Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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ÞjóðA Frag 3II

Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Þjóðólfr Arnórsson, Fragments 3’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 161-2.

Þjóðólfr ArnórssonFragments

text and translation

Ganga él of yngva
Ullar skips með fullu,
þars samnagla siglur
slíðrdúkaðar ríða.

{Él {skips Ullar}} ganga of yngva með fullu, þars {slíðrdúkaðar siglur samnagla} ríða.
‘The storms of Ullr’s <god’s> ship [SHIELD > BATTLES] come upon the prince at full strength, where sheath-covered masts of the rivet [SWORDS] ride high.

notes and context

The helmingr is within a sequence of skaldic citations illustrating shield-kennings. It is cited with the words Askr Ullar, sem hér er ‘Ullr’s ash, as it stands here’ (R, Tˣ, W,C) or Askr Ullar, sem Þjóðólfr kvað ‘Ullr’s ash, as Þjóðólfr said’ (U, A), which is noteworthy both because Þjóðólfr is not named in all mss and because skip Ullar ‘Ullr’s ship’ rather than the more specific askr Ullar is the expression in the st. itself.

The st. is attributed to Þjóðólfr in A and U, and this has been generally accepted. R, , W, C cite Refr Frag 3III, and then Anon (SnE) 7III and the Þjóðólfr fragment, both with the words sem hér er ‘as it stands here’ ( lacks Anon (SnE) 7III).




editions and texts

Skj: Þjóðolfr Arnórsson, 3. Sexstefja 31: AI, 376, BI, 346, Skald I, 174; SnE 1848-87, I, 426-7, II, 329, 440, 589, SnE 1931, 151, SnE 1998, 69, 143.


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