Mark Eirdr 5^II

Drengir þôgu auð af yngva;
ǫrr fylkir gaf sverð ok knǫrru;
Eirekr veitti opt ok stórum
armleggjar rǫf dýrðarseggjum.
Hringum eyddi harra sløngvir
hildarramr, en stillir framði
fyrða kyn, svát flestir urðu,
Fróða stóls, af hônum góðir.

Drengir þôgu auð af yngva; ǫrr fylkir gaf sverð ok knǫrru; Eirekr veitti dýrðarseggjum opt ok stórum {rǫf armleggjar}. {Hildarramr sløngvir harra} eyddi hringum, en {stillir {stóls Fróða}} framði kyn fyrða, svát flestir urðu góðir af hônum.

The warriors received wealth from the king; the generous leader gave swords and merchantships; Eiríkr granted glorious men often and freely {the amber of the arm} [GOLD]. {The battle-mighty disperser of lords} [RULER] destroyed rings, and {the controller {of Fróði’s seat}} [= Denmark > = Eiríkr] advanced the kin of men, so that most became wealthy through him.

Mss: JÓ(144), 873ˣ(48v), 20b I(6v), 180b(29r) (Knýtl)

Readings: [1] af: at 20b I, 180b    [4] dýrðar: dýrum 180b    [5] sløngvir: so 20b I, 180b, sløngvit JÓ, 873ˣ    [7] kyn: so 20b I, 180b, kyns JÓ, 873ˣ;    svát (‘svá at’): at 180b

Editions: Skj AI, 445-6, Skj BI, 415, Skald I, 205-6; JÓ 1741, 144-5, ÍF 35, 214-15 (ch. 71).

Context: The st. illustrates Eiríkr’s munificence.

Notes: [All]: For a similar display of royal generosity, see Steinn Óldr 13-16. — [1] drengir ‘warriors’: For this meaning of the word, see Goetting 2006. — [1] af ‘from’: Skj B, Skald and ÍF 35 all prefer at ‘from’ (so 20b I, 180b), which is also possible. — [2] knǫrru ‘merchantships’: See Note to Steinn Óldr 13/2. — [4] dýrðarseggjum ‘glorious men’: Dýrum seggjum ‘precious men’ (so 180b) is also possible but clearly a later simplification. The cpd dýrðarseggjum is a hap. leg. See also Note to st. 3/1 above. — [5] eyddi hringum ‘destroyed rings’: I.e. he distributed treasures. — [5] harra (m. gen. pl.) ‘of lords’: Earlier eds follow Skj B in emending harra to hodda ‘treasures’ (sløngvir hodda ‘the distributor of treasures’, i.e. ‘generous king’), presumably because sløngvir ‘disperser’ is normally qualified by inanimate determinants, especially ones referring to ‘treasure’. Given the ring-distributing context, this is appropriate if tautologous. However, all mss agree on harra, and LP: sløngvir offers a feasible extended meaning for the base-word sløngvir, coupled with harra: som fælder konger (jager dem bort) ‘who fells kings (drives them away)’. — [8] stóls Fróða ‘of Fróði’s seat [= Denmark]’: There are several legendary kings named Fróði (see SnE 1998, II, 460). Here two are most likely alluded to: the Fróði I (inn friðgóði ‘the peaceful’) of the Dan. Skjǫldungr dynasty (ÍF 35, liv-lv, 14) and the legendary figure associated with Fróði’s mill, who sets the two giantesses Fenja and Menja to grind gold for him, as told in Grottasǫngr (Grott, see SnE 1998, I, 51-7). Thus stóls Fróða not only refers to Eiríkr’s Dan. realm, but also to the wealth which is his to disperse. It is possible, although less satisfactory, to take this phrase as qualifying fyrða kyn: kyn fyrða stóls Fróða ‘the kin of men of Fróði’s seat’ i.e. ‘Danes’.

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. 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. ÍF 35 = Danakonunga sǫgur. Ed. Bjarni Guðnason. 1982.
6. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
7. Goetting, Lauren. 2006. ‘Þegn and drengr in the Viking Age’. SS 78, 375-404.
8. JÓ 1741 = Jón Ólafsson, ed. 1741. Æfi dana-konunga eda Knytlinga saga: Historia Cnutidarum regum Daniæ. Copenhagen: [n. p.].
9. Internal references
10. Not published: do not cite ()
11. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Steinn Herdísarson, Óláfsdrápa 13’ 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. 378-9.