Hhárf Lv 1^I

Mjǫk eru mínir rekkar
til mjǫðgjarnir, fornir
ok hér komnir hárir;
hví eruð ævar margir?

Rekkar mínir, hér komnir fornir ok hárir, eru mjǫk til mjǫðgjarnir; hví eruð ævar margir?

My warriors, having come here aged and grizzled, are far too mead-loving; why are you so very many?

Mss: F(11vb), Kˣ(67v), J1ˣ(38v), J2ˣ(38v) (Hkr)

Readings: [1] Mjǫk: mjǫðr J1ˣ, J2ˣ;    mínir: minni J1ˣ    [2] fornir: bornir Kˣ    [4] hví: om. J2ˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 6, Skj BI, 6, Skald I, 3, NN §1807; Hkr 1777-1826, I, 103, VI, 19, Hkr 1868, 68, Hkr 1893-1901, I, 136, IV, 39, ÍF 26, 127-8, Hkr 1991, 78-9 (HHárf), F 1871, 53.

Context: King Haraldr observes the preparations for a banquet at an estate of his and speaks this helmingr in an undertone. For the second helmingr, see Þjóð Lv 1.

Notes: [All]: For Haraldr’s war-band and life at his court, see also Þjóð Har 1-3, Þjóð Lv 1 and Þhorn Harkv 5-6, 13, 15-23. — [1] mjǫk ‘far’: Mjǫk ‘much, far, greatly’ is here taken as an intensifier with til in l. 2. This is unparalleled, but it may be that mjǫk til is here equivalent to mikilsti ‘too much’ (ModIcel. mikils til of), a possibility suggested by Konráð Gíslason (1892, 47). Mjǫk is taken in the sense ‘in a large number/group’ in Skj B, following Konráð, but this is dubitable; and although the word could be construed as ‘almost’ with komnir in l. 3 (cf. Fritzner: mjǫk 2) this would not make sense in context. — [2] fornir ‘aged’: The word is not commonly applied to humans, but as the reading of F, J1ˣ and J2ˣ it is supported from both branches of the Hkr stemma. Hkr 1991 prefers the reading bornir of Kˣ, though this, too, is not free of semantic problems, as the interpretation offered is ‘My men who have come here are born much too fond of mead, and hoary’. — [3] komnir ‘having come’: Skj B construes the word with eru ‘are’, but Kock (NN §1807) objects that this is unnatural syntax, and the word instead modifies rekkar ‘warriors’, as Uppström (1919, 41) has it.

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. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. 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.
6. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
7. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
8. Hkr 1991 = Bergljót S. Kristjánsdóttir et al., eds. 1991. Heimskringla. 3 vols. Reykjavík: Mál og menning.
9. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
10. Konráð Gíslason, ed. 1892a. Udvalg af oldnordiske skjaldekvad, med anmærkninger. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
11. Uppström, Anders, trans. 1919. ‘Visor ur Snorre Sturlesons Konunga Sǫgur’. In Uppström 1914-19, III, 39-49.
12. Hkr 1777-1826 = Schöning, Gerhard et al., eds. 1777-1826. Heimskringla edr Noregs konunga-sögor. 6 vols. Copenhagen: Stein.
13. Hkr 1868 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1868. Heimskringla eller Norges kongesagaer af Snorre Sturlassøn. Christiania (Oslo): Brøgger & Christie.
14. Internal references
15. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Heimskringla’ 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, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=4> (accessed 19 April 2024)
16. (forthcoming), ‘ Heimskringla, Haralds saga hárfagra’ 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, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=140> (accessed 19 April 2024)
17. R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2012, ‘Þorbjǫrn hornklofi, Haraldskvæði (Hrafnsmál) 5’ 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. 98.
18. R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2012, ‘Þjóðólfr ór Hvini, Poem about Haraldr hárfagri 1’ 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. 61.
19. R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2012, ‘Þjóðólfr ór Hvini, Lausavísur 1’ 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. 64.