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skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Sturl Hákkv 16II

Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Sturla Þórðarson, Hákonarkviða 16’ 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. 711-12.

Sturla ÞórðarsonHákonarkviða
151617

Ok inndrótt
elda kyndi
böðvar-Týs
við baug*renni,
svát eggfárs
eisur stukku
of ilflet
Aurnis spjalla.

Ok inndrótt kyndi {elda {böðvar-Týs}} við {baug*renni}, svát {eisur {eggfárs}} stukku of {{Aurnis spjalla} ilflet}.

And the retinue kindled {the fires {of the battle-Týr <god>}} [= Óðinn > SPEARS] against {the ring-advancer} [GENEROUS MAN = Skúli], so that {the flames {of blade-wrath}} [BATTLE > SPEARS] rushed over {the floors of the footsole {of Aurnir’s <giant’s> confidant}} [(lit. ‘footsole-floors of Aurnir’s confidant’) GIANT > SHIELDS].

Mss: E(177r), F(111ra), 42ˣ(163v), 81a(109ra), Flat(178vb) (Hák)

Readings: [3] böðvar‑: ‘bauðnar’ 42ˣ;    Týs: ‘tyrs’ Flat    [4] baug*‑: bauga all;    ‑renni: so all others, renn E    [5] egg‑: eik‑ 42ˣ;    ‑fárs: ‘fꜳíns’ Flat    [6] eisur: eisu 42ˣ    [7] ‑flet: so all others, ‘‑væt’ E

Editions: Skj AII, 113, Skj BII, 122, Skald II, 65; E 1916, 603-4, F 1871, 515, Hák 1910-86, 561, Flat 1860-8, III, 152.

Context: Skúli’s men took their stand in the churchyard of Hallvardskirken where there was an ample supply of rocks. They were hard pressed by Hákon’s army but defended themselves by throwing stones and spears and by shooting arrows.

Notes: [All]: The weapon-kennings in this st. (‘the fires of the battle-Týr’, ll. 2, 3; ‘the flames of blade-wrath’, ll. 5-6) are all treated as kennings for ‘swords’ in Skj B and LP. However, the prose explicitly mentions that the battle at this point was not a man-to-man combat; rather, the men in the churchyard defended themselves by throwing and shooting. Because words denoting ‘fire’ can also serve as base-words in kennings for ‘spears’ (see Meissner 145-6), that interpretation has been chosen in the present edn. — [3] böðvar-Týs ‘of the battle-Týr <god> [= Óðinn]’: Taken here as a kenning for ‘Óðinn’ (so also Meissner 253). LP: bǫð treats it as a warrior-kenning, but ‘the fires of the warrior’ is not possible as a kenning for ‘spears’. — [4] baug*renni ‘the ring-advancer [GENEROUS MAN]’: I.e. Skúli. Bauga renni ‘the advancer of rings’ (so F, 42ˣ, 81a, Flat) renders the l. hypermetrical. The scribe of E attempted to rectify this by omitting the i-ending on the base-word. — [7-8] Aurnis spjalla ilflet ‘the floors of the footsole of Aurnir’s <giant’s> confidant [(lit. ‘footsole-floors of Aurnir’s confidant’) GIANT > SHIELDS]’: Refers to the myth in which the giant Hrungnir stood on a shield to avoid being attacked from below by Þórr (see SnE 1998, I, 20-4).

References

  1. Bibliography
  2. Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
  3. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
  4. Meissner = Meissner, Rudolf. 1921. Die Kenningar der Skalden: Ein Beitrag zur skaldischen Poetik. Rheinische Beiträge und Hülfsbücher zur germanischen Philologie und Volkskunde 1. Bonn and Leipzig: Schroeder. Rpt. 1984. Hildesheim etc.: Olms.
  5. LP = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1931. Lexicon poeticum antiquæ linguæ septentrionalis: Ordbog over det norsk-islandske skjaldesprog oprindelig forfattet af Sveinbjörn Egilsson. 2nd edn. Copenhagen: Møller.
  6. Flat 1860-8 = Gudbrand Vigfusson [Guðbrandur Vigfússon] and C. R. Unger, eds. 1860-8. Flateyjarbók. En samling af norske konge-sagaer med indskudte mindre fortællinger om begivenheder i og udenfor Norge samt annaler. 3 vols. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
  7. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
  8. E 1916 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1916. Eirspennill: AM 47 fol. Nóregs konunga sǫgur: Magnús góði – Hákon gamli. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske historiske kildeskriftskommission.
  9. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
  10. Hák 1910-86 = Kjær, Albert and Ludvig Holm-Olsen, eds. 1910-86. Det Arnamagnæanske haandskrift 81a fol. (Skálholtsbók yngsta) indeholdende Sverris saga, Bǫglungasǫgur, Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar. Oslo: Den norske historiske kildeskriftkommission and Kjeldeskriftfondet.
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