Eskál Vell 10^I

Rignði hjǫrs á hersa
hríðremmis fjǫr víða
— þrimlundr of jók Þundi
þegns gnótt — méilregni.
Ok hald-Viðurr haulda
haffaxa lét vaxa
Laufa veðr at lífi
lífkǫld Hôars drífu.

{Méilregni} {{hjǫrs hríð}remmis} rignði víða á fjǫr hersa; þrimlundr of jók Þundi gnótt þegns. Ok {hald-Viðurr {haffaxa}} lét {lífkǫld veðr Laufa} vaxa at lífi haulda {drífu Hôars}.

{The arrow-rain} [BATTLE] {of the strengthener {of the storm of the sword}} [(lit. ‘storm-strengthener of the sword’) BATTLE > WARRIOR] rained widely on the life of the hersar; the battle-minded one increased the abundance of retainers for Þundr <= Óðinn>. And {the steering Viðurr <= Óðinn> {of sea-horses}} [SHIPS > SEAFARER] let {the life-cold storms of Laufi <sword>} [BATTLES] grow against the life of men {in the snow-storm of Hárr <= Óðinn>} [BATTLE].

Mss: Kˣ(113r), 39(3vb), F(19vb), J1ˣ(67v-68r), J2ˣ(65r) (Hkr); 61(7rb), 325IX 1 a(3ra), Bb(9va-b) (ÓT)

Readings: [2] hríð‑: so all others, ‘h[...]rð‑’ Kˣ;    ‑remmis: ‘‑remnis’ J2ˣ    [3] þrim‑: þver‑ 39, F, þrym‑ 61, 325IX 1 a, Bb;    ‑lundr: ‑lyndr 39, F, 61, ‘‑lunðar’ J1ˣ, ‑lundar J2ˣ;    of: ok J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 61, 325IX 1 a, Bb    [4] þegns: þegn 39, F, ‘þ(e)gns’(?) J1ˣ;    gnótt: gnótt ok 39, F;    méil‑: men‑ F, mél‑ 61, meðal‑ Bb    [5] hald‑: hjald‑ 61, haldinn‑ Bb;    Viðurr: rúnr Bb    [6] haf‑: hár‑ Bb    [7] Laufa: ‘lꜹpa’ 39, J1ˣ, J2ˣ;    veðr: veðrs Bb;    lífi: lífum 39, F, J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 61, 325IX 1 a, Bb    [8] líf‑: lið‑ 39;    Hôars: ‘harlldz’ 325IX 1 a, Haralds Bb

Editions: Skj AI, 124, Skj BI, 118, Skald I, 66-7, NN §§303A, 398, 2241; Hkr 1893-1901, I, 237-8, IV, 68-9, ÍF 26, 210-1, Hkr 1991, I, 140 (HGráf ch. 6), F 1871, 90; Fms 1, 57, Fms 12, 32, ÓT 1958-2000, I, 56 (ch. 35).

Context: See st. 9.

Notes: [All]: There is no intervening prose between sts 9 and 10, but 10/1-4 and 10/5-8 are thematically much more similar than sts 9 and 10/1-4 and are therefore given as a unitary stanza here and in most eds. In contrast, ÓT 1958-2000, Davidson 1983, 264-5, 170 and Hkr 1991 combine st. 9 and 10/1-4 into one stanza and let 10/5-8 stand as a single helmingr. — [1, 2] hjǫrs hríðremmis ‘of the strengthener of the storm of the sword [(lit. ‘storm-strengthener of the sword’) BATTLE > WARRIOR]’: Hríðremmis is attested in all mss as a gen., so the warrior-kenning qualifies méilregni ‘arrow-rain [BATTLE]’. Finnur Jónsson (Hkr 1893-1901, IV; Skj B) placed the warrior-kenning in the intercalary clause instead, hence Þrimlundr hjǫrs hríðremmir of jók Þundi gnótt þegns ‘The battle-minded strengthener of the storm of the sword [BATTLE > WARRIOR] increased the abundance of retainers for Þundr <= Óðinn>’, which requires the emendation of -remmis to -remmir, contrary to all mss, and leads to a much more complicated syntax for the helmingr. Because þrimlundr as a nominalised adj. can take the subject position in the intercalary clause (Kock NN §398; Reichardt 1928, 200), the emendation is unnecessary. Finnur Jónsson later (1934a, 20) changed his view and the later view is followed by this edn. — [1] hersa ‘of the hersar’: Hersar are district chieftains, noblemen of lesser rank than a jarl. Here the term seems to refer to the commanders serving the Eiríkssynir or Gunnhildarsynir (Konráð Gíslason 1895-7, I, 110). — [4] méilregni ‘the arrow-rain [BATTLE]’: Méil occurs only here and in Hfr Hákdr 9/4^III méilskúr ‘arrow-shower’. It is presumably of the same origin as mél ‘bit, mouth-piece of a bridle’. Exactly what the word means is not known; in combination with ‘rain/shower’ it is likely to mean a projectile weapon: arrow or spear (LP: méilregn; ÍF 26; on méil- cf. also Konráð Gíslason 1895-7, I, 110; Kristensen 1907, 235-6, 240). Because the verb rignði ‘it rained’ is impersonal, regni ‘rain’ appears as a dat. object. — [5, 6] hald-Viðurr haffaxa ‘the steering Viðurr <= Óðinn> of sea-horses [SHIPS > SEAFARER]’: Hald- means ‘to steer’ here (cf., e.g., Sigv Nesv 2/5) and refers to the seafarer controlling the ships. — [5] haulda ‘of men’: The ONorw. form haulda rather than OIcel. hǫlða is indicated by the rhyme on hald-. Although Einarr was an Icelander, he would have been familiar with the Norw. form through living at a Norwegian court. For hauldr see ANG §§105 Anm., 238.1b. — [8] lífkǫld ‘life-cold’: I.e. inimical to life. — [8] drífu Hôars ‘in the snow-storm of Hárr <= Óðinn> [BATTLE]’: Drífu can be acc., gen. or dat., and previous eds have construed the phrase in various ways. (a) It is understood here and in most eds as being a dat. of location, with the sense ‘in battle’. (b) If the battle is thought of as an equivalent to a period of time, drífu could be a temporal acc., hence ‘at/throughout the battle’ (cf. NS §98). (c) Fms 12 combined hǫlða and drífu Hôars into a kenning, ‘the men of the snow-storm of Hárr [BATTLE > WARRIORS]’, but hǫlðar cannot form a kenning with drífu Hôars because it is an independent term (so Konráð Gíslason 1895-7, I, 112). (d) Konráð’s own suggestion of combining drífu Hôars with haffaxa ‘of sea-horses [SHIPS]’ to form a kenning for ‘battle at sea’ is unconvincing. (e) Kock (NN §2241) takes drífu Hôars in apposition to veðr Laufa ‘the weather of Laufi <sword> [BATTLE]’, but apposition involving kennings is rare at best.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
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. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
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. 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.
8. NS = Nygaard, Marius. 1906. Norrøn syntax. Kristiania (Oslo): Aschehoug. Rpt. 1966.
9. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
10. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
11. Hkr 1991 = Bergljót S. Kristjánsdóttir et al., eds. 1991. Heimskringla. 3 vols. Reykjavík: Mál og menning.
12. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
13. Davidson, Daphne L. 1983. ‘Earl Hákon and his Poets’. D. Phil. thesis. Oxford.
14. Konráð Gíslason. 1895-7. Efterladte skrifter. 2 vols. I: Forelæsninger over oldnordiske skjaldekvad. II: Forelæsninger og videnskablige afhandlinger. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
15. ÓT 1958-2000 = Ólafur Halldórsson, ed. 1958-2000. Saga Óláfs Tryggvasonar en mesta. 3 vols. EA A 1-3. Copenhagen: Munksgaard (Reitzel).
16. Reichardt, Konstantin. 1928. Studien zu den Skalden des 9. und 10. Jahrhunderts. Palaestra 159. Leipzig: Mayer & Müller.
17. Kristensen, Marius. 1907. ‘Skjaldenes sprog. Nogle småbemærkninger’. ANF 23, 235-45.
18. Internal references
19. (forthcoming), ‘ Heimskringla, Haralds saga gráfeldar’ 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=138> (accessed 26 April 2024)
20. Kate Heslop 2017, ‘ Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld Óttarsson, Hákonardrápa’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 212. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1257> (accessed 26 April 2024)
21. Russell Poole (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Nesjavísur 2’ 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. 559.