ESk Øxfl 2^III

Eigi þverr fyr augna
Óðs beðvinu Róða
ræfrs (eignisk sá) regni
ramsvell (konungr elli).

{Ramsvell {ræfrs Róða}} þverr eigi fyr {{regni augna} {beðvinu Óðs}}; eignisk sá konungr elli.

{The strong ice-sheet {of Róði’s <sea-king’s> roof}} [SHIELD > AXE/SWORD] does not diminish because of {{the rain of the eyes} [TEARS] {of Óðr’s <mythical person’s> bedmate}} [= Freyja > GOLD]; may that king reach old age.

Mss: R(28r), R(34r), Tˣ(29r), Tˣ(35v), W(73), W(77), U(30v), U(33r), A(11r), C(5v) (SnE)

Readings: [1] þverr: þyrr C    [2] beðvinu: ‘[…]no’ U(33r), ‘benuidu’ C;    Róða: ‘rodrra’ Tˣ(29r)    [3] ræfrs: so Tˣ(29r), Tˣ(35v), W(77), ræfs R(28r), W(73), ræfr R(34r), U(30v), U(33r), A, C;    eignisk: ‘eignis’ U(30v), eignask A, C;    sá regni: so all others, ‘sva rengni’ R(28r)    [4] ‑svell: so Tˣ(35v), W(77), A, ‑svelli R(28r), W(73), ‑svells R(34r), Tˣ(29r), C, ‘svel’ U(30v), U(33r)

Editions: Skj AI, 477, Skj BI, 449, Skald I, 221, NN §§1794, 2793; SnE 1848-87, I, 348-9, 424-5, II, 320, 328, 439, 589, III, 56, SnE 1931, 125, 151, SnE 1998, I, 43, 69.

Context: In Skm, beðvina Óðs ‘Óðr’s bedmate’ is given as a kenning for the goddess Freyja (R(28r), Tˣ(29r), W(73), U(30v)), and ræfr Róða ‘Róði’s <sea-king’s> roof’ is one of many kennings for ‘shield’ (R(34r), Tˣ(35v), W(77), U(33r), A, C).

Notes: [All]: In R(28r), Tˣ(29r), W(73) and U(30v) this stanza follows st. 1 above, and it is attributed to Einarr (implicitly Skúlason) in all mss: Ok her hefir Einaʀ en … ‘And here Einarr has again …’ (R). The second citation is also attributed to Einarr in all mss, but no patronymic is given for him. — [1-2, 3] regni augna beðvinu Óðs ‘the rain of the eyes [TEARS] of Óðr’s <mythical person’s> bedmate [= Freyja > GOLD]’: According to Old Norse myth, Óðr was Freyja’s husband. For Freyja weeping tears of gold, see Note to st. 1/1, 4 above. — [2-3, 4] ramsvell ræfrs Róða ‘the strong ice-sheet of Róði’s <sea-king’s> roof [SHIELD > AXE/SWORD]’: Again an ambiguous kenning for a type of weapon (see Note to st. 1/2, 3 above), although the base-word, svell ‘ice-sheet’, usually occurs in kennings for ‘sword’ (LP: svell). Kock (NN §2793) suggests that this kenning denotes ‘silver’ and that þverr ‘diminishes’ (l. 1) means ‘melt’. A silver-kenning with the base-word svell qualified by a determinant ‘shield’ is highly irregular, however. For Róði, see Note to Þul Sea-kings l. 5. The kenning ræfr Róða ‘Róði’s roof’ is a conventional kenning for ‘shield’ in which ræfr ‘roof’ denotes a shield as ‘cover, overhead protection’ (see Meissner 170-1). — [3, 4] sá konungr ‘that king’: The identity of Einarr’s benefactor cannot be established, but he was likely a king of Norway. Einarr composed poetry in honour of many Norwegian kings during the years c. 1120-60 (see his Biography in SkP II).

References

1. Bibliography
2. 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.
3. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. Meissner = Meissner, Rudolf. 1921. Die Kenningar der Skalden: Ein Beitrag zur skaldischen Poetik. Rheinische Beiträge und Hülfsbücher zur germanischen Philologie und Volkskunde 1. Bonn and Leipzig: Schroeder. Rpt. 1984. Hildesheim etc.: Olms.
6. 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.
7. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
8. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
9. SkP II = Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Ed. Kari Ellen Gade. 2009.
10. Internal references
11. (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 27 April 2024)
12. Elena Gurevich 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Heiti for sea-kings’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 987. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1045> (accessed 27 April 2024)