Eyv Lv 8I/2 — lauks ‘leek’
Bôrum, Ullr, of alla,
ímunlauks, á hauka
fjǫllum Fýrisvalla
fræ Hôkunar ævi.
Nú hefr folkstríðir Fróða
fáglýjaðra þýja
meldr í móður holdi
mellu dolgs of folginn.
Bôrum fræ Fýrisvalla á fjǫllum hauka of alla ævi Hôkunar, Ullr ímunlauks. Nú hefr folkstríðir of folginn meldr fáglýjaðra þýja Fróða í holdi móður dolgs mellu.
We bore the seed of Fýrisvellir [GOLD] on the mountains of hawks [HANDS] during the whole of Hákon’s lifetime, Ullr <god> of the battle-leek [SWORD > WARRIOR]. Now the afflicter of the people [= Haraldr] has hidden the flour of the little-satisfied bondswomen of Fróði <legendary king> [= Fenja and Menja > GOLD] in the flesh of the mother of the enemy of the giantess [= Þórr > = Jǫrð (jǫrð ‘earth’)].
readings
[2] ‑lauks: ‘letvrs’ R, ‘l[…]ks’ U(31r), ‑leiks C
notes
[1, 2] Ullr ímunlauks ‘Ullr <god> of the battle-leek [SWORD > WARRIOR]’: The addressee of this vocative remains unidentified (cf. Hkr 1893-1901, IV; ÍF 26) but could conceivably be one of the ‘friends’ (vinum, Lv 13/8) who assist Eyvindr during this period of hardship. The repeated mention of the god Ullr here and in Lv 9/3 seems deliberate, but its significance is difficult to pin down. Although Ullr must have been a major deity, his story is poorly documented in SnE and other medieval texts. Attestations of his name in the toponymic material are confined to Mälaren in Sweden and Viken in Norway (Brink 2007a, 116). It is therefore possible that Eyvindr alludes to him as a favourite god of the people of Viken who were opposed to Haraldr gráfeldr (see Note to Lv 7/2).
kennings
- ímunlauks. — of the battle-leek. [SWORD]
- Ullr ímunlauks. — Ullr <god> of the battle-leek. [WARRIOR]
grammar
case: gen.