RvHbreiðm Hl 7^III

Gunnarr réð grundu linna;
gætti vel digra mæta;
Faðmis láð fengu þjóðir
færi heldr, an skapligt væri.
Lestir réð loks at kasta
— lofðungs brǫgð ýtar sǫgðu —
urðar lax œskijǫrðu
út á Rín Fenris sútar.

Gunnarr réð {grundu linna}; gætti digra mæta vel; heldr færi þjóðir fengu {láð Faðmis}, an væri skapligt. {{Lestir sútar} Fenris} réð loks at kasta {œskijǫrðu {lax urðar}} út á Rín; ýtar sǫgðu brǫgð lofðungs.

Gunnarr governed {the ground of snakes} [GOLD]; he guarded the large treasures well; rather fewer people received {Faðmir’s <serpent’s> land} [GOLD] than was fitting. {{The destroyer of the sorrow} [GLADDENER] of Fenrir <wolf>} [WARRIOR] finally decided to throw {the desired earth {of the salmon of the rocky slope}} [SERPENT > GOLD] out into the Rhine; men recounted the ruses of the ruler.

Mss: papp25ˣ(40v), R683ˣ(125v)

Readings: [2] gætti: gætti hann papp25ˣ, R683ˣ;    digra (‘dijgra’): so R683ˣ, corrected from ‘dijrra’ papp25ˣ;    mæta: mætta R683ˣ    [5] Lestir: lesti papp25ˣ, R683ˣ;    loks at: lofðar papp25ˣ, R683ˣ    [7] lax: so R683ˣ, ‘lagx’ papp25ˣ    [8] sútar: so R683ˣ, sútra corrected from súta papp25ˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 513, Skj BI, 489, Skald I, 240, NN §2069; Hl 1941, 32, 42-3.

Context: The heading is draughent (‘Draughænt’) ‘ghost-’ or ‘trunk-rhymed’ (cf. SnSt Ht 65). Each line consists of seven syllables, and rhyme and alliteration fall as in dróttkvætt.

Notes: [All]: This metre is not attested outside of Hl and Ht. — [All]: Stanzas 7-8 commemorate Gunnarr Gjúkason’s actions after the death of Hǫgni (see sts 5-6 above, st. 5 Note to [All] and SnE 1998, I, 48-9). In Old Norse literature Gunnarr (MHG Gunther) was the brother of Hǫgni (see Gríp, Brot, Sigsk, Guðr II, Am, Akv, Vǫls and Þiðr). — [2]: As it stands in the mss the line has eight rather than seven syllables, and the pron. hann ‘he’ has been deleted in accordance with the principles of normalisation in the present edn. — [3] Faðmis ‘Faðmir’s <serpent’s>’: This is an attested (mostly Norwegian) form of the name of the serpent Fáfnir (see Hl 1941 and Note to Anon Nkt 21/4^II). The name of the serpent could have been used intentionally here, since the Niflung treasure originally belonged to Fáfnir before he was killed by Sigurðr (see sts 3-4 above). — [4]: The line is hypermetrical and Skj B (and Skald) deletes the adv. heldr ‘rather’. Because st. 8/5 has the same structure, however, the adv. has been retained in the present edn. — [5] lestir ‘the destroyer’: Lesti (m. acc. or dat. sg.) ‘destroyer’ has been emended to m. nom. sg. to furnish the missing subject. For the loss of final <r>, see Note to st. 5/2. — [5] loks at ‘finally to’: This reading is conjectural and follows Skj B. The mss have lofðar (m. nom. pl.) ‘people’. Sveinbjörn Egilsson (SnE 1848, 239) suggested lofaðr (m. nom. sg.) ‘praiseworthy’, but that form is unmetrical (two short syllables carrying the second alliterating lift in an odd line). Kock (NN §2069) emended to lofdjarfr ‘fearless in his praise’, which is less preferable from the point of view of context and metre (two long syllables). — [7] œskijǫrðu ‘the desired earth’: Note that <j> must have been a glide here, since it does not participate in the vocalic alliteration.

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. SnE 1848 = Sveinbjörn Egilsson, ed. 1848. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar, eða Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál og Háttatal. Reykjavík: Prentsmiðja landsins.
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. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
7. Hl 1941 = Jón Helgason and Anne Holtsmark, eds. 1941. Háttalykill enn forni. BA 1. Copenhagen: Munksgaard.
8. Vǫls = Vǫlsunga saga.
9. Þiðr = Þiðreks saga af Bern.
10. Internal references
11. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Háttatal’ 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=165> (accessed 26 April 2024)
12. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Anonymous Poems, Nóregs konungatal 21’ 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. 775.
13. Kari Ellen Gade 2017, ‘ Rǫgnvaldr jarl and Hallr Þórarinsson, Háttalykill’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1001. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1347> (accessed 26 April 2024)
14. Not published: do not cite ()
15. Not published: do not cite ()
16. Not published: do not cite ()
17. Not published: do not cite ()
18. Not published: do not cite ()
19. Not published: do not cite ()
20. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Snorri Sturluson, Háttatal 65’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1177.