Arn Hryn 3^II

Magnús, hlýð til máttigs óðar;
manngi veit ek fremra annan;
yppa rôðumk yðru kappi,
Jóta gramr, í kvæði fljótu.
Haukr réttr estu, Hǫrða dróttinn,
hverr gramr es þér stóru verri;
meiri verði þinn an þeira
þrifnuðr allr, unz himinn rifnar.

Magnús, hlýð til máttigs óðar; ek veit manngi annan fremra; rôðumk yppa kappi yðru, {gramr Jóta}, í fljótu kvæði. Estu réttr haukr, {dróttinn Hǫrða}; hverr gramr es stóru verri þér; allr þrifnuðr þinn verði meiri an þeira, unz himinn rifnar.

Magnús, hear a mighty poem; I know no other [to be] more outstanding; I mean to raise up your prowess, {prince of the Jótar} [DANISH KING = Magnús], in a swift poem. You are a just hawk, {lord of the Hǫrðar} [NORWEGIAN KING = Magnús]; every prince is far below you [lit. worse by much than you]; may your whole success be greater than theirs, until the sky tears apart.

Mss: Mork(5v) (Mork); Flat(196ra) (Flat); H(33r), Hr(24ra) (H-Hr); A(4v), W(103) (TGT, ll. 3-4); W(115) (FoGT, ll. 3-4)

Readings: [1] hlýð (‘hlyððu’): ‘hlyttu’ Flat    [3] rôðumk: ‘raduzt’ Flat, rðum W(115)    [4] fljótu: fljóta Flat    [6] stóru: stórum H, Hr    [7] þinn: so all others, þín Mork    [8] þrifnuðr: ‘þrif naudr’ Flat;    allr unz: áðr Flat;    himinn: heimr Flat, himininn H, Hr

Editions: Skj AI, 332-3, Skj BI, 306, Skald I, 155; Mork 1928-32, 116-17, Andersson and Gade 2000, 166, 474 (MH); Flat 1860-8, III, 322 (MH); Fms 6, 196 (HSig ch. 24), Fms 12, 147; SnE 1848-87, II, 116, 410, TGT 1884, 77, 17-18, TGT 1927, 53, TGT 1998, 136-7; SnE 1848-87, II, 218, FoGT 1884, 115, FoGT 2004, 43, 69-70, 122-3; Whaley 1998, 145-8.

Context: In Mork, H-Hr and Flat, the st. is quoted within the anecdote about Arnórr’s audience with Magnús and Haraldr of Norway (see Introduction). In TGT ll. 3-4 are cited to exemplify change of number as a form of solecism, and are followed by an explanation that pl. is here used in place of sg. In FoGT the same ll. are cited to illustrate lepos—the honorific use of the pl., here yðru ‘your’, to compliment a man in authority; it is explained that using the pl. for a common man is a solecism.

Notes: [1]: A classic instance of the skald’s ‘bid/call for a hearing’ (see Wood 1960). — [1] máttigs óðar ‘a mighty poem’: Kreutzer’s survey (1977, 239) of epithets used by skalds to describe their work includes only one other instance of a ‘strong, mighty poem’, Jór Send 5/1, 2^I ramman hróðr ‘mighty praise-poem’. — [4, 5] gramr Jóta; dróttinn Hǫrða ‘prince of the Jótar [DANISH KING = Magnús]; lord of the Hǫrðar [NORWEGIAN KING = Magnús]’: Fittingly for the opening of an encomium, Magnús’s legitimate rule of Denmark and Norway is proclaimed; cf. references to lordship of Hordaland (Hǫrðaland) in Arn Magndr 1, 10, 16, of Møre (Mœrr) in Hryn 8 and of Sogn in Arn Magndr 6. — [4] í fljótu kvæði ‘in a swift poem’: Kreutzer (1977, 58-9) notes that Arnórr is the first skald to use the word kvæði (here and in st. 14 below), older skalds having preferred the more elevated, specifically poetic, bragr and óðr. The epithet fljótr ‘swift’ would be apt if hrynhent poetry had a faster tempo than dróttkvætt (Heusler 1925-9, I, 304), or it could refer to its tendency to fall into a regular trochaic pulse. Kreutzer (1977, 206) seems instead to link this with the comments of other (mainly later) skalds on their swiftness in composing, e.g. Egill in Arkv 1^V. — [5] estu réttr haukr ‘you are a just hawk’: A rare instance of a metaphor that is not a kenning. The hawk image presumably conveys the hero’s boldness (see Whaley 1998, 147-8 and references there). Cf. the simile in st. 16 and other ‘hawk’ metaphors in ÞjóðA Lv 10 and Anon (MErl) l. 7. — [6] stóru ‘far’: Stóru (verri) ‘far (below you)’, lit. ‘(worse) by much’, is a n. dat. sg. indicating degree of comparison, cf., e.g., litlu síðarr ‘a little later’, miklu meira ‘much more’. — [8] allr ‘whole’: Construed here with þrifnuðr ‘success’ (l. 8). It could alternatively qualify himinn (l. 8), hence ‘whole sky’, but the interruption of attributive adj. and noun by a conj. would be exceptional in Arnórr’s poetry. — [8] unz himinn rifnar ‘until the sky tears apart’: A variant of a formula also found on Swed. rune-stones, e.g. (normalised) jǫrð skal rifna ok upphiminn ‘the earth and the upper heaven shall tear apart’ on the early C11th Skarpåker stone (Jansson 1977, 142-4; Run Sö154^VI).

References

1. Bibliography
2. TGT 1884 = Björn Magnússon Ólsen, ed. 1884. Den tredje og fjærde grammatiske afhandling i Snorres Edda tilligemed de grammatiske afhandlingers prolog og to andre tillæg. SUGNL 12. Copenhagen: Knudtzon.
3. Fms = Sveinbjörn Egilsson et al., eds. 1825-37. Fornmanna sögur eptir gömlum handritum útgefnar að tilhlutun hins norræna fornfræða fèlags. 12 vols. Copenhagen: Popp.
4. 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.
5. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
6. Andersson, Theodore M. and Kari Ellen Gade, trans. 2000. Morkinskinna: The Earliest Icelandic Chronicle of the Norwegian Kings (1030-1157). Islandica 51. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press.
7. Kreutzer, Gert. 1977. Die Dichtungslehre der Skalden: Poetologische Terminologie und Autorenkommentare als Grundlage einer Gattungspoetik. 2nd edn. Hochschulschriften: Literaturwissenschaft 1. Meisenheim am Glan: Hain.
8. Whaley, Diana, ed. and trans. 1998. The Poetry of Arnórr jarlaskáld: An Edition and Study. Westfield Publications in Medieval Studies 8. Turnhout: Brepols.
9. 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.
10. Mork 1928-32 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1928-32. Morkinskinna. SUGNL 53. Copenhagen: Jørgensen.
11. TGT 1927 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1927b. Óláfr Þórðarson: Málhljóða- og málskrúðsrit. Grammatisk-retorisk afhandling. Det kgl. Danske Videnskabernes Selskab. Historisk-filologiske meddelelser 13, 2. Copenhagen: Høst.
12. TGT 1998 = Krömmelbein, Thomas, ed. and trans. 1998. Dritte grammatische Abhandlung. Studia nordica 3. Oslo: Novus.
13. FoGT 1884 = Björn Magnússon Ólsen, ed. 1884. Den tredje og fjærde grammatiske afhandling i Snorres Edda tilligemed de grammatiske afhandlingers prolog og to andre tillæg. SUGNL 12. Copenhagen: Knudtzon.
14. Heusler, Andreas. 1925-9. Deutsche Versgeschichte mit Einschluß des altenglischen und altnordischen Stabreimverses. Grundriß der germanischen Philologie 8. 3 vols. Berlin and Leipzig: de Gruyter.
15. Jansson, Sven B. F. 1977. Runinskrifter i Sverige. 2nd edn. Stockholm: AEW/Geber.
16. Wood, Cecil. 1960a. ‘The Skald’s Bid for a Hearing’. JEGP 59, 240-54.
17. FoGT 2004 = Longo, Michele, ed. [2004]. ‘Il Quarto Trattato Grammaticale Islandese: Testo, Traduzione e Commento’. Dottorato di Ricerca in ‘Linguistica Sincronica e Diacronica’ (XV Ciclo). Palermo: Università degli Studi di Palermo, Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia.
18. Internal references
19. (forthcoming), ‘ Óláfr hvítaskáld Þórðarson, The Third Grammatical Treatise’ in Tarrin Wills (ed.), The Third Grammatical Treatise. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=32> (accessed 19 April 2024)
20. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, The Fourth Grammatical Treatise’ 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=34> (accessed 19 April 2024)
21. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Flateyjarbók’ 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. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=44> (accessed 19 April 2024)
22. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Hulda-Hrokkinskinna’ 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=84> (accessed 19 April 2024)
23. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Morkinskinna’ 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=87> (accessed 19 April 2024)
24. (forthcoming), ‘ Heimskringla, Haralds saga Sigurðssonar’ 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=142> (accessed 19 April 2024)
25. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Magnúss saga góða ok Haralds harðráða’ 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=147> (accessed 19 April 2024)
26. Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Arnórr jarlaskáld Þórðarson, Magnússdrápa 1’ 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, pp. 207-9.
27. Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Arnórr jarlaskáld Þórðarson, Magnússdrápa 6’ 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, pp. 215-16.
28. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2022, ‘Egils saga Skalla-Grímssonar 97 (Egill Skallagrímsson, Arinbjarnarkviða 1)’ 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. 333.
29. Kari Ellen Gade 2009, ‘ Anonymous, Lausavísa from Magnúss saga Erlingssonar’ 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, pp. 840-1. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=3091> (accessed 19 April 2024)
30. (forthcoming), ‘ Viking Age, Södermanland’ in Edith Marold, Vivian Busch and Jana Krüger (eds), Runic Poetry. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 6. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=3273> (accessed 19 April 2024)
31. Judith Jesch (ed.) 2012, ‘Jórunn skáldmær, Sendibítr 5’ 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. 149.
32. Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Þjóðólfr Arnórsson, Lausavísur 10’ 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, pp. 174-5.
33. Not published: do not cite (Run Sö 154^VI)