Hallv Knútdr 8^III

Knútr verr jǫrð sem ítran
alls dróttinn sal fjalla.

Knútr verr jǫrð sem {dróttinn alls} {ítran sal fjalla}.

Knútr defends the earth as {the lord of all} [= God] [defends] {the splendid hall of the mountains} [HEAVEN].

Mss: R(26r), Tˣ(27r), W(56), U(29r), B(5r) (SnE)

Readings: [1] sem: so all others, með R    [2] dróttinn: so all others, dróttni R

Editions: Skj AI, 318, Skj BI, 294, Skald I, 150; SnE 1848-87, I, 320-1, II, 314, 527, III, 49, SnE 1931, 114, SnE 1998, I, 35; Frank 1994b, 121, Jesch 2000, 248.

Context: This stanza is quoted in Skm to illustrate the heaven-kenning salr fjalla ‘hall of the mountains’.

Notes: [All]: These lines, which are likely to be the stef ‘refrain’ in Hallvarðr’s poem, bear an obvious resemblance to the refrains of other poems honouring Knútr. The refrain of Sigv Knútdr^I (sts 3/1, 7/1) views Knútr’s position und himnum ‘under the heavens’, while that of Þloft’s Tøgdr^I (st. 1/1), though incomplete, is similar (und sólar … ‘under the sun’s …’). By far the closest resemblance is with the stef of Þloft Hfl^I: Knútr verr grund sem gætir | Gríklands himinríki ‘Knútr defends the land as the guardian of Greece [= God] [defends] the heavenly kingdom’. Since the likely date for Hfl is c.1027-8, it appears to be Hallvarðr who is the borrower here. As Frank (1994b, 116-17) notes, these four refrains depict Knútr ‘in cosmic high relief’, and in their association of God and king may show influence from Anglo-Saxon royal ideology (see also Fidjestøl 1993b, 106, 118-19). — [2] dróttinn alls ‘the lord of all [= God]’: Alls ‘of all’ is used in the sense ‘of the whole world’, ‘of the universe’. This is the earliest attested occurrence of this word as a determinant in circumlocutions for ‘God’. It was later used by Markús Skeggjason (Mark) in Eirdr 29/2^II (c. 1103-7), and again by Einarr Skúlason (ESk) in Geisl 1/2^VII, 5/4^VII (c. 1153). See LP: allr 2.

References

1. Bibliography
2. 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.
3. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. 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.
5. Jesch, Judith. 2000. ‘Knútr in Poetry and History’. In Dallapiazza et al. 2000, 243-56.
6. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
7. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
8. Fidjestøl, Bjarne. 1993b. ‘Pagan Beliefs and Christian Impact: The Contribution of Scaldic Studies’. In Faulkes et al. 1993, 100-20.
9. Frank, Roberta. 1994b. ‘King Cnut in the Verse of his Skalds’. In Rumble 1994, 106-24.
10. Internal references
11. Kari Ellen Gade 2017, ‘(Biography of) Einarr Skúlason’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 140.
12. (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 26 April 2024)
13. Jayne Carroll 2017, ‘(Biography of) Markús Skeggjason’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 292.
14. Matthew Townend 2012, ‘ Sigvatr Þórðarson, Knútsdrápa’ 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. 649. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1356> (accessed 26 April 2024)
15. Matthew Townend 2012, ‘ Þórarinn loftunga, Hǫfuðlausn’ 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. 849. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1453> (accessed 26 April 2024)
16. Matthew Townend 2012, ‘ Þórarinn loftunga, Tøgdrápa’ 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. 851. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1454> (accessed 26 April 2024)
17. Martin Chase (ed.) 2007, ‘Einarr Skúlason, Geisli 1’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 7.
18. Jayne Carroll (ed.) 2009, ‘Markús Skeggjason, Eiríksdrápa 29’ 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. 458-9.