ESk Frag 7^III

The helmingr (ESk Frag 7) must have belonged to a royal panegyric, and Jón Sigurðsson (SnE 1848-87, III, 355) assigned it to Einarr’s encomium about Haraldr gilli (Hardr I^II; see Introduction to Frag 4 and 6 above). The half-stanza is transmitted in mss R (main ms.), Tˣ, U, A, B (and 744ˣ) and C of Skm (SnE) and in LaufE (mss 2368ˣ and 743ˣ). It was copied in RE 1665(Ff3), which has no independent value. The helmingr follows Frag 6 above without intervening prose in LaufE (with idem ‘the same’ in the left margin, 743ˣ) and it is preceded by Ok enn sem hann kvað ‘And again, as he said’ in Skm. Hence it is attributed variously to Einarr skálaglamm (LaufE) or Einarr Skúlason (SnE). See Introduction to Frag 6.

En við hjaldr, þars hauldar,
hugþrútit svellr, lúta,
— Muninn drekkr blóð ór benjum
blásvartr — konungs hjarta.

En hugþrútit hjarta konungs svellr við hjaldr, þars hauldar lúta; blásvartr Muninn drekkr blóð ór benjum.

And the courage-enlarged heart of the king swells at the battle where freeholders sink down; blue-black Muninn <raven> drinks blood from wounds.

Mss: R(38r), Tˣ(39v), U(40v), A(14r), B(6v), 744ˣ(44v), C(7r) (SnE); 2368ˣ(95), 743ˣ(74v) (LaufE)

Readings: [1] hauldar: so all others, haulda R    [2] hug‑: haug‑ U;    ‑þrútit: ‑þrútinn U, C, ‘þrut[…]’ B, ‘‑þruti. .’ 744ˣ;    svellr: svellir Tˣ, svelgr U, C    [4] ‑svartr: ‘[…]’ B, ‘suartr’ 744ˣ;    konungs: munins U, kennir 2368ˣ, 743ˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 480, Skj BI, 452, Skald I, 223; SnE 1848-87, I, 488-9, II, 353, 456, 543, 597, III, 100, SnE 1931, 172, SnE 1998, I, 91; LaufE 1979, 351.

Context: As Frag 6 above. Here Muninn is a name or heiti for ‘raven’.

Notes: [1] hauldar ‘freeholders’: Hauldar were Norwegian free farmers. The word is variously spelled hǫlðar, hǫldar and hauldar. The latter form is Norwegian (see ANG §§105 Anm., 319.2 and Note to Anon Nkt 15/2^II). — [2] hugþrútit ‘courage-enlarged’: This cpd, which is otherwise not attested in Old Norse, is formed from the noun hugr m. ‘mind, courage’ and the adj. þrútinn ‘enlarged, swollen’. — [3] Muninn ‘Muninn <raven>’: Muninn (from munr ‘mind, soul’) was the other of Óðinn’s ravens in Old Norse myth (see Note to Frag 6/3 above and Note to Þul Hrafns 1/7).

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. 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.
5. ANG = Noreen, Adolf. 1923. Altnordische Grammatik I: Altisländische und altnorwegische Grammatik (Laut- und Flexionslehre) unter Berücksichtigung des Urnordischen. 4th edn. Halle: Niemeyer. 1st edn. 1884. 5th unrev. edn. 1970. Tübingen: Niemeyer.
6. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
7. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
8. Internal references
9. 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].
10. Kari Ellen Gade 2017, ‘(Biography of) Einarr Skúlason’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 140.
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 24 April 2024)
12. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Anonymous Poems, Nóregs konungatal 15’ 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. 771.
13. Kari Ellen Gade 2009, ‘ Einarr Skúlason, Haraldsdrápa I’ 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. 542-4. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1145> (accessed 24 April 2024)
14. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Hrafns 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. 945.
15. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Einarr Skúlason, Fragments 7’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 158.
16. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Laufás Edda’ 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=10928> (accessed 24 April 2024)