ESk Frag 8^III

The helmingr (ESk Frag 8) is found in SnE (mss R (main ms.), Tˣ, U, A, B (and 744ˣ), C). The metre is dunhent (see Frag 6 above, Note to [All]), and the poet’s name is given as Einarr (no patronymic) in all mss. The battle imagery suggests that the stanza belonged to an encomium.

Sámleitum rauð sveita
— sleit ǫrn Gera beitu —
— fekksk arnar matr jǫrnum —
Jarnsǫxu grǫn faxa.

Rauð grǫn {sámleitum faxa Jarnsǫxu} sveita; ǫrn sleit {beitu Gera}; {matr arnar} fekksk jǫrnum.

He reddened the whiskers {of Jarnsaxa’s <troll-woman’s> swarthy steed} [WOLF] with blood; an eagle tore {Geri’s <wolf’s> bait} [CORPSES]; {food of the eagle} [CORPSES] was provided by weapons.

Mss: R(38r), Tˣ(39v), U(40v), A(14r), B(6v), 744ˣ(45r), C(7r) (SnE)

Readings: [2] Gera: so Tˣ, U, A, C, gróa R, geira B;    beitu: beitur A, B    [3] matr: ‘[…]’ B, ‘matr’ 744ˣ;    jǫrnum: ‘ærnum’ C    [4] ‑sǫxu: ‑sǫxum A, B;    grǫn: ‘nog’ C;    faxa: so Tˣ, U, A, B, fǫxu R, C

Editions: Skj AI, 481, Skj BI, 452-3, Skald I, 223; SnE 1848-87, I, 490-1, II, 354, 457, 544, 597, III, 101, SnE 1931, 173, SnE 1998, I, 92.

Context: The helmingr is given as an example of a heiti for ‘eagle’ (ǫrn ‘eagle’; arnar ‘of the eagle’).

Notes: [All]: For the metre, see Note to Frag 6 above. — [2]: This line is also found in Hókr Eirfl 7/6^I. — [2] Gera ‘Geri’s <wolf’s>’: Geri was one of Óðinn’s wolves in Old Norse myth. Gróa ‘of Grói’ (so R) makes little sense in the context (gróa inf. ‘grow’ or Gróa f. nom. sg., which is the name for a sorceress or a sword; see Note to Þul Sverða 1/5). Geira ‘of spears’ (so B) must be a lectio facilior. — [4] Jarnsǫxu ‘of Jarnsaxa’s <troll-woman’s>’: Jarnsǫxum ‘iron-swords’ (so A, B) is also a lectio facilior. For Jarnsaxa, see Note to Þul Trollkvenna 3/3. — [4] faxa (m. gen. sg.) ‘steed’: So Tˣ, U, A, B. Faxi is a horse (lit. ‘one with a mane’). Fǫxu (R, C) cannot be construed in any meaningful way and must be the result of scribal confusion and an attempt to create aðalhending with -sǫxu.

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. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
5. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
6. Internal references
7. 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].
8. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Trollkvenna 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. 727.
9. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Sverða 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. 790.
10. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Einarr Skúlason, Fragments 8’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 159.
11. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2012, ‘Halldórr ókristni, Eiríksflokkr 7’ 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. 482.