Mark Knútr 1^III

Ríkr es harra hneykir;
heldr goð jǫfurs veldi
sanndyggs; vitut seggir
Sveins brœðr konung œðra.

{Hneykir harra} es ríkr; goð heldr veldi sanndyggs jǫfurs; seggir vitut konung œðra {brœðr Sveins}.

{The confounder of lords} [RULER] is mighty; God supports the power of the truly loyal prince; men do not know a king superior to {Sveinn’s brother} [= Knútr Sveinsson].

Mss: A(15r), B(6v), 744ˣ(41v) (SnE)

Readings: [1] hneykir: ‘. neýkir’ 744ˣ    [3] vitut: ‘u.tud’ 744ˣ;    seggir: sennir 744ˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 452, Skj BI, 420,  Skald I, 208; SnE 1848-87, II, 461, 540, SnE 1931, 182, SnE 1998, I, 221.

Context: The helmingr is cited in Skm to illustrate the poetic use of the names of the sons of the legendary king Hálfdan inn gamli ‘the Old’. His ninth son was Harri or Herra, which means ‘lord’.

Notes: [All]: In mss A and B this half-stanza replaces Mark Eirdr 1^II, which is cited in the corresponding section of Skm in mss R, Tˣ, U, C to illustrate the poetic use of Harri. — [1] ríkr ‘mighty’: This adj. could have been chosen consciously as a reference to Knútr inn ríki ‘the Mighty’ Sveinsson (Cnut the Great, d. 1035), thus eulogising Knútr by establishing a tie to his famous relative and namesake. — [1] hneykir ‘the confounder’: For this base-word, see also ÞjóðA Sex 8/1^II. — [2] veldi ‘the power’: Could also mean ‘realm’. — [4] brœðr Sveins ‘Sveinn’s brother [= Knútr Sveinsson]’: Sveinn Úlfsson, Knútr’s father, had two sons called Sveinn, one with Gunnhildr, daughter of the Norwegian Sveinn jarl Hákonarson, and one with a concubine (see ÍF 35, 135 and Genealogy II). For Knútr inn helgi ‘the Holy’ Sveinsson (S. Knútr), see ÍF 35, 358.

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. ÍF 35 = Danakonunga sǫgur. Ed. Bjarni Guðnason. 1982.
5. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
6. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
7. Internal references
8. (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 3 May 2024)
9. Jayne Carroll (ed.) 2009, ‘Markús Skeggjason, Eiríksdrápa 1’ 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. 433-4.
10. Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Þjóðólfr Arnórsson, Sexstefja 8’ 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. 120.