Eyv Lv 7I/2 — Hǫrða ‘of the Hǫrðar’
Lítt kvôðu þik láta,
landvǫrðr, es brast, Hǫrða,
benja hagl á brynjum,
— bugusk almar — geð falma,
þás ófolgin ylgjar
endr ór þinni hendi
fetla svell til fyllar
fullegg, Haraldr, gullu.
Lítt kvôðu þik láta geð falma, landvǫrðr Hǫrða, es hagl benja brast á brynjum; almar bugusk, þás ófolgin fullegg svell fetla gullu endr ór hendi þinni, Haraldr, til fyllar ylgjar.
Little did people say you let your courage falter, land-guardian of the Hǫrðar [NORWEGIAN KING = Haraldr], when the hail of wounds [ARROWS] burst on the mail-shirts; bows were bent, when the unconcealed fully edged icicles of sword-belts [SWORDS] resounded once more from your hand, Haraldr, providing the she-wolf with its fill.
readings
[2] Hǫrða: ‘horva’ FskBˣ
notes
[2] landvǫrðr Hǫrða ‘land-guardian of the Hǫrðar [NORWEGIAN KING = Haraldr]’: Kennings of this type are often merely conventional, with ethnic names such as Hǫrða(r) ‘people of Hǫrðaland (Hordaland)’ standing as pars pro toto for the Norwegian people. However, there may be political reality to the conventional expression here, as suggested by Andersen (1977, 96), since the inherited power-base of the Gunnhildarsynir (Eiríkssynir) was south-west Norway (modern Vestlandet, including Hordaland; cf. ÍF 26, 200). Bagge (2004, 191-4) also notes specifically that their leader Haraldr appears to have taken over Hordaland from Hákon góði, who had affiliations with it through his mother.
kennings
- landvǫrðr Hǫrða, — land-guardian of the Hǫrðar, [NORWEGIAN KING = Haraldr]