Útsteinn Útkv 7^VIII (Hálf 47)

Nú em ek inn kominn         Úlfi at segja,
at hans synir         höggnir liggja.
Nú fari, Eysteinn,         ef ér vilið,
fleiri at freista         við fleina við.

Nú em ek kominn inn at segja Úlfi, at synir hans liggja höggnir. Fari nú fleiri at freista við {við fleina}, Eysteinn, ef ér vilið.

Now I have come in to tell Úlfr that his sons lie slain. Now let more [men] go to try [their strength] against {the tree of spears} [WARRIOR = Útsteinn], Eysteinn, if you wish.

Mss: 2845(37v) (Hálf)

Readings: [6] ér: þér 2845;    vilið: vilit 2845

Editions: Skj AII, 264, Skj BII, 285, Skald II, 150; Hálf 1864, 29-30, Hálf 1909, 117-18, FSGJ 2, 122, Hálf 1981, 131, 189; Edd. Min. 73.

Context: The stanza is preceded by a short prose paragraph: Þá gengu þeir Úlfssynir ok Útsteinn út ok börðuzt. Hann drap alla Úlfssonu ok gekk síðan inn fyrir kóng ok kvað ‘Then Úlfr’s sons and Útsteinn went outside and fought. He killed all Úlfr’s sons and then went in before the king and said’.

Notes: [1] em ek ‘I have’: The ms. reads er ek ‘I am’, showing the generalisation of the 3rd pers. sg. form of the pres. tense of the verb vera ‘be’ to the 1st pers. sg. form, which is characteristic of C14th and later Icelandic. — [5-6]: There is no alliteration in these lines, and this is likely to have been caused by the introduction of the later form of the 2nd pers. pl. nom. pronoun þér rather than the older ér in l. 6. Most eds have normalised to the older form. — [5] Eysteinn: According to the prose text, Eysteinn is a Danish king and a kinsman of Útsteinn’s (cf. Hálf 1981, 186). Útsteinn has taken refuge at his court. — [8] við fleina ‘the tree of spears [WARRIOR = Útsteinn]’: This warrior-kenning occurs only here, though the type is quite common; see Meissner 270.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
3. 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.
4. FSGJ = Guðni Jónsson, ed. 1954. Fornaldar sögur norðurlanda. 4 vols. [Reykjavík]: Íslendingasagnaútgáfan.
5. Edd. Min. = Heusler, Andreas and Wilhelm Ranisch, eds. 1903. Eddica Minora: Dichtungen eddischer Art aus den Fornaldarsögur und anderen Prosawerken. Dortmund: Ruhfus. Rpt. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft.
6. Hálf 1981 = Seelow, Hubert, ed. 1981. Hálfs saga ok Hálfsrekka. RSÁM 20. Reykjavík: Stofnun Árna Magnússonar.
7. Hálf 1864 = Bugge, Sophus, ed. 1864. Saga af Hálfi ok Hálfsrekkum. Norrøne Skrifter af sagnhistorisk Indhold 1. Christiania (Oslo): Det Nordiske Oldskriftselskab.
8. Hálf 1909 = Andrews, A. Le Roy, ed. 1909. Hálfs saga ok Hálfsrekka. ASB 14. Halle: Niemeyer.