Bjbp Jóms 17I/1 — rauðra ‘of red’
Sagt var, at rauðra randa
reynendr flota sínum
jólanótt at Jaðri
Jómsvíkingar kœmi.
Váru heldr á harðan
hernuð firar gjarnir;
rjóðendr buðu ríki
randorma Geirmundi.
Sagt var, at reynendr rauðra randa, Jómsvíkingar, kœmi flota sínum at Jaðri jólanótt. Firar váru heldr gjarnir á harðan hernuð; rjóðendr randorma buðu ríki Geirmundi.
It was said that the testers of red shields [WARRIORS], the Jómsvíkingar, brought their fleet to Jæren on Yule-night. Men were rather eager for a hard raiding campaign; the reddeners of shield-snakes [SWORDS > WARRIORS] offered force to Geirmundr.
notes
[1-2]: (a) Sagt var ‘it is said’ is retained here as the reading of the main ms, and it echoes st. 16/1. The kenning reynendr rauðra randa ‘testers of red shields [WARRIORS]’ is taken in apposition to Jómsvíkingar (l. 4), as the joint subject of kœmi ‘brought’ (l. 4). (b) An alternative is to take the kenning as an apostrophe to the audience (so Fms 12, 243). (c) The ÓT reading segja ‘tell’ in l. 1 avoids the double subject for kœmi since the kenning for ‘warriors’ can then be the subject of segja (so Fms 12, 41), though the graphic warrior-kenning would seem more likely to refer to the Jómsvíkingar than to anyone else.
kennings
- reynendr rauðra randa, — the testers of red shields, [WARRIORS]