Cookies on our website

We use cookies on this website, mainly to provide a secure browsing experience but also to collect statistics on how the website is used. You can find out more about the cookies we set, the information we store and how we use it on the cookies page.

Continue

skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

Menu Search

Anon (HSig) 6II/8 — stafns ‘prow’

Vísts, at allvaldr austan
eggjask vestr at leggja
mót við marga knútu
— minn snúðr es þat — prúða.
Kná valþiðurr velja
— veit œrna sér beitu —
steik af stillis haukum
stafns; fylgik því jafnan.

Vísts, at allvaldr eggjask austan at leggja mót við marga prúða knútu vestr; þat es snúðr minn. Valþiðurr kná velja steik af haukum stafns stillis; veit sér œrna beitu; fylgik jafnan því.

It is certain that the mighty ruler is being urged from the east to arrange a meeting with many splendid knuckles in the west; that is my good fortune. The carnage-grouse [RAVEN/EAGLE] can choose steak from the hawks of the leader’s prow; it knows it has ample food; I always support that.

readings

[8] stafns fylgik því jafnan: repeated as l. 9 in Hb

notes

[7, 8] af haukum stafns stillis ‘from the hawks of the leader’s prow’: I.e. from the champions of the leader’s prow, from the leader’s forecastle-men (stafnbúar). Haukr ‘hawk’ was a term for a brave young man (see LP: 1. haukr 2 and Anon (MErl) l. 7) Skj B takes it as a base-word in a kenning for ‘ship’ (so also ÍF 28), which is also possible: af stillis haukum stafns ‘from the leader’s hawks of the prow’, i.e. ‘from the leader’s ships’. The variant in Hb and E, af stóði stafns Gjúka ‘from the stud-horses of the prow of Gjúki <sea-king>’, is hyperdetermined (stóð Gjúka ‘stud-horses of Gjúki’ and stóð stafns ‘stud-horses of the prow’ both mean ‘ship’) and is of little help.

grammar

Close

Log in

This service is only available to members of the relevant projects, and to purchasers of the skaldic volumes published by Brepols.
This service uses cookies. By logging in you agree to the use of cookies on your browser.

Close

Word in text

This view shows information about an instance of a word in a text.