GizGrý Lv 7^VIII (Heiðr 117)

Sex ein eru         seggja fylki,
í fylki hverju         fimm þúsundir,
í þúsund hverri         þrettán hundruð,
í hundraði hverju         halir fjórtaldir.

Eru ein sex fylki seggja, í hverju fylki fimm þúsundir, í hverri þúsund þrettán hundruð, í hverju hundraði fjórtaldir halir.

There are around six troops of warriors, in each troop [are] five thousand, in every thousand thirteen hundreds, in every hundred men four times counted.

Mss: 203ˣ(112-112r), R715ˣ(35r) (Heiðr)

Readings: [1] Sex: so R715ˣ, ‘v. c.’ 203ˣ;    ein: so R715ˣ, om. 203ˣ    [2] seggja: so R715ˣ, í 203ˣ    [3] í: om. R715ˣ    [5] í: om. 203ˣ, R715ˣ;    þúsund hverri: hverri þúsand 203ˣ, hverri R715ˣ    [6] hundruð: manna placed in parentheses in another hand 203ˣ, manna R715ˣ    [7] í: om. R715ˣ    [8] halir: so R715ˣ, hals 203ˣ

Editions: Skj AII, 256, Skj BII, 275-6, Skald II, 144, NN §3144; Heiðr 1672, 175, Heiðr 1873, 286-7, Heiðr 1924, 153-4, FSGJ 2, 65, Heiðr 1960, 57 (Heiðr); Edd. Min. 11-12, NK 310, ÍF Edd. II, 429.

Context: Gizurr returns to Angantýr and reports that he has summoned the Huns to battle. Angantýr asks about the size of the Huns’ forces. Gizurr replies (Heiðr 1960, 57), Mikit er þeira mengi ‘Their multitude is great’, and speaks this stanza.

Notes: [All]: Heiðr 1672, Heiðr 1873, NK, ÍF Edd. and Jón Helgason (1967, 243-4) present Gizurr’s words, given in the Context above, as part of the stanza. — [All]: Cf. Saxo 2015, I, v. 8. 1 (7. 6), pp. 326-7. — [3] hverri þúsund ‘every thousand’: Ms. 203ˣ has the reverse word order and R715ˣ omits the word þúsund ‘thousand’ altogether. The order chosen here (and by Heiðr 1672, Heiðr 1873, Skald, FSGJ, Heiðr 1960 and Edd. Min.) is supported by the pattern of ll. 3 and 7 and is metrically preferable (NN §3144). — [6] hundruð ‘hundreds’: The reading of the mss, manna ‘of men’ (with parentheses as signs of deletion in another hand in 203ˣ) would be distinctly underwhelming. The emendation (made by all eds) can be safely assumed on the basis of the pattern of repetition across ll. 2-3 and 4-5.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
3. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 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. Heiðr 1672 = Verelius, Olaus, ed. 1672. Hervarar Saga på Gammel Gotska. Uppsala: Curio.
6. FSGJ = Guðni Jónsson, ed. 1954. Fornaldar sögur norðurlanda. 4 vols. [Reykjavík]: Íslendingasagnaútgáfan.
7. Heiðr 1924 = Jón Helgason, ed. 1924. Heiðreks saga. Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks konungs. SUGNL 48. Copenhagen: Jørgensen.
8. Heiðr 1960 = Tolkien, Christopher, ed. and trans. 1960. Saga Heiðreks konungs ins vitra / The Saga of King Heidrek the Wise. Nelson Icelandic Texts. London etc.: Nelson.
9. Heiðr 1873 = Bugge, Sophus, ed. 1873. Hervarar saga ok Heidreks. Det Norske oldskriftselskabs samlinger 17. Christiania (Oslo): Brøgger.
10. Jón Helgason, ed. 1967. Kviður af Gotum og Hunum: Hamðismál, Guðrúnarhvöt, Hlöðskviða. Reykjavík: Heimskringla.
11. Saxo 2015 = Friis-Jensen, Karsten, ed. 2015. Saxo Grammaticus: Gesta Danorum: The History of the Danes. Trans. Peter Fisher. Oxford Medieval Texts. 2 vols. Oxford: Clarendon.
12. Internal references
13. 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 367. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=23> (accessed 2 May 2024)