ÞSjár Frag 3^III

This stanza (ÞSjár Frag 3), which is transmitted in mss R, Tˣ, W of Skm (SnE), is peculiar in that each line in the first helmingr forms an independent clause with the corresponding line in the second helmingr (i.e. ll. 1+5, 2+6, 3+7, 4+8). In FoGT this poetic device is given as an example of antitheton (similar to ‘antithesis’; see SnE 1848-87, II, 224-6 and FoGT 1884, 138 as well as SnE 1848-87, III, 558-9 and Anon (FoGT) 23, 25-6). In the present stanza, each clause refers to an incident from Old Norse myth or legend, whereas the subject matter of the stanzas given in FoGT is Norwegian history. The metre is runhent and the name of the poet is given as Þórðr Sjáreksson in all mss.

Varð sjǫlf suna,
nama snotr una,
Kjalarr of tamði,
kvôðut Hamði,
Guðrún bani;
goðbrúðr Vani;
heldr vel mara;
hjǫrleik spara.

Guðrún varð sjǫlf bani suna; snotr goðbrúðr nama una Vani; Kjalarr of tamði mara heldr vel; kvôðut Hamði spara {hjǫrleik}.

Guðrún herself became the killer of her sons; the wise god-bride [Skaði] did not begin to love the Vanr [Njǫrðr]; Kjalarr <= Óðinn> tamed horses very well; they did not say that Hamðir was stingy {with sword-play} [BATTLE].

Mss: R(22r), Tˣ(22v), W(48) (SnE)

Readings: [1] sjǫlf (‘sialf’): sjalfs Tˣ;    suna (‘sona’): so all others, sonar R    [4] kvôðut: ‘quodit’ Tˣ    [8] hjǫr‑: so all others, hǫr‑ R;    spara: svara Tˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 330, Skj BI, 303-4, Skald I, 154; SnE 1848-87, I, 262-3, III, 19, SnE 1931, 97, SnE 1998, I, 18.

Context: The stanza is found in Skm in the section on kennings for the god Njǫrðr (SnE 1998, I, 18): Hér er þess getit er Skaði gekk frá Nirði sem fyrr er ritat ‘Here it is told that Skaði left Njǫrðr, as is written earlier’.

Notes: [1, 5]: Guðrún Gjúkadóttir’s murder of her sons, Erpr and Eitill, is commemorated in Akv 35-8 and Am 77-85 (see also SnE 1998, I, 48-9). — [1] suna ‘of her sons’: Sona ‘sons’ (so Tˣ, W) has been normalised to the more archaic suna to preserve the end-rhyme. The R variant, sonar (m. gen. sg.) ‘of the son’ makes no sense syntactically. — [2, 6]: The giantess Skaði’s unhappy marriage to Njǫrðr, a god of the Vanir family, is related in Gylf (SnE 2005, 23-4; see also SnE 1998, I, 2).   — [3, 7]: Óðinn’s taming of horses must refer to a now lost myth. For the Óðinn-name Kjalarr, see Grí 49/4-5 (NK 67): enn þá Kialar | er ec kiálca dró ‘and then [they called me] Kjalarr when I pulled the sled’. This latter reference is obscure as well, because there is no extant myth that connects Óðinn with a sled. For a discussion of the etymology of this name, see Note to Þul Óðins 1/5. — [4, 8]: Hamðir’s warlike exploits are recounted in Hamð and Bragi Rdr 3-7. — [6] Vani ‘the Vanr [Njǫrðr]’: One of the very few instances of the sg. form of what is usually a pl. noun, and one of the rare occurrences of the noun in skaldic poetry. — [8] hjǫrleik ‘with sword-play [BATTLE]’: So Tˣ, W. The R variant hǫrleik ‘bow-string play’ appears to be secondary (scribal corruption).

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. NK = Neckel, Gustav and Hans Kuhn (1899), eds. 1983. Edda: Die Lieder des Codex Regius nebst verwandten Denkmälern. 2 vols. I: Text. 5th edn. Heidelberg: Winter.
5. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
6. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
7. FoGT 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.
8. SnE 2005 = Snorri Sturluson. 2005. Edda: Prologue and Gylfaginning. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2nd edn. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
9. Internal references
10. Edith Marold 2017, ‘Snorra Edda (Prologue, Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál)’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols [check printed volume for citation].
11. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, The Fourth Grammatical Treatise’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=34> (accessed 26 April 2024)
12. (forthcoming), ‘ Snorri Sturluson, Skáldskaparmál’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=112> (accessed 26 April 2024)
13. (forthcoming), ‘ Snorri Sturluson, Gylfaginning’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=113> (accessed 26 April 2024)
14. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Óðins nǫfn 1’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 732.
15. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Bragi inn gamli Boddason, Ragnarsdrápa 3’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 31.
16. Not published: do not cite ()
17. Not published: do not cite ()
18. Not published: do not cite ()
19. Not published: do not cite ()
20. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Þórðr Særeksson (Sjáreksson), Fragments 3’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 478.
21. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Lausavísur, Stanzas from the Fourth Grammatical Treatise 23’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 599.