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skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Þórálfr Frag 1III/3 — hlífar ‘of protection’

Sagði hitt, es hugði,
Hliðskjalfar gramr sjǫlfum
hlífar styggr, þars hǫggnir
Háreks liðar vôru.

Gramr Hliðskjalfar, styggr hlífar, sagði sjǫlfum hitt, es hugði, þars liðar Háreks vôru hǫggnir.

The lord of Hliðskjálf [= Óðinn], shy of protection, told him what he intended, where Hárekr’s troops were cut down.

readings

[3] hlífar: ‘hl[…]’ U

notes

[3] styggr hlífar ‘shy of protection’: The majority reading, nom. sg. styggr, is adopted here, although it is curious that the god Óðinn is described as ‘shy of protection’, i.e. bravely reluctant to protect himself in battle, or specifically to use a shield. The same phrase describes Magnús berfœttr ‘Barelegs’ Óláfsson in Bkrepp Magndr 3/2II. The U reading, gen. sg. styggs, can be taken with the human protagonist Háreks, and hence is contextually more plausible; it is adopted in Skj B and Skald. However, on the evidence of the mss it is less likely to be the original reading.

grammar

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