HSt Rst 20^I

Myrkt hregg mækis eggja
meinilla gekk Sveini;
drótt hné dreyra þrútin;
Danir skunduðu undan.
Tandr beit — tiggi renndi
tveim dǫglingum — Skǫglar;
hans vǫrn hœfðisk firnum.
Hollr ok fremstr at ǫllu.

{Myrkt hregg eggja mækis} gekk meinilla Sveini; drótt hné þrútin dreyra; Danir skunduðu undan. {Tandr Skǫglar} beit; tiggi renndi tveim dǫglingum; vǫrn hans hœfðisk firnum. Hollr ok fremstr at ǫllu …

{The dark storm of blades of swords} [BATTLE] went very badly for Sveinn; the troop fell, swollen with blood; the Danes hurried away. {The flame of Skǫgul <valkyrie>} [SWORD] bit; the ruler [Óláfr] made two princes flee; his defence was exceptionally fitting. Faithful and foremost in all things …

Mss: Bb(112ra); 53(64rb) (ll. 1-4), 53(64va) (ll. 5-8), 54(64rb) (ll. 1-4), 54(64va) (ll. 5-8), Bb(99vb) (ll. 1-4), Bb(100ra) (ll. 5-8), Flat(64va) (ll. 1-4) (ÓT)

Readings: [1] eggja: eggjar 53, Flat    [3] drótt hné dreyra þrútin: sôr frá ek drengjum dreyra all others    [5] Tandr: so 53, 54, Flat, ‘tavdr’ Bb(112ra), gandr Bb(100ra);    beit: flaug all others    [6] tveim: ‘teim’ Bb(100ra);    dǫglingum: so all others, dǫgling Bb(112ra);    Skǫglar: Skǫgla 54, Bb(100ra)    [7] vǫrn: vegr all others;    hœfðisk: hefðisk Bb(112ra), hófsk 53, 54, Bb(100ra);    firnum: með sigri all others    [8] Hollr: hǫll all;    ǫllu: hollu 53

Editions: Skj AI, 548, Skj BI, 530, Skald I, 258, NN §1181; ÓT 1958-2000, II, 268, 271 (ch. 250), Flat 1860-8, I, 483, 485; SHI 3, 256-9, CPB II, 298, Wisén 1886-9, I, 48, Finnur Jónsson 1893b, 164, Konráð Gíslason 1895-7, I, 253-6.

Context: As the Norwegians clear Danish ships, Sveinn and the surviving Danes retreat onto other vessels, proving a previous claim by King Óláfr that the Danes could never defeat the Norwegians. The first helmingr is then quoted. The second follows a summary statement that Óláfr made the Danes and Swedes flee. 

Notes: [1] myrkt ‘dark’: The adj. reinforces the metaphorical sense of the battle as a storm. — [3] drótt hné þrútin dreya ‘the troop fell, swollen with blood’: The alternative line in ÓT, sôr frák drengjum dreyra ‘I have heard [there were] wounds with blood on the men’ is somewhat strained, and diverges from the normal metrical pattern in Rst as the first alliteration does not fall in position 1 or 2. — [5] beit ‘bit’: The alternative is flaug ‘flew’ in ÓT, but this is less convincing since the subject is a sword-kenning. — [6] tveim dǫglingum ‘two princes’: Presumably this summarises the successful actions against the Swedes under Óláfr Eiríksson and the Danes under Sveinn tjúguskegg; cf. þriðja sinni ‘for the third time’ when Eiríkr jarl enters the battle in st. 21/3. — [7] vǫrn hans hœfðisk firnum ‘his defence was exceptionally fitting’: This entails the minimal emendation of hefðisk to hœfðisk, cf. hœfði ‘could match, was suitable’ in st. 12/7. The alternative line in ÓT, vegr hans hófsk með sigri ‘his honour was raised up with victory’, is also feasible. — [7] firnum ‘exceptionally’: The dat. pl. here functions as an intensifying adv., like the more usual firna (see st. 9/2 and Note). — [8]: For this line of the refrain, see Note to st. 9/8. Hollr ‘faithful’ is an emendation here, but it is the reading of Bb(111vb) in st. 11/8.

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. Flat 1860-8 = Gudbrand Vigfusson [Guðbrandur Vigfússon] and C. R. Unger, eds. 1860-8. Flateyjarbók. En samling af norske konge-sagaer med indskudte mindre fortællinger om begivenheder i og udenfor Norge samt annaler. 3 vols. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
8. Konráð Gíslason. 1895-7. Efterladte skrifter. 2 vols. I: Forelæsninger over oldnordiske skjaldekvad. II: Forelæsninger og videnskablige afhandlinger. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
9. ÓT 1958-2000 = Ólafur Halldórsson, ed. 1958-2000. Saga Óláfs Tryggvasonar en mesta. 3 vols. EA A 1-3. Copenhagen: Munksgaard (Reitzel).
10. 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.
11. Internal references
12. (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 25 April 2024)
13. 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 25 April 2024)