Glúmr Gráf 9^I

Heinþynntan lét hvína
hrynjeld at þat brynju
foldar vǫrðr, sás fyrðum,
fjǫrnharðan, sik varði.

{Vǫrðr foldar}, sás varði sik fyrðum, lét {heinþynntan, fjǫrnharðan hrynjeld brynju} hvína at þat.

{The guardian of the land} [RULER], who defended himself against men, made {the whetstone-sharpened, amazingly hard resounding fire of the mail-shirt} [SWORD] whistle at that.

Mss: R(34r), Tˣ(35v), W(78), U(33v), A(11v) (SnE); FskBˣ(18r), FskAˣ(74) (Fsk)

Readings: [1] Hein‑: heim U, ‘hæm’ FskBˣ;    ‑þynntan: ‘þy[…]’ U, þungan A;    hvína: ‘hv(ina)’(?) U, ‘huma’ FskBˣ    [2] hrynj‑: so FskBˣ, FskAˣ, hryn‑ R, Tˣ, W, U, A;    ‑eld at: ‑eldr at U, A, eldar FskAˣ;    þat: þeim U, þar FskBˣ;    brynju: ‘br[…]’ U    [3] foldar: so W, U, A, FskBˣ, FskAˣ, fyldar R, fylda Tˣ;    fyrðum: firðum FskBˣ, forðum FskAˣ    [4] fjǫrn‑: ‘fior[…]’ U, fjǫrr‑ FskAˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 77, Skj BI, 67, Skald I, 41, NN §1062; SnE 1848-87, I, 428-9, II, 330, 441, SnE 1931, 152, SnE 1998, I, 70, 196; Fsk 1902-3, 65 (ch. 14), ÍF 29, 108 (ch. 16).

Context: In Fsk, the stanza follows immediately after st. 8. In SnE, it is cited as one of a sequence of citations illustrating kennings for ‘swords’.

Notes: [1] heinþynntan ‘whetstone-sharpened’: A hap. leg. — [2] hrynjeld ‘resounding fire’: The form hrynj- is required for metrical reasons (cf. Kuhn 1983, 109). — [4] fjǫrnharðan ‘amazingly hard’: A hap. leg. The element fjǫrn- is related to f. pl. firnar (ModIcel. n. pl. firn) ‘something remote, exceptional’, often used as intensifying gen. pl., e.g. HSt Rst 9/2 firna mǫrg ‘very many’; see LP: firnar, fjǫrnharðr. (a) The interpretation of Kock (NN §1062), taking it in parallel with heinþynntan ‘whetstone-sharpened’ (lit. ‘-thinned’), is adopted here, as syntactically more conventional than the following solution. (b) Finnur Jónsson (Skj B; LP: fjǫrnharðr) takes fjǫrnharðan as a m. acc. sg. adj. used as an adv., ‘amazingly strongly’, in the rel. clause. (c) Faulkes (SnE 1998, II, 274) notes the further possibility that it could function adjectivally with sik ‘himself’.

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. 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. Kuhn, Hans (1899). 1983. Das Dróttkvætt. Heidelberg: Winter.
8. Fsk 1902-3 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1902-3. Fagrskinna: Nóregs kononga tal. SUGNL 30. 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. ÍF 29 = Ágrip af Nóregskonunga sǫgum; Fagrskinna—Nóregs konungatal. Ed. Bjarni Einarsson. 1985.
12. Internal references
13. 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].
14. (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 23 April 2024)
15. Rolf Stavnem (ed.) 2012, ‘Hallar-Steinn, Rekstefja 9’ 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. 906.