Diana Whaley (ed.) 2012, ‘Þorfinnr munnr, Lausavísur 2’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 847.
This is one of an unusual cluster of three powerful stanzas spoken in anticipation of the battle of Stiklastaðir (Stiklestad, 1030), and it is preserved in the same texts: see Introduction to Gizsv Lv.
Røkkr at regni miklu
randar garðs ins harða;
vill við vísa snjallan
Verdœla lið berjask.
Verjum allvald ǫrvan;
ǫlum teitan mô sveita;
fellum Þrœndr í Þundar
— þess eggjumk vér — hreggi.
Røkkr at {miklu regni {ins harða garðs randar}}; lið Verdœla vill berjask við snjallan vísa. Verjum ǫrvan allvald; ǫlum {teitan mô sveita}; fellum Þrœndr í {hreggi Þundar}; vér eggjumk þess.
It grows dim approaching {the great downpour {of the tough enclosure of the shield-rim}} [SHIELD > BATTLE]; the force of the Verdœlir wants to fight against the valiant prince [Óláfr]. Let us defend the generous mighty ruler; let us feed {the cheerful gull of gore} [RAVEN/EAGLE]; let us fell the Þrœndr in {the storm of Þundr <= Óðinn>} [BATTLE]; we are urging this.
Mss: Kˣ(457r-v) (Hkr); Holm2(64v), 972ˣ(493va-494va), J2ˣ(219v), 321ˣ(245-246), Bæb(4ra), 68(63v), Holm4(59va), 61(122rb), 325V(78ra), 325VII(35v), Bb(195va), Flat(122vb-123ra), Tóm(152v) (ÓH); DG8(99v) (ÓHLeg); 141ˣ(51v) (Fbr)
Readings: [1] Røkkr: reykr 68, Holm4, ‘Ræ̨kkr’ 325VII; regni: regn 325V [2] randar: randa J2ˣ, 321ˣ, Bæb, 61, 325VII, Bb, Flat, Tóm, DG8, 141ˣ; ins: hinn 68; harða: harði 68 [3] við: við viðr 321ˣ, með Bæb, om. 68; vísa: vísi Flat, 141ˣ, vísan Tóm [4] Verdœla: verðunga 61; lið: ‘sid’ Tóm [5] ǫrvan: ‘[…]uan’ Holm4 [6] ǫlum: ǫllum 972ˣ, ‘ollum’ 141ˣ; teitan: teita Tóm; mô: ná 321ˣ, Bæb, 68 [7] fellum: fellim 321ˣ; Þrœndr: ‘þręnd’ 325VII; Þundar: ‘þr[...]dar’ Holm4, ‘þyndar’ Bb, ‘þundu’ DG8 [8] eggjumk: eggjum J2ˣ, 321ˣ, 61, Bb, DG8, eggja Flat, 141ˣ; vér: nú Bæb, 68, 61, Bb, Tóm, nú added in margin 325VII, ek nú Flat, 141ˣ
Editions: Skj AI, 315, Skj BI, 292, Skald I, 149, NN §2015; ÓHLeg 1922, 81, ÓHLeg 1982, 188-9; Hkr 1893-1901, II, 460-1, IV, 163, ÍF 27, 359, Hkr 1991, II, 514-15 (ÓHHkr ch. 206); Fms 5, 57-8, Fms 12, 98, ÓH 1941, I, 545 (ch. 203), Flat 1860-8, II, 341.
Context: In ÓH-Hkr, as for Gizsv Lv. In the less polished context of ÓHLeg, Þorfinnr skald is with the king and speaks the stanza as his troops advance.
Notes: [All]: For the battle of Stiklastaðir (Stiklestad) and other skaldic poetry associated with it, see the entry on Óláfr Haraldsson in ‘Ruler biographies’ in Introduction to this volume. — [2] garðs randar ‘of the enclosure of the shield-rim [SHIELD]’: Rǫnd can refer either to a complete shield or to its rim, so if the well-supported gen. pl. reading randa is adopted instead of gen. sg. randar, garðs randa could mean ‘wall of shields, shield-wall’. Either way, Bjarni Aðalbjarnason in ÍF 27 notes the appropriateness of garðs alongside the weather imagery here, since garðr m. can also refer to a bank of cloud. — [4] Verdœla ‘of the Verdœlir’: People of Veradalr (Verdalen, Nord-Trøndelag), in which Stiklestad is situated. — [5-8]: The 1st pers. pl. imperatives in this helmingr (verjum ‘let us defend’, l. 5, ǫlum ‘let us feed’, l. 6, and fellum ‘let us fell’, l. 7) are typical of skaldic exhortations to battle; cf. Anon Liðs 1, Rv Lv 31II, Nefari LvII, Blakkr Lv 1II. — [7] Þrœndr: The people of Þrándheimr (Trøndelag).
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