Refr Frag 1^III

This helmingr (Refr Frag 1) is preserved in Skm (SnE) (mss R (main ms.), Tˣ, W, U, A, C) and in LaufE (2368ˣ), and it apparently deals with the amorous adventures of a young man. Finnur Jónsson’s (LH I, 600) suggestion that the stanza refers to Vagn Ákason of Jómsvíkinga saga and his love affair with Ingibjǫrg, the daughter of his opponent Þorkell leira ‘Clay’, lacks textual basis. Equally implausible are Faulkes’s (SnE 1998, I, 193) speculations that the helmingr might have a symbolic meaning: ‘The phrase gekk í meyjar sæing [‘went into the bed of the woman’] may be metaphorical if the woman concerned is symbolic (e.g. of death (= Hel) or battle (= Hildr …)’.

Gekk í golli stokkna
gjǫfrífr Hôars drífu
askr — viðr œrinn þroska
ǫs-Freyr — sæing meyjar.

{Gjǫfrífr askr {drífu Hôars}} gekk í golli stokkna sæing meyjar; {ǫs-Freyr} viðr œrinn þroska.

{The gift-rash ash-tree {of the snow-storm of Hárr <= Óðinn>}} [BATTLE > WARRIOR] went into the gold-adorned bed of the woman; {the tumult-Freyr <god>} [WARRIOR] performs plenty of manly deeds.

Mss: R(33v), Tˣ(35r), W(76), U(32r), A(10v), C(5r) (SnE); 2368ˣ(114) (LaufE)

Readings: [1] Gekk: gakk U;    stokkna: ‘stockua’ 2368ˣ    [2] gjǫf‑: gjaf‑ C;    ‑rífr: ríkr Tˣ;    Hôars: ‘has’ U, C;    drífu: ‘d[…]’ U    [3] viðr: so Tˣ, W, 2368ˣ, við R, U, C, vinnr A;    œrinn: œrin U, yfrinn A    [4] ǫs‑ (‘as‑’): so W, 2368ˣ, ‘es‑’ R, Tˣ, egg‑ U, él‑ A, C;    Freyr: ‑þeys U;    sæing: ‘sæ[…]’ U;    meyjar: ‘mey[…]’ U

Editions: Skj AI, 321, Skj BI, 297, Skald I, 151, NN §§1128, 1853A, 2988H; SnE 1848-87, I, 414-15, II, 325, 436-7, 585, III, 76, SnE 1931, 148, SnE 1998, I, 65; LaufE 1979, 373.

Context: The helmingr is cited in Skm (SnE) and LaufE exemplifying the use of tree-names as base-words in kennings for ‘man’.

Notes: [All]: Skj B takes as-Freyr ‘the tumult-Freyr’ (on the choice of as- as the first element of the cpd, see Note to l. 4 below) as the subject of the main clause and askr drífu Hars ‘ash-tree of the snow-storm of Hárr’ as the subject of the intercalary clause. There is no reason to change the straightforward word order of the stanza, however, in which ǫs-Freyr ‘the tumult-Freyr’ appears as the subject of the intercalary clause. — [3] viðr ‘performs’: Unlike Finnur Jónsson (Skj B), Faulkes (SnE 1998) and the present edn, Kock (NN §1128) does not interpret this word as a verb (3rd pers. sg. pres. indic. of vinna ‘perform’), but rather as the prep. við ‘with’, which he combines with œrinn þroska ‘plenty of manly deeds’. He takes the subject of the intercalary clause which he reads él-Freyr (mss A, C) ‘storm-Freyr’, as an apposition to askr drífu Hars ‘ash-tree of the snow-storm of Hárr’ and combines við with œrinn þroska meaning ‘with enormous manly power’. Faulkes (SnE 1998, I, 193) objects that ‘við would not normally be used with this meaning’ (however, see Fritzner: við 10 and LP: við 7). In any case, the A variant vinnr, the more common 3rd pers. sg. pres. indic. form of vinna and a variant form of viðr (so mss Tˣ, W, 2368ˣ), suggests that the latter is the verb rather than the prep. við. — [4] ǫs-Freyr ‘the tumult-Freyr <god> [WARRIOR]’: The mss offer different variants of the first element of this cpd: ‘es-’ (R, Tˣ), ‘as-’ (W, 2368ˣ), ‘el-’ (A, C), and ‘egg-’ (U). As all of them cause problems, it is difficult to opt for one of them. (a) This edn adopts the reading ‘as-’ (W, 2368ˣ) normalized to ǫs ‘tumult, battle’ (see LP: ǫs) as did Finnur Jónsson (Skj B and LP: es-Freyr). He follows a suggestion by Konráð Gíslason (Nj 1875-89, II, 317 n. 285), who calls attention to the uncommon word ǫs ‘tumult’, which is attested in poetry (see LP: ǫs) but not in Old Norse prose (but cf. ModNorw. as ‘toil, racket’). But even Konráð Gíslason and Finnur Jónsson (LP: es-Freyr) expressed doubts about this interpretation. (b) Kock (NN §1128) adopts él-Freyr ‘the storm-Freyr’ (so A, C) as a warrior kenning. Faulkes (SnE 1998, I, 193) considers this option as well, although he settles on *as-Freyr in the text of his edn (SnE 1998, I, 65); he interprets as- or él-Freyr as a warrior-kenning and translates it as ‘tumult-/storm- (of battle) Freyr’ (SnE 1998, II, 236, 265). However, él does not mean ‘battle’ but ‘storm’ and though it does appear as a base-word in battle-kennings, it always requires a determinant (‘weapon’, ‘valkyrie’, ‘sea-king’ etc.). (c) It is not possible to construe a warrior-kenning with egg- (U), as egg- is part of the cpd eggþeys ‘of the sword-dew’. (d) Another solution could be to opt for ‘es’ from the main ms. R (also found in Tˣ), normalised to ess ‘steed’. Ess is a loanword whose origin has been explained in various ways – either from OE ess (so Fritzner: ess, but the word cannot be found in Old English dictionaries) or from MLG örs, ors (so AEW: ers, ess). Ess-Freyr ‘the steed-Freyr’ could be taken as an unusual ad hoc kenning for ‘lover’ formed to suit the situation (sexual activity). Cf. the sexual symbolism in Bósa saga, in which intercourse is expressed in Ek vil brynna fola mínum í vínkeldu þinni ‘I want to water my foal in your wine-well’ (Bósa saga ch. 11, Jiriczek 1893, 39-40). The choice of ess might be supported by its presence in the main ms. and by its status as lectio difficilior. The problem is the very unusual kenning.

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. Nj 1875-89 = Konráð Gíslason and Eiríkur Jónsson. 1875-89. Njála: Udgivet efter gamle håndskrifter. Íslendingasögur udgivne efter gamle haandskrifter af Det Kongelige Nordiske Oldskrift-selskab 4. Copenhagen: Thiele.
5. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
6. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
7. LaufE 1979 = Faulkes, Anthony, ed. 1979. Edda Magnúsar Ólafssonar (Laufás Edda). RSÁM 13. Vol. I of Two Versions of Snorra Edda from the 17th Century. Reykjavík: Stofnun Árna Magnússonar, 1977-9.
8. Jiriczek, Otto L., ed. 1893. Die Bósa-Saga in zwei Fassungen nebst Proben aus den Bósa-Rímur. Strassburg: Karl J. Trübner.
9. AEW = Vries, Jan de. 1962. Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch. 2nd rev. edn. Rpt. 1977. Leiden: Brill.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. LH = Finnur Jónsson. 1920-4. Den oldnorske og oldislandske litteraturs historie. 3 vols. 2nd edn. Copenhagen: Gad.
13. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
14. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
15. Internal references
16. 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].
17. 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Bósa saga’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 25. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=46> (accessed 20 April 2024)
18. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Jómsvíkinga saga’ 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=51> (accessed 20 April 2024)
19. (forthcoming), ‘ Snorri Sturluson, Skáldskaparmál’ 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=112> (accessed 20 April 2024)
20. Matthew Townend 2012, ‘(Biography of) Vagn Ákason’ 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. 365.
21. Edith Marold (ed.) 2017, ‘Hofgarða-Refr Gestsson, Fragments 1’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 259.
22. R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2022, ‘Njáls saga 18 (Skarpheðinn Njálsson, Lausavísur 3)’ 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, p. 1243.
23. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Laufás Edda’ 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=10928> (accessed 20 April 2024)