Anon (SnE) 16^III

This couplet in irregular dróttkvætt metre (Anon (SnE) 16) is transmitted in mss R (main ms.), Tˣ, A, B(6r) (represented by 744ˣ because B is almost illegible) and C of Skm (SnE). Finnur Jónsson (Skj) dates it to the tenth century, but that date cannot be confirmed.

Haki vas brenndr á báli,
þars brimslóðir óðu.

Haki vas brenndr á báli, þars óðu {brimslóðir}.

Haki was burned on the pyre where they advanced {on the surf-tracks} [SEA].

Mss: R(38v), Tˣ(40v), A(13v), 744ˣ(38r), C(8r) (SnE)

Editions: Skj AI, 182, Skj BI, 171, Skald I, 92, NN §1094; SnE 1848-87, I, 506-7, II, 453, 537, 602, SnE 1931, 178, SnE 1998, I, 97.

Context: The couplet is one of several illustrating heiti for ‘fire’, here, bál ‘pyre’.

Notes: [1] Haki: For this legendary king, see Note to RvHbreiðm Hl 27 [All] and Anon (FoGT) 24, 27. Haki was mortally wounded at the epic battle of Fýrisvellir, and Hkr (ÍF 26, 45) gives the following account of his death: Þá lét hann taka skeið, er hann átti, ok lét hlaða dauðum mǫnnum ok vápnum, lét þá flytja út til hafs ok leggja stýri í lag ok draga upp segl, en leggja eld í tyrvið ok gera bál á skipinu. Veðr stóð af landi. Haki var þá at kominn dauða eða dauðr, er hann var lagiðr á bálit. Sigldi skipit síðan loganda út í haf, ok var þetta allfrægt lengi síðan ‘Then he had a warship brought, which he owned, and had it piled up with dead men and weapons. He then had it brought out to sea and the rudder affixed and the sail unfurled, and he had pinewood set on fire and a pyre made on the ship. There was an offshore breeze. Haki was already dead or almost dead when he was placed on the pyre. The ship then sailed out to sea all ablaze, and this event was very famous for a long time afterwards’. See also ÍF 26, 45-6 n. 3. — [2] óðu brimslóðir ‘they advanced on the surf-tracks [SEA]’: There is no overt subject here, and brimslóðir ‘surf-tracks’ is f. pl. acc. (of place) with the verb vaða ‘advance’ (lit. ‘wade’; óðu is 3rd pers. pl. pret. indic.). Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) assumes that the missing subject was contained in a following, now-lost line, which is entirely possible and finds support in the fact that vaða is often construed with a term for ‘ship(s)’ as the subject. However, as Kock (NN §1094) points out, 3rd pers. pl. subjects are frequently left out in poetry (see also NS §13 Anm. 2). Faulkes (SnE 1998, II, 418) entertains both possibilities.

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. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
6. NS = Nygaard, Marius. 1906. Norrøn syntax. Kristiania (Oslo): Aschehoug. Rpt. 1966.
7. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
8. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
9. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
10. Internal references
11. Edith Marold 2017, ‘Snorra Edda (Prologue, Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál)’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols [check printed volume for citation].
12. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Heimskringla’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=4> (accessed 19 April 2024)
13. (forthcoming), ‘ Snorri Sturluson, Skáldskaparmál’ 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=112> (accessed 19 April 2024)
14. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Lausavísur, Stanzas from Snorra Edda 16’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 528.
15. 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.
16. 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.