Jór Send 4^I

Hvar vitu einka ǫrvir
ǫrveðrs frama gǫrvan
tinglrýrǫndum tungla
tveir jǫfrar veg meira,
an geðharðir gerðu
golls landrekar þollum
— upp angr of hófsk yngva —
óblinds fyr lof Sindra?

Hvar vitu tveir einka ǫrvir jǫfrar meira veg, frama {ǫrveðrs} gǫrvan {{tungla tingl}rýrǫndum}, an geðharðir landrekar gerðu {þollum golls} fyr lof óblinds Sindra? Angr yngva of hófsk upp.

Where do two especially brave princes know of greater honour, fame {of arrow-storm} [BATTLE], granted {to destroyers {of moons of the prow-board}} [(lit. ‘prow-board-destroyers of moons’) SHIELDS > WARRIORS] than tough-minded land-rulers granted {to firs of gold} [MEN] because of the praise of clear-sighted Sindri (‘Spark’ (?))? The trouble of the princes was lifted.

Mss: 75c(1r) (ÓH)

Readings: [1] vitu: vita 75c    [2] gǫrvan: ‘ger(van)’(?) 75c    [5] gerðu: ‘gerd(u)’(?) 75c    [6] landrekar: ‘landr(ekar)’(?) 75c    [8] óblinds: óblindr 75c

Editions: Skj AI, 60, Skj BI, 53, Skald I, 33-4, NN §§248, 1925; ÓH 1941, I, 12 (ch. 3).

Context: As for sts 2 and 3.

Notes: [All]: Though somewhat unclear in the ms., the readings (normalised) gǫrvan ‘granted’ (l. 2), gerðu ‘granted’ (l. 5) and landrekar ‘land-rulers’ (l. 6) are also printed in Skj A and ÓH 1941, and give good sense in context. — [All]: The stanza (which is complemented by st. 5) seems to refer to the general benefit that resulted when the landrekar ‘land-rulers’, Haraldr and Hálfdan, agreed to make peace as a reward for Guthormr’s poetry. — [1] vitu (3rd pers. pl. pres. indic.) ‘know of’: The ms. form vita may well be a later, analogical form (ANG §532.4), in which case vitu is a normalisation rather than emendation. — [1] einka ‘especially’: eink (f.), usually in the gen. sg. form einkar, is mostly found in poetry of the C12th or later, and this may be a further indication of the late date of this poem, though here it is gen. pl. — [3] tingl- ‘the prow-board’: An uncommon word which may echo Guthormr sindri (see Introduction). On its meaning, see Note to Þhorn Harkv 7/8. — [4] meira veg ‘greater honour’: Finnur Jónsson (Skj B; LP: vegmikill) takes vegmeira as a cpd adj., comp. of a hap. leg. vegmikill ‘possessing great honour’, and takes this as qualifying frama ‘fame’. — [6] landrekar ‘land-rulers’: On the ‘borderline kenning’ landreki ‘land-ruler’, see Note to ÞjóðA Magnfl 17/8^II. — [7]: The line is unusual in having three (vocalic) alliterating staves. — [7] of hófsk upp ‘was lifted’: Hefjask upp normally means ‘begin’, but the context seems to demand the opposite meaning, ‘cease’; here it is taken as a m. v. form of hefja upp ‘lift’, with that meaning. Of is the expletive particle. — [8] óblinds ‘clear-sighted’: Lit. ‘un-blind’. The minor emendation of nom. sg. -blindr to gen. sg. -blinds is unavoidable.  — [8] Sindra ‘Sindri (“Spark” (?))’: The poet Guthormr sindri (Gsind): see Biographies of Guthormr and Jórunn, and Introduction to Send.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skj A = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15a. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. A: Tekst efter håndskrifterne. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1967. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
3. Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
4. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
6. 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.
7. ANG = Noreen, Adolf. 1923. Altnordische Grammatik I: Altisländische und altnorwegische Grammatik (Laut- und Flexionslehre) unter Berücksichtigung des Urnordischen. 4th edn. Halle: Niemeyer. 1st edn. 1884. 5th unrev. edn. 1970. Tübingen: Niemeyer.
8. ÓH 1941 = Johnsen, Oscar Albert and Jón Helgason, eds. 1941. Saga Óláfs konungs hins helga: Den store saga om Olav den hellige efter pergamenthåndskrift i Kungliga biblioteket i Stockholm nr. 2 4^to med varianter fra andre håndskrifter. 2 vols. Det norske historiske kildeskriftfond skrifter 53. Oslo: Dybwad.
9. Internal references
10. Russell Poole 2012, ‘(Biography of) Guthormr sindri’ 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. 154.
11. Judith Jesch 2012, ‘ Jórunn skáldmær, Sendibítr’ 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. 143. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1286> (accessed 16 April 2024)
12. R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2012, ‘Þorbjǫrn hornklofi, Haraldskvæði (Hrafnsmál) 7’ 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. 100.
13. Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Þjóðólfr Arnórsson, Magnússflokkr 17’ 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. 84-5.