SnSt Ht 55^III

Hverr séi jǫfra œgi
jarl fjǫlvitrum betra
eða gjarnara at gœða
glym hraðsveldan skjalda?
Stendr af stála skúrar
styrr ólítill Gauti,
þás fólks jaðarr foldir
ferr sig-Njǫrðum varða.

Hverr séi jarl betra {fjǫlvitrum œgi jǫfra} eða gjarnara at gœða {hraðsveldan glym skjalda}? Ólítill styrr stendr af {Gauti {skúrar stála}}, þás {jaðarr fólks} ferr varða foldir {sig-Njǫrðum}.

Who might see a jarl better than {the extremely wise terrifier of princes} [RULER] or more eager to increase {the swift-growing clash of shields} [BATTLE]? No small enmity issues from {the Gautr <= Óðinn> {of the shower of swords}} [BATTLE > WARRIOR] when {the protector of the people} [RULER] goes to defend the lands {against battle-Nirðir <gods>} [WARRIORS].

Mss: R(50r), Tˣ(52r), W(147), U(55r) (SnE)

Readings: [1] œgi: ægir W, ‘ægri’ U    [2] fjǫl‑: ‘for‑’ U;    betra: corrected from snarla U    [3] gœða: græða U    [4] hrað‑: harð‑ W, U;    ‑sveldan: seldan W    [5] af: so all others, of R    [6] ólítill: ‘ol[…]ll’ Tˣ    [7] jaðarr: so W, U, jarðar R, Tˣ;    foldir: ferðir W    [8] Njǫrðum: ‘morkvm’ U

Editions: Skj AII, 67, Skj BII, 76, Skald II, 42, NN §3256 anm.; SnE 1848-87, I, 668-9, II, 395, III, 125, SnE 1879-81, I, 9, 80, II, 22, SnE 1931, 239, SnE 2007, 25; Konráð Gíslason 1895-7, I, 33.

Context: Snorri calls this variant Torf-Einars háttr ‘Torf-Einarr’s verse-form’. It is characterised by a lack of internal rhyme in the odd lines and by skothendingar in positions 3 and 5 in the even Type D-lines.

Notes: [All]: The heading in Tˣ is Torf-Einars háttr. 47. — [All]: Torf-Einarr (TorfE^I) was the illegitimate son of Rǫgnvaldr jarl of Møre, and his father appointed him jarl of Orkney (c. 900). Some of the stanzas attributed to Torf-Einarr contain lines that are characterised by the metrical features given in this stanza (see TorfE Lv 1/1-2, 5-6^I, 2/5-6^I, 4/7-8^I, 5/3-4^I). — [4] hraðsveldan ‘swift-growing’: Lit. ‘swift-swollen’. This word has been altered in R to hrað feldan ‘swift-felled’ (R*). The U variant harðsveldan ‘hard-swollen’ i.e. ‘powerful’ is also possible. — [5]: The line recalls Bjhít Lv 15/5^V (BjH 20). — [8] sig-Njǫrðum ‘battle-Nirðir <gods> [WARRIORS]’: Njǫrðum is m. dat. pl. (nom. Nirðir) of the name Njǫrðr (an Old Norse god).

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. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
6. Konráð Gíslason. 1895-7. Efterladte skrifter. 2 vols. I: Forelæsninger over oldnordiske skjaldekvad. II: Forelæsninger og videnskablige afhandlinger. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
7. SnE 2007 = Snorri Sturluson. 2007. Edda: Háttatal. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2nd edn. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
8. SnE 1879-81 = Möbius, Theodor, ed. 1879-81. Hattatal Snorra Sturlusonar. 2 vols. Halle an de Saale: Verlag der Buchhandlung des Waisenhauses.
9. Internal references
10. Russell Poole 2012, ‘(Biography of) Torf-Einarr Rǫgnvaldsson’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 128.
11. Alison Finlay (ed.) 2022, ‘Bjarnar saga Hítdœlakappa 20 (Bjǫrn Hítdœlakappi Arngeirsson, Lausavísur 15)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross, Kari Ellen Gade and Tarrin Wills (eds), Poetry in Sagas of Icelanders. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 5. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 87.
12. Russell Poole (ed.) 2012, ‘Torf-Einarr Rǫgnvaldsson, Lausavísur 1’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 131.