Eyv Hál 3^I

Þás útrǫst
jarla bági
Belja dolgs
byggva vildi.

Þás {bági jarla} vildi byggva útrǫst {dolgs Belja}.

When {the adversary of jarls} [RULER] wished to settle the outlying tract {of the enemy of Beli <giant>} [= Freyr].

Mss: R(22r), Tˣ(22v), W(48), U(28r) (SnE)

Readings: [1] útrǫst: ‘at ro᷎str’ Tˣ, ‘vt ræstr’ W, ‘ofræstr’ U    [3] dolgs: dolgr U

Editions: Skj AI, 68, Skj BI, 60, Skald I, 37; SnE 1848-87, I, 262-3, II, 311, SnE 1931, 98, SnE 1998, I, 18; Krause 1990, 156-9.

Context: The helmingr is cited to illustrate a Freyr-kenning (dolgr Belja ‘enemy of Beli’).

Notes: [All]: This stanza is accepted by scholars as belonging to Hál. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) suggested that the bági jarla ‘adversary of jarls’ who is the subject of the stanza might be Goðgestr (Godgestus in Thormod Torfaeus’s list; see Introduction), but there is no evident connection between his story as told in Hkr (ÍF 26, 57) and the present stanza. — [1] útrǫst ‘the outlying tract’: This rare word (see CVC, Fritzner: útröst) is based on rǫst f., which normally refers to a distance of now uncertain length (e.g. Sigv Austv 3/1, pl. rastir). — [2-3]: As noted above, it is unknown who the bági ‘adversary’ is, and two possible syntactic construals are possible. (a) The interpretation adopted in this edn is that útrǫst Belja dolgs ‘the outlying tract of the enemy of Beli [= Freyr]’ belongs together, as the object of the sentence, leaving bági jarla ‘adversary of earls’ as the subject (cf. SnE 1998, I, 167). (b) Finnur Jónsson (Hkr 1893-1901, IV; Skj B) points out the possibility of an alternative division into bági dolgs Belja ‘adversary of the enemy of Beli [= Freyr > = Surtr]’ (subject) and útrǫst jarla ‘outlying tract of the jarls’ (object), without reaching a definite decision, but this assumes a somewhat strained word order, and Surtr seems an altogether unlikely adversary for the jarls, given the focus in the rest of Hál on their enemies amongst human beings (mennskir menn). — [3] dolgs Belja ‘of the enemy of Beli <giant> [= Freyr]’: Freyr slew the giant Beli using an antler in the absence of his sword, at some time before his death at Ragnarǫk at the hands of Surtr (Gylf, SnE 2005, 31-2, 50; cf. Simek 1993, 33; see Note to st. 1/9 Surts).

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. 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.
4. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. CVC = Cleasby, Richard, Gudbrand Vigfusson [Guðbrandur Vigfússon] and W. A. Craigie. 1957. An Icelandic-English Dictionary. 2nd edn. Oxford: Clarendon.
6. Fritzner = Fritzner, Johan. 1883-96. Ordbog over det gamle norske sprog. 3 vols. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske forlagsforening. 4th edn. Rpt. 1973. Oslo etc.: Universitetsforlaget.
7. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
8. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
9. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
10. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
11. SnE 2005 = Snorri Sturluson. 2005. Edda: Prologue and Gylfaginning. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2nd edn. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
12. Krause, Arnulf, ed. 1990. Die Dichtung des Eyvindr skáldaspillir: Edition-Kommentar-Untersuchungen. Altnordische Bibliothek 10. Leverkusen: Literaturverlag Norden Mark Reinhardt.
13. Simek, Rudolf. 1993. Dictionary of Northern Mythology. Trans. Angela Hall. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer.
14. Internal references
15. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Heimskringla’ 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=4> (accessed 23 April 2024)
16. (forthcoming), ‘ Snorri Sturluson, Gylfaginning’ 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=113> (accessed 23 April 2024)
17. Russell Poole 2012, ‘ Eyvindr skáldaspillir Finnsson, Háleygjatal’ 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. 195. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1186> (accessed 23 April 2024)
18. R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Austrfararvísur 3’ 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. 587.