ǪrvOdd Lv 8VIII (Ǫrv 40)/4 — of ‘around’
Slóttu við meyjar málþing, Sæólfr,
meðan loga létum leika of kynnum.
Unnum harðan Hadding drepinn,
ok Ölvi var aldrs um synjat.
Slóttu málþing við meyjar, Sæólfr, meðan létum loga leika of kynnum. Unnum harðan Hadding drepinn, ok Ölvi var um synjat aldrs.
You carried on assignations with girls, Sjólfr, while we made flames play around families. We killed the hardy Haddingr and Ǫlvir was deprived of life.
readings
[4] of kynnum: so 471, ‘um kyni’ 343a, um konung 7, hjuggum 344a
notes
[4] of kynnum ‘around families’: Meaning that Oddr and his companions burn members of families in their halls or houses, not normally regarded in early Scandinavia as a praiseworthy act. This is the reading of 471, which is also preferred by Skj B which, however, understands kynni in the sense ‘dwelling, home’ (LP: kynni 3). A slightly different sense is adopted here, in line with ONP: kynni 2 ‘family, lineage’, although the use of the pl. is unusual. All other eds adopt 7’s um konung ‘around the king’, which is unmetrical and seems to be a lectio facilior. The incident to which this stanza refers is unknown.