Anon Krm 26VIII/3 — burir ‘the sons’
Hjuggu vér með hjörvi.
Hér mundu nú allir
burir Áslaugar bröndum
bitrum hildi vekja,
ef vandliga vissi
um viðfarar ossar,
hvé ófáir ormar
eitrfullir mik slíta.
Móðernis fekk ek mínum
mögum, svá at hjörtun dugðu.
Hjuggu vér með hjörvi. Allir burir Áslaugar mundu nú vekja hildi hér bitrum bröndum, ef vissi vandliga um viðfarar ossar, hvé ófáir eitrfullir ormar slíta mik. Ek fekk mögum mínum móðernis, svá at hjörtun dugðu.
We hewed with the sword. All the sons of Áslaug would now start a battle here with sharp swords, if they knew fully about our treatment, how numerous poisonous snakes are tearing at me. I gave my sons such a mother that their hearts stood firm.
readings
[3] burir: ‘burar’ 147
notes
[2-3] allir burir Áslaugar ‘all the sons of Áslaug’: In the 1824b text of Ragn (Ragn 1906-8, 129, 135-7, 161-8) and in RagnSon (Hb 1892-6, 459, 463-4) it is sons of Ragnarr by his second wife Áslaug, namely Ívarr (nicknamed beinlausi ‘the Boneless’ in RagnSon, Hb 1892-6, 459), Sigurðr ormr-í-auga ‘Snake-in-eye’, Hvítserkr and Björn járnsíða ‘Ironside’ who avenge him; in Saxo’s account it is sons of Regnerus by Thora, there presented as his second wife, who do so, namely Iuarus, Syuardus serpentini oculi ‘of the snake-like eye’ and Biornus ferrei lateris ‘of the iron side’ (Saxo 2015, I, ix. 4. 4-8, pp. 634-7; I, ix. 4. 12, pp. 638-41; I, ix. 4. 17, pp. 644-5; I, ix. 5. 1-5, pp. 662-5). In all three accounts they avenge him by having the figure of an eagle (apparently) carved on Ælle’s back; in RagnSon they have all the ribs cut from his backbone, so that his lungs are pulled out. In the fragmentary text of Ragn in 147, where the account of the revenge differs little from that in RagnSon, only Ívarr is specified in connection with it. See the Notes to Sigv Knútdr 1I, which is quoted in this connection in RagnSon and in the 147 text of Ragn (Ragn 1906-8, xcii, 193). On the historical sons of Reginheri, Ragnarr’s likely historical prototype (cf. Note to st. 1/8 above), see McTurk (1991a, 39-50; 2011b; 2013, 95-8); Rowe (2012, 11-80).