ESk Lv 2II/5 — jǫfra ‘of the chieftains’
Erlendr hefir undan
allvalds gleði haldit;
gramr, skaltattu, gumna,
Gapamunn of þat kunna.
Hafa munu heiðar jǫfra
hlíðrœkjanda fríðum
— geta verðr þess fyr gotnum —
galdrs nauðsynjar valdit.
Erlendr hefir haldit undan gleði allvalds; gramr gumna, skaltattu kunna Gapamunn of þat. Nauðsynjar munu hafa valdit fríðum jǫfra heiðar galdrs hlíðrœkjanda; verðr geta þess fyr gotnum.
Erlendr has fled from the cheer of the mighty ruler; leader of men, you must not fault Gapamunnr (‘Gaping-mouth’) for that. Necessities must have forced the handsome cultivator of the slope of the chant of the chieftains of the heath [(lit. ‘slope-cultivator of the chant of the chieftains of the heath’) GIANTS > GOLD > WOMAN > MAN]; one must recount that before the people.
readings
[5] heiðar jǫfra: ‘heidur a iofrar’ Hr, heiðir jǫfrar Mork, hæðar jǫfra F
notes
[5-6, 8] jǫfra heiðar galdrs hlíðrœkjanda ‘the cultivator of the slope of the chant of the chieftains of the heath [(lit. ‘slope-cultivator of the chant of the chieftains of the heath’) GIANTS > GOLD > WOMAN > MAN]’: The interpretation of this kenning was suggested by Kock (NN §962). Skj B construes it as follows: rœkjanda galdrs hlíð-jǫfra heiðar ‘the cultivator of the chant of the slope-chieftains of the heath’ i.e. ‘the cultivator of the chant of the giants’ (‘the cultivator of gold’). The problem with that interpretation is that the first element (hlíð- ‘slope-’) of the cpd hlíðrœkjanda ‘slope-cultivator’ must be a determinant for the base-word rœkjanda ‘cultivator’, and it cannot function as a determinant for jǫfra ‘chieftains’. Although Kock’s interpretation is the only possible one, it is not completely satisfactory, because, outside of Krákumál (Anon KrmVIII), men are not represented in kennings as ‘husband’ or ‘beloved’ (see Meissner 351). However, if we assume an agricultural/sexual sense here (see Note to Anon Nkt 8/1, 2), this objection disappears. The kenning ‘chant of the giant’ for ‘gold’ refers to the story about a giant’s wealth being measured in mouthfuls (see SnE 1998, I, 3).
kennings
- jǫfra heiðar — of the chieftains of the heath; [GIANTS]
- jǫfra heiðar galdrs — of the chant of the chieftains of the heath; [GOLD]
- jǫfra heiðar galdrs hlíð — of the slope of the chant of the chieftains of the heath; [WOMAN]
- fríðum jǫfra heiðar galdrs hlíðrœkjanda; — the handsome cultivator of the slope of the chant of the chieftains of the heath; [MAN]
grammar
case: gen.
number: pl.