Glúmr Lv 1^I

Vel hefr hefnt, en hafna
hjǫrs berdraugar fjǫrvi,
— folkrakkr, of vannt, fylkir,
framligt — Haraldr Gamla,
es dǫkkvalir drekka
dolgbands fyr ver handan
— roðin frák rauðra benja
reyr — Hôkunar dreyra.

Haraldr hefr vel hefnt Gamla, en {berdraugar hjǫrs} hafna fjǫrvi — folkrakkr fylkir, of vannt framligt —, es {dǫkkvalir {dolgbands}} drekka dreyra Hôkunar fyr handan ver; frák {reyr rauðra benja} roðin.

Haraldr has avenged Gamli well, and {the bare logs of the sword} [WARRIORS] give up life — battle-bold leader, you fought outstandingly —, when {the dark falcons {of the battle-god}} [= Óðinn > RAVENS] drink Hákon’s blood across the sea; I have heard that {reeds of red wounds} [SPEARS] were reddened.

Mss: Kˣ(107v), F(18vb), J1ˣ(64v), J2ˣ(61v) (Hkr); 61(6rb-va), Bb(8va) (ÓT); FskBˣ(13r), FskAˣ(59) (Fsk)

Readings: [1] hefnt: ‘hefint’ or ‘hefmt’ Bb    [2] berdraugar: bendingar F, bendraugar J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 61, Bb, FskBˣ, FskAˣ    [3] ‑rakkr: ‑rakkum FskBˣ, rakkar FskAˣ;    of (‘vm’): om. 61, FskBˣ;    vannt: vann 61, Bb, FskBˣ    [5] es (‘er’): enn FskBˣ;    dǫkk‑: ‘dog‑’ FskBˣ, ‘dogg‑’ FskAˣ    [6] ‑bands: ‑brands F, J1ˣ, J2ˣ, Bb    [7] roðin: roðinn J2ˣ, FskAˣ;    frák (‘fra ec’): sá ek FskBˣ, FskAˣ;    benja: beina Bb    [8] Hôkunar: ‘hak̄’ J1ˣ, Bb, Hôkuni FskBˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 78, Skj BI, 68, Skald I, 42, NN §§224 Anm., 1063, 1827F; Hkr 1893-1901, I, 224, IV, 61-2, ÍF 26, 198-9, Hkr 1991, I, 131 (HGráf ch. 1), F 1871, 85; Fms 1, 48, Fms 12, 30, ÓT 1958-2000, I, 47 (ch. 30); Fsk 1902-3, 50 (ch. 13), ÍF 29, 96 (ch. 14).

Context: In Hkr and ÓT, Glúmr is introduced as the skald of King Haraldr gráfeldr. It is stated that he composed this stanza after the fall of Hákon góði and that it became popular and provoked Eyvindr Finnsson (skáldaspillir) to compose a retort: see Eyv Lv 6 and Context. In Fsk, the narrative is strongly focused on the division of opinion among those now serving Haraldr, and the orðaskipti ‘exchange of words’ between the two poets.

Notes: [All]: For the battle of Fitjar (c. 961), see also Eyv Hák 2-9, Eyv Lv 1-5 and ÞSjár Þórdr. — [All]: Finnur Jónsson (Hkr 1893-1901; Skj B) separates the conj. en ‘and’ (l. 1) from the following clause, taking it rather with the clause in ll. 3-4, which thereby is not intercalary. He also appears to assume a double role for vannt (l. 3): with framligt (l. 4), which is taken substantivally, hence du udførte en herlig dåd ‘you performed a great deed’, and with the clause beginning es (l. 5), hence da du bevirkede, at (ravnene drikker) ‘when you brought it about that (ravens drink ...)’. This is unnecessary and problematic, however (NN §§224 Anm., 1827F). — [2] berdraugar hjǫrs ‘the bare logs of the sword [WARRIORS]’: Draugr is assumed here, as in previous eds, to mean ‘log’, but ‘revenant, ghost’ is also possible (cf. Meissner 264-5 and Note to ÞHjalt Lv 1/5). The interpretation of ber- is also uncertain. (a) It is taken here as ber- ‘bare’, qualifying the metaphorical draugar ‘logs’ by hinting at the actual referent: these are logs without bark, i.e. humans; cf. a similar use of barklaust ‘barkless’ to qualify a warrior-kenning in Hfr Óldr 2/6 (and see Note). Ber- could also imply ‘without defence’, which would be appropriate to dying warriors. (b) Previous eds (see Hkr 1893-1901, IV; ÍF 26) take ber- in the sense ‘carrying’ (cf. the strong verb bera). Verbal elements attached to the base-words of kennings are normally derivatives of weak ‑jan verbs with a long root syllable and have a suffix ‑i, though other types occur, rarely (Meissner 280-2). A possible parallel is berdraugr auðs ‘carrying log of wealth [MAN]’ in GunnLeif Merl I 94/4^VIII, though the ms. reads ‘ben’. On ber- see also Konráð Gíslason (1892, 67). (c) The variant ben- would produce an overdetermined warrior-kenning meaning ‘wound-logs of the sword’. — [3] vannt ‘you fought’: (a) The 2nd pers. sg. reading vannt in the Hkr mss and FskAˣ is adopted here (as in Skj B, ÍF 26, ÍF 29 and Hkr 1991), and hence folkrakkr fylkir ‘battle-bold leader’ is read as an apostrophe. A direct address to Haraldr is consonant with the occasion for the stanza envisaged by the prose sources (see Context), though that cannot be verified. (b) The 3rd pers. variant vann in the remaining mss is favoured by Kock (NN §224 Anm.; Skald). It tallies with 3rd pers. Haraldr (l. 4), but for that reason may be regarded as the lectio facilior. — [4] Gamla ‘Gamli’: Gamli Eiríksson, brother of Haraldr gráfeldr and his predecessor as leader of the Eiríkssynir or Gunnhildarsynir. Gamli was killed as he fled from Hákon góði following the battle of Rastarkálfr on the island of Fræði (Frei, Møre og Romsdal), c. 955; see Gsind Hákdr 8, Eyv Lv 6 and ÞSjár Þórdr 2. — [5, 6] dǫkkvalir dolgbands ‘the dark falcons of the battle-god [= Óðinn > RAVENS]’: Valir ‘falcons’ is clearly the base-word to a raven-kenning, but the variants brands/bands and alternative interpretations of dǫkk- produce different routes by which the raven-kenning is arrived at. (a) The reading -bands ‘band’ has considerable ms. support, including that of the main ms., and is adopted here, as in ÍF 26, ÍF 29 and Hkr 1991. Band is taken in the sense ‘god’, forming the base-word of a kenning dolgband ‘battle-god [= Óðinn]’, whose valir ‘falcons’ are ravens. Dǫkk- ‘dark’ then describes the birds; so ÍF 26, ÍF 29. The drawback to this analysis is that the word band rarely or never occurs in the sg. in the sense ‘god’ (see LP: band 5), but -bands is nonetheless tentatively adopted here, as the lectio difficilior and the reading with strongest ms. support. (b) The variant -brands could form dǫkkvalir dolgbrands ‘dark falcons of the strife-flame [SWORD > RAVENS/EAGLES]’ (so LP: dǫkkvalr), though raven-kennings rarely have a term for a weapon as the determinant (see Meissner 122). (c) Brands could alternatively form an inverted kenning dolgbrands dǫkkvalir ‘falcons of the pool of the strife-flame [(lit. ‘pool-falcons of the strife-flame’) SWORD > BLOOD > RAVENS/EAGLES]’ (so Finnur Jónsson, Hkr 1893-1901; Skj B). Dolgbrandr ‘strife-flame’ is a stereotypical sword-kenning (see Meissner 150), which in turn provides the determinant of a blood-kenning whose base-word is dǫkk, taken now not as the adj. ‘dark’ but the noun ‘pool’, cf. Kolli Ingdr 4/7, 8^II dǫkk vápna ‘pool of weapons [BLOOD]’ (ms. ‘doct’). (d) The Fsk variant ‘dog(g)’ would point to dǫgg ‘dew’, which would also be suitable in a blood-kenning. — [6] fyr handan ver ‘across the sea’: This adverbial phrase is taken with the intercalary clause in Skj B; Kock (NN §1063) justifiably objects. If the tradition represented in the prose Context is correct, the stanza was composed and delivered in Norway and refers to a battle in Norway, so the phrase presumably refers to the location of the battle on the island of Storð (Stord). — [7] frák ‘I have heard’: The Fsk variant sák ‘I saw’ would establish Glúmr as a participant and eye-witness at Fitjar, as is claimed in HaukrV Ísldr 11^IV. — [7] rauðra benja ‘of red wounds’: Rauðra benja is the order in all mss, and it is retained here, as in ÍF 26 and ÍF 29, but it produces a metrical fault since rauð-, forming the skothending with roð-, should fall on the penultimate syllable. Skj B and Skald reverse the two words, but as well as being an emendation this goes against the expected placing of alliteration on the first element in the noun phrase. — [7-8] reyr rauðra benja ‘reeds of red wounds [SPEARS]’: Reyr(r) ‘reed’ can also occur as the base-word of sword-kennings (Meissner 152). Both reyr n. ‘reed’ and reyrr m. ‘reed’ exist. The word is qualified by the adjectival p. p. roðin(n) ‘reddened’, and the n. nom. pl. form roðin in most mss points to n. pl. reyr here, while m. nom. sg. roðinn in J2ˣ and FskAˣ would point to m. sg. reyrr. — [8] dreyra Hôkunar ‘Hákon’s blood’: This is taken here as acc. sg. object of drekka ‘drink’ (l. 5). Dreyra could alternatively be taken as dat. sg. with p. p. roðin (l. 7), hence ‘(the spears) reddened with Hákon’s blood’.

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. Fms = Sveinbjörn Egilsson et al., eds. 1825-37. Fornmanna sögur eptir gömlum handritum útgefnar að tilhlutun hins norræna fornfræða fèlags. 12 vols. Copenhagen: Popp.
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. Meissner = Meissner, Rudolf. 1921. Die Kenningar der Skalden: Ein Beitrag zur skaldischen Poetik. Rheinische Beiträge und Hülfsbücher zur germanischen Philologie und Volkskunde 1. Bonn and Leipzig: Schroeder. Rpt. 1984. Hildesheim etc.: Olms.
7. 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.
8. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
9. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
10. Hkr 1991 = Bergljót S. Kristjánsdóttir et al., eds. 1991. Heimskringla. 3 vols. Reykjavík: Mál og menning.
11. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
12. Fsk 1902-3 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1902-3. Fagrskinna: Nóregs kononga tal. SUGNL 30. Copenhagen: Møller.
13. ÍF 29 = Ágrip af Nóregskonunga sǫgum; Fagrskinna—Nóregs konungatal. Ed. Bjarni Einarsson. 1985.
14. ÓT 1958-2000 = Ólafur Halldórsson, ed. 1958-2000. Saga Óláfs Tryggvasonar en mesta. 3 vols. EA A 1-3. Copenhagen: Munksgaard (Reitzel).
15. Konráð Gíslason, ed. 1892a. Udvalg af oldnordiske skjaldekvad, med anmærkninger. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
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 19 April 2024)
18. 2022, ‘ Anonymous, Bandamanna saga’ in Margaret Clunies Ross, Kari Ellen Gade and Tarrin Wills (eds), Poetry in Sagas of Icelanders. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 5. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 7-13. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=13> (accessed 19 April 2024)
19. (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 19 April 2024)
20. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta’ 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. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=60> (accessed 19 April 2024)
21. (forthcoming), ‘ Heimskringla, Haralds saga gráfeldar’ 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=138> (accessed 19 April 2024)
22. R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2012, ‘Eyvindr skáldaspillir Finnsson, Hákonarmál 2’ 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. 176.
23. Russell Poole (ed.) 2012, ‘Eyvindr skáldaspillir Finnsson, Lausavísur 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. 215.
24. Russell Poole (ed.) 2012, ‘Eyvindr skáldaspillir Finnsson, Lausavísur 6’ 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. 223.
25. Russell Poole (ed.) 2012, ‘Guthormr sindri, Hákonardrápa 8’ 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. 168.
26. Russell Poole (ed.) 2017, ‘Breta saga 162 (Gunnlaugr Leifsson, Merlínusspá I 94)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 127.
27. Not published: do not cite (HaukrV Ísldr 11^IV)
28. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Kolli inn prúði, Ingadrápa 4’ 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. 531.
29. Diana Whaley (ed.) 2012, ‘Þorvaldr Hjaltason, Lausavísur 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. 271.
30. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2012, ‘Þórðr Særeksson (Sjáreksson), Þórálfs drápa Skólmssonar 2’ 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. 238.
31. Diana Whaley (ed.) 2012, ‘Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld Óttarsson, Óláfsdrápa 2’ 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. 393.