Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Steinn Herdísarson, Óláfsdrápa 6’ 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. 372-3.
Heldr, síz hári foldu
heiptbráðr jǫfurr náði,
— ætt þreifsk Egða dróttins —
ólaust konungr stóli.
Mætr hilmir verr malmi
— mank skjǫldungs lof — kǫldum
Rauma grund ok rǫndu.
Ríklundaðr veit undir.
Konungr heldr stóli ólaust, síz heiptbráðr jǫfurr náði hári foldu; ætt {dróttins Egða} þreifsk. Mætr hilmir verr {grund Rauma} kǫldum malmi ok rǫndu; mank lof skjǫldungs. Ríklundaðr veit undir….
The king holds the throne unwaveringly since the quick-tempered prince took possession of the lofty land; the family {of the lord of the Egðir} [NORWEGIAN KING = S. Óláfr] has prospered. The esteemed ruler defends {the land of the Raumar} [= Norway] with the cold metal and the shield; I recall the hero’s reputation. Proud-minded knows beneath [the sun]….
Mss: Mork(19v), Mork(20r) (ll. 5-8) (Mork); Flat(204rb) (Flat); H(78v), Hr(55vb) (H-Hr); FskBˣ(81r), FskAˣ(321) (Fsk, ll. 5-8)
Readings: [4] konungr: konungs Flat [5] Mætr: mær FskAˣ; verr: ferr Mork(20r) [6] kǫldum: kǫldu Hr [7] rǫndu: rǫndum Flat, rendu Hr [8] veit: om. Flat, veik Hr, velt FskBˣ; undir: undan Hr
Editions: Skj AI, 412, Skj BI, 381, Skald I, 190, NN §2530; Mork 1867, 121, 124, Mork 1928-32, 283, 287, Andersson and Gade 2000, 275-6, 278, 482-3 (MH; Ólkyrr); Flat 1860-8, III, 398 (MH); Fms 6, 438 (Ólkyrr ch. 2); ÍF 29, 298 (ch. 79).
Context: The entire st. is given in Mork (after Óláfr became sole ruler of Norway) and in H-Hr (after an expedition against Sveinn Úlfsson of Denmark). The second helmingr is duplicated in Mork (= Fsk) as part of the sequence of sts describing Óláfr’s naval activities (see sts 7-10 below).
Notes: [All]: Óláfr became sole ruler of Norway upon the death of his brother, Magnús (d. 27 or 28 April 1069). — [1] hári foldu ‘of the lofty land’: I.e. Norway. The reference is to the mountainous regions of that country. See also Sigv Berv 15/ 7, 8 and Note. — [2] heiptbráðr jǫfurr ‘the quick-tempered prince’: Because Skj B adopts the Flat variant konungs ‘the king’s in l. 4 (see Note to l. 4 below), Finnur takes heiptbráðr jǫfurr ‘the quick-tempered prince’ as the subject of the first cl. of the helmingr, which leaves the second without a subject. — [3] dróttins Egða ‘of the lord of the Egðir [NORWEGIAN KING = S. Óláfr]’: Presumably this refers to S. Óláfr, Óláfr kyrri’s uncle and namesake (see st. 7 below). — [4] konungr (m. nom. sg.) ‘king’: Skj B adopts the Flat reading konungs (m. gen. sg.) ‘the king’s’ as part of a cpd konungsstóli ‘throne’ (lit. ‘king’s seat’). That reading is not warranted by the majority of the ms. witnesses (see also NN §2530). — [7] grund Rauma ‘the land of the Raumar [= Norway]’: ‘Land of the Raumar’ technically refers to the district Romerike (Raumaríki), but it is used here as pars pro toto for ‘Norway’. Skj B connects Rauma ‘of the Raumar’ with hilmir ‘ruler’ (l. 5) in a circumscription for ‘king’ (hilmir Rauma ‘the ruler of the Raumar’, i.e. ‘Norw. king’). However, hilmir does not otherwise occur as the base-word with an ethnic name as a determinant in such circumscriptions (see LP: hilmir). — [8]: For this l. of the split refrain (klofastef), see the Note to st. 1/8.
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