HSt Rst 11^I

Ísland éla skyndir
ítr lista vann kristnat
gollmildr Grœnaveldi
Gǫndlar þey*s ok Eyjar.
Handvíst Hjalta grundar
hann sem Nóregs manna
hôttu hilmir bœtti.
Hollr ok fremstr at ǫllu.

{Gollmildr skyndir {éla {þey*s Gǫndlar}}}, ítr lista, vann kristnat Ísland, Grœnaveldi ok Eyjar. Hann, hilmir, bœtti handvíst hôttu manna Nóregs sem {grundar Hjalta}. Hollr ok fremstr at ǫllu …

{The gold-generous hastener {of the storms {of the thawing wind of Gǫndul <valkyrie>}}} [BATTLE > ARROWS > WARRIOR], splendid in accomplishments, made Iceland, Greenland and the Isles [Orkney] Christian. He, the ruler, improved most certainly the way of life of the people of Norway as well as {of the land of the Shetlanders} [= Shetland]. Faithful and foremost in all things …

Mss: Bb(111vb) (ÓT)

Readings: [4] Gǫndlar: ‘gvnnlar’ Bb;    þey*s: ‘þeyrs’ Bb

Editions: Skj AI, 546, Skj BI, 527-8, Skald I, 257, NN §2094; SHI 3, 250-1, CPB II, 297, Wisén 1886-9, I, 47, Finnur Jónsson 1893b, 164, Konráð Gíslason 1895-7, I, 221-3.

Notes: [1, 4] skyndir éla þey*s Gǫndlar ‘hastener of the storms of the thawing wind of Gǫndul <valkyrie> [BATTLE > ARROWS > WARRIOR]’: (a) The minor emendation of þeyrs to þeys produces an acceptable kenning structure, with þeys Gǫndlar ‘of the thawing wind of Gǫndul [BATTLE]’ as the determinant of a kenning for ‘arrows’ or ‘arrow-showers’ (cf. SnE 1998, I, 67 for kennings for missiles based on terms referring to precipitation such as hagl ‘hail’). (b) Since þeyr ‘thawing wind’ and él ‘storm’ can both function as the base-word of a battle-kenning, this kenning could be seen as overloaded, and Konráð Gíslason (1895-7) seems to regard éla ‘storms’ as a redundant element in the battle-kenning éla Gǫndlar þeys ‘the storms of Gǫndul’s thawing wind’ rather than being an independent kenning element. There is a possible parallel to this in the use of hríð ‘storm’ in st. 34/6, 7 (see Note). — [3] Grœnaveldi ‘Greenland’: Lit. ‘Green realm’, a play on the usual name Grœn(a)land. — [4] Eyjar ‘the Isles’: That Orkney is meant is suggested by external historical sources (cited by Konráð Gíslason 1895-7), and the reference to Shetland in l. 5; Eyjar also refers to Orkney, e.g., in TorfE Lv 2/3, Anon Óldr 12/2. — [5] handvíst ‘most certainly’: Lit. ‘hand certainly’, a cpd adj. used adverbially. Although rare, it occurs in Sjórs Lv 3/6^II. — [6, 7] hann, hilmir ‘he, the ruler’: Apposition is relatively common in Rst, and the use of the pron. hann in apposition is paralleled in the refrain (Hann, Óláfr): see Note to st. 9/8. — [8]: For this line of the refrain, see Note to st. 9/8.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
3. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. CPB = Gudbrand Vigfusson [Guðbrandur Vigfússon] and F. York Powell, eds. 1883. Corpus poeticum boreale: The Poetry of the Old Northern Tongue from the Earliest Times to the Thirteenth Century. 2 vols. Oxford: Clarendon. Rpt. 1965, New York: Russell & Russell.
5. Wisén, Theodor, ed. 1886-9. Carmina Norrœnæ: Ex reliquiis vetustioris norrœnæ poësis selecta, recognita, commentariis et glossario instructa. 2 vols. Lund: Ohlsson.
6. Finnur Jónsson. 1893b. Carmina Norrœna: Rettet Tekst. Copenhagen: Nielsen & Lydiche.
7. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
8. Konráð Gíslason. 1895-7. Efterladte skrifter. 2 vols. I: Forelæsninger over oldnordiske skjaldekvad. II: Forelæsninger og videnskablige afhandlinger. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
9. SHI = Sveinbjörn Egilsson, ed. 1828-46. Scripta historica islandorum de rebus gestis veterum borealium, latine reddita et apparatu critico instructa, curante Societate regia antiquariorum septentrionalium. 12 vols. Copenhagen: Popp etc. and London: John & Arthur Arch.
10. Internal references
11. Kate Heslop (ed.) 2012, ‘Anonymous Poems, Óláfs drápa Tryggvasonar 12’ 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. 1044.
12. Rolf Stavnem 2012, ‘ Hallar-Steinn, Rekstefja’ 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. 893. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1237> (accessed 20 April 2024)
13. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Sigurðr jórsalafari Magnússon, Lausavísur 3’ 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, pp. 468-9.
14. Russell Poole (ed.) 2012, ‘Torf-Einarr Rǫgnvaldsson, Lausavísur 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. 133.