyrjar lunda) at hǫndum
(haukláðs) synir báðir.
Ítr gramr bað enn fira samna fljótt ferð ungra manna, ef Plácitus þœttisk verða fámeðr. Báðir {synir {svinns sendis seima}} kómu þá heim at hǫndum; né kenndi {lunda {hyrjar {haukláðs}}}.
The glorious king then asked the men to gather quickly a troop of young men, if Plácitus found himself short of men. Both {sons {of the wise distributor of gold}} [GENEROUS MAN > = Agapitus and Theopistus] then came home to him [lit. to his hands]; he did not recognise {the trees {of the fire {of the hawk-ground}}} [ARM > GOLD > MEN].
Mss: 673b(4v)
Readings: [1] Enn: ‘(E)n[...]’(?) 673b, Enn 673bÞH, 673bFJ [2] samna: ‘sam[...]’ 673b, 673bFJ, ‘samna’ 673bÞH [3] fljótt: ‘[...]’ 673b, 673bÞH, ‘fliott’ 673bFJ [5] Svinns: ‘[...]s’ 673b, 673bÞH, ‘saman’ 673bFJ [7] hyrjar: ‘[...]r’ 673b, ‘[...](i)ar’(?) 673bÞH, ‘hyriar’ 673bFJ; lunda: lund 673b [8] báðir: ‘baþ[...]’ 673b, 673bFJ, ‘baþo’ 673bÞH
Editions: Skj AI, 615, Skj BI, 618, Skald I, 300, NN §2812; Sveinbjörn Egilsson 1833, 29, 57, Finnur Jónsson 1887, 240, Louis-Jensen 1998, 114.
Notes: [All]: According to the legend, once Plácitus had been reinstated as commander of the Emperor’s cavalry, he recognised that he needed new recruits, so he sent word to all parts of the empire to summon young men to the army, and his own sons answered the call. — [5] svinns ‘of the wise’: Finnur Jónsson (1887 and Skj B) supplied saman, noting the word as indistinct. The -s is, however, visible on an infra-red photograph.
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