SnSt Ht 86^III

Veitk hrings hraða
í hǫll laða
— gótts hús Hlaða —
hirð ǫlsaða.
Drekkr gramr glaða,
en at gjǫf vaða
vitar valstaða,
vandbaugskaða.

Veitk {hraða hrings} laða ǫlsaða hirð í hǫll; hús Hlaða [e]s gótt. Gramr drekkr {{vandbaug}skaða} glaða, en {vitar {valstaða}} vaða at gjǫf.

I know that {the hastener of the ring} [GENEROUS MAN] invites the ale-sated retinue into the hall; the house of Lade is good. The ruler makes {damagers {of the wand of the shield-boss}} [(lit. ‘wand-shield-boss-damagers’) SWORD > WARRIORS] merry with drink, and {beacons {of falcon-perches}} [ARMS > GOLD] advance as a gift.

Mss: R(52v), W(150) (ll. 1-5) (SnE)

Readings: [2] laða: hlaða W    [3] gótts (‘gott er’): so W, gótt R    [5] Drekkr: so W, dregr R    [8] vandbaug‑: vannbaug‑ R

Editions: Skj AII, 74, Skj BII, 84, Skald II, 46; SnE 1848-87, I, 702-5, III, 132, SnE 1879-81, I, 14, 84, II, 31, SnE 1931, 249, SnE 2007, 35; Konráð Gíslason 1895-7, I, 56-7.

Context: According to the commentary, this variant is based on tøglag ‘journey-metre’ (see st. 68); here in reality regular fornyrðislag with end-rhyme. The lines are Types C3 (ll. 1-3, 5, 6) and D2 (ll. 4, 7, 8), and the identical end-rhymes extend throughout the stanza (in mesta runhenda ‘the greatest end-rhyme’).

Notes: [3] [e]s gótt ‘is good’: So W (‘gott er’). Originally omitted in R, the verb er ‘is’ was added later (R*). — [3] Hlaða ‘of Lade’: Lade is located in the city of Trondheim and was the ancient seat of the jarls of Lade. Trondheim was Skúli’s mainstay in Norway, and he would certainly have found it flattering to be connected with the dynasty of these famous jarls. — [4] ǫlsaða ‘ale-sated’: In R ‘avl saþa’ has been altered to ‘avls saþa’ (R*). — [5]: Ms. W ends with glaða ‘merry’, but enn at ‘and toward’, the first two words of l. 6, are written at the right-hand bottom of the fol. in a much later hand. — [5] drekkr ‘makes ... with drink’: Lit. ‘drinks’. So W. Dregr ‘drags’ in R has been altered to drekkr (R*). When used transitively, the object of this strong verb is normally a beverage that one drinks or, occasionally, a festival that the subject participates in (e.g. drekka jól ‘drink at a yule banquet’). — [6] at gjǫf ‘as a gift’: For this meaning of the prepositional phrase, see Note to st. 28/6. — [7] valstaða ‘of falcon-perches [ARMS]’: Altered in R to valskaða ‘of falcon-damagers’ or ‘of corpse-damagers’ (R*).

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. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
5. Konráð Gíslason. 1895-7. Efterladte skrifter. 2 vols. I: Forelæsninger over oldnordiske skjaldekvad. II: Forelæsninger og videnskablige afhandlinger. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
6. SnE 2007 = Snorri Sturluson. 2007. Edda: Háttatal. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2nd edn. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
7. SnE 1879-81 = Möbius, Theodor, ed. 1879-81. Hattatal Snorra Sturlusonar. 2 vols. Halle an de Saale: Verlag der Buchhandlung des Waisenhauses.