Mark Lv 1^III

This lausavísa (Mark Lv 1) is transmitted in Skm (SnE; mss R (main ms.), Tˣ, W, U (ll. 5-8) and A), as well as in TGT (W, ll. 5-6). It is attributed to Markús in all mss and appears to describe a sea-journey from Iceland to mainland Scandinavia (see Frank 1978, 47-8). The stanza was copied from W(80) in LaufE (see LaufE 1979, 304, 393) and from a LaufE ms. in RE 1665(Kk3). Neither LaufE nor RE 1665 has any independent value. Markús employs three different heiti for ‘bear’ in this stanza, and these heiti have been given their literal translation in the present edition (see Translation and Note to [All] below).

Fjarðlinna óð fannir
fast vetrliði rastar;
hljóp of húna gnípur
hvalranns íugtanni.
Bjǫrn gekk framm á fornar
flóðs hafskíða slóðir;
skúrǫrðigr braut skorðu
skers glymfjǫtur bersi.

{Vetrliði rastar} óð fast {fannir {fjarðlinna}}; {íugtanni {hvalranns}} hljóp of {gnípur húna}. {Bjǫrn flóðs} gekk framm á {fornar slóðir {hafskíða}}; {skúrǫrðigr bersi skorðu} braut {glymfjǫtur skers}.

{The winter-survivor <bear> of the maelstrom} [SHIP] waded steadily {through the snowdrifts {of fjord-snakes}} [FISH > WAVES]; {the greedy-toothed one <bear> {of the whale-house}} [SEA > SHIP] leapt across {crags of mastheads} [WAVES]. {The bear of the flood} [SHIP] went forward on {the old tracks {of ocean-skis}} [SHIPS > WAVES]; {the storm-battling little bear of the prop} [SHIP] broke {the resounding fetter of the skerry} [SEA].

Mss: R(35r), Tˣ(36v), W(80), U(34r) (ll. 5-8), A(12r) (SnE); W(108) (TGT, ll. 5-6)

Readings: [2] vetr‑: so A, corrected from veðr‑ R, veðr‑ Tˣ, W    [3] húna: so W, hvíta R, A, hvítar Tˣ    [4] hvalranns íugtanni: hval þann íugtanni R, hval vígtanni Tˣ, hval íugtanni hranna W, hvallands íugtanni A    [6] ‑skíða: ‑skipa all others;    slóðir: glóðir W    [7] skúr‑: skrúð‑ U;    ‑ǫrðigr: ǫrðugr Tˣ    [8] glym‑: gunn U

Editions: Skj AI, 452, Skj BI, 421, Skald I, 208; SnE 1848-87, I, 442-3, II, 332, 443, III, 87, SnE 1931, 157, SnE 1998, I, 75; SnE 1848-87, II, 160-1, TGT 1884, 27, 104, TGT 1927, 76, 105.

Context: The kennings in this stanza are given in Skm among the examples of terms for ‘ship’, and bjǫrn flóðs ‘bear of the flood’ illustrates a metaphor for ‘ship’ in TGT.

Notes: [All]: The heiti for ‘bear’ in this stanza are given in Þul Bjarnar: vetrliði lit. ‘winter-survivor’ (l. 2), íugtanni lit. ‘greedy-toothed one’ (l. 4) and bersi ‘little bear’ (l. 8). See Þul Bjarnar ll. 1, 10, 11 and Notes there. — [All]: For an excellent discussion of the imagery contained in this stanza, see Frank (1978, 46-9). — [3] gnípur húna ‘crags of mastheads [WAVES]’: So W. The reading of Tˣ, hvítar ‘white’, leaves the kenning without a determinant (hvítar gnípur ‘white crags’), and hvíta m. acc. pl. in R, A is ungrammatical because gnípur is f. acc. pl. For húnn ‘masthead’, see Note to Þul Skipa 7/1. Húnn also means ‘bear-cub’ (see Þul Bjarnar l. 9), and the word could have been chosen in keeping with the bear imagery of this stanza (cf. Frank 1978, 49). — [4] hvalranns ‘of the whale-house [SEA]’: The present emendation follows Skj B and Skald. The R reading, þann íugtanni hvals lit. ‘that greedy-toothed one <bear> of the whale’, fails to conform to any known kenning pattern for ‘ship’. The Tˣ variant (hval vígtanni) is hypometrical, and the A variant (hvallands íugtanni) does not contain the required aðalhending. The reading of W (hval íugtanni hranna) is unmetrical with resolution in metrical position 2, and hval m. acc. sg. ‘whale’ cannot be accommodated syntactically. Faulkes (SnE 1998) construes ll. 3-4 as hljóp of *húna ‑gnípur | hvals *rann- íugtanni i.e. íugtanni húna hljóp of ranngnípur hvals ‘the bear of mastheads [SHIP] ran over the peaks of the whale’s house [SEA > WAVES]’, which results in a highly tortuous word order. — [6] hafskíða ‘of ocean-skis [SHIPS]’: This reading is found only in R. Hafskipa ‘of ocean-going ships’ (so all others) is also possible, but looks like a lectio facilior. — [7] skúrǫrðigr ‘storm-battling’: The sense of the adj. ǫrðigr is ‘standing on end, standing up, tall, steep, upright’, ‘difficult, hard, contrary’, ‘eager, brave’ (see Heggstad et al. 2008: ǫrðigr). In the present context, skúrǫrðigr captures the image of the bucking ship as a bear standing on its hind legs fighting against an enemy, here, skúr ‘shower, storm’. — [7] skorðu ‘of the prop’: One of the wooden posts or props supporting a beached ship.

References

1. Bibliography
2. TGT 1884 = Björn Magnússon Ólsen, ed. 1884. Den tredje og fjærde grammatiske afhandling i Snorres Edda tilligemed de grammatiske afhandlingers prolog og to andre tillæg. SUGNL 12. Copenhagen: Knudtzon.
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. 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.
5. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
6. LaufE 1979 = Faulkes, Anthony, ed. 1979. Edda Magnúsar Ólafssonar (Laufás Edda). RSÁM 13. Vol. I of Two Versions of Snorra Edda from the 17th Century. Reykjavík: Stofnun Árna Magnússonar, 1977-9.
7. Frank, Roberta. 1978. Old Norse Court Poetry: The Dróttkvætt Stanza. Islandica 42. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press.
8. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
9. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
10. TGT 1927 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1927b. Óláfr Þórðarson: Málhljóða- og málskrúðsrit. Grammatisk-retorisk afhandling. Det kgl. Danske Videnskabernes Selskab. Historisk-filologiske meddelelser 13, 2. Copenhagen: Høst.
11. Internal references
12. Edith Marold 2017, ‘Snorra Edda (Prologue, Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál)’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols [check printed volume for citation].
13. (forthcoming), ‘ Óláfr hvítaskáld Þórðarson, The Third Grammatical Treatise’ in Tarrin Wills (ed.), The Third Grammatical Treatise. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=32> (accessed 20 April 2024)
14. (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 20 April 2024)
15. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Skipa heiti 7’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 871.
16. Elena Gurevich 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Bjarnar heiti’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 895. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=3213> (accessed 20 April 2024)
17. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Markús Skeggjason, Lausavísur 1’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 296.
18. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Laufás Edda’ 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=10928> (accessed 20 April 2024)