Eskál Vell 5^I

Hljóta munk, né hlítik,
hertýs, of þat frýju,
fyr ǫrþeysi at ausa
austr vín-Gnóðar flausta.

Munk hljóta at ausa {{{{hertýs} vín}-Gnóðar} austr} fyr {ǫrþeysi flausta}; né hlítik frýju of þat.

It will fall to me to bale out {the bilge-water {of the Gnóð <ship> {of the wine {of the army-god}}}} [(lit. ‘bilge-water of the wine-Gnóð of the army-god’) = Óðinn > POEM > VAT > POEM] for {the valiant racer of ships} [SEAFARER = Hákon]; I will not endure a reproach on account of it.

Mss: R(21r), Tˣ(21v), W(45), U(26v), B(4r), 744ˣ(21v) (SnE)

Readings: [1] né: en U;    hlítik: hlítir R, Tˣ, B, ‘hlít(ri)’(?) W, heitir U    [2] ‑týs: ‑týrs B;    of þat: ‘[...]’ B, of þat 744ˣ;    frýju: so U, ‘fr(ý)iv’(?) R, freyju Tˣ, W, B    [4] vín‑: um‑ U;    Gnóðar: ‘gnaðar’ W, ‘gadar’ B

Editions: Skj AI, 123, Skj BI, 117, Skald I, 66, NN §§1884A, B, 1923C; SnE 1848-87, I, 240, II, 304, 519, SnE 1931, 90, SnE 1998, I, 10.

Context: In SnE (Skm) the stanza is cited in a collection of stanzas illustrating poetic expressions (mostly kennings) for Óðinn.

Notes: [1] né hlítik ‘I will not endure’: Konráð Gíslason’s (1872, 31) emendation is adopted because the verb hlítir as preserved in the mss would have no fitting subject. — [2, 4] hertýs vín-Gnóðar austr ‘the bilge-water of the Gnóð <ship> of the wine of the army-god [(lit. ‘bilge-water of the wine-Gnóð of the army-god’) = Óðinn > POEM > VAT > POEM]’: Another kenning based on the myth of the mead of poetry (see Note to st. 1 [All]). Reciting poetry is represented by the image of pouring the mead of poetry out of its vat. In harmony with the sea imagery of the introductory stanzas the poet chooses Gnóð, a ship’s name (see Þul Skipa 3/1^III; Introduction to Anon GnóðÁsm^III), as the base-word of the kenning for the vat, and accordingly uses ausa austr ‘to bale the bilge-water’ for pouring out the mead of poetry. Austr thus becomes the base-word of the kenning for ‘poem’ (Marold 1994a, 474). — [2] hertýs ‘of the army-god [= Óðinn]’: The second element could be the common noun týr ‘god’ or the god-name Týr: see Note to Eyv Hák 1/2 Gautatýr. — [2] frýju ‘a reproach’: Only ms. U supplies a viable reading here, since Freyju in most mss cannot be accommodated in the stanza (so Konráð Gíslason 1872, 31).

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. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
6. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
7. Konráð Gíslason. 1872. Nogle bemærkninger om skjaldedigtens beskaffenhed i formel henseende. Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskabs Skrifter, ser. 5, Historisk og philosophisk Afdeling 4/7. Copenhagen: Luno.
8. Marold, Edith. 1994a. ‘Der Skalde und sein Publikum’. In Uecker 1994, 462-76.
9. Internal references
10. 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].
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 19 April 2024)
12. Margaret Clunies Ross 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Gnóðar-Ásmundar drápa’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 626. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1011> (accessed 19 April 2024)
13. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Skipa 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. 865.
14. R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2012, ‘Eyvindr skáldaspillir Finnsson, Hákonarmál 1’ 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. 174.