Hjálm Lv 11^VIII (Ǫrv 21)

The following four stanzas are found only in mss of Ǫrv. Although they occur in the order 21-4 (Hjálm Lv 11-14), that sequence is interrupted, as follows, by stanzas which are in both the Ǫrv and Heiðr mss, with the four stanzas in question shown in bold: Hjálm Lv 4 (Ǫrv 14); Hjálm Lv 11 (Ǫrv 21); Hjálm Lv 9 (Ǫrv 19); Hjálm Lv 7 (Ǫrv 17); Hjálm Lv 12 (Ǫrv 22); Hjálm Lv 13 (Ǫrv 23); Hjálm Lv 5 (Ǫrv 15); Hjálm Lv 8 (Ǫrv 18); Hjálm Lv 14 (Ǫrv 24). This is the order of these stanzas in the Ǫrv mss, except that 343a reverses the order of Ǫrv 17 and 22; the order of the Heiðr mss is as set out in section 1 of the Introduction to Ǫrv 13-29 above; ms. 344a is taken as the main ms. for this group of stanzas.

Fregna eigi þat         á fold konur,
at ek fyr höggum         hlífaz léta.
Hlær eigi at því,         at ek hlíða gerðak,
snót svinnhuguð         Sigtúnum í.

Konur á fold fregna eigi þat, at ek léta hlífaz fyr höggum. Svinnhuguð snót í Sigtúnum hlær eigi at því, at ek gerðak hlíða.

Women in the land will not hear tell that I allowed myself to be spared from blows. The quick-thinking lady in Sigtuna will not deride me because I gave ground.

Mss: 344a(17v), 343a(68v), 471(75r), 173ˣ(36v) (Ǫrv)

Readings: [1] Fregna: Fregni 471    [2] konur: konr 173ˣ    [3] fyr: om. 343a, 173ˣ, í 471    [4] hlífaz: hlífa 173ˣ;    léta: gerði 343a, gerða 471, 173ˣ    [5] Hlær eigi: ‘hlæ ei’ 173ˣ    [6] gerðak: gerði 343a, vilda 471, gerða 173ˣ    [7] snót: so all others, svá at 344a    [8] Sigtúnum í: so 343a, 173ˣ, ‘sigradan spyrie’ written over erasure in another hand 344a, ‘siotunum i’ 471

Editions: Skj AII, 294, Skj BII, 314-15, Skald II, 167, NN §2599; Ǫrv 1888, 103, Ǫrv 1892, 57, FSGJ 2, 258; Edd. Min. 49.

Context: In the Ǫrv mss, this stanza is preceded by Hjálm Lv 4 (Ǫrv 14) and a passage of prose, in which Hjálmarr asks Oddr to listen to the poem he is about to compose and take it back to Sweden. This stanza is the first of a block of eight that then follow.

Notes: [1] fregna eigi ‘will not hear tell’: Skj B prefers the reading of 471, fregni eigi, pres. subj., understanding Kvinderne skal ikke erfare det i landet … ‘The women must not learn that in the country …’, but the indic. mood gives better sense, especially in the context of ll. 5-8, which vary the same theme. Cf. NN §2599. — [7-8]: Ms. 344a’s version of these lines is corrupt. Aside from the reading svá at ‘so that’ where all other mss have snót, a poetic word for ‘lady’, whatever stood for l. 8 has been erased and the words ‘sigradan spyrie’ written over the top in a later hand which projects into the right margin. — [7] svinnhuguð snót ‘the quick-thinking lady’: Or possibly ‘the strong-minded lady’. Presumably a reference to Ingibjǫrg, daughter of the Swedish king. — [8] í Sigtúnum ‘in Sigtuna’: Sigtúnir (f. pl.) or Sigtún (sg.) is mentioned in several skaldic poems from the C11th, including Arn Magndr 2/8^II, ÞjóðA Magnfl 2/8^II and Valg Har 5/8^II, mostly in connection with royal sea-journeys, and again in Ǫrv 24/2 and 119/7. Sigtuna, founded c. 980 on the shore of Lake Mälaren, and at the beginning of the waterway leading to Uppsala, was a market town probably managed by a royal official. The neighbouring place to the west, that Yng claims was called fornu Sigtúnir ‘Ancient Sigtúnir’, may have been a royal residence during the Iron Age and early Viking Age (Ros 2008). In Yng ch. 5 (ÍF 26, 16) it is stated that Óðinn took up residence there after the Æsir’s migration to Sweden from Troy.

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. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
6. FSGJ = Guðni Jónsson, ed. 1954. Fornaldar sögur norðurlanda. 4 vols. [Reykjavík]: Íslendingasagnaútgáfan.
7. 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.
8. Ǫrv 1888 = Boer, R. C., ed. 1888. Ǫrvar-Odds saga. Leiden: Brill.
9. Ros, Jonas. 2008. ‘Sigtuna’. In Brink et al. 2008, 140-4.
10. Ǫrv 1892 = Boer, R. C., ed. 1892a. Ǫrvar-Odds saga. Altnordische Saga-Bibliothek 2. Halle: Niemayer.
11. Internal references
12. 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 24 April 2024)
13. 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Ǫrvar-Odds saga’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 804. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=35> (accessed 24 April 2024)
14. (forthcoming), ‘ Heimskringla, Ynglinga saga’ 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, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=158> (accessed 24 April 2024)
15. Not published: do not cite (Run^VI)
16. Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Arnórr jarlaskáld Þórðarson, Magnússdrápa 2’ 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. 209-10.
17. Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Þjóðólfr Arnórsson, Magnússflokkr 2’ 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. 65-6.
18. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Valgarðr á Velli, Poem about Haraldr harðráði 5’ 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. 304-5.
19. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Ǫrvar-Odds saga 13 (Ǫrvar-Oddr, Lausavísur 5)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 826.
20. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Ǫrvar-Odds saga 14 (Hjálmarr inn hugumstóri, Lausavísur 4)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 827.
21. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Ǫrvar-Odds saga 15 (Hjálmarr inn hugumstóri, Lausavísur 5)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 828.
22. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Ǫrvar-Odds saga 17 (Hjálmarr inn hugumstóri, Lausavísur 7)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 831.
23. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Ǫrvar-Odds saga 18 (Hjálmarr inn hugumstóri, Lausavísur 8)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 832.
24. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Ǫrvar-Odds saga 19 (Hjálmarr inn hugumstóri, Lausavísur 9)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 833.
25. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Ǫrvar-Odds saga 21 (Hjálmarr inn hugumstóri, Lausavísur 11)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 836.
26. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Ǫrvar-Odds saga 22 (Hjálmarr inn hugumstóri, Lausavísur 12)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 837.
27. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Ǫrvar-Odds saga 23 (Hjálmarr inn hugumstóri, Lausavísur 13)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 838.
28. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Ǫrvar-Odds saga 24 (Hjálmarr inn hugumstóri, Lausavísur 14)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 838.