Russell Poole (ed.) 2012, ‘Eyjólfr dáðaskáld, Bandadrápa 4’ 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. 461.
Mærr vann miklu fleiri
malmhríð jǫfurr síðan
— áðr frôgum þat — aðra,
Eirekr und sik geira.
þás garð-Váli gerði
Gotlands vala strandir
Virfils vítt of herjat.
Veðrmildr ok semr hildi.
Mærr jǫfurr vann síðan {miklu fleiri aðra malmhríð}, — frôgum þat áðr — Eirekr und sik geira … þás {Virfils vala {garð-{Váli}}} gerði strandir Gotlands of herjat vítt. Veðrmildr ok semr hildi …
The renowned leader then fought {many more other metal-storms} [BATTLES], — we [I] learned that earlier — Eiríkr under himself of spears … when {the Váli <god> {of the enclosure {of the horses of Virfill <sea-king>}}} [(lit. ‘enclosure-Váli of the horses of Virfill’) SHIPS > SHIELD > WARRIOR] had the coasts of Gotland raided far and wide. Storm-generous and contrives warfare …
Mss: Kˣ(199r-v), F(34ra), J1ˣ(122v), J2ˣ(108v) (Hkr); 61(65rb), 53(62ra), 54(60va), Bb(96ra), Flat(69rb) (ÓT)
Readings: [1] Mærr: meirr F, J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 61, 53, 54, Bb, Flat [2] ‑hríð: hríðir J2ˣ, 61, ‑hríðar 53 [3] áðr: so F, 61, 53, 54, Bb, Flat, áðr corrected from ‘æðr’ apparently in a later hand Kˣ, eðr J1ˣ, J2ˣ; frôgum: frá ek um Flat; þat: þar F [4] Eirekr: ‘Eir’ J1ˣ, J2ˣ, Eirek 54, Bb [5] þás (‘þa er’): þar er F; garð‑: graf‑ 54, Bb; ‑Váli: ‘‑vala’ Kˣ, F, J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 61, 53, 54, Flat, ‘‑nala’ Bb [6] ‑lands: ‑land J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 61, 53, 54, Bb, Flat; strandir: strandar F, J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 61, 53, 54, Flat, stranda Bb [7] Virfils: ‘hvírfíls’ F, ‘vir(ní)ls’(?) Bb
Editions: Skj AI, 200-1, Skj BI, 191, Skald I, 101, NN §553; Hkr 1893-1901, I, 415-6, IV, 93, ÍF 26, 337-8, Hkr 1991, I, 229 (ÓTHkr ch. 89), F 1871, 153; Fms 2, 288, Fms 12, 55-6, ÓT 1958-2000, II, 242 (ch. 243), Flat 1860-8, I, 519.
Context: According to Hkr (similarly ÓT), Eiríkr, now based in Sweden, gains the support of Norwegians fleeing from Óláfr Tryggvason and undertakes raiding expeditions to Gotland so as to build up resources.
Notes: [All]: Lines 4 and 8 belong to the klofastef ‘split refrain’ and stand outside the syntax of the stanza; see st. 9 and Notes. — [2, 3] aðra malmhríð ‘other metal-storms [BATTLES]’: Lit. ‘another metal-storm’ (sg.). Mss 53 and 61 give clear pl. forms of the noun but not of aðrar. Jón Þorkelsson (1884, 60) argued that the form fleiri ‘more’ was scarcely possible as a sg. and proposed an original pl. *malmhríðr aðrar, with hríð declined as a consonantal stem, parallel to vík (nom. and acc. pl. víkr). — [3] áðr ‘earlier’: The variant eðr ‘again’ is also possible, but áðr has stronger ms. support and is more compatible with the pret. verb frôgum ‘we [I] learned’. — [5-7]: The text as it stands in the mss is difficult. There seems to be a clear statement that Eiríkr raided Gotland, but the mss differ as to whether strandir Gotlands ‘the coasts of Gotland’ belong together. The remaining nominal elements might well form a kenning for ‘man’, ‘warrior’ or ‘ruler’ as grammatical subject, but the base-word is elusive and other elements ambiguous, especially the duplicated vala (ll. 5, 6). The problems are hardly to be solved without emendation (cf. Jón Þorkelsson 1884, 60). (a) Adopted in this edn is the solution reached by Finnur Jónsson (Hkr 1893-1901; Skj B). This involves emendation of ‘vala’ in l. 5 to Váli, while vala in l. 6 is interpreted as gen. pl. of valr, a heiti for ‘horse’. Though not attested elsewhere in skaldic poetry, the god’s name Váli occurs in eddic poetry (LP: Váli 1) and is probably ancient (McKinnell 2009a, 190-1). (b) Kock (NN §553) points out that only the elements garð(r) ‘enclosure’ and Virfils ‘of Virfill <sea-king>’ are needed for the shield-kenning, which he appears to combine with Finnur Jónsson’s Váli to form a warrior-kenning. Kennings for ‘shield’ with the base-word garðr are exemplified in Eskál Vell 14/7, 8 and 27/2, and the combination with Virfils is possible, though the name of a legendary hero would be more usual: cf. Meissner 170-2. Kock takes l. 6 as a single phrase, Gotlands Vala strandir, which he translates as gotlänningarnas stränder ‘shores of the Gotlanders’. He does not explain gen. pl. Vala, but presumably takes it as a generalised application of the ethnic name Valir, often used of the Franks. Such a phrase would, however, be unparalleled. (c) Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson in ÍF 26, while acknowledging that the helmingr can barely be interpreted, likewise starts with garð- Virfils ‘shield’, suggesting that its vǫlr ‘staff/stave’ (represented by vala in l. 5) might be ‘sword’. (d) Hkr 1991 tentatively suggests that vala in l. 6 represents an indeclinable adj., equivalent to einvala ‘choice, excellent’ and describing the Gotland coast.
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