SnSt Ht 98^III

Veitk verðari,         þás vell gefa,
brǫndum beita         ok búa snekkjur,
hæra hróðrar,         en heimdrega,
unga jǫfra,         en auðspǫruð.

Veitk unga jǫfra, þás gefa vell, beita brǫndum ok búa snekkjur, verðari hæra hróðrar en heimdrega, en auðspǫruð.

I know that young princes, who give gold, brandish swords and occupy warships, are worthier of higher praise than a stay-at-home, than a wealth-withholder.

Mss: R(53r) (SnE)

Editions: Skj AII, 76, Skj BII, 87, Skald II, 48, NN §2189; SnE 1848-87, I, 712-15, III, 134, SnE 1879-81, I, 16, 85, II, 34,  SnE 1931, 251, SnE 2007, 38; Konráð Gíslason 1895-7, I, 66.

Context: The metre is called Starkaðar lag ‘Starkaðr’s metre’ (heading in the left margin of R and also added by R* in the right margin). The metre is fornyrðislag (see st. 96) with two alliterative staves in the odd lines (Types A1 (ll. 3, 5, 7) and D2 (l. 1)) and anacrusis (Types C2 (ll. 2, 6, 8) and C3 (l. 4)) in the even lines.

Notes: [All]: There is a discrepancy here between the heading (Starkaðar lag) and the prose commentary, which does not mention that metre; rather, the features that characterise the present stanza appear to match the description of stikkalag ‘needle-metre’ given in the commentary (for that term, see also Anon Harst^II, Anon (Knýtl)^II and Anon Sǫrl^VIII (Sǫrla 1) although none of those stanzas is in the same metre as the present stanza). It is not clear which of the two terms (Starkaðar lag or stikkalag) is erroneous. It is interesting that the stanza exemplifying bálkarlag in TGT (TGT 1884, 68) is attributed to Starkaðr (see Note to st. 97 [All] above). — [All]: Starkaðr was a legendary Danish hero (see Stark Vík^VIII (Gautr 9-41), Saxo 2005, II, 675: Starcatherus and Note to Anon Mhkv 7/2). Most of the poetry attributed to Starkaðr (StarkSt Vík^VIII (Gautr 9-41); StarkSt Frag) is in fornyrðislag, but none of those stanzas displays consistently the metrical features of the present stanza. — [All]: The prose word order of the present edn basically follows SnE 1879-81, Konráð Gíslason (1895-7), Skald (NN §2189) and SnE 2007. The word order in Skj B is extremely convoluted and will not be discussed here. — [4] búa ‘occupy’: This verb could also be translated as ‘outfit, ready’. — [6] heimdrega ‘a stay-at-home’: Altered in R to heimdraga ‘stay-at-home’ (R*). Both variants of this word are possible. — [7] unga jǫfra ‘young princes’: See Note to st. 51/1, 2.

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. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
7. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
8. Konráð Gíslason. 1895-7. Efterladte skrifter. 2 vols. I: Forelæsninger over oldnordiske skjaldekvad. II: Forelæsninger og videnskablige afhandlinger. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
9. Saxo 2005 = Friis-Jensen, Karsten, ed. 2005. Saxo Grammaticus: Gesta Danorum / Danmarkshistorien. Trans. Peter Zeeberg. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Det danske sprog- og litteraturselskab & Gads forlag.
10. SnE 2007 = Snorri Sturluson. 2007. Edda: Háttatal. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2nd edn. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
11. SnE 1879-81 = Möbius, Theodor, ed. 1879-81. Hattatal Snorra Sturlusonar. 2 vols. Halle an de Saale: Verlag der Buchhandlung des Waisenhauses.
12. Internal references
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 27 April 2024)
14. Roberta Frank (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Poems, Málsháttakvæði 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. 1221.
15. Matthew Townend 2009, ‘ Anonymous, Haraldsstikki’ 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, pp. 807-8. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1081> (accessed 27 April 2024)
16. Tarrin Wills 2017, ‘ Starkaðr gamli Stórvirksson, Fragment’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 382. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=3003> (accessed 27 April 2024)
17. Kari Ellen Gade 2009, ‘ Anonymous, Lausavísa from Knýtlinga saga’ 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, pp. 826-7. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=3085> (accessed 27 April 2024)
18. Margaret Clunies Ross (forthcoming), ‘ Starkaðr gamli Stórvirksson, Víkarsbálkr’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=3118> (accessed 27 April 2024)
19. Rory McTurk (forthcoming), ‘ Anonymous, Sǫrlastikki’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=3124> (accessed 27 April 2024)
20. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Gautreks saga 9 (Starkaðr gamli Stórvirksson, Víkarsbálkr 1)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 255.
21. Rory McTurk (ed.) 2017, ‘Sǫrla þáttr 1 (Anonymous Poems, Sǫrlastikki 1)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 788.