Þul Kálfv 1^III

Dagr reið Drǫsli         en Dvalinn Móðni,
Hǫð Hjálmþér         en Haki Fáki.
Reið bani Belja         Blóðughófa
en Skævaði         skati Haddingja.

Dagr reið Drǫsli en Dvalinn Móðni, Hjálmþér Hǫð en Haki Fáki. {Bani Belja} reið Blóðughófa en {skati Haddingja} Skævaði.

Dagr rode Drǫsull and Dvalinn Móðnir, Hjálmþér Hǫðr and Haki Fákr. {The slayer of Beli <giant>} [= Freyr] rode Blóðughófi and {the champion of the Haddingjar <legendary family>} [= Helgi] Skævaðr.

Mss: R(37v), Tˣ(39r), U(40r), A(14v), C(6v) (SnE); papp10ˣ(42v), 2368ˣ(95), 743ˣ(75r) (LaufE)

Readings: [1] Dagr: so U, A, C, papp10ˣ, 2368ˣ, 743ˣ, Dagi R, Tˣ;    Drǫsli: hrafni U    [3] Hǫð (‘havð’): so U, om. R, ‘ha’ Tˣ, hjálmr A, papp10ˣ, 2368ˣ, 743ˣ, hǫlða C;    Hjálmþér: háfœta A, papp10ˣ, 743ˣ, hvatra C, háfeta 2368ˣ    [4] Fáki: faxa U    [5] Reið: réð Tˣ    [7] Skævaði: ‘sceradi’ Tˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 650, Skj BI, 656, Skald I, 321; SnE 1848-87, I, 482-3, II, 351, 459, 595, SnE 1931, 170, SnE 1998, I, 89; LaufE 1979, 274, 352-3, NK 320.

Notes: [1] Dagr: Mss R and Tˣ read ‘Dagi’ (retained in SnE 1998), but the readings of the other mss suggest that this is a scribal error. Dagr was the legendary progenitor of the Daglingar (SnE 1998, I, 103); cf. dǫglingr, a heiti for ‘prince, ruler’. See also Ættartölur in Flat 1860-8, I, 25, where Dagr is listed as one of the ancestors of Haraldr hárfagri, Hyndl 18/1 and Ragnarssona saga (RagnSon, Hb 1892-6, 466). — [1] Drǫsli ‘Drǫsull’: A variant form of Drasill, and the latter is given as a heiti for ‘horse’ in Þul Hesta 3/4. See AEW: drasill. The word also occurs as the second element in Yggdrasill lit. ‘Yggr’s horse’, the world ash-tree in Old Norse myth (see, among other sources, Vsp 19-20, 47). The U variant hrafni is clearly incorrect, and likely to have been caused by Hrafni in st. 3/1 below. — [2] Dvalinn: The name of a dwarf in Vsp 11/4, 14/2, Hávm 143/3 and a heiti for ‘dwarf’ in Þul Dverga 2/2. See also LP: Dvalinn and SnE 1998, II, 453 for other attestations of the name. In the present context, Dvalinn appears to be a legendary person. The name is related to the weak verb dvala ‘delay’ (see AEW: dvala).  — [2] Móðni ‘Móðnir’: The nom. form of this word could also be construed as Móðinn, but Móðnir is given as a heiti for ‘horse’ in Þul Hesta 4/2 and that form has been adopted here.  — [3]: The line is defective in R (‘h\i/almþer’), and Tˣ has ‘ha hialmþer’, which is difficult to make sense of. It looks as though the scribes of A and C tried to restore the reading of this line in different ways: Hjálmr Háfœta ‘Hjálmr [rode] Háfœti (lit. ‘the long-legged one’)’ A (adopted in Skj B and Skald); hǫlða hvatra (gen. pl.) ‘of brave men’ C. The present edn, which retains the name Hjálmþér from R, Tˣ, follows U (so also SnE 1998). It is likely that the line is corrupt, however, because it contains three rather than four syllables. — [3] Hǫð ‘Hǫðr’: Otherwise attested only as the name of the blind god Hǫðr, the slayer of Baldr in Old Norse myth.  — [3] Hjálmþér: Also mentioned in Ættartölur (Flat 1860-8, I, 25), where he is listed as the son of Egðir and the father of Eylimi, and as one of the ancestors of King Haraldr hárfagri. A person named Hjálmþér is also the protagonist of Hjálmþérs saga. — [4] Haki: A sea-king and brother of Hagbarðr (see Note to RvHbreiðm Hl 27 [All], as well as Anon (SnE) 15, Note to Anon (FoGT) 24/1 and Anon (FoGT) 27). — [4] Fáki ‘Fákr’: Also given as a heiti for ‘horse’ in Þul Hesta 2/1 (see also Note to SnSt Ht 71/3). See AEW: fákr for early attestations of this word. The U variant faxa (nom. faxi ‘horse’, lit. ‘one with a mane’) is also possible, but unlikely in view of the other ms. witnesses. — [5] bani Belja ‘the slayer of Beli <giant> [= Freyr]’: For Freyr killing the giant Beli, see Gylf (SnE 2005, 31-2). Freyr is also called bani Belja in Vsp 53/5.  — [6] Blóðughófa ‘Blóðughófi’: Lit. ‘one with a bloody hoof’, and given as a heiti for ‘horse’ in Þul Hesta 4/5 (blóðhófr) and Þorgþ I 3/1. — [7] Skævaði ‘Skævaðr’: Listed as a heiti for ‘horse’ in Þul Hesta 1/6 and Þorgþ I 2/2, and probably an agent noun derived from the weak verb skæva ‘walk, hurry’ (see, e.g., HHund II 4/5, Oddrgr 32/2, Akv 35/1). — [8] skati Haddingja ‘the champion of the Haddingjar <legendary family> [= Helgi]’: In the short prose section following HHund II (NK 161), it is said that Helgi and Sigrún were reborn as Helgi ‘Haddingiaskaði’ (presumably Haddingjaskati) and Kára. Helgi Haddingjaskati is also mentioned in Ættartölur (Flat 1860-8, I, 24), where he is among the followers of one of the Haddingjar, the family that ruled Telemark and Hallingdal (ON Haddingjadalr) in Norway.

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. SnE 1848-87 = Snorri Sturluson. 1848-87. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar: Edda Snorronis Sturlaei. Ed. Jón Sigurðsson et al. 3 vols. Copenhagen: Legatum Arnamagnaeanum. Rpt. Osnabrück: Zeller, 1966.
4. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. LaufE 1979 = Faulkes, Anthony, ed. 1979. Edda Magnúsar Ólafssonar (Laufás Edda). RSÁM 13. Vol. I of Two Versions of Snorra Edda from the 17th Century. Reykjavík: Stofnun Árna Magnússonar, 1977-9.
6. AEW = Vries, Jan de. 1962. Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch. 2nd rev. edn. Rpt. 1977. Leiden: Brill.
7. LP = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1931. Lexicon poeticum antiquæ linguæ septentrionalis: Ordbog over det norsk-islandske skjaldesprog oprindelig forfattet af Sveinbjörn Egilsson. 2nd edn. Copenhagen: Møller.
8. Flat 1860-8 = Gudbrand Vigfusson [Guðbrandur Vigfússon] and C. R. Unger, eds. 1860-8. Flateyjarbók. En samling af norske konge-sagaer med indskudte mindre fortællinger om begivenheder i og udenfor Norge samt annaler. 3 vols. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
9. NK = Neckel, Gustav and Hans Kuhn (1899), eds. 1983. Edda: Die Lieder des Codex Regius nebst verwandten Denkmälern. 2 vols. I: Text. 5th edn. Heidelberg: Winter.
10. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
11. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
12. Hb 1892-6 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1892-6. Hauksbók udgiven efter de Arnamagnæanske håndskrifter no. 371, 544 og 675, 4° samt forskellige papirshåndskrifter. Copenhagen: Det kongelige nordiske oldskrift-selskab.
13. SnE 2005 = Snorri Sturluson. 2005. Edda: Prologue and Gylfaginning. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2nd edn. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
14. Internal references
15. 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Ragnars sona þáttr’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 777. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=85> (accessed 27 April 2024)
16. (forthcoming), ‘ Snorri Sturluson, Gylfaginning’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=113> (accessed 27 April 2024)
17. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Þorgrímsþula I 2’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 672.
18. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Þorgrímsþula I 3’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 674.
19. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Dverga heiti 2’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 695.
20. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Hesta heiti 1’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 935.
21. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Hesta heiti 2’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 936.
22. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Hesta heiti 3’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 937.
23. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Hesta heiti 4’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 939.
24. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Lausavísur, Stanzas from Snorra Edda 15’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 527.
25. Not published: do not cite ()
26. Not published: do not cite ()
27. Not published: do not cite ()
28. Not published: do not cite ()
29. Not published: do not cite ()
30. Not published: do not cite ()
31. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Rǫgnvaldr jarl and Hallr Þórarinsson, Háttalykill 27’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1035.
32. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Snorri Sturluson, Háttatal 71’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1182.
33. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Lausavísur, Stanzas from the Fourth Grammatical Treatise 24’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 601.
34. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Lausavísur, Stanzas from the Fourth Grammatical Treatise 27’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 604.
35. Not published: do not cite ()