Rolf Stavnem (ed.) 2012, ‘Hallar-Steinn, Rekstefja 14’ 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. 912.
Morðlinns mǫrgu sinni
móðþrútinn bjó úti
— húfr svall; hrannir fellu —
hvessimeiðr á skeiðum.
Gyllt hlýr — gnǫpðu skoltar —
gunnfíkinn lét blíkja
herrunnr hǫfnum fjarri.
Hollr ok fremstr at ǫllu.
{Móðþrútinn hvessimeiðr {morðlinns}} bjó mǫrgu sinni úti á skeiðum; húfr svall; hrannir fellu. {Gunnfíkinn herrunnr} lét gyllt hlýr blíkja fjarri hǫfnum; skoltar gnǫpðu. Hollr ok fremstr at ǫllu …
{The courage-swollen whetting pole {of the battle-snake}} [SWORD > WARRIOR] many a time stayed out at sea on his warships; the hull swelled; the waves crashed. {The battle-eager army-tree} [WARRIOR] let the gilded bow gleam far from harbours; foreheads bent forward. Faithful and foremost in all things …
Mss: Bb(111vb-112ra); 61(62rb), 53(60rb), 54(56rb), Bb(91vb-92ra), Flat(60vb) (ÓT)
Readings: [1] ‑linns: so 61, 53, 54, Flat, bands Bb(111vb), lindr or linds Bb(91vb) [2] ‑þrútinn: ‘‑(b)rutin’(?) 53; bjó: svall Flat [5] Gyllt: so 61, Bb(91vb), Flat, ‘gullt’ Bb(111vb), 53, 54; skoltar: so 61, Flat, ‘skalptar’ Bb(111vb), 54, Bb(91vb), skolptar 53 [6] ‑fíkinn: so 61, 53, Flat, ‘‑filínn’ Bb(111vb), 54, Bb(91vb); blíkja: so 61, 53, Flat, blikra Bb(111vb), 54, Bb(91vb) [8] Hollr: hǫll all others
Editions: Skj AI, 546-7, Skj BI, 528, Skald I, 257, NN §1795; ÓT 1958-2000, II, 214 (ch. 234), Flat 1860-8, I, 456; SHI 3, 252-3, CPB II, 297, Wisén 1886-9, I, 47-8, Finnur Jónsson 1893b, 164, Konráð Gíslason 1895-7, I, 234-8.
Context: The stanza concludes a brief passage on the king’s seaborne expeditions during the summers.
Notes: [1] -linns ‘-snake’: The ÓT reading is adopted here since it yields a standard sword-kenning (Meissner 154), and although it produces aðalhending in an odd line, such lines are well attested in Rst (see Introduction). The Bb(111vb) reading bands (ms. ‘bandz’) makes no sense in context and may be a corruption of brandr ‘flame, fire’, which also occurs in sword-kennings (Meissner 150). — [5] skoltar ‘foreheads’: This, the younger form of skolptr (LP: skolptr), is indicated by the skothending on gyllt. The word must refer to the dragon heads or other figure-heads on viking ships. — [6] blíkja ‘gleam’: This, the reading of some ÓT mss, is preferable in terms of sense and rhyme to the rare blikra, which could mean ‘blink’ (CVC: blikra) or (impersonal) ‘quiver (from fright)’ (ONP: blikra). — [8]: For this line of the refrain, see Note to st. 9/8.
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