Eyv Hák 12^I

‘Hví þú svá gunni *         skiptir, Geir-Skǫgul,
        órum þó verðir gagns frá goðum?’
‘Vér því vǫldum *,         es þú velli helt,
        en þínir fíandr flugu.’

‘Hví skiptir þú gunni * svá, Geir-Skǫgul, þó órum verðir gagns frá goðum?’ ‘Vér vǫldum því *, es þú helt velli, en fíandr þínir flugu.’

‘Why did you decide the battle thus, Spear-Skǫgul, though we were [I was] worthy of victory from the gods?’ ‘We brought it about that you held the field and your enemies fled.’

Mss: Kˣ(106r), F(18va), J1ˣ(64r), J2ˣ(60v) (Hkr); 761bˣ(99v)

Readings: [1] *: kvað Hkun F, J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 761bˣ    [2] Geir‑: í gær J1ˣ, J2ˣ    [3] órum (‘vǫrum’): ‘vorrum’ F    [4] vǫldum *: vǫldum kvað Skǫgul all    [5] helt: ‘hellz’ Kˣ, F, 761bˣ, ‘hellzt’ J1ˣ, J2ˣ    [6] fíandr: fíandmenn F

Editions: Skj AI, 66, Skj BI, 58-9, Skald I, 36; Hkr 1893-1901, I, 220, IV, 60, ÍF 26, 195, Hkr 1991, I, 127 (HákGóð ch. 31/32), F 1871, 84; Möbius 1860, 233, Jón Helgason 1968, 27, Krause 1990, 95-7.

Context: As for st. 1.

Notes: [All]: The speaker of ll. 1-3 is Hákon, that of ll. 4-6 Skǫgul. The speakers are identified in the mss, except that Hákon is not identified in Kˣ, but the identifications are omitted from the Text here since they are extrametrical, as is also the case in Anon Eirm: see Introduction. However, other identifications in this poem are not extrametrical and thus must remain in the text: see Note to st. 10/1. Hákon’s question shows that he does not regard the battle as a victory (due to his death soon after). The valkyrie’s reply corrects him. — [5] helt ‘held’: The mss all point to refl. helzk ‘stayed’, adopted by a few eds (e.g. Lindquist 1929, 14), though it gives poor sense in the present context.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
3. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
4. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
5. Hkr 1991 = Bergljót S. Kristjánsdóttir et al., eds. 1991. Heimskringla. 3 vols. Reykjavík: Mál og menning.
6. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
7. Möbius, Theodor. 1860. Edda Sæmundar hins fróða. Mit einem Anhang bisher ungedruckter Gedichte. Leipzig: Hinrichs.
8. Lindquist, Ivar. 1929. Norröna lovkväden från 800 och 900 talen. I: Förslag till restituerad täxt jämte översättning. Lund: Gleerup.
9. Jón Helgason, ed. 1968. Skjaldevers. 3rd edn. Copenhagen: Munksgaard.
10. Krause, Arnulf, ed. 1990. Die Dichtung des Eyvindr skáldaspillir: Edition-Kommentar-Untersuchungen. Altnordische Bibliothek 10. Leverkusen: Literaturverlag Norden Mark Reinhardt.
11. Internal references
12. (forthcoming), ‘ Heimskringla, Hákonar saga góða’ 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=130> (accessed 23 April 2024)
13. R. D. Fulk 2012, ‘ Anonymous, Eiríksmál’ 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. 1003. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1009> (accessed 23 April 2024)