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skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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HSt Rst 32I/1 — Hring ‘mail-shirt’

Hringskóðs herðimeiðar
hvar viti, þann es anni,
eldvellds annan stilli,
óð*ríkr frama slíkum,
gunnelds geymirunnum
(gǫndlar fýst*) sem lýstak
(hirð vas hans at morði
hrygg) arfþega Tryggva.

Hvar viti herðimeiðar eldvellds hringskóðs annan stilli, þann es óð*ríkr anni slíkum frama, sem lýstak geymirunnum gunnelds arfþega Tryggva; hirð fýst* gǫndlar vas hrygg at morði hans.

Where would hardening trees of the fire-forged mail-shirt-harmer [SWORD > WARRIORS] know of any other ruler, who, very mighty, is able to perform such splendid deeds as I have described to the keeping trees of the battle-fire [SWORD > WARRIORS] concerning the heir of Tryggvi [= Óláfr]; the retinue eager for battle was desolate at his killing.

readings

[1] Hring‑: þing‑ Bb

notes

[1] hringskóðs ‘mail-shirt-harmer [SWORD]’: The alliteration in l. 1 is flawed and, as in previous eds, ms. þing is here emended to hring- since a word with the stave h is needed. Konráð Gíslason (1895-7) and LP: hringskóð explain that hringr must refer by metonymy to a mail-shirt of metal rings, as it does in SnH Lv 1/3II and SnSt Ht 2/3III (and see Notes ad loc.), although in these contexts hring- is in the pl. Sword-kennings with skóð ‘harm, harmer’ and similar as base-word are standard (see Meissner 156).

kennings

grammar

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