SnSt Ht 45^III

Lætr undin brot brotna
bragningr fyr sér hringa;
sá tekr fyr men menja
mætt orð of sik fættir.
Armr kná við blik blikna
brimlands viðum randa,
þars hǫnd at lið liðnar
lýslóðar berr glóðir.

Bragningr lætr {undin brot hringa} brotna fyr sér; {sá fættir menja} tekr mætt orð of sik fyr men. Armr {viðum randa} kná blikna við {blik {brimlands}}, þars hǫnd berr {glóðir {lýslóðar}} liðnar at lið.

The ruler lets {twisted fragments of rings} [GOLD] be fragmented before him; {that diminisher of necklaces} [GENEROUS MAN] gains a worthy reputation for himself on account of the necklaces. The arms {of the trees of shields} [WARRIORS] gleam against {the gleam {of the surf-land}} [SEA > GOLD] where the hand wears {embers {of the pollack-track}} [SEA > GOLD], slid onto the wrist.

Mss: R(49r), Tˣ(51v), W(145), U(54r) (SnE)

Readings: [3] menja: meina U    [4] mætt: met Tˣ, U, mæt W;    fættir: ‘fetir’ Tˣ, U, ‘fætir’ W    [5] Armr: orm Tˣ;    blik: so all others, brim R    [7] þars (‘þar er’): þvít W;    at: við W;    liðnar: liðna W

Editions: Skj AII, 64, Skj BII, 73, Skald II, 41; SnE 1848-87, I, 658-9, II, 392, III, 122, SnE 1879-81, I, 8, 79, II, 19, SnE 1931, 235, SnE 2007, 21-2; Konráð Gíslason 1895-7, I, 27.

Context: The dróttkvætt variant is stamhendr háttr ‘the stuttering-rhymed form’. In the odd lines, alliteration and internal rhyme (aðalhending) fall on the syllables in metrical positions 4 and 5, creating a stuttering effect. The rhyming words usually involve words with the same etymological root (see also sts 46-8 below).

Notes: [All]: The heading in Tˣ is 37. For this metrical variant, see Kuhn (1969c, 226-7; 1983, 289) and Gade (1995a, 86, 99, 215, 226, 249 n. 21). — [5] armr ‘the arms’: Lit. ‘the arm’ (see Note to st. 42/8). — [5] blik ‘the gleam’: Brim ‘surf’ has been corrected in R to blik (R*). — [8] lýslóðar ‘of the pollack-track [SEA]’: See Note to st. 22/5 above.

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. Gade, Kari Ellen. 1995a. The Structure of Old Norse dróttkvætt Poetry. Islandica 49. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
5. Kuhn, Hans (1899). 1983. Das Dróttkvætt. Heidelberg: Winter.
6. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
7. Konráð Gíslason. 1895-7. Efterladte skrifter. 2 vols. I: Forelæsninger over oldnordiske skjaldekvad. II: Forelæsninger og videnskablige afhandlinger. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
8. SnE 2007 = Snorri Sturluson. 2007. Edda: Háttatal. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2nd edn. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
9. Kuhn, Hans (1899). 1969c. ‘Von Bragi bis Snorri: Zur Geschichte des Dróttkvætts’. In Bjarni Guðnason et al. 1969, 211-32. Rpt. in Kuhn (1899) 1969-78, IV, 117-32.
10. SnE 1879-81 = Möbius, Theodor, ed. 1879-81. Hattatal Snorra Sturlusonar. 2 vols. Halle an de Saale: Verlag der Buchhandlung des Waisenhauses.