Eyv Hák 5^I

Svá beit þá sverð         ór siklings hendi
váðir Váfaðar,         sem í vatn brygði.
Brǫkuðu broddar,         brotnuðu skildir,
glumruðu gylfringar         í gotna hausum.

Svá beit þá sverð ór hendi siklings {váðir Váfaðar}, sem brygði í vatn. Broddar brǫkuðu, skildir brotnuðu, gylfringar glumruðu í hausum gotna.

Then the sword in the sovereign’s hand bit {the garments of Váfuðr <= Óðinn>} [ARMOUR], as if it were cutting through water. Points clanged, shields burst, swords clattered in men’s skulls.

Mss: Kˣ(103r), Kˣ(105v) (l. 1), F(18ra), F(18va) (l. 1), J1ˣ(62r), J1ˣ(63v) (l. 1), J2ˣ(58v), J2ˣ(60r) (l. 1) (Hkr); FskBˣ(10v), FskAˣ(51-52) (Fsk); 761bˣ(96v-97v)

Readings: [2] ór: í FskBˣ;    siklings hendi: ‘siklingls hender’ J1ˣ    [4] brygði: of brygði F    [5] Brǫkuðu: ‘brykvðo’ J1ˣ;    broddar: oddar J1ˣ, J2ˣ    [6] skildir: ‘skillir’ F    [7] glumruðu: glumdu FskAˣ;    gylfringar: so FskBˣ, FskAˣ, glymringar Kˣ, 761bˣ, glymhringar F, gylfringa J1ˣ, J2ˣ    [8] gotna: jǫtna J1ˣ, J2ˣ;    hausum: haustum FskBˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 65, Skj BI, 57, Skald I, 35; Hkr 1893-1901, I, 214, 219, IV, 56, ÍF 26, 188, 193, Hkr 1991, I, 120-1, 125 (HákGóð chs 30, 32), F 1871, 82; Fsk 1902-3, 41-2 (ch. 12), ÍF 29, 88-9 (ch. 13); Möbius 1860, 233, Jón Helgason 1968, 26, Krause 1990, 64-9.

Context: In Hkr, as for st. 1. In Fsk, the prose preceding this and the next two stanzas relates that the battle was joined and went fiercely, and when the barrage of missiles was ended, the king ‘drew his sword and stood forward under his banner and hewed on both sides of him, never missing, and yet the sword bit [as easily] as if it did miss’.

Notes: [1, 4] svá beit þá sverð ... sem brygði í vatn ‘then the sword bit ... as if it were cutting through water’: As remarked by Heinrichs (1990, 435), the author of Fsk seems to have regarded this poetic convention as an unfamiliar paradox, since he feels compelled to explain it (see Context above). — [2] ór ‘in’: More lit. ‘from’, but it often denotes the point of origin from which a weapon takes its effect (see LP: ór 3). The reading í in FskB, adopted by Lindquist (1929, 12), is unlikely to be original, given the agreement of the other mss, and given the parallel in Eyv Lv 5/1-4. — [3] Váfaðar ‘of Váfuðr <= Óðinn>’: The word váfuðr designates the wind in Alv 20/2; cf. Grí 54/5; cf. váfa ‘to swing, waver’. — [7] gylfringar ‘swords’: (a) This reading is preferred since it is the lectio difficilior (so Olsen 1962a, 8) and is the agreement of the J transcripts with the Fsk transcripts (except in regard to the inflexion), while Kˣ and F are near relations. The word is most likely a cpd with the second element ‑hringar ‘rings’, a common heiti for ‘swords’ (cf. the spelling in F, and see Note to Þhorn Harkv 1/1), while the first element has been tentatively connected with gjálfr ‘noise of the sea’ (LP: gylfringr). (b) The Kˣ reading glymringar (cf. glymr ‘clatter’) in any case seems too closely connected etymologically to the preceding verb glumruðu ‘clattered’ to be convincing. Whatever the correct form, the intended meaning is undoubtedly ‘swords’.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
3. 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.
4. Heinrichs, Anne. 1990. ‘Hákonarmál im literarischen Kontext’. In Pàroli 1990, 427-45.
5. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
6. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
7. Hkr 1991 = Bergljót S. Kristjánsdóttir et al., eds. 1991. Heimskringla. 3 vols. Reykjavík: Mál og menning.
8. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
9. Fsk 1902-3 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1902-3. Fagrskinna: Nóregs kononga tal. SUGNL 30. Copenhagen: Møller.
10. ÍF 29 = Ágrip af Nóregskonunga sǫgum; Fagrskinna—Nóregs konungatal. Ed. Bjarni Einarsson. 1985.
11. Möbius, Theodor. 1860. Edda Sæmundar hins fróða. Mit einem Anhang bisher ungedruckter Gedichte. Leipzig: Hinrichs.
12. Lindquist, Ivar. 1929. Norröna lovkväden från 800 och 900 talen. I: Förslag till restituerad täxt jämte översättning. Lund: Gleerup.
13. Olsen, Magnus. 1962a. Edda- og Skaldekvad. Forarbeider til kommentar. VI. Eyvindr Skáldaspillir, Glúmr Geirason, Einarr Skálaglamm. Avhandlingar utgitt av Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi i Oslo II. Hist.-filos. kl. new ser. 4. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
14. Jón Helgason, ed. 1968. Skjaldevers. 3rd edn. Copenhagen: Munksgaard.
15. Krause, Arnulf, ed. 1990. Die Dichtung des Eyvindr skáldaspillir: Edition-Kommentar-Untersuchungen. Altnordische Bibliothek 10. Leverkusen: Literaturverlag Norden Mark Reinhardt.
16. Internal references
17. (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 25 April 2024)
18. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Fagrskinna’ 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=56> (accessed 25 April 2024)
19. (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 25 April 2024)
20. Not published: do not cite ()
21. Not published: do not cite ()
22. Russell Poole (ed.) 2012, ‘Eyvindr skáldaspillir Finnsson, Lausavísur 5’ 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. 221.
23. R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2012, ‘Þorbjǫrn hornklofi, Haraldskvæði (Hrafnsmál) 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. 94.