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Vy 


ANGLO-SAXON 
AND  NORSE  POEMS 


CAMBRIDGE  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

C.  F.  CLAY,  Manager 

LONDON   :   FETTER  LANE,  E.G.  4 


NEW  YORK  :  THE  MACMTLLAN  CD. 

BOMBAY       \ 

CALCUTTA  I  MACMILLAN  AND  CO.,  Ltd. 

MADRAS       ) 

TORONTO    :   THE  MACMILLAN  fco.  OF 

CANADA,  Ltd. 
TOKYO :  MARUZEN-K ABUSHIKI-KAISHA 


ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 


ANGLO-SAXON 
AND  NORSE  POEMS 

EDITED  AND  TRANSLATED 

BY 

N.  KERSHAW 


CAMBRIDGE 

AT  THE  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

1922 


I    ^    <A^ 


m 


TO  THE  MEMORY  OF 

ALEXANDER  LAWSON,  D.D. 

Professor  of  English  in  the  University  of  St  Andrews 


PREFACE 

IT  is  generally  agreed  that  the  first  six  pieces  included 
in  this  book  are  among  the  most  interesting  examples  of 
Anglo-Saxon  poetry  which  have  come  down  to  us;  yet  with 
one  or  two  exceptions  they  have  received  comparatively  little 
attention  from  English  scholars.  The  Norse  pieces  which 
follow,  are  still  less  known  in  this  country.  They  have  all  been 
translated  into  English  before — one  of  them  {the  Darra^arlj 6^) 
as  far  back  as  1768;  but  most  of  these  translations  are  in  verse. 
Prose  translations  and  commentaries  are  few  in  number,  and 
are  now  practically  inaccessible  to  the  majority  of  students. 

Almost  all  the  poems,  both  English  and  Norse,  may  be, 
and  frequently  are,  described  as  'lyrics,'  though  this  de- 
scription is  not  strictly  appropriate  to  their  metrical  form, 
except  perhaps  in  the  case  of  parts  of  Nos.  VII,  IX,  and  X. 
The  general  resemblance  between  the  poems  on  the  battle  of 
Brunanburh  (No.  VI)  and  the  battle  of  Hafsfjord  (No.  VIII) 
is  obvious.  But  on  the  whole  the  reader  will  probably  be 
struck  by  the  absence  of  resemblance  between  the  two  sets 
of  poems.  It  is  a  singular  fact  that  the  first  five  pieces 
contain  no  proper  names,  whereas  an  Index  Nominum  for 
the  Norse  poems  would  make  a  considerable  list.  And  this 
is  not  due  to  any  arbitrary  method  of  selection.  Poems  of 
the  abstract  character  seen  in  Nos.  I — V  are  not  to  be  found 
in  early  Norse  literature,  while  no  true  Anglo-Saxon  parallels 
are  to  be  found  for  Nos.  IX — XII.  This  is  due  in  part,  no 
doubt,  to  the  difference  of  faith,  for  most  of  the  Norse  poems 
date  from  heathen  times.  But  another  and  perhaps  more 
important  reason  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  Norse  poems  are 
concerned  with  specific  events,  whereas  the  subjects  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon  poems  are  detached  from  any  such  associations. 

The  last  piece  (No.  XIII)  is  of  a  somewhat  different  cha- 
racter from  the  rest.  It  belongs  to  the  same  category  as  the 
heroic  poems  of  the  Edda,  especially  the  Atlakvi(Sa,  and  is 


viii  PREFACE 

related  more  distantly  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  fragments  which 
deal  with  the  stories  of  Finn  and  Waldhere.  My  reason  for 
including  it  in  this  collection  is  that  it  is  not  contained  in 
any  of  the  editions  of  the  Edda.  I  think  that  it  will  appeal 
to  students  of  heroic  poetry. 

My  thanks  are  due  to  the  Rev,  Canon  McLaren,  Librarian 
of  the  Cathedral  Library  at  Exeter,  for  the  trouble  which  he 
has  taken  on  several  occasions  in  allowing  me  to  consult  the 
MS.  of  the  Exeter  Book,  and  to  both  him  and  Mrs  McLaren 
for  much  kindness  which  I  have  received  from  them  while  in 
Exeter ;  to  Sir  Geoffrey  Butler,  Librarian  of  Corpus  Christi 
College,  Cambridge,  for  the  facilities  which  he  has  afforded 
me  for  consulting  the  Parker  MS.  of  the  Saxon  Chronicle  and 
other  Mss. ;  to  Mr  E.  J.  Thomas  of  Emmanuel  College  and  of 
the  University  Library,  Cambridge,  and  to  Miss  C.  H.  Wedg- 
wood of  Newnham  College,  Cambridge,  who  have  kindly  read 
the  proofs  for  me  and  made  many  helpful  suggestions.  I  wish 
further  to  thank  the  Syndics  of  the  University  Press  for 
undertaking  the  publication  of  the  book,  and  the  staffs  of 
the  University  Press  and  of  the  University  Library  for  their 
unfailing  courtesy  while  the  work  was  in  progress.  Above  all 
I  have  to  thank  Professor  Chadwick  who  has  unreservedly 
placed  the  results  of  his  own  labours  at  my  disposal,  both  in 
the  translation  and  in  the  commentary,  and  to  whom  I  am 
heavily  indebted  for  criticism  and  help  throughout  the  work. 

N.  K. 

February,  1922. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


PART  I.    ANGLO  SAXON  POEMS 

Introduction:  The  Manuscript  Sources 

3 

of  Early  Norse  and  English  Poetry 

xi 

I   The  Wanderer        .... 

1 

II   The  Seafarer          .... 

16 

Ill   The  Wife's  Complaint   . 

28 

IV    The  Husband's  Message 

37 

V   The  Ruin 

51 

YI   The  Battle  of  Brunanburh     . 

59 

PART  II.    NORSE  POEMS 

Note  on  Norse  Manuscripts  . 

72 

VII   The  Hrafnsmdl      .... 

76 

VIII   The  Battle  of  HafsQord 

88 

IX   TheEiriksmal        .... 

93 

X    The  Hakonarmal  .... 

101 

XI   The  Darra?5arlj6S   .... 

111 

XII    The  Sonatorrek      .... 

126 

XIII   The  Battle  of  the  Goths  and  Huns 

142 

ABBREVIATIONS 

Vigfusson,  Diet. — An  Icelandic-English  Dictionary,  by  R.  Cleasby 
and  G.  Vigfusson.    Oxford,  1874. 

Fritzner,  Diet. — Ordbog  over  det  gamle  norske  Sprog.  Christiania, 
1886—1896. 

F.  Jonsson,  Diet. — Revised  edition  of  Sveinbjom  Egilsson's  Lexicon 
Poeticum  Antiqiiae  Linguae  Septentrionalis.    Copenhagen,  1916. 

B.  and  T.,  Diet. — Bosworth  and  Toller,  Anglo-Saxon  Dictionary. 
Oxford,  1882—1898. 

B.  and  T.,  Suppl.— Supplement  to  the  above,  by  J.  N.  Toller,  Parts 
I— III.    Oxford,  1908—1921. 

Saxo,  Dan.  Hist. — Saxo  Grammaticus,  Gesta  Danorum,  ed.  Holder, 
Strassburg,  1886.  In  Books  I — IX  the  references  are  to  the  pages  of 
O.  Elton's  translation.   London,  1894. 


INTRODUCTION 

THE  MANUSCRIPT  SOURCES  OF  EARLY  NORSE 
AND  ENGLISH  POETRY 

The  history  of  the  texts  contained  in  this  volume  presents 
some  curious  contrasts.  The  Norse  pieces  were  composed  at 
various  times  between  the  ninth  and  eleventh  centuries,  but 
they  were  probably  not  committed  to  writing  before  the 
thirteenth  century — or  at  earliest  before  the  last  decades 
of  the  twelfth — when  they  were  incorporated  in  prose  works. 
During  the  next  two  hundred  years  these  works  appear  to 
have  been  frequently  copied.  Then  came  a  period  during 
which  the  early  literature  fell  into  neglect  everywhere.  The 
revival  of  interest  began  in  Scandinavian  lands  about  1630, 
and  the  Mss.  which  survived — chiefly  in  Iceland — were  eagerly 
sought  and  copied.  Unfortunately  the  largest  collection  of 
MSS.,  belonging  to  the  University  Library  at  Copenhagen, 
was  almost  entirely  destroyed  by  fire  in  1728.  So  many 
copies  however  had  been  made  during  the  previous  century 
that  as  a  general  rule  there  is  little  doubt  as  to  the  readings 
of  the  lost  MSS. 

The  history  of  the  English  texts  contained  in  this  volume 
presents  a  curious  contrast  to  that  of  the  Norse  (cf.  p.  72  ff. 
below).  Anglo-Saxon  literature  was  apparently  forgotten 
almost  everyAvhere  by  the  middle  of  the  twelfth  century, 
a  time  when  ^\Titten  Norse  literature  was  still  in  its  infancy. 
Its  rediscovery  took  place  in  the  sixteenth  century,  about  a 
hundred  years  earlier  than  the  revival  of  Norse  literature. 
But  only  a  comparatively  small  amount  of  Anglo-Saxon  poetry 
was  preserved  in  prose  works,  and  of  the  purely  poetical  texts 
few  were  copied  or  published  before  the  beginning  of  the 
nineteenth  century — the  chief  exception  being  Junius's  Bib- 
lical poems  in  1655.  Four  MS.  volumes,  one  of  which  is  in 
Italy,  contain  nearly  all  that  is  left  of  Anglo-Saxon  poetry. 


xii  MANUSCRIPT  SOURCES 

The  first  five  of  the  pieces  given  below  are  taken  from 
the  Codex  Exoniensis,  the  fullest  and  most  important  of  the 
surviving  mss.  This  book  was  presented  to  the  Library  of 
Exeter  Cathedral  by  Bishop  Leofric,  who  held  the  see  between 
the  years  1050  and  1072,  and  it  is  still  preserved  there.  A  list 
of  the  bishop's  donations  to  the  Cathedral  and  the  Library 
was  drawn  up  about  the  same  time,  and  a  copy  of  this,  in  a 
hand  almost  contemporary  with  that  of  the  Exeter  Book,  has 
been  bound  in  the  same  volume,  along  with  some  late  charters 
and  documents  referring  to  the  Cathedral.  This  list  is  printed 
in  an  Appendix  on  p.  206  f.  below,  and  in  it  will  be  found  a 
notice  of  a  mycel  Englisc  hoc  which  no  doubt  refers  to  our  MS. 
The  Codex ^  is  a  fine  vellum,  beautifully  written  in  a  clear 
large  hand,  though  the  little  decoration  which  it  contains  is 
cruder  It  is  generally  believed  to  date  from  about  three- 
quarters  of  a  century  before  Leofric's  time^  Much  of  the 
concluding  part  of  the  book  has  been  rendered  illegible  by 
some  object,  possibly  a  piece  of  burning  wood,  having  been 
dropped  on  the  last  leaves  and  allowed  to  smoulder  there  for 
some  time.  This  accounts  for  the  lacunae  in  the  Husband's 
Message  and  the  Ruin. 

The  earliest  known  copy  of  the  Exeter  Pook  is  a  facsimile 
which  was  made  by  one  R.  Chambers  for  the  British  Museum 
in  1831  (mss.  Add.  9067).  Apparently  it  was  then  possible 
to  read  rather  more  of  the  MS.  than  is  now  legible,  and  the 
copy  has  proved  to  be  of  some  use — though  rather  as  a  check 
upon  proposed  restorations  of  mutilated  passages  than  as  a 
means  of  supplying  lacunae  \ 

Few  close  parallels  to  the  five  pieces  from  this  Codex  can 
be  found  in  Anglo-Saxon  literature.  Analogies  may  be  looked 
for  in  certain  passages  in  Beowulf,  and  in  the  latter  part  of 
Hymn  IV  (Grein,  Bihl.  ii,  p.  217).  But  most  of  the  poetry 
which  has  come  down  to  us  is  essentially  religious  in  character. 

1  For  details  of  the  Exeter  Book  and  its  contents  see  Wiilcker,  Grundriss 
zur  Geschichte  der  angeUdchsischen  Litteratur  (Leipzig,  1885),  p.  218  ff. 

-  Cf.  p.  37  below. 

3  Cf.,  however,  A.  S.  Cook,  The  Christ  of  Cyneividf  {Boston,  1909),  p.  xvi. 

••  For  some  account  of  Chambers's  copy  cf.  Tupper,  TIte  Eiddles  of  the 
Exeter  Book  (Boston,  etc.,  1910),  p.  xcvii  f. ;  Anscombe,  Aiujlia,  xxxiv,  p.  526 ; 
Chambers,  Anglia,  xxxv,  p.  393  f. ;  and  Tupper,  Anglia,  sxxvi,  p.  285  f. 


MANUSCRIPT  SOURCES  xiii 

Yet  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  such  poems  as  these  with  which 
we  are  dealing  could  have  come  into  existence  unless  there 
was  a  considerable  body  of  secular  poetry  current  at  the  time 
when  they  were  composed.  The  explanation  is  doubtless  to 
be  found  in  the  facts  pointed  out  above.  It  is  probable  that 
no  English  libraries  survived  the  period  of  the  Norman 
Conquest,  except  those  which  belonged  to  religious  houses ; 
and  in  these,  naturally  enough,  secular  poems  would  be  far 
less  popular  than  religious  works. 

From  what  has  been  said  it  will  be  clear  that  the  diffi- 
culties encountered  in  editing  Norse  and  Anglo-Saxon  poems 
are  of  a  somewhat  different  character.  In  the  latter  case  the 
editor  has  seldom  to  deal  with  more  than  one  MS.  When 
this  has  been  damaged  or  erroneously  copied  his  only  re- 
sources are  analogy  or  conjecture ;  otherwise  his  problems 
will  be  merely  those  of  interpretation.  On  the  other  hand 
the  editor  of  a  Norse  poem,  especially  poems  quoted  in  the 
early  histories  of  Norway,  will  probably  have  to  consider  a 
number  of  MSS.  which  may  present  several  different  readings 
in  the  same  passage,  all  giving  at  least  an  intelligible  sensed 
Very  often  he  will  have  to  study  somewhat  complicated 
problems  of  literary  history  before  he  can  judge  Avith  safety 
betweenVlbe  claims  of  the  various  texts. 

The  orthography  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  poems  presents  no 
difficulties.  Apart  from  the  expansion  of  a  few  contractions, 
and  except  in  cases  where  emendation  is  required,  it  is 
customary  to  print  the  texts  as  contained  in  the  MSS.,  and 
I  have  not  departed  from  the  usual  practice.  In  the  Battle 
of  Brunanhurh  I  have  followed  the  text  of  the  earliest  MS. 
except  in  a  few  cases  where  it  is  obviously  wrong. 

1  This  is  doubtless  the  reason  why  editors  of  Norse  texts  are  in  general  in 
the  habit  of  treating  their  ms.  authorities  with  far  greater  freedom  than 
would  be  allowed  in  the  case  of  Anglo-Saxon  texts.  The  Honatorrek  in 
jiarticular  haR  beoi  emended  in  most  editions  to  such  an  extent  that  it  has 
almost  become  a  new  poem.  It  is  especially  to  be  regretted  that  the  editors 
do  not  systematically  record  the  readings  of  at  least  the  more  important  mss. 
For  the  puiposes  of  a  book  like  this,  which  is  concerned  rather  with  inter- 
pretation than  with  textual  criticism,  and  which  contains  poems  from  many 
flifferent  sagas,  one  is  necessarily  dependent  on  editions  of  the  sagas  and  of 
individual  mss.;  and  it  is  unfortunate  tbat  the  actual  readings  of  the  iiss. 
are  sometimes  to  be  ascertained  only  with  great  difiieulty  if  at  all.  There 
appear  to  have  been  many  errors  of  transcription  also,  even  in  recent 
editions. 


xiv  MANUSCRIPT  SOURCES 

With  Norse  poems  on  the  other  hand  the  editor's  course 
is  by  no  means  so  clear,  owing  to  the  large  number  of  MSS. 
involved.  There  is  a  considerable  amount  of  variation  in  the 
orthography^ — both  between  one  MS.  and  another,  and  in  the 
individual  MSS.  themselves — a  variation  which  is  due  in  part 
to  the  preservation  here  and  there  of  archaic  forms.  Normal- 
isation in  some  form  or  other  is  almost  universally  adopted 
by  editors,  and  the  usual  practice  is  to  normalise  in  favour 
of  the  more  archaic  forms ^  This  practice  frequently  has  the 
advantage  of  preserving  the  metre,  but  at  the  same  time  it 
involves  the  editor  in  many  difficulties^  No  texts,  except  a 
few  inscriptions,  have  come  down  to  us  from  the  times  of 
Hornklofi  or  Egill,  and  the  language  of  these  poets  is  in 
reality  irrecoverable.  The  result  of  the  normalising  process 
is  too  often,  I  fear,  a  cento  of  forms  belonging  to  various 
periods.  The  Norse  texts  however  have  certain  advantages 
over  the  Anglo-Saxon  texts,  owing  to  the  fact  that  something 
is  generally  known,  both  of  the  poets  themselves,  and  of 
the  historical  works  in  which  the  poems  are  incorporated* — 
sometimes  indeed  even  of  the  scribes,  in  both  the  earlier  and 
later  periods.  The  chief  advantage  however  is  that  the  his- 
torians themselves  often  draw  from  the  poems  which  they 
quote,  and  thus  furnish  a  guide  to  the  meaning  of  difficult 
passages. 

1  E.g.  in  the  represeutation  of  the  sound  arising  from  a  by  labialisation. 
In  this  book  o  is  used  in  accordance  with  later  Icelandic  usage.  German 
editions  generally  use  q. 

^  E.g.  in  the  use  of  es,  's  for  er— the  relative  particle,  and  3  sing.  pres. 
indie,  oivera  (vesa). 

^  In  accordance  with  general  custom  I  have  printed  sds  where  the  mss. 
have  .sjd  er.    But  is  this  substitution  really  justifiable? 

^  This  is  of  course  true  also  in  the  case  of  No.  VI  below,  though  the 
author  is  unknown. 


I.   THE  WANDERER 

This  poem  is  preserved  only  in  the  Exeter  Book  (fol.  76  f.), 
where  it  is  preceded  by  Juliana  and  followed  by  the  Bi  Manna 
Crseftum.  Like  most  Anglo-Saxon  poems  it  is  anonymous,  and, 
like  the  four  following  pieces,  it  is  generally  described  either 
as  lyric  or  as  elegiac.  The  metre,  however,  is  the  ordinary 
quadruple-stressed  alliterative  verse,  which  probably  had  its 
origin  in  narrative  poetry,  but  which  has  practically  ousted 
all  other  forms  of  verse  in  Anglo-Saxon  literature.  There  is 
no  trace  of  any  division  into  strophes  or  stanzas;  the  relation- 
ship of  the  verse  to  the  sentence  is,  as  usual,  the  same  as  in 
the  epic.  These  remarks  also  apply  to  the  pieces  which  follow. 

No  title  is  assigned  to  the  poem  in  the  MS., but  since  the  time 
of  Thorpe  it  has  been  generally  known  as  The  Wanderer.  This 
title  is  not  a  particularly  happy  one.  It  does  not  apply  at  all 
to  the  latter  part  of  the  poem,  and  even  in  the  first  part  it 
would  have  been  possible  to  choose  a  more  appropriate  term 
for  the  person  whose  position  is  described. 

The  poem  falls  into  two  main  sections,  of  which  only  the 
first  deals  with  a  'wanderer ' — or  rather  a  homeless  man  of  the 
upper  class  who  has  lost  his  lord.  The  second  main  section 
consists  of  reflections  upon  a  ruin.  The  connection  between 
the  two  parts — and  indeed  the  sequence  of  thought  through- 
out the  poem — is  not  very  clear.  The  general  theme  however 
is  the  transitoriness  of  prosperity,  tempered  by  the  reflection, 
which  is  introduced  both  at  the  beginning  and  the  end,  that 
relief  from  misery  may  be  expected  from  God's  mercy. 

In  the  opening  lines  the  poet  reflects  that  those  whose  lot  it 
is  to  traverse  the  wintry  sea  in  solitude  and  sorrow  look  for  the 
mercy  of  God,  In  1.  6  we  are  introduced  to  a  homeless  man 
who  has  lost  all  his  friends  in  war.  In  his  speech  (1.  8  ff.)  he 
bewails  the  cruel  fate  which  he  has  to  bear  in  silence  and 
solitude.  Such  has  been  his  lot  ever  since,  long  ago,  he  lost 
the  prince  whom  he  had  served,  and  set  out  over  the  sea  in  the 

K.  1 


2  THE  WANDERER 

hope  of  finding  some  lord  who  would  befriend  him.  At  1.  29 
begins  a  series  of  reflections  on  the  hardships  and  bitterness 
of  his  situation.  A  vivid  picture  is  drawn  of  the  memories  and 
visions  of  past  friends  which  haunt  him  in  his  dreams.  From 
this  the  poet  passes  in  1.  58  to  general  considerations  on  the 
transitoriness  and  misery  of  human  life,  and  so  leads  up  to  a 
series  of  maxims  on  conduct  expressed  in  gnomic  form.  The 
last  maxim  consists  of  an  injunction  to  the  wise  to  remember 
that  nothing  is  permanent,  and  this  idea  suggests  to  the 
poet's  mind  the  picture  (1.  75  f.)  of  a  ruined  castle,  the  owners 
of  which  have  all  perished.  In  11,  92 — 110  we  have  the 
speech  of  an  imaginary  person  surveying  such  a  ruin — 
apparently  a  stone  building  of  the  Roman  period.  The  second 
speech  ends  with  further  reflections  on  the  transitoriness  of 
earthly  things  (11.  106 — 110).  Again  the  poet  passes,  though 
very  briefl}^  (1.  112  ff.),  to  general  maxims  on  the  conduct  of 
life,  and  concludes  (11, 1 14, 115),  as  he  began,  with  the  observa- 
tion that  relief  from  troubles  is  only  to  be  obtained  by  God's 
mercy. 

It  will  be  seen  that  two  speeches  are  contained  in  the 
poem.  The  first  begins  at  1.  8  ;  the  second  begins  at  1.  92  and 
ends  at  1, 110.  The  point  at  which  the  first  speech  ends  is  not 
clear,  and  it  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  no  inverted  commas 
have  been  ventured  for  the  end  of  this  speech  in  the  editions 
of  Grain,  Wulcker,  Sweet  and  Sieper,  although  they  are  used  at 
11.  8,  92, 110.  The  choice  seems  to  lie  between  11.  29, 62,  and  87. 

The  vocabulary  of  the  poem  is  somewhat  unusual  and  presents 
a  considerable  number  of  aira^  Xeyofieva,  e.g.  modcearig,  gliw- 
stasf,  cwidegiedd,  geondpencan,  hrsedwyrde,  feohgifre,  hiwawne, 
hry&ge,  dreorighleor,  wealsteal,  hri&,  hssglfare,  gesteal.  On  the 
other  hand  the  poem  contains  many  of  the  stock  ideas  of 
Anglo-Saxon  poetry.  The  hour  before  dawn  is  conventionally 
chosen  as  the  time  when  discomfort  or  grief  is  most  acutely 
felt  (cf.  th-e  Wife's  Complaint,  1.  35);  the  hospitable  and 
generous  goldwine,  the  wintry  sea,  the  crumbling  ruin,  the 
transitoriness  of  earth  and  all  that  it  holds — all  these  things 
are  to  be  found  mentioned  or  described  in  precisely  similar 
phrases  elsewhere  in  Anglo-Saxon  poetry,  while  the  diction 


THE  WANDERER  3 

and  phrasing  find  many  echoes^  in  the  Blickling  Homilies  and 
WuHstan's  sermons. 

Christian  ideas  are  not  very  prominent  on  the  whole, 
though  they  are  obvious  in  11. 1  f.,  85,  114  f.  The  use  of  'this' 
in  connection  with  words  denoting 'world'  (e.g.  11.  58,  62,  75) 
points  in  the  same  direction,  and  so  too,  probably,  do  the 
expressions  woruldnce  and  eorpan  rice  (11.  65,  106).  Many 
scholars  also  believe  that  the  list  in  1.  80  fi'.  and  the  rhetorical 
questions  in  1.  92  IF.  are  derived  from  Latin  works  of  a  religious 
character-.  It  is  in  the  last  ten  lines  (106 — 115),  however,  that 
Christian  influence  is  most  prominent.  Yet  even  here  1.  108 
presents  an  interesting  parallel  to  the  heathen  Hdvamdl,  and 

I.  107  contains  a  reference  to  the  Fates — an  idea  clearly 
derived  from  heathen  mythology.  Other  references  to  Fate 
(in  the  singular),  more  or  less  personified,  occur  in  11.  5,  15, 
100.  The  poem  therefore  shows  a  curious  confusion  of  Christian 
and  heathen  ideas,  somewhat  similar  to  what  is  found  in 
Beowulf. 

The  same  confusion  may  be  traced  in  the  references  to 
ethical  principles.  The  conclusion  of  the  poem  is  definitely 
Christian,  but  elsewhere  the  virtues  inculcated  are  rather 
those  which  appear  to  have  been  specially  emphasised  by 
the  public  opinion  of  the  Teutonic  aristocracy  in  heathen 
times,  such  as  fortitude  under  hardships,  generosity,  bravery, 
prudence.  Here  again  the  outlook  is  similar  to  that  oi'  Beotuulf. 

Gnomic  utterances  are  much  in  evidence — especially  in 

II.  11—18,  62—72,  106  tf.— another  feature  which  this  poem 
has  in  common  with  Beowulf,  as  well  as  with  pieces  in  which 
such  utterances  form  the  main  theme.  In  this  category 
we  may  perhaps  include  the  Bi  Manna  Wyrdum,  which 
resembles  the  latter  part  of  the  Wanderer  in  several  features, 
partly  owing  to  the  similarity  of  the  theme.  The  most  striking 
parallel  occurs  in  1.  80  ff.  of  the  Wanderer  where,  in  addition  to 
resemblance  in  subject-matter,  the  same  formula  is  employed 
as  in  the  former  poem. 

Parallels  may  also  be  traced  between  the  Wanderer  and  the 

1  Instances  are  cited  in  the  notes  below. 
^  See  the  notes  to  these  passages. 

1—2 


4  THE  WANDERER 

Seafarer :  (1)  in  the  description  of  the  winter  storm,  S.  1.  31  f. ; 
W.  1.  102  f.  (2)  in  references  to  the  past  splendour  of  the 
world,  S.  1.  86  f . ;  W.  1.  79  f.  (3)  in  the  poetical  device  of 
emphasising  the  misery  of  a  seafaring  life  by  contrasting  it 
with  a  life  of  luxury  on  land,  8. 11.  20  f ,  44  f ;  W.  1.  32  f  (4)  in 
the  curiously  recurring  lines  S.  12,  55  (cf.  27);  W.  11.  29,  87. 
All  these  features  may  however  be  accounted  for  by  similarity 
■)f  subject  and  a  common  poetic  convention.  A  closer  and 
deeper  analogy  to  the  first  scene  in  the  Wanderer  is  to  be 

^  found  in  Beowulf  (11.  2233—2270),  in  the  episode  of  the  last 
survivor  of  a  generation  and  a  chivalry  that  has  passed  away. 
Another  parallel  in  the  latter  poem  is  presented  by  the  scene 

"^  of  the  bereaved  father  (11.  2444 — 2459),  which  also  bears 
a  resemblance  to  a  passage  in  the  Bi  Manna  Wyrdum 
(11.  33—42). 

The  second  scene  in  the  Wanderer  has  much  in  common 
with  the  Ruin,  though  this  again  is  due  largely  to  the  nature 
of  the  subject.  As  instances  we  may  cite^  W.  1.  87  eald 
enta  geweoix ;  R.l.  2  enta  geweorc.  W.  1.  88  J^isne  wealsteal ; 
R.  1. 1  Jj^es  wealstan,  1.  21  hurgsteall.  W.  1.  98  weal. .  .wyrmlicum 
fall]  R.  1.  9f.  wag . . .readfah — and  the  following  passages  : 

W.  1.  77  f.  R.  1.  20  f. 

hry^ge    )ja    ederas,    woriaS  jja         wurdon   hyra  wigsteal    westen- 

winsalo ;  sta))olas,  brosnade  burgsteall. 

W.  1.  78  f.  R.  1.  6  f. 
waldend    licga'S    dreame  bidro-         eortgrap  hafa'S  waldend  wyrhtan 

rene ;  forweorone  geleorone. 

TT.  1.79f.  i?.  1.  21f. 

duguiJ    eal    gecrong    wlonc  bi         betend  crungon,  hergas  to  hru- 

wealle ;  san. 

W.  1.  100  '      R.  1.  17 

Wyrd  seo  msere ;  Wyrd  seo  swijie. 

The  resemblances  pointed  out  above  between  the  Wandei^er 
and  Beowidf  favour  the  view  that  the  former  was  composed 
during  the  earlier  part  of  the  Saxon  period.  Indeed  this  is 
commonly  held  to  be  the  case  with  all  the  poems  which  we 
have  been  discussing-.    We  have  no  reason  to  suppose  that 

1  Cf.  Sieper,  Die  altenglische  Elegie  (Strassburg,  1915),  p.  198. 

^  Schiicking  however  refers  {Kleines  angelsachsisches  Dicliterhuch,  Cothen, 
1919)  nearly  all  these  poems  to  the  tenth  century ;  but  he  holds  that  even 
Beowulf  is  not  earlier  than  the  close  of  the  ninth. 


THE  WANDERER  5 

the  Wimderer  is  one  of  the  eai'liest  of  these  poems.  The 
evidence  as  to  date  is  indeed  hirgely  inferential,  and  not  very 
satisfactory.  Like  the  rest  of  the  poems  in  the  Exeter  Book  it 
has  conie  down  to  us  in  the  form  of  hxnguage  generally  used  in 
poetical  MSS.  dating  from  the  end  of  the  tenth  century,  i.e. 
what  is  known  as  Late  West  Saxon,  with  a  certain  number  of 
forms  which  belong  to  an  earlier  period  and  a  different  part 
of  the  country.  The  most  trustworthy  linguistic  criterion 
which  has  yet  been  found  for  determining  the  date  of  Anglo- 
Saxon  poems  is  the  use  of  the  article — especially  its  presence 
or  absence  before  a  'weak'  adj.  in  combination  with  the  noun. 
In  the  Wanderer  the  article  (or  demonstrative  pronoun)  is 
always  found  in  this  position — which  is  against  the  usage  of 
the  earliest  poems'.  But  the  number  of  cases  (four  in  all)  is  so 
small  that  this  criterion  can  hardly  be  said  to  afford  any  very 
decisive  indication  as  to  date  I 

It  has  been  frequently  suggested  that  the  poem  as  we 
have  it  is  of  composite  origin.  Some  scholars  believe  that  the 
Christian  passages  at  the  beginning  and  the  end  are  later 
additions,  others  that  the  original  poem  ended  at  I.  62.  Into 
such  questions  I  cannot  enter  here  ;  it  is  obvious,  however, 
that  anonymous  poems  of  this  character  would  admit  of  such 
extension  as  is  suggested,  and  the  apparent  want  of  coherence 
in  the  poem  lends  some  colour  to  the  idea.  Again  the  incon- 
sistencies pointed  out  above  in  regard  to  religious  conceptions 
and  ethical  standards  bear  witness  no  doubt  to  a  change  of 
faith.  But  it  does  not  necessarily  follow  that  the  poem  was 
originally  composed  before  the  conversion  of  the  English.  The 
fact  that  the  Christian  ideas  are  more  prominent  towards  the 
end  of  the  poem  may  indeed  point  to  a  change  of  environment, 
but  this  might  just  as  well  be  local  as  chronological.  From 
the  seventh  century  onwards  the  popularity  of  references  to 

1  In  Cynewulf's  poems,  which  are  generally  assigned  to  the  ninth  century, 
and  perhaps  to  the  earlier  half  of  it,  the  article  occurs  in  this  construction 
in  about  eight  out  of  nine  cases. 

'^  Kichter  (Chronohxji-'fche  Studien  znr  angelsachsischen  Literatur,  Halle, 
1910,  p.  !)f;)  dates  it  at  c.  750-800.  Brandl  {Geschichte  der  altenglisclwn 
Literatur,  Strassburg,  1908,  p.  878)  on  the  other  hand  brings  it  down  to 
about  the  time  of  Alfred,  and  suggests  that  the  disasters  of  8(J7-870  may  be 
reflected  in  1.  75  S.  But  this  explauation  will  hardly  suit  the  required  con- 
ditions in  either  the  first  or  the  second  part  of  the  poem. 


6  THE  WANDERER 

God  or  Fate,  to  Christian  principles  or  the  old  military  and 
aristocratic  ideals,  would  doubtless  vary  in  different  courts  and 
households,  to  say  nothing  of  the  religious  houses.  Indeed  in 
some  respects  the  old  ideals  maintained  their  strength  nearly 
to  the  end  of  the  Saxon  period. 

But  after  all  it  is  a  question  of  minor  importance  whether 
the  poem  originated  in  the  seventh,  eighth,  or  ninth  century. 
The  really  interesting  question  is  how  such  a  peculiar  type  of 
composition  came  into  existence ;  and  this  question  affects  not 
only  the  Waiiderer  but  also  the  four  following  pieces  (pp.  16 
— 57).  If  we  seek  for  a  common  definition  applicable  to  these 
five  poems,  we  may  perhaps  describe  them  as  (somewhat 
elaborate)  studies  of  situation  or  emotion  applied  to  imaginary 
and  nameless  persons  who  are  detached  from  any  definite 
associations  of  time  or  place.  The  same  description  holds 
good  for  the  two  passages  in  Beowulf  cited  above — those 
relating  to  the  '  last  survivor '  and  the  '  bereaved  father ' 
respectively — as  well  as  for  other  passages  in  the  same  poem, 
e.g.  the  account  of  the  'arrogant  man'  in  11.  1728 — 1757. 
Similar  studies  are  not  uncommon  in  modern  literature,  but 
the  characters,  though  imaginary,  are  not  as  a  rule  nameless. 
On  the  other  hand  in  early  Norse  poetry,  as  in  Greek  tragedy  ^ 
the  usual  practice  was  to  choose  for  such  studies  scenes  frotn 
heroic  stories^ — i.e.  the  subjects  are  characters  of  the  past, 
not  fictions  of  the  poet's  imagination.  Instances  may  be 
found  among  the  poems  of  the  Edda,  e.g.  the  '  Lamentation 
of  Guthriin  '  (Gud'rilnarkvid'a  I)  or  'Brynhildr's  Ride  to  Hell 
(Helreid'  Brynhildar).  The  relationship  of  such  studies  to 
the  Anglo-Saxon  type  may  be  appreciated  by  comparing  the 
first  of  these  poems  with  Tennyson's  poem  on  the  same 
theme.  The  simplification  shown  by  the  latter  is  probably 
required  by  this  type,  and  would  doubtless  have  appeared  in 
an  Anglo-Saxon  poem  on  the  subject — which  however  would 

1  Instances  are  not  uncommon  in  the  Old  Testament  also,  e.g.  the  elegy 
of  David  over  Saul  and  Jonathan  (2  Sam.  i.  19  ff.),  unless  this  is  really  a 
contemporary  poem. 

'  It  was  apparently  not  until  the  twelfth  century  that  stories  other  than 
heroic  were  used  for  this  purpose  (e.g.  Hjdlmarr's  Death  Song  in  Orvar- 
Odds  Saga). 


THE  WANDERER  7 

have  opened  with  some  such  conventional  ])hrase  as  e.g. 
'Sorrowful  is  the  heart  of  a  wife  when  her  warrior  is  brought 
home  dead,'  or  '  I  can  tell  how  my  warrior  was  brought 
home  dead.' 

The  fondness  for  this  nameless,  timeless  type  of  poetry  is 
probably  to  be  connected  with  the  popularity  of  riddle  poetry, 
and  with  the  absence  of  any  poetry  which  can  properly  be 
regarded  as  historical.  Anglo-Saxon  poetry  contains  hardly 
any  reference  to  historical  persons  and  events  between  the 
end  of  the  Heroic  Age  and  the  time  of  Aethelstan — a  period 
of  over  three  centuries  and  a  half.  Stories  of  saints,  such  as 
St  Guthlac,  are  almost  the  only  exceptions,  and  in  these  the 
historical  element  is  reduced  to  a  minimum. 

It  would  seem  that  what  appealed  most  to  the  poets  of  that 
period  was  a  description  of  situations  or  emotions  which  were 
free  from  personal  associations.  And  the  majority  of  readers 
will  probably  agree  that  it  is  in  such  descriptions — both  in 
our  poems  and  in  the  passages  from  Beowulf  cited  above — 
that  Anglo-Saxon  poetry  appears  at  its  best,  whereas  the 
weak  point  lies  in  construction — in  want  of  coherence 
between  the  different  parts  of  the  poem.  It  strikes  us  as 
rather  strange  that  so  abstract  a  type  of  poetry  should  have 
prevailed  in  an  age  which  we  are  accustomed  to  regard 
as  barbarous.  But  the  fact  must  be  borne  in  mind  that 
we  have  evidence,  e.g.  in  the  stories  of  Caedmon^  and 
St  Aldhelm-,  for  an  unusually  wide  cultivation  of  poetry,  at 
least  in  the  earlier  part  of  this  period' — apparently  among  all 
classes ;  and  it  may  be  that  the  intellectual  standard  of  the 
age  was  higher  than  is  generally  recognised. 

1  Cf.  Bede,  Hist.  Eccl.  iv,  24. 

2  Cf.  William  of  Malmesbury,  Ge,s«a  Pontif.  (Rolls  Series)  v,  §  190. 

3  In  later  times  we  may  refer  e.g.  to  the  songs  sung  at  funerals  which 
Aelfric  condemned.  Cf.  Canons  of  yElfric,  cap.  35  (ed.  Thorpe,  Ancient  Laws 
and  Institutes  of  England,  1840,  Vol.  i,  p.  356  f.). 


THE  WANDERER 

Oft  him  anhaga         are  gebideS, 

metudes  miltse,        peah  pe  he  modcearig 

geond  lagulade         longe  sceolde 

hreran  mid  hondum         hrimcealde  see,  V*v--fc&^./ 
5  wadan  wrseclastas.         Wyrd  biS  ful  araed  ! 

Swa  cwaeS  eardstapa         earfej^a  gemyndig, 

wraj^ra  wselsleahta,         winemsega  hryre :  i 

'  Oft  ic  sceolde  ana         iihtna  gehwylce 

mine  ceare  cwij)an.         Nis  nu  cwicra  nan 
lo  J7e  ic  him  modsefan         minne  durre 

sweotule  asecgan.         Ic  toso]?e  wat 

pset  bi]?  in  eorle         indryhten  )jeaw     , 

J?8et  he  his  ferSlocan         fseste  binde, 
V I  healde^  his  hordcofan,         hycge  swa  he  wille. 

1 5  Ne  mseg  werigmod         Wyrde  wiSstondan, 

ne  se  hreo  hyge  .       helpe  gefremman. 

For  Son  domgeorne      "  "dreorigne  oft 

in  hyra  breostcofan         bindaS  fseste. 

Swa  ic  modsefan         minne  sceolde 
20  oft  earmcearig,         eSle  bidaeled, 

freomsegum  feor         feterum  sselan, 

si]?|?an  geara  iu         gold  wine  minne - 

hrusan  heolster''  biwrah,         and  ic  hean  j^onan 

wod  wintercearig         ofer  wsepema'^-gehmd, 
25  sohte  sele  dreorig         sinces  bryttan,    \-.. 

hwEer  ic  feor  oppe  neah         findan  meahte 

J?one  pe  in  meoduhealle         mm^  mine  wisse, 

o)>|>e  mec  freondleaswe"         frefran  wolde, 
^^cj^^.     wenian  mid  wynnum.'         Wat  se  pe  cunnaS 
3ohu  sli|?en  bis         sorg  to  geferan 

J7am  pe  him  lyt  hafaS         leofra  geholena. 

^  em.  Thorpe  {?  healde),  healdne  ms.     -  em.  Thorpe  (mine),  mine  ms. 

3  em.  Ettmuller,  heolstre  ms.  *  em.  Thorpe  (cf.  1.  57),  wapena  ms. 

^^  em.  Klaeber,  om.  ms.  «  em.  Thor^Q,  freondlease  ms. 


THE  WANDERER 

The  solitar}^  man  is  constantly  looking  for  mercy  and  God's 
compassion,  though  over  the  watery  ways  with  gloomy  heart 
he  has  long  had  to  stir  with  his  arms  the  icy  sea,  treading 
the  paths  of  exile.     Fate  is  absolutely  fixed  ! 

These  are  the  words  of  a  wanderer  whose  memory  was  full 
of  troubles  and  cruel  carnage,  wherein  his  dear  kinsmen 
had  fallen : 

'  Ever  it  has  been  my  lot  to  bewail  my  sorrows  in 
solitude  in  the  twilight  of  each  morning.  There  is  now  no- 
one  left  alive  to  whom  I  dare  tell  frankly  the  feelings  of 
my  heart.  I  know  truly  that  it  is  a  mark  of  nobility  in 
a  knight  that  he  should  fasten  securely  and  keep  to  himself 
the  treasur}^  in  which  his  thoughts  are  stored — think  what 
he  will !  For  all  his  grief  of  heart  a  man  cannot  resist  Fate, 
nor  can  his  troubled  spirit  give  him  any  help.  And  so  those 
who  are  eager  to  be  of  good  report  generally  keep  their 
sorrow  imprisoned  in  the  secret  chamber  of  the  heart. 

'  I  myself  too,  in  my  misery  and  distress,  have  constantly 
had  to  bind  my  feelings  in  fetters — exiled  ft'om  home  and  far 
from  my  kinsmen — ever  since  the  day  when  the  dark  earth 
closed  over  my  generous  lord,  and  I  wandered  away  over  the 
expanse  of  waters,  destitute  and  distraught  with  the  dangers 
of  winter,  looking  in  sorrow  for  the  abode  of  a  generous 
prince — if  far  or  near  I  could  find  one  who  would  feel  regard  for 
me  in  his  banqueting  hall,  or  comfort  me  in  my  fri endlessness 
and  entertain  me  with  good  cheer.' 

It  will  be  realised  by  him  who  experiences  it  what  a  cruel 
companion  anxiety  is  to  one  who  has  no  kind  protector.    His 


10  THE  WANDERER 

WaraS  hine  wrseclast,         nales  wunden  gold, 

ferfJloca  freorig,         nalaes  foldan  blaed. 

Gemon  he  selesecgas         and  sinc|?ege, 
35I1U  hine  on  geoguSe         his  gold  wine 

wenede  to  wiste.         Wyn  eal  gedreas  ! 

For  J?on  wat  se  J?e  sceal         his  winedryhtnes 

leofes  larcwidum         longe  forJ?olian  ; 

Sonne  sorg  and  slsep         somod  setga^dre 
40  earmne  anhogan         oft  gebindaS, 

J^inced"^  him  on  mode         )?8et  he  his  mondryhten 

clyppe  and  cysse,         and  on  cneo  lecge^ 

honda  and  heafod,         swa  he  hwilum  ser 

in  geardagum         giefstolas  breac. 
45  Donne  onw^ecneS  eft         wineleas  guma, 

gesihS  him  biforan         fealwe  wegas, 

ba]7ian  brimfuglas,         braedan  fej>ra, 

hreosan  hrim  and  snaw         hagle  gemepged. 

Donne  beot5  J?y  hefigran         heortan  benne 
50  sare  sefter  swsesne;         sorg  biS  geniwad, 

]>onne  maga  gemynd         mod  geondhweorfeS. 

GreteS  gliwstafum,         georne  geondsceaweS. 

Secga  geseldan         swimmaS  eft^  onweg ; 

fleotendra  ferS         no  )>8er  fela  bringeS 
55  cuSra  cwidegiedda ;         cearo  biS  geniwad 

)?am  pe  sendan  sceal         swij^e  geneahhe 

ofer  waj?ema  gebind         werigne  sefan. 

For  ]>on  ic  ge]?encan  ne  mseg         geond  pas  woruld 

for  hwan  modsefa         min  ne^  gesweorce, 
60  J;onne  ic  eorla  lif         eal  geond]?ence — 

hu  hi  farlice         flet  ofgeafon, 

modge  magu)?egnas —         swa  pes  middangeard 

ealra  dogra  gehwam         dreoseS  and  fealle]?. 

For  )>on  ne  maeg  wear]7an  wis         wer  ser  he  age 
65  wintra  dsel  in  woruldrice.         Wita  sceal  gej?yldig, 

ne  sceal  no  to  hatheort,         ne  to  hrsedwyrde, 

ne  to  wac  wiga,         ne  to  wanhydig, 

1  em.  Thorpe,  pinced  ms.  ^  go  Thorpe,  etc.,  ls^ge  MS. 

3  em.  Thorpe  C?  eft),  oft  ms.  *  em.  Grain,  modsefan  minne 


THE  WANDERER  11 

thoughts  are  full  of  homeless  wanderings — not  of  gold  rings  ; 
of  his  shivering  breast — not  of  the  good  things  of  the  earth. 
He  calls  to  mind  the  men  of  the  hall  and  the  giving  of 
treasure,  and  how  when  he  was  young  he  was  entertained 
to  his  heart's  content  by  his  generous  lord.  But  now  all  his 
happiness  has  passed  away  ! 

It  will  be  realised,  assuredly,  by  him  who  will  have  to  forego 
for  all  time  the  instructions  of  his  dear  lord  and  friend.  Ever 
when  distress  and  sleep  together  lay  hold  on  the  poor  solitary, 
he  dreams  that  he  is  greeting  and  kissing  his  liege-lord,  and 
laying  his  hands  and  head  on  his  knee — just  as  he  used  to 
do  when  he  enjoyed  the  bounty  of  the  throne  in  days  of  old. 
Then  the  friendless  man  awakes  again  and  sees  before  him 
the  grey  waves — sees  the  sea-birds  bathing  and  spreading 
their  wings,  and  rime  falling,  and  snow  mingled  with  hail. 
The  grievous  wounds,  which  the  loss  of  his  lord  has  made  in 
his  heart,  are  all  the  harder  to  bear,  and  his  sorrow  comes 
back  to  him  when  the  memory  of  his  kinsmen  passes  through 
his  mind.  He  greets  them  in  glad  strains  and  scans  them  all 
eagerly.  His  warrior  comrades  again  melt  away,  and  as  they 
vanish  their  spirits  bring  no  familiar  greetings  to  his  ear. 
His  sorrow  comes  back  to  him  as  on  and  on  he  must  urge 
his  aching  heart  over  the  expanse  of  waters. 

Assuredly  I  cannot  think  of  any  reason  in  the  world  why 
my  spirit  should  not  be  clouded,  when  I  reflect  upon  the  whole 
life  of  noblemen — how  halls  have  suddenly  been  left  destitute 
of  proud  warrior  squires — ^just  as  mankind  here  droops  and 
perishes  day  by  day. 

Assuredly  no  man  can  acquire  wisdom  until  he  has  spent 
many  years  in  the  world.  A  man  of  authority  must  be 
patient, — not  too  impetuous,  or  too  hasty  of  speech,  or  too 
slack  or  reckless  in   combat,  or  too  timid,  or  jubilant,  or 


12  THE  WANDERER 

ne  to  forht,  ne  to  fsegen,         ne  to  feohgifre. 

ne  nsefre  gielpes  to  geom         aer  he  geare  cunne. 
70  Beorn  sceal  gebidan,         ]7onne  he  beot  spriceS, 

op  jfset  collenferS         cunne  gearwe 

hwider  hrejra  gehygd         hvveorfan  wille. 

Ongietan  sceal  gleaw  hsele         hu  gsestlic  biS 

]>onne  eab-e^  j^isse  worulde  wela         weste  stondeS, 
75  swa  nu  raissenlice         geond  ]?isne  middangeard 

winde  biwawne-         weallas  stonda]?, 

hrime  bihrorene.         HrySge  pa,  ederas, 

woriaS  pa,  winsalo,         waldend  licgat5 

dreame  bidrorene,  duguS  eal  gecrong 

80  wlonc  bi  wealle.         Sume  wig  fornom, 

ferede  on  forSwege  ;         sumne  fugel  o)>b3er 

ofer  heanne  hohii ;         sumne  se  hara  wulf 

deaSe  gedselde  ;         sumne  dreorighleor 

in  eorSscrsefe         eorl  gehydde. 
85  Ypde^  swa  |>isne  eardgeard         selda  scyppend, 

0]?  J?8et  burgwara         breahtma  lease 

eald  enta  geweorc         idlu  stodon. 

Se  ponne  ]?isne  Avealsteal         wise  ge|?ohte, 

and  ]7is  deorce^  lif        deope  geond)>enceS, 
90  frod  in  ferSe,         feor  oft  gemon 

wselsleahta  worn,         and  ]?as  word  acwiS  : 

'  Hwaer  cwom  mearg  ?  hwger  cwom  mago  ?       hwoer  cwom 
ma}7|?umgyfa  ? 

hwaer  cwom  symbla  gesetu  ?       hwaer  sindon  seledreamas? 

Eala  beorht  bune  !         eala  byrnwiga  ! 
95  eala  ]?eodnes  |?rym  !         Hu  seo  prag  gewat, 

genap  under  nihthelm,         swa  heo  no  waere  ! 

StondeS  nu  on  laste         leofre  duguj'e 

weal  wundrum  heah,         wyrmlicum  fah. 

Eorlas  fornomon         asca  |>ry]?e, 
100  wsepen  waelgifru,         Wyrd  seo  maere  ; 

and  pa,s  stanhleoJ>u         stormas  cnyssaS. 

HriS  hreosende         hrusar?^  bindeS, 

1  em.  Wiilcker,  ealle  ms.  "  em.  Ettmiiller,  biwaune  ms. 

^  em,  Thorpe,  yfiife  ms.  ■*  em.  Thorpe,  deornce  ms. 

'*  em.  Thorpe  (^  hrusan),  hruse  ms. 


THE  WANDERER  13 

covetous,  or  too  ready  to  boast  ere  he  knows  full  well  the 
issue.  When  an  impetuous  warrior  is  making  a  vow,  he 
ought  to  pause  until  he  knows  full  well  the  issue — whither  the 
impulse  of  his  heart  will  lead.  A  wise  man  must  perceive 
how  mysterious  will  be  the  time  when  the  wealth  of  all  this 
age  will  lie  waste — ;just  as  now  in  diverse  places  through- 
out this  earth  walls  are  standing  beaten  by  the  wind  and 
covered  with  rime.  The  bulwarks  are  dismantled,  the  ban- 
queting halls  are  ruinous ;  their  rulers  lie  bereft  of  joy  and 
all  their  proud  chivalry  has  fallen  by  the  wall.  Some  have 
been  cut  off  by  battle,  borne  on  their  last  journey.  One  was 
carried  by  birds  over  the  deep  sea;  one  was  given  over  to 
death  by  the  grey  wolf;  one  was  buried  in  a  hole  in  the 
earth  by  a  knight  of  sad  countenance.  Thus  did  the  Creator 
of  men  lay  waste  this  place  of  habitation  until  the  clamour 
of  its  occupants  all  ceased,  and  the  buildings  raised  of  old 
by  giants  stood  empty.  He  then  who  in  a  spirit  of  medita- 
tion has  pondered  over  this  ruin,  and  who  with  an  under- 
standing heart  probes  the  mystery  of  our  life  down  to  its 
depths,  will  call  to  mind  many  slaughters  of  long  ago  and 
give  voice  to  such  words  as  these : 

'  What  h^  become  of  the  steed  ?  What  has  become 
of  the  squire  ?  What  has  become  of  the  giver  of  treasure  ? 
What  has  become  of  the  banqueting  houses  ?  Where 
are  the  joys  of  the  hall  ?  O  shining  goblet !  O  mailed 
warrior !  O  glory  of  the  prince  !  How  has  that  time  passed 
away,  grown  shadowy  under  the  canopy  of  night  as  though 
it  had  never  been  !  There  remains  now  of  the  beloved  knights 
no  trace  save  the  wall  wondrously  high,  decorated  with  serpent 
forms.  The  nobles  have  been  carried  off  by  the  violence  of 
spears,  by  weapons  greedy  for  slaughter  and  by  mighty 
Fate,  and  these  ramparts  of  stone  are  battered  by  tempests. 
Winter's  blast,  the  driving  snow-storm   enwraps  the  earth 


14  THE  WANDERER 

wintres  woma,         J>onne  won  cymeS, 

nipeS  nihtscua,         nor]7an  onsendeS 
105  hreo  hseglfare         h8ele))um  on  andan. 

Eall  is  earfotJlic         eor]7an  rice, 

onwendetJ  Wyrda  gesceaft         weoruld  under  heofonum. 

Her  bis  feoh  laene,         her  biS  freond  Isene, 

her  bis  mon  laene,         her  biS  mseg  Isene  : 
1 10  eal  J?is  eor]?an  gesteal         idel  weorj^eS  ! ' 

Swa  cvvgeS  snottor  on  mode,       gesset  him  sundor  set  rune. 

Til  bi]?  se  j^e  his  treowe  gehealdeS :         ne  sceal  nsefre  his 
torn  to  rycene 

beorn  of  his  breostum  acyj^an,     nemj^e  he  ser  j^a  bote  cunne 

eorl  mid  elne  gefremman  !     Wei  biS  }?am  pe  him  are  seceS, 
115  frofre  to  fseder  on  heofonum,         J^aer  us  eal  seo  fsestnung 
stondet5 ! 


THE  WANDERER  15 

when  the  shades  of  night  eoino  darkly  lowering,  and  sends 
from  the  North  a  cruel  hail-storm  in  wrath  against  mankind. 

'  All  the  realm  of  earth  is  full  of  tribulation.  The  life  of 
mankind  in  the  world  is  shattered  by  the  handiwork  of  the 
Fates.  Here  wealth  and  friends,  liegemen  and  kinsfolk  pass 
away.    Desolation  will  hold  sway  throughout  the  wide  world.' 

Thus  spake  the  man  wise  of  understanding  as  he  sat 
communing  with  himself  in  solitude.  Good  is  he  who  keeps 
his  faith.  A  warrior  must  never  be  too  precipitate  in  giving 
vent  to  the  grief  in  his  heart,  unless  he  has  learnt  zealously 
to  apply  the  remedy.  Well  will  it  be  for  him  who  seeks 
mercy  and  comfort  from  the  Father  in  Heaven,  upon  whom 
all  our  security  rests. 


16 


II.    THE  SEAFARER 

The  Seafarer  is  preserved  on  fol.  81  f.  of  the  Exeter  Book. 
Its  origin,  date,  and  authorship  are  unknown.  So  diverse, 
both  in  subject  and  tone,  are  the  different  parts  of  the  poem 
that  the  majority  of  scholars  have  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  it  cannot  have  been  the  work  of  one  author^  In  its 
original  form  it  is  generally  believed  to  have  ended  at  1.  64. 
What  follows  (from  1.  64  to  the  end)  is  thought  to  have  been 
added  at  a  considerably  later  time  by  someone  whose  religious 
zeal  was  greater  than  his  poetic  inspiration. 

In  the  part  of  the  poem  which  is  by  general  consent 
ascribed  to  the  original  author  a  different  kind  of  problem  is 
presented.  There  appear  at  first  sight  to  be  inconsistencies 
between  one  passage  and  another,  e.g.  between  1.  33  ff.  and 
the  preceding  narrative.  On  this  ground  it  has  been  held  by 
many  that  the  first  part  of  the  Seafarer  was  composed  as  a 
dialogue.  This  theory  was  first  suggested  in  1869  by  Rieger- 
who  assigned  the  speeches  to  an  old  mariner  whose  mind  is 
full  of  the  hardships  of  a  seafaring  life  and  a  young  man 
anxious  to  go  to  sea.  To  the  old  man  he  assigned  11.  1 — 33  ; 
11.  39—47  ;  11.  53 — 57  ;  11.  72— end.  The  intervening  speeches 
he  assigned  to  the  young  man.  Kluge,  Wtilcker,  Brandl, 
Sieper,  etc.  have  accepted  Rieger's  suggestion  that  the  poem 
contains  a  dialogue,  but  hold  that  the  dialogue  ceases  at 
1.  64^  and  comprises  two  speeches  only,  11.  1 — 33  that  of  an 
old  mariner,  11.  33 — 64  that  of  a  youth. 

1  Cf.  Kluge,  Englische  Studien,  1883,  p.  322  ff.;  ib.,  1885,  p.  472  £f.  ; 
Wiilcker,  Grund.  z.  Gesch.  der  angelscichs.  Litt.  (Leipzig,  1885),  p.  206 ff.; 
Brandl,  Altenglische  Literatur,  Part  i  (Strassburg,  1908),  p.  979  f. ;  Lawrence^ 
Journal  of  Germanic  Philology,  Vol.  iv,  1902,  p.  46011'.;  Sieper,  Die  alten- 
glische Elegie  (Strassburg,  1915),  p.  183  ff.  Exceptions  are  Rieger,  Zeitschrift 
fur  deutsche  Philologie,  Vol.  i,  p.  330  ff. ;  Ten  Brink,  Geschichte  der  engli- 
schen  Literatur,  Vol.  i  (Strassburg,  1899),  p.  80 ;  Ehrismann,  '  Eeligionsge- 
schichtliche  beitrage  zum  germanischen  friibchristentum,'  Beitrdge  zur  Gesch.. 
der  detit.  Sprache  und  Lit.  Vol.  35,  1909,  p.  213 ;  Scbiicking,  Kleines  angel- 
sdchsisches  Dichterhuch  (Cotbeu,  1919),  p.  6f. 

2  Zeitschr.  /.  d.  Philol.  Vol.  i,  p.  330.  Cf.  Honncber,  Anglia,  Vol.  ix, 
p.  435  ff. 

3  So  most  scholars.  It  is  not  quite  clear  to  me  whether  Kluge  understand& 
the  second  speech  to  end  at  1.  64  or  1.  66. 


THE  SEAFARER  17 

A  yet  more  complicated  analysis,  which  affects  the 
Wande7'er  also,  has  been  attempted  by  Boer^  According  to 
his  view  the  Wanderer  and  the  Seafarer  together  contain 
the  remains  of  three  old  poems  which  have  been  disintegrated 
and  brought  together  in  a  new  form.  This  theory  has  been 
criticised  at  length  by  W.  W.  Lawrence'^  who  thinks  that 
there  is  'no  reason  to  assume  that  the  Wandei-er  and  the 
Seafarer  are  not  preserved  in  essentially  their  original  form 
with  the  exception  of  a  homiletic  addition  to  the  latter 
poem'  (i.e.  11.  103 — 124).  He  rejects  the  dialogue  theory 
entirely,  but  admits  with  some  doubt  that  the  Christian 
elements  in  the  body  of  the  poem  may  be  later  additions^. 

I  think  that  Lawrence's  conclusions  are  the  most  reason- 
able that  have  yet  been  put  forward  on  this  subject.  The 
infrequency  of  the  dialogue  form  as  a  poetical  device  in 
Anglo-Saxon  poetry  should  make  us  hesitate  before  adopting 
this  hypothesis,  unless  it  is  supported  by  strong  evidence. 
There  is  no  indication  whatever  in  the  text  of  any  change  of 
speaker  such  as  we  find  so  clearly  indicated  in  Salomon  and 
Saturn  and  in  the  Norse  dialogue  poems* ;  and  it  is  surely 
significant  that  the  scholars  who  hold  the  dialogue  theory 
vary  greatly  in  their  views  as  to  the  distribution  and  division 
of  the  speeches^.  The  change  of  view  indicated  in  1.  33  may 
be  merely  rhetorical,  and  its  effect  on  the  modern  reader  is 
exaggerated  by  the  absence  of  such  adversative  particles  as 
serve  in  modern  languages,  as  in  ancient  Greek,  to  knit  con- 
flicting ideas  in  a  logical  sequence. 

Attempts  have  been  made®  indeed  to  prove  the  adversative 
use  of  for  pon  which  is  one  of  the  chief  difficulties  of  the 
poem ;   but   the   only   explanation,   I    think,    which    covers 

^  Zeitschr.  f.  deut.  Philol.  Vol.  xxxv,  p.  1  ff. 
«  Journ.  of  Germ.  Philol.  Vol.  iv,  1902,  p.  460  ff. 

'  The  dialogue  theory  is  also  rejected  by  Kock  in  Lunds  Universitets  Ars- 
tkrift,  1918  ('Jubilee  Jaunts  and  Jottings,'  p.  75). 

*  Lawrence  (op.  cit.,  p.  468)  points  out  that  a  change  of  speaker  is  clearly 
indicated  in  the  Wanderer,  1.  88  f. 

*  Cf.  Rieger,  Zeitschr.  /.  d.  Philol.  Vol.  i,  p.  330  ff. ;  Honncher,  Anglia, 
Vol.  IX,  p.  435 ff.;  Kluge,  Engl.  Stud.  Vol.  vi  (1883),  p.  322  ff.;  Boer,  Zeitschr. 
f.  d.  Philol.  Vol.  xxxv,  p.  l-i  ff.,  etc. 

«  Cf.  Kieger,  op.  cit.,  p.  335,  note  to  1.  27 ;  M.  Daunt,  Modern  Language 
Review,  Vol.  xiii  (1918),  p.  474  f.;  Kock,  loc.  cit. 

K.  2 


18  THE  SEAFARER 

satisfactorily  its  use  in  all  cases  is  to  take  it  as  a  colourless 
adverbial  phrase,  connecting  loosely  what  goes  before  with 
what  follows,  and  to  translate  it  by  some  such  expression  as 
'I  assure  thee'  or  'assuredly '^  Lawrence  takes  a  similar 
view,  though  he  translates  'in  this  respect,'  which  is  not  very 
suitable  for  1.  33. 

It  is  not  however  very  difficult  to  trace  the  sequence  of 
thought  in  the  poem  in  its  present  form  as  far  as  1.  102.  In 
11,  1 — 33  a  seafarer  describes  the  hardships  which  he  has 
endured  at  sea,  yet  (11.  33 — 64)  declares  that  in  spite  of  such 
hardships  he  is  always  longing  to  set  forth  again  on  his 
voyages.  At  1.  64  there  is  certainly  a  rather  awkward  transi- 
tion. He  appears  to  argue  that  in  view  of  the  transitoriness 
of  human  life  the  best  thing  that  a  man  can  do  is  to  win  the 
good  opinion  of  posterity  and  the  joy  of  Heaven.  He  con- 
cludes by  deploring  the  departure  of  the  glory  of  the  past 
and  the  inevitableness  of  death. 

At  1.  102  there  is  a  marked  change  in  the  character  of  the 
poem.  Thorpe  suggested ^  that  what  follows  is  the  work  of  a 
different  author — a  view  which  has  been  adopted  by  several 
recent  writers.  The  passage  is  verbose  and  lacking  in 
coherence,  and  the  sentiments  expressed  have  no  obvious  con- 
nection with  the  rest  of  the  poem^  LI.  106 — 10.9  contain 
gnomic  utterances  which  are  identical  with  certain  passages 

1  W.  W.  Lawrence  has  pointed  out  (Journ.  of  Germ.  Philol.  Vol.  iv,  1902, 
p.  463  f.)  that  in  the  Lindisfarne  and  Rushworth  glosses  on  the  Gospels 
for  f)on  is  not  infrequently  used  where  the  corresponding  ms.  passage  has 
soplice  or  a  like  word.  The  earlier  meaning  of  the  phrase  was  probably 
'  so  far  as  this  is  concerned,'  which  may  from  the  context  acquire  the  mean- 
ing 'in  spite  of  that.'  Kock,  Lunds  TJniversitets  Arstskrift,  1918  ('Jubilee 
Jaunts  and  Jottings,'  p.  75),  points  out  that  the  Norse  fyrir  pvl  sometimes 
has  this  latter  force.  See  Fritzner,  Ordbog  over  det  gamle  norske  Sprog,  Vol.  i, 
s.v.  fyrir  §  22  (e.g.  Flateyjarbdk,  Vol.  ii,  p.  187,  '  Sofa  munu  ver  fullan 
svefn  fyrir  J'vi');  hut  adversative  ideas  maybe  introduced  in  Anglo-Saxon 
poetry  without  any  adversative  phrases.    We  may  refer  e.g.  to  Beowulf,  1.  478. 

'^  Codex  Exoniensis  (London,  1842),  p.  312,  note  1.  On  the  question  as  to 
the  authorship  of  this  latter  part,  cf.  Wiilcker,  Grundriss,  etc.  p.  210  f.; 
Brandl,  Gesch.  d.  altengl.  Lit.  p.  979  f.;  Sieper,  Die  altengl.  Elegie,  p.  191. 

3  This  last  remark  may  be  held  also  to  apply  to  the  concluding  lines  of  the 
Wanderer.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  1.  102  of  the  Seafarer  begins  a  new  folio 
it  has  been  suggested  that  part  of  a  set  of  gnomic  verses  has  been  attached 
to  the  poem  by  a  binder's  error.  Cf.  Thorpe,  loc.  cit.;  Lawrence,  op.  cit. 
p.  471 ;  B.  C.  Williams,  Gnomic  Poetry  in  Anglo-Saxon  (New  York,  1914), 
p.  47  ff. 


THE  SEAFARER  19 

in  the  Exeter  Gnomes,  and  many  analogies  to  the  phraseology 
of  the  entire  passage  are  to  be  found  in  religious  poems  and 
sermons.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  11.  64 — 102  may  have  been 
recast  at  some  time,  perhaps  when  the  end  of  the  poem 
(from  1.  103)  was  added.  This  hypothesis  will  at  all  events 
help  to  account  for  certain  awkward  constructions,  especially 
in  1.  74  ff.,  as  well  as  for  the  rather  unnatural  transitions  of 
thought  which  occur  both  here  and  in  1.  64  ff.  Such  recasting 
may  have  been  not  unusual  when  secular  poems  made  their 
way  into  religious  houses.  It  would  be  possible  to  trace  a 
similar  process,  though  on  a  smaller  scale,  in  the  Wanderer 
and  elsewhere.  But  I  doubt  if  it  is  possible  now  to  separate 
the  later  elements  or  to  reconstruct  the  body  of  the  original 
poem  K 

*  For  the  most  recent  analysis  and  discussion  of  the  structure  of  the 
Seafarer,  see  R.  Imelmann,  Forschungen  zur  altenglischen  Poesie  (Berlin, 
1920),  pp.  42  ff.,  141  f. 


2—2 


20 


THE  SEAFARER 

Maeg  ic  be  me  sylfum         soSgied  wrecan, 

sipSLS  secgan,         hu  ic  geswincdagura 

earfoShwile         oft  )?rowade, 

bitre  breostceare         gebiden  hsebbe, 
5  gecunnad  in  ceole         cearselda  fela, 

atol  y)?a  gewealc,         ]>ser  mec  oft  bigeat 

nearo  nihtwaco  set  nacan  stefnan, 

]?onne  he  be  clifum  cnossaS.         Calde  geprungen 

wseron  mine  fet,         forste  gebunden 
lo  caldum  clommum,         J^ser  j^a  ceare  seofedun 

hat  ymb  heortan,         hungor  innan  slat 

merewerges  mod.         pset  se  mon  ne  wat, 

pe  him  on  foldan         faegrost  limpeS, 
"  hu  ic  earmcearig         iscealdne  sse 
15  winter  wunade         wrseccan  lastum, 

winemsegum  bidroren, 

bihongen  hrimgicelum  :         hsegl  scurum  fleag. 

paer  ic  ne  gehyrde        butan  hlimman  sae, 

iscaldne  wseg.         Hwilum  ylfete  song 
20  dyde  ic  me  to  gomene,         ganetes  hleo]?or 

and  huilpan  sweg         fore  hleahtor  wera, 

msew  singende         fore  medodrince. 

Stormas  J?ser  stanclifu  beotan,        J^ser  him  stearn  oncwseS 

isigfe]7era :         ful  oft  pddt  earn  bigeal 
25  urigfe]7ra.         Ngenig  hleomaega 

feasceaftig  ferS         fre/ran^  meahte. 

For  J;on  him  gelyfeS  lyt,         se  pe  ati  lifes  wyn 

gebiden  in  burgum,         bealosij^a  hwon, 

wlonc  and  wingal,         hu  ic  werig  oft 
30  in  brimlade         bidan  sceolde  ! 

Nap  nihtscua,         nor);an  sniwde, 

hrim  hrusan  band,         hsegl  feol  on  eor]?an, 

1  em.  Grein",  feran  ms. 


21 


THE  SEAFARER 

I  will  recite  a  lay  about  my  own  history  and  recount  my 
adventures — how  in  days  of  stress  I  have  constantly  suffered 
times  of  hardship.  I  have  endured  bitter  anguish  of  heart 
and  experienced  many  anxious  moments  in  my  bark  through 
the  terrible  rolling  of  the  waves.  A  distressing  vigil  has 
often  been  my  lot  at  the  stern  of  the  ship,  when  it  was  dashing 
against  the  rocks.  My  feet  have  been  numbed  with  cold, 
bound  with  chill  fetters  of  frost,  while  my  heart  was  beset 
with  passionate  sighs  of  distress  and  my  spirit  within  me  was 
torn  by  hunger — exhausted  as  I  was  by  my  struggle  with 
the  waves.  A  man  whose  blissful  lot  is  cast  on  land  cannot 
realise  how  I  have  passed  the  winter  in  paths  of  exile  on  the 
icy  sea,  miserable  and  distraught,  deprived  of  my  dear  kins- 
men and  hung  about  with  icicles,  while  the  hail  flew  in 
showers.  There  I  heard  nothing  but  the  roaring  of  the  sea, 
the  icy  waves.  Sometimes  I  had  the  song  of  the  swan  for  my 
entertainment,  the  cry  of  the  gannet  and  the  shriek  of 
the  godwit  for  the  laughter  of  men,  the  calling  of  the  mew 
instead  of  mead-drinking.  Storms  buffeted  the  rocky  cliffs, 
and  the  tern  with  icy  plumage  gave  them  answer,  and  again 
and  again  the  eagle  with  dripping  feathers  took  up  the  cry. 
I  had  no  protecting  kinsman  who  could  comfort  my  desolate 
soul.  Assuredly  one  who  has  spent  a  happy  life  in  luxury  and 
feasting  in  a  great  house,  free  from  perilous  adventures,  can 
hardly  believe  what  exhaustion  I  have  repeatedly  suffered  on 
my  sea-voyages.  The  shades  of  night  came  lowering,  snow 
fell  from  the  North,  frost  bound  the  land,  and  hail,  coldest  of 
grains,  fell  on  the  earth. 


22  THE  SEAFARER 

coma  caldast.         For  J>oii  cnyssat5  nu 

heortan  ge)?ohtas         ]>set  ic  hean  streamas, 
35  sealtyj?a  gelac         sylf  cunnige. 

MonaS  modes  lust         masla  gehwylce 

ferS  to  feran,         pset  ic  feor  heonan 

elj^eodigra         eard  gesece. 

For  ]7on  nis  ]>aes  modwlonc         mon  ofer  eor]?an, 
40  ne  his  gifena  )?ses  god,         ne  in  geoguj^e  to  pses  hwset, 

ne  in  his  dsedum  to  J^ses  deor,  ne  him  his  dryhten  to 

]>SBS  hold, 

Jjset  he  a  his  ssefore         sorge  nsebbe, 
-   to  hwon  hine  dryhten         gedon  wille. 

Ne  bi)?  him  to  hearpan  hyge,         ne  to  hring]>ege, 
45  ne  to  wife  wyn,         ne  to  worulde  hyht, 

ne  ymbe  owiht  elles         nefne  yrab  ySa  gewealc, 

ac  a  hafaS  longunge         se  pe  on  lagu  fundaS. 

Bearwas  blostmum  nimat5,         byrig  fsegriaS, 

wongas  wlitigaS,         woruld  onetteS  : 
50  ealle  ]?a  gemoniatS         modes  fusne, 

sefan  to  siSe         J?am  ]>e  swa  ]>ence5. 

On  flodwegas         feor  gewitaj?. 

Swylce  geac  monaS         geomran  reorde, 

singes  sumeres  weard,         sorge  beodeS 
55  bitter  in  breosthord.        pset  se  beom  ne  wat, 

esteadig  secg,         hwset  J>a  sume  dreogaS, 

]>e  J?a  wraeclastas         widost  lecgaS. 

For  J?on  nu  min  hyge  hweorfeS         ofer  hre)7erlocan, 

min  modsefa         mid  mereflode 
60  ofer  hwgeles  e]?el,         hweorfeS  wide 

eorJ?an  sceatas,         cyme5  eft  to  me 

gifre  and  graedig,         gielleS  anfloga, 

hweteS  on  Awselweg^         hre)7er  unwearnum 

ofer  holma  gelagu.         For  |>on  me  hatran  sind 
65  dryhtnes  drearaas         J?onne  ]?is  deade  lif, 

laene  on  londe ;         ic  gelyfe  no 

J>8et  him  eorSwelan         ece  stondaS^ 

Simle  J^reora  sum         )?inga  gehwylce 
1  em.  Thorpe  (?hwael-),  wmhoeg  ms.  ^  em.  Ettmiiller,  stondeff  ms. 


THE  SEAFARER  23 

But  assuredly  even  now  my  thoughts  are  making  my 
heart  to  throb,  until  of  my  own  accord  I  shall  venture  on  the 
deep  waters,  the  tossing  of  the  salt  waves.  At  every  oppor- 
tunity a  yearning  impulse  incites  my  heart  to  set  forth  and 
seek  the  land  of  strangers  far  away.  Assuredly  there  is  no 
man  on  earth  so  high-hearted,  or  so  generous,  or  so  full  of 
youthful  vigour,  or  so  bold  in  his  deeds,  or  so  high  in  his 
lord's  favour,  that  he  can  ever  be  free  from  anxiety  as  to  what 
is  the  Lord's  purpose  with  regard  to  him,  when  he  has  to 
travel  across  the  sea. 

His  thoughts  are  not  on  the  harp  or  the  giving  of  rings, 
he  has  no  pleasure  in  womankind,  nor  joy  in  life,  nor 
thought  of  anything  whatever  save  the  tossing  waves :  for 
there  is  never  any  peace  of  mind  for  him  who  goes  to  sea. 
The  houses  of  the  great  are  beautified  by  blossoming  groves, 
the  fields  begin  to  look  bright,  mankind  begins  to  stir  itself; 
all  these  things  urge  the  heart  of  a  high-spirited  man  towards 
travel,  if  he  has  any  inclination  thereto. — They  set  out  on 
long  journeys  over  the  paths  of  the  sea. — The  cuckoo  too, 
summer's  herald,  incites  him,  calling  with  plaintive  note,  and 
cruelly  fortells  troubles  to  his  heart.  A  nobleman  who  lives 
in  luxury  cannot  realise  what  is  endured  by  many  of  those 
who  travel  for  and  wide  on  paths  of  exile. 

Assuredly  my  thoughts  are  now  soaring  beyond  my  breast; 
along  the  course  of  the  sea  my  spirit  soars,  over  the  home  of 
the  whale  and  throughout  the  great  expanse  of  earth.  Again 
it  comes  back  to  me,  eager  and  hungry,  screaming  on  its 
solitary  flight.  Resistlessly  it  impels  my  heart  to  the  road 
of  the  whale,  over  the  expanse  of  waters.  Assuredly  I  feel 
more  passion  for  the  joys  of  the  Lord  than  for  this  lifeless 
and  transient  existence  on  land.  I  do  not  believe  that  earth's 
blessings  will  endure  for  everTI    Always  and  under  all  cir- 


24  THE  SEAFARER 

ser  his  tiddege^         to  tweon  weorj^eS — 
70  adl  opj>e  yldo         oppe  ecghete 

fsegum  fromwearduna         feorh  o3)jringeS. 

For  )?on  ]?ifit  eorla  gehwam         8eftercwe]?endra, 

lof  lifgendra,         lastworda  betst — 

J?8et  he  gewyrce,         aer  he  on  weg  scyle, 
75  fremman  on  foldan         wi5  feonda  ni]? 

deorum  da^dum         deofle  togeanes, 

p3et  hine  aelda  beam         sefter  hergen, 

and  his  lof  si|>]7an         lifge  mid  englum 

awa  to  ealdre,         ecan  lifes  hlsed^, 
80  dream  mid  dugej^um  !         Dagas  sind  gewitene, 

ealle  onmedlan         eorjjan  rices ; 

ne  aron^  nu  cyningas         ne  caseras 

ne  goldgiefan         swylce  iu  waeron, 

]7onne  hi  msest  mid  him         maerj^a  gefremedon 
85  and  on  dryhtlicestum         dome  lifdon. 

Gedroren  is  J?eos  duguS  eal,         dreamas  sind  gewitene ; 

wuniatJ  pa,  wacran         and  )?as  Avoruld  healda)>, 

brucatS  |?urh  bisgo.         Blaed  is  gehnseged, 

eorj^an  indryhto         ealdaS  and  searatS, 
90  swa  nu  monna  gehwylc         geond  raiddangeard. 

Yldo  him  on  fareS,         onsyn  blacaS, 

gomelfeax  gnornaS,         wat  his  iuwine, 

sej^elinga  beam,         eorj^an  forgiefene. 

Ne  mseg  him  J?onne  se  flffischoma,       ponne  him  pset  feorg 
losaS, 
95  ne  swete  forswelgan,         ne  sar  gefelan, 

ne  bond  onhreran,         ne  mid  hyge  |>encan. 

peah  he  grsef  wille         golde  stregan 

broJ>or  his  geborenum,         byrgan  be  deadum 

maj?mum  mislicum         Jjset  hine  mid  wille, 
100  ne  mgeg  J?a3re  sawle,         pe  bij?  synna  ful, 

gold  to  geoce         for  godes  egsan, 

J?onne  he  hit  ser  hydeS         J^enden  he  her  leofaS. 

Micel  hip  se  meotudes  egsa,  for  J?on  hi  seo  molde  on- 

cyrreS ; 
^  em.  Grein,  tidege  ms.       -  em.  Thorpe,  blsed  ms.       '■^  em.  Grein,  nmron  ais. 


THE  SEAFARER  25 

cumstances  it  is  matter  for  uncertainty  until  the  time  of  its 
occurrence  which  of  these  three — sickness  or  old  age  or 
violence — will  cut  off  the  life  of  a  man  when  the  fated  hour 
of  his  departure  comes  upon  him. 

Assuredly  the  best  of  records  for  every  man  is  the  praise 
of  those  who  will  live  on  and  speak  of  him  in  after  days — 
that  before  he  has  to  depart  he  should  succeed  in  prevailing 
on  earth  against  the  hostility  of  fiends,  encountering  the  devil 
with  daring  deeds,  so  that  the  children  of  men  may  praise  him 
in  after  days,  and  his  fame  may  endure  henceforth  with  the 
angels  for  ever  and  ever — the  glory  of  eternal  life,  bliss  among 
the  righteous. 

All  the  days  of  splendour  of  earth's  realm  are  departed. 
There  are  now  no  kings  or  emperors  or  generous  princes  such 
as  once  there  were,  when  they  surpassed  all  their  peers  in 
glory,  and  lived  in  the  most  lordly  splendour.  All  this  chivalry 
has  perished.  Its  joys  are  departed.  A  weaker  race  lingers 
on  and  possesses  this  world,  living  by  toil.  Glory  lies  in  the 
dust.  All  that  is  noble  on  earth  grows  aged  and  fades  away 
— just  as  every  man  now  does  throughout  the  world.  Old 
age  comes  upon  him,  his  face  grows  pallid ;  grey-haired  he 
grieves  in  the  knowledge  that  his  friends  of  old  days,  the 
scions  of  princes,  have  been  committed  to  the  earth.  While 
his  spirit  is  ebbing  his  bodily  frame  cannot  relish  delicacies, 
nor  suffer  pain,  nor  raise  the  hand,  nor  think  with  the  brain. 
Though  he  will  spread  with  gold  the  grave  of  his  own  brother, 
and  bury  with  the  dead  in  treasures  of  various  kinds  what  he 
wishes  to  have  with  him,  yet  gold,  which  he  has  hidden  while 
he  is  still  alive  here,  will  not  be  able  to  help  a  soul  which  is 
sinful,  in  place  of  the  fear  of  God. 

Great  is  the  terror  of  God,  for  the  earth  will  be  transformed. 


26  THE  SEAFARER 

se  gestaj?elade         sti]7e  grundas, 
105  eor]7an  sceatas         and  uprodor. 

Dol  bij?  se  ]?e  him  his  dryhten  ne  ondrasdej?:       cymeS  him 
se  deaS  unj^inged. 

Eadig  bis  se  pe  eaJ?mod  leofaS :  cymeS  him  seo  ar  of 

heofonum. 

Meotod  him  past  mod  gestaJ^elaS,         for  Jjon  he  in  his 
meahte  gelyfeS. 

Stieran  mon^  sceal  strongum  mode,        and  ]?set  on  sta)7e- 
him  healdan — 
1 10  and  gewis  werum,         wisura  clsene. 

Scyle  monna  gehwylc         mid  gemete  healdan 

wi]?  leofne  lufan^         and  wiS  \apne  bealo, 

J?eah  J>e  he  hine  wille         fyres  fulne, 

oppe  on  baele         forbasrnedne 
lis  his  geworhtne  wine.     Wyrd  bi]?  swid're^ 

meotud  meahtigra,         J^onne  senges  monnes  gehygd. 

Uton  we  hycgan         hwser  we*  ham  agen, 

and  )?onne  gepencsm         hu  we  J^ider  cumen ; 

and  we  ]7onne  eac  tilien         J^aet  we  to  moten 
120  in  pa  ecan         eadignesse, 

Jjser  is  lif  gelong         in  lufan  dryhtnes, 

hyht  in  heofonum  !         paes  sy  J^am  halgan  J?onc, 

pset  he  usic  geweorj^ade,         wuldres  ealdor, 

ece  dryhten,         in  ealle  tid  !   Amen. 

^  em.  Thorpe,  mod  ms.  2  em.  Klaeber,  om.  ms. 

3  em.  Grein,  sivire  ms.  •»  em.  Thorpe,  se  ms. 


THE  SEAFARER  27 

He  fixed  the  immovable  depths,  the  surface  of  the  earth  and 
the  Heavens  above. 

Foolish  is  he  who  fears  not  his  Lord  :  death  will  come  to 
him  when  he  is  unprepared.  Blessed  is  he  who  lives  in 
humility:  mercy  will  come  to  him  from  Heaven.  God  will 
stablisli  his  heart  for  him,  because  he  has  faith  in  his  might. 
A  man  must  control  a  fierce  temper  and  keep  it  within  bounds. 
He  must  be  true  to  his  pledges,  unblemished  in  his  life. 
Every  man  should  use  moderation  in  cherishing  love  towards 

his    friend  and    hatred  towards  his    foe 

Fate  is  stronger, 

and  God  mightier  than  any  man  can  imagine.  Let  us  consider 
where  our  home  lies  and  meditate  further  as  to  how  we  may 
reach  it ;  and  let  us  also  further  strive  that  we  may  attain 
to  eternal  bliss,  where  life  is  to  be  found  in  the  love  of  the 
Lord,  and  joy  in  Heaven.  Thanks  be  to  the  holy  Prince  of 
glory,  the  everlasting  Lord,  that  he  has  shown  us  favour  for 
all  time !   Amen. 


28 


III.    THE  WIFE'S  COMPLAINT 

This  poem  also  is  preserved  only  in  the  Exeter  Book 
(fol.  115  a,  6).  It  is  in  the  form  of  a  dramatic  monologue. 
The  speaker  has  been  separated  jfrom  a  dear  lord  and  ordered 
to  live  in  a  cavern  or  grotto  under  an  oak  tree,  and  is  con- 
sequently in  great  distress.  The  misery  of  this  solitary  abode, 
together  with  uncertainty  as  to  what  has  become  of  the  lord, 
combine  to  produce  a  mood  alternating  between  passionate 
longing  and  despair. 

Early  editors^  assumed  that  the  monologue  was  that  of 
a  man.  Ettmliller^  was  the  first  to  realise  the  significance  of 
the  feminine  forms  in  the  first  two  lines.  He  saw  that  the 
speaker  must  be  a  woman  and  therefore  entitled  the  poem 
Wreccan  Wifes  Ged  ('  The  Lay  of  a  Banished  Wife ').  His 
view  has  since  met  with  general  acceptance^  and  the  poem 
has  become  known  as  '  The  Wife's  Complaint.' 

There  has  been  much  controversy  as  to  whether  the 
poem  is  complete  in  itself  or  whether  it  forms  part  of  a 
longer  story.  Ten  Brink  ^  Wtilcker^  Boeder^  and  Sieper' 
hold  the  former  view  and  see  no  reason  to  connect  it  with 
any   other    poem    or    story.     On    the   other   hand   Grein», 

1  Cf.  Conybeare,  Illustrations  of  Anglo-Saxon  Poetry  (London,  1826), 
p.  245  ff. ;  Thorpe,  Codex  Exoniemis  (London,  1842),  p.  441  ff.  Thorpe  sug- 
gested that  minre  sylfre  siff  (L  2)  should  be  emended  to  minne  sylfes  sid". 

2  Englu  and  Seaxna  Scopas  and  Boceras  (Quedlinburg,  1850),  p.  214  ff. 

3  The  only  noteworthy  exceptions  are  S.  Turner,  History  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxons  (London,  1852),  Vol.  iii,  p.  290;  Taine,  Histoire  de  la  Litterature 
anglaise  (Paris,  1892),  Vol.  i,  p.  30  f.;  and  Schiicking  (Zeitschrift  fiir 
deutsches  Alterthum,  Vol.  xlviii,  1906,  p.  446 ff.).  The  latter,  however,  appears 
to  have  recently  changed  his  view;  cf.  Kleines  angelsdchs.  Dichterbuch 
(Cothen,  1919),  p.  18  f. 

^  Gesch.  der  engl.  Litt.^  Vol.  i  (Strassburg,  1899),  p.  74  (transl.  H.  M, 
Kennedy,  1883). 

^  Grundriss  zur  Geschichte  der  angelsachsischen  Litteratur  (Leipzig,  1885), 
p.  226. 

«  Die  Familie  bei  den  Angelsachsen  (Halle,  1899),  p.  125,  note  1. 

7  Die  altenglische  Elegie  (Strassburg,  1915),  p.  224. 

8  Grein's  first  opinion  (cf.  Bibliothek  der  angelsachsischen  Possie,  Gottin- 
gen,  1857,  Vol.  i,  p.  363)  was  that  the  Wife's  Complaint  was  connected  with 
the  Genovefa  story ;  but  he  appears  to  have  abandoned  this  view  later  (cf. 
Kurzgefasste  angelsachsische  Grammatik,  Kassel,  1880,  p.  10)  in  favour  of 
that  of  a  connection  between  this  poem  and  the  Husband's  Message,  both  of 


THE  WIFE'S  COMPLAINT  29 

Hicketier',  Traiitmann*,  Iniclraann'  and  Brandl*  believe  that 
there  is  a  connection  between  the  Wifes  Complaint  and  the 
Husband's  Message,  though  they  are  not  in  entire  agreement 
as  to  the  details,  A  third  group  arc  of  the  opinion  that  the 
subject  of  the  Wife's  Complaint  is  an  incident  of  some  cycle 
of  legend  such  as  the  Hildebrand  story^  the  Genovefa  cycle", 
the  Constantia-Otta  cycled  or  the  Crescentia  story*. 

It  may  be  observed  here  that  this  third  view  is  open  to 
some  rather  serious  objections.  It  is  not  clear  that  any  of  the 
cycles  of  legend  mentioned  above  were  known  in  England 
during  the  Saxon  period^  except  perhaps  in  the  form  of  folk- 
tales. Again,  the  absence  of  proper  names  causes  a  difficulty; 
for  they  are  very  freely  used  in  the  heroic  poems  which  have 
come  down  to  as'".  In  the  whole  of  Beoiuulf  there  is  only  one 
passage'  as  long  as  this  poem  which  is  without  any  proper 
name.    This  pjxssage  (1.  2208  ff.)  is  indeed  much  longer ;  but 

which  he  regards  as  having  formed  part  of  a  larger  poem,  belonging  to  the 
eighth  century. 

1  Anglia,  Vol.  xi  (1889),  pp.  363—368.  Hicketier  suggests  that  both  the 
Wife's  Complaint  and  the  Husband's  Message  may  be  Biddies,  not,  however, 
independent  of  one  another. 

-  Anglia,  Vol.  xvi  (1894),  p.  222  S.  Trautmann  believes  that  the  Wife's 
Coviplaint  and  the  Hiisband's  Message  are  works  of  the  same  author,  and 
indeed  that  originally  they  formed  parts  of  the  same  poem. 

^  Die  altenglische  Odoaker-Dichtung  (Berlin,  1907).  Imelmann  regards 
the  first  Riddle  of  the  Exeter  Book,  the  Wife's  Complaint  and  the  Husband's 
Message  as  a  trilogy,  and  attempts  to  connect  them  with  the  Odoacer  story. 
He  reads  the  Kuuic  letters  in  the  Husband's  Message,  11.  35,  36,  as  forming 
the  name  Eadwaccr,  which  is  found  in  the  Riddle.  Of.  also  Forschungen  zur 
altenglischen  Poesie  (Berhn,  1920),  p.  174. 

•*  Geschichte  der  altenglischen  Ltf<;ra«ur;(Strassburg,  1908),  p.  977. 

^  Conybeare,  Illustrations  of  Anglo-Saxon  Poetry  (London,  1826),  p.  245, 
n.  1. 

*  Grein,  Bibl.  d.  angelsachs.  Foes.  Vol.  i,  p.  363. 

7  Cf.  Wiilcker,  Grundr.  zur  Gesch.  der  angelsachs.  Litt.  p.  226  ;  this  is 
however  merely  a  counter-suggestion  to  the  Genovefa  cycle,  and  does  not 
represent  Wiilcker's  opinion.  It  is  offered  as  a  serious  solution  to  the  pro- 
blem however  by  Edith  Kickert  {Modern  Philoloqy,  Vol.  ii,  1905,  p.  365  ff.) 
and  by  W.  W.  Lawrence  (ib.  Vol.  v,  1908,  p.  387  ff.). 

>*  StefanoviS,  Anglia,  Vol.  xxxii,  1909,  p.  399  ff.  StefanoviC's  suggestion  has 
been  adopted  by  Schiicking;  cf.  Kleines  angelsdchsisches  Dichterbuch  (Cothen, 
1919),  p.  ISf. 

''  The  story  of  Off  a  was  of  course  well  known,  but  it  would  seem  from 
Beowulf  that  the  original  story  of  Offa's  marriage  was  that  which  was 
attached  to  Offa  II  in  the  '  Lives,'  and  not  the  (Coustantia)  story  which  was 
associated  with  Offa  I. 

'°  Cf.  also  the  so-called  '  First  Riddle'  which  is  a  shorter  poem,  and  which, 
except  for  the  occurrence  of  the  proper  names,  is  in  many  respects  com- 
parable to  the  Wife's  Complaint. 


30  THE  WIFE'S  COMPLAINT 

it  must  be  regarded  as  altogether  exceptional.  On  the  other 
hand  it  is  clear  from  the  other  poems  contained  in  this  book 
that  the  nameless,  timeless  type  of  poetry  was  popular.  No 
one  will  suggest  that  the  Wanderer  or  the  Seafarer  is  to  be 
connected  with  any  cycles  of  legend. 

In  the  poem  itself  there  are  several  points  which  are 
not  quite  clear.  Why  has  the  speaker  been  ordered  to  live 
under  an  oak,  and  what  is  the  nature  of  her  abode  there  ? 
According  to  Wtilcker^  she  has  been  sent  there  as  a  punish- 
ment ;  but  Trautmann^  and  others  hold  that  it  is  a  place  of 
sanctuary.  The  situation  would  no  doubt  be  clear  enough  to 
an  audience  familiar  with  the  traditions  of  early — pre- 
sumably heathen — times ;  and  in  the  notes  some  evidence 
which  tends  to  support  the  latter  view  is  quoted  from  certain 
passages  in  early  Norse  literature. 

Again,  there  is  a  curious  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the 
number  of  principal  characters  in  the  story.  Several  scholars 
hold  that  the  man  Avhose  character  is  sketched  in  1.  18  ff.  is 
a  different  person  from  the  speaker's  '  lord '  or  husband,  and 
that  it  is  through  the  former — perhaps  one  of  the  magas^ 
mentioned  in  1.  11  and  the  villain  of  the  piece — that  her 
distressing  situation  has  been  brought  about.  It  is  chiefly 
through  this  hypothesis  that  attempts  have  been  made  to 
bring  the  poem  into  connection  with  various  cycles  of  story. 

The  hypothesis  however  involves  some  serious  difficulties. 
In  1.  42  ff.  there  is  clearly  a  reference  to  the  same  man  who 
is  mentioned  in  1.  18  ff.  If  this  is  not  the  speaker's  '  lord '  we 
must  postulate  in  both  cases  an  abrupt  and  unnatural  transition ; 
for  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  lord  is  the  person  indicated 
in  both  of  the  passages  immediately  following  these  (11.  47  ff. 
and  21  ff.).  Again,  according  to  this  hypothesis,  the  commands 
mentioned  in  11.  15  and  27  must  be  different  and  due  to 
different  persons ;  while  11.  24  ff.  lose  the  antithetical  force 
which  seems  to  be  implied  both  by  the  individual  words 

^  Grundr.  zur  Gesch.  der  aiigclsiichs.  Litt.  p.  226. 

2  Anglia,  Vol.  xvi  (1894),  p.  223. 

^  Cf.  Grein,  Dichtungen  der  Amjelsachsen  (Cassel,  1863),  Vol.  ii,  p.  256, 
footnote;  Boeder,  Die  Familie  bei  den  Angelsachsen,  p.  114;  Brandl,  Gesch. 
d.  altengl.  Lit.  (Strassburg,  1908),  p.  977. 


THE  WIFE'S  COMPLAINT  31 

{/reondscipe,  fela  leaf  an,  fii'h&u)  and  by  the  passage  as 
a  whole. 

On  the  other  hand  all  these  passages  may  be  taken  as 
referring  to  the  *  lord ' ;  and  this  explanation  is  favoured  by 
the  fact  that  an  estrangement  on  his  part  is  clearly  indicated 
in  1.  23  ff.  In  this  case  there  will  be  no  need  to  assume  the 
existence  of  a  third  character. 

It  is  perhaps  an  ambitious  attempt  to  portray  excited 
feelings  which  causes  the  difficulty  of  the  poem.  The  asyndetic 
and  not  altogether  logical  sequence  of  thought,  the  absence 
of  metrical  form  in  1.  24,  and  the  involved  construction  in 
1.  42  ff.  may  possibly  all  be  ascribed  to  this  cause.  There  is 
no  need,  I  think,  to  assume  any  serious  corruption  of  the  text. 


32 


THE  WIFE'S  COMPLAINT 

Ic  ]?is  giedd  wrece         bi  me  ful  geomorre, 
minre  sylfre  siS ;         ic  J?set  secgan  maeg 
hwset  ic  yrm)>a  gebad         siJ^J^an  ic  up  weox 
niwes  o]>]fe  ealdes,         no  ma  j^onne  nu  : 
5  a  ic  wite  wonn         minra  wrsecsi)?a ! 
yErest  min  hlaford  gewat         heonan  of  leodum 
ofer  yj7a  gelac.         Heefde  ic  uhtceare 
hwser  min  leodfruma         londes  wj3ere. 
Da  ic  me  feran  gewat         folgaS  secan, 

lo  wineleas  wraecca,         for  minre  weaj^earfe. 
Ongunnon  )?aet  ]7ses  monnes         magas  hycgan 
)?urh  dyrne  ge]?oht         past  hy  tod^lden  unc, 
]7set  wit  gewidost         in  woruldrice 
lifdon  la?5licost,         and  mec  longade. 

1 5  Het  mec  hlaford  min         her  heard  niman. 
Ahte  ic  leofra  lyt         on  |?issum  londstede, 
holdra  freonda ;         for  )?on  is  min  hyge  geomor, 
Sa  ic  me  ful  gemsecne         monnan  funde, 
heardsseligne,         hygegeomorne, 

2o  mod  mij?endne,         morj^or  hycgende 
bliJ7e  gebsero.         Ful  oft  wit  beotedan 
]>set  unc  ne  gedselde         nemne  deat5  ana 
owiht  elles.         Eft  is  J^set  onhworfen  ; 
is  nu  '  •  •  swa  hit  no  wgere 

25  freondscipe  uncer  !         SceaP  ic  feor  ge  neah 
mines  fela  leofan         fsehtSu  dreogan. 
Heht  mec  mon  wunian         on  wuda  bearwe, 
under  actreo         in  J>am  eorSscrsefe. 
Eald  is  J^es  eorSsele,         eal  ic  eom  oflongad ; 

30  sindon  dena  dimme,         duna  uphea, 
bitre  burgtunas,         brerum  beweaxne, 
wic  wynna  leas.         Ful  oft  mec  her  wraj?e  begeat 
1  em.  Thorpe,  Seal  ms. 


33 


THE  WIFE'S  COMPLAINT 

In  this  poem  I  will  give  an  account  of  my  overwhelming 
Troubles  and  describe  the  plight  in  which  I  find  myself.  I 
will  tell  what  hardships  I  have  endured  since  I  grew  up, 
both  recently  and  long  ago,  but  never  more  than  now.  I  have 
suffered  ceaseless  torment  from  my  misfortunes. 

To  begin  with,  my  lord  went  away  from  his  people  here 
over  the  restless  waves.  In  the  morning  twilight  I  have 
wondered  anxiously  in  what  part  of  the  world  my  lord  could 
be.  Then  I  set  out  on  my  way,  friendless  and  homeless,  to 
seek  for  support  in  my  sore  need. 

The  man's  relatives  had  secretly  cast  about  as  to  how  they 
might  separate  us,  so  that  we  might  live  as  far  apart  in  the 
world  as  possible  and  on  the  worst  of  terms ;  and  I  was  sick 
at  heart.  *  My  lord  in  his  cruelty  ordered  me  to  be  brought 
here.  In  this  place  I  had  no  dear  or  loyal  friends.  Truly  my 
heart  is  troubled  since  I  have  found  a  man  fully  suited  to  me, 
oppressed  by  ill  fortune  and  troubled  in  heart — disguising  his 
feelings  under  an  unruffled  demeanour  while  intending  a  deed 
of  cruelty.  Again  and  again  we  had  vowed  that  nothing  but 
death  alone  should  part  us.  Now  all  that  is  passed  away,  and 
our  love  is  as  though  it  had  never  been.  Everywhere  I  shall 
have  to  suffer  the  hostility  of  him  who  is  very  dear  to  me. 

I  have  been  ordered  to  make  my  dwelling  in  a  forest  grove 
in  this  cavern  beneath  an  oak-tree.  \This  is  an  underground 
dwelling  made  long  ago,  and  I  am  altogether  heart-broken. 
Gloomy  are  its  depths,  and  the  heights  tower  up  above. 
Cruel  are  the  barriers  of  my  citadel,  overgrown  with  thorns. 
It  is  a  joyless  dwelling.    Many  are  the  times  that  the  thought 

K.  3 


34  THE  WIFE'S  COMPLAINT 

fromsij?  frean.         Frynd  sind  on  eorj^an 

leofe  lifgende,         leger  weardiaS, 
35  ]Jonne  ic  on  uhtan         ana  gonge 

under  actreo         geond  ]?as  eorSscrafu  ! 

paer  ic  sitta^i^  mot         sumorlangne  dseg, 

)?8er  ic  wepan  mseg         mine  wrsecsij^as, 

earfoJ>a  fela.         For  |7on  ic  aefre  ne  mseg 
40  J?8ere  modceare         minre  gerestan, 

ne  ealles  jfass  longa|?es         pe  mec  on  ]?issum  life  begeat. 
^  A  scyle  geong  mon         wesan  geomormod, 

heard  heortan  gej^oht,         swylce  habban  sceal 

bli)je  gebsero,         eac  |?on  breostceare, 
45  sinsorgna  gedreag —         s}'  cet  him  sylfum  gelong 

eal  his  worulde  wyn,         sy  ful  wide  fah 

feorres  folclondes         past  min  freond  siteS 

under  stanhli)?e,         storme  behrimed, 

wine  werigmod,         wsetre  beflowen 
50  on  dreorsele.         DreogetS  se  min  wine 

micle  modceare ;         he  gemon  to  oft 

wynlicran  wic.         Wa  biS  |?am  ]>e  sceal 

of  langope         leofes  abidan  ! 

1  em.  Conybeare,  sittam  ms. 


THE  WIFE'S  COMPLAINT  35 

of  my  lord's  departure  has  taken  cruel  hold  of  me  while  I  have 
been  here.  Lovers  there  are  on  earth  living  in  affection  and 
resting  in  their  beds,  while  all  alone  before  the  dawn  I  pace 
the  round  of  these  caverns  beneath  the  oak-tree.  Here  I 
shall  have  to  sit  through  the  long  summer  day ;  here  I  shall 
have  to  weep  over  my  misfortunes  and  my  many  hardships. 
Assuredly  I  shall  never  be  able  to  get  any  rest  from  my 
distress  nor  from  all  the  heart-ache  which  has  come  upon 
me  in  my  life  here. 

The  young  man  can  never  cease  to  be  troubled  in  spirit. 
Bitter  must  be  the  reflections  of  his  heart;  but  he  must  also 
have  an  unruffled  demeanour,  though  along  with  it  grief  of 
soul  and  a  host  of  constant  anxieties — whether  all  the  joy 
that  the  world  can  give  him  be  to  his  hand,  or  whether  it  be 
that,  hunted  by  hostility  throughout  the  length  and  breadth 
of  a  far  country,  my  lover  is  sitting  beneath  some  rampart 
of  rock  exposed  to  tempest  and  frost — my  dear  one  broken- 
hearted, in  a  gloomy  dwelling  with  water  flowing  round  him. 
Great  misery  of  heart  is  that  dear  one  of  mine  suffering ; 
very  often  he  remembers  a  happier  abode.  Sad  is  the  lot  of 
those  who  have  to  wait  with  an  aching  heart  for  them  whom 
they  love. 


3—2 


37 


IV.    THE  HUSBAND'S  MESSAGE 

The  Husband's  Message  is  preserved  on  fol.  123  a-6  of  the 
Exeter  Book.  It  is  preceded  by  one  or  more  riddles,  and 
the  opinions  of  scholars  have  varied  greatly  as  to  the  exact 
point  at  which  The  Husband's  Message  actually  begins. 
It  would  seem  at  first  sight  that  the  scribe  of  the  Exeter  Book 
himself  recognised  four  distinct  pieces  between  the  end  of 
the  piece  which  Thorpe  called  Maxims  (fol.  122  6)  and  the 
beginning  of  the  Ruin  (fol.  123  6).  Each  of  these  pieces 
begins  with  a  large  initial  letter^  and  ends  with  the  mark 
indicating  the  conclusion.  These  four  pieces  will  be  referred 
to  in  the  following  passages  as  units  A,  B,  C,  and  D  respec- 
tively, for  the  sake  of  convenience. 

Thorpe-,  in  his  edition  of  the  Exeter  Book,  followed  the 
MS.  and  printed  each  piece  as  a  separate  unit.  He  regarded 
the  first  three  as  Riddles,  the  fourth  (beginning  with  the 
words  Hwset  pec  ponne,  etc.)  he  called  A  Fragment. 

That  the  first  piece  (A)  is  a  riddle  there  has  never  been 
any  serious  doubt.  It  occurs  also  on  fol.  108  of  the  Exeter 
Book  among  a  collection  of  Riddles,  and  is  generally  printed 
by  editors  as  *  Riddle  31.' 

Grein'  was  the  first  to  suggest  that  the  third  and  fourth 
pieces  (C,  D)  really  formed  one  unit  (CD)  which  he  called 
Botschaft  des  Gemahls  an  seine  Frau  ('The  Husband's 
Message  to  his  Wife ') — a  suggestion  which  has  since  met 
with  general  approval. 

In  1887  Strobl  put  forward  the  view*  that  the  second 

1  Larfie  initials  seldom  occur  elsewhere  in  the  ms.  except  at  the  beginning 
of  a  poem.  It  is  to  be  observed,  however,  that  another  instance  occurs  in  D 
1.  14  {Oiigin) — here  also  preceded  by  the  'conclusion'  mark — where  the 
scribe  can  hardly  have  thought  of  the  beginning  of  a  new  piece. 

-  Codex  Exonieiisis  (London,  1842),  p.  470  ff.  Cf.  also  Klipstein,  Analecta 
Anglo-Saxonica  (New  York,  1849),  Vol.  ii,  p.  322  f.;  Ettmiiller,  Eiif/la  and 
Seaxna  Scopas  and  Boceras  (Quedlinburg,  etc.  1850),  p.  202  f. 

3  Bibliothek  der  angelsachsischen  Poesie  (Gottingen,  1857),  Vol.  i,  pp.  246  f., 
363  f. 

*  Zeitschr.f.  deut.  Altcrthum,  Vol.  xxxi,  p.  55. 


38  THE  HUSBAND'S  MESSAGE 

piece  (B),  though  evidently  of  the  nature  of  a  riddle,  was 
not  unconnected  with  the  following  piece  (i.e.  CD,  now 
recognised  as  one) — which  indeed  seemed  to  him  to  contain 
the  answer  to  it.  This  view  was  opposed  in  1889  by 
Hicketier^  who  held  that  Strobl  had  misinterpreted  B,  and 
suggested  on  the  contrary  that  the  unit  CD  might  itself  be  a 
riddle. 

In  1900  the  question  of  the  relationship  of  B  to  the 
unit  CD  was  reopened  by  Blackburn'-,  who  argued  that  B 
(now  generally  known  as  'Riddle  61')  was  not  a  riddle  at  all, 
but  a  part  of  the  unit  CD  which  had  been  detached  from 
the  rest  of  the  poem  by  the  scribe.  Blackburn  bases  his 
theory  mainly  on  four  points,  viz. :  (1)  B  does  not  present  a 
distinct  riddle  form.  The  descriptive  element  is  present,  but 
we  do  not  find  the  contradictory  statements  so  essential  to 
this  type  of  riddle ;  (2)  the  solutions  to  this  '  riddle '  hitherto 
suggested^  are  unsatisfactory.  The  object  speaking  is  plainly 
a  letter;  (3)  what  follows  in  the  MS.  is  also  the  utterance 
of  a  letter ;  (4)  if  the  three  poems  (i.e.  B,  C,  D)  are  read 
consecutively  the  result  is  clearly  a  unity. 

Blackburn's  theory  has  not  been  allowed  to  pass  un- 
challenged. Tupper  admits  that  his  suggestion  is  '  pretty 
and  ingenious,'  but  holds  that  it  ignores  a  very  real  relation 
between  Riddle  61  {Exeter  Book)  and  Riddle  2  (the  'Reed') 
of  Symphosius^    He    makes   no  comment  on   Blackburn's 

^  Anglia,  Vol.  xi  (1889),  p.  363  f. 

-  Journal  of  Germanic  Philology,  Vol.  iii  (1900),  p.  1  ff. 
3  Dietrich  {Zeitschr.  f.  dent.  Alterthum,  Vol.  xi,  p.  4.52  f.)  suggested  'A 
reed';  Trautmann  {Anglia,  Vol.  xvi,  p.  219)  'A  Eune-staff.'  Trautmann 
urged  that  the  fact  that  the  solution  to  Riddle  61  was  a  'rune-staff'  was 
sufficient  reason  for  a  scribe  placing  immediately  after  it  a  poem  in  which 
the  speaker  is  also  a  rune-staff. 

*  Cf.  Mod.  Lang.  Notes,  Vol.  xviii  (1903),  pp.  98,  99  ;  The  Riddles  of  the 
Exeter  Book  (Boston,  1910),  pp.  198,  199.  The  close  correspondence  between 
these  two  '  Riddles '  had  been  previously  indicated  in  parallel  columns  by 
Dietrich  (loc.  cit.).  He  gives  the  text  of  Riddle  no.  2  of  Symphosius  as 
follows  : 

Dulcis  amica  dei, 
semper*  vicina  profundist, 
suave  canens  musis, 
nigro  perfusa  colore  ; 
nuntia  sum  linguae, 
digitis  signataj  magistri. 
*  ripae,  Tupper.         f  profundae,  id.         X  stipata,  id. 


THE  HUSBAND'S  MESSAGE  39 

fii-st  argument,  but  states  that  Symphosius'  '  Reed '  problem 
is  a  popular  one  in  the  folk-literature  of  several  languages. 

Sieper  is  also  of  the  opinion'  that  Blackburn's  arguments 
will  not  admit  of  a  critical  examination.  He  points  out 
that  the  contradictory  or  antithetical  form  is  not  essential 
to  the  riddle,  and  that  Blackburn's  second  argument  has  no 
bearing  on  the  point  at  issue.  He  adheres  to  the  old  view 
that  B  is  a  riddle,  and  on  grounds  of  technique  etc.  regards 
the  unit  CD  as  a  Klage,  complete  in  itself  In  his  opinion, 
moreover,  the  speaker  is  a  messenger,  only  the  runes  being 
graven  on  the  heaTn ;  and  it  is  to  be  noted  that  in  regard  to 
the  last  point  his  view  is  shared  also  by  Imelmann'*  and 
Schiicking^ 

The  position  appears  to  me  to  be  this.  The  evidence 
which  Tupper  adduces  for  the  popularity  of  the  Arundo 
Riddle  is  for  the  most  part  late,  and  therefore  has  little 
bearing  on  our  problem ;  but  it  is  not  to  be  denied  that  the 
phrasing  of  the  riddle  shows  a  curious  resemblance  to  the 
A.S.  unit  B.  Again,  the  description  at  the  beginning  of  the 
latter  seems  more  appropriate  to  a  reed  than  to  any  kind  of 
tree  which  could  serve  for  a  message  stick ;  and  the  same 
may  perhaps  be  said  of  1.  9,  though  this  point  can  hardly  be 
pressed,  as  the  verse  is  metrically  defective.  Even  if  Black- 
bum's  view  is  correct,  is  it  really  quite  impossible  that  the 
poet  should  have  been  influenced  by  the  riddle  of  Sym- 
phosius or  an  A.S.  riddle  based  upon  it  ?  The  closing  lines 
of  B  certainly  connect  very  well  with  the  beginning  of 
C,  and  moreover  it  has  been  pointed  out*  that  the  per- 
sonal address  in  1.  14  of  B  is  contrary  to  the  usage  of  A.S. 
riddles.  But  if  we  regard  B  as  a  unit,  does  it  therefore 
follow  that  it  is  a  riddle  ?  Inanimate  objects  are  represented 
not  infrequently  in  Anglo-Saxon  as  speaking  in  their  own 
person  (e.g.  the  cross  in  the  Dream  of  the  Rood,  the  Alfred 
Jewel,  and  the  sundial  at  Kirkdale  Church),  a  convention 
which  may  have   some   connection   with    riddle   literature. 

'  Die  altenglische  Elegie  (Strassbur^,  1915),  p.  211. 
'  Forschungen  zur  altengluchcn  Poesie  (Berlin,  1920),  p.  152. 
'  Kleines  angehriduisches  Dichterbuch  (Cotben,  1919),  p.  23. 
*  Cf.  Wyatt,  Old  English  Biddies  (London,  1912),  p.  109. 


40  THE  HUSBAND'S  MESSAGE 

Several  scholars^  have  called  attention  to  the  similarity  of 
unit  D  to  a  riddle,  and  if  we  assume  that  the  slip  of  wood 
is  the  speaker-,  the  analogy  is  undeniable;  but  the  whole 
poem  reads  quite  naturally  as  the  speech  of  a  messenger 
who  is  delivering  to  his  lady  his  credentials  or  some  other 
token,  graven  in  runes  on  a  slip  of  wood. 

On  the  whole  the  evidence  does  not  seem  to  me  to  be 
sufficiently  decisive  to  admit  of  a  positive  answer  to  the 
questions  that  have  been  raised.  The  view  put  forward 
by  Blackburn  is  not  in  itself  improbable.  On  the  other 
hand  it  appears  to  me  at  least  equally  probable  that  the 
compiler  of  the  Exeter  Book,  or  the  collector  whose  text 
he  was  copying,  may  have  been  prompted  to  group  these 
poems  together  by  the  similarity  of  their  theme ;  and 
this  suggestion  is  somewhat  favoured  by  the  fact  of  the 
reintroduction  at  this  point  of  unit  A*,  which  has  been 
interpreted  by  Blackburn  and  others  as  a  beam  ('  tree,' 
'cross,'  etc.). 

The  question  as  to  whether  this  poem  is  connected  with 
the  Wife's  Complaint  has  been  much  debated.  There  is  no 
indication  that  the  scribe  of  the  Exeter  Book  recognised  any 
connection  between  the  two  poems.  They  are  separated  by 
seven  folios.  But  it  has  been  urged  by  many  scholars  that 
the  two  poems  seem  to  point  to  very  similar  situations*. 
In  both  cases  the  man  has  left  his  wife  or  sweetheart 
suddenly  and  fled  across  the  sea.  In  both  cases  there  is  a 
reference  to  some  trouble  which  has  caused  his  precipitate 
flight.  In  the  Wife's  Complaint  this  cause  is  not  made  clear. 
In  the  Husband's  Message,  however,  it  is  explained  as  a 
vendetta.  In  both  cases  again  we  have  references  to  vows 
of  loyalty  exchanged  between  the  man  and  woman  and  to 
the    longing  which    the   speaker   in   each  poem   confesses. 

1  E.g.  Brandl,  Geschichte  der  altenglischen  Literatur  (Strassburg,  1908), 
p.  977. 

^  Cf .  the  poem  (printed  as  prose)  contained  in  King  Alfred's  translation  of 
Gregory's  Cura  PaHtoralis  (ed.  Sweet,  E.E.T.S.,  p.  8). 

3  Blackburn,  in  order  to  explain  the  fact  that  unit  A  occurs  twice  in  the 
Exeter  Book,  suggests  that  the  scribe  may  have  had  two  ms.  collections  of 
poems  before  him,  each  of  which  contained  the  riddle.  There  are  con- 
siderable variations  in  the  texts  of  the  two  versions. 

•*  Cf.  Introduction  to  the  Wife's  Complaint,  p.  28  f.,  above. 


THE  HUSBAND'S  MESSAGE  41 

Posisibly  also  tlio  WiXxU'd  hillside  of  the  Message  may  be  a 
reminiscence  of  the  irrove  and  hills  of  the  Complaint. 

On  the  other  hand  an  equally  strong  body  of  opinion 
•contends  that  these  similarities  are  inconclusive,  and  that 
the  situation  depicted  in  the  Wifes  Complaint  may  have 
been  a  not  infrequent  one  in  disturbed  times.  Schiicking* 
thinks  it  probable  that  the  Husband's  Message,  like  the 
Complaint,  may  have  been  taken  from  some  longer  story  as 
yet  unidentified,  while  Schofield^  connects  it  with  the  lay 
of  Gotelef.  Wiilcker^  and  others*  hold  the  view  that  the 
situation  depicted  in  the  two  poems  is  not  the  same — that 
in  the  Wifes  Complaint  there  has  been  a  quarrel  between 
wife  and  husband.  This  interpretation  is  based  on  the 
iissumption  that  11.  42  ff.  of  the  latter  poem  refer  not  to  the 
husband  but  to  a  third  person — an  assumption  which  seems 
to  me  unnecessary  and  probably  erroneous  (cf.  the  Intro- 
duction to  the  Wife's  Complaint,  p.  30  f.  above).  Even  this 
interpretation,  however,  does  not  necessarily  preclude  the 
possibility  of  a  connection  between  the  two  poems ;  for  the 
passage  in  question,  like  the  suggestion  in  1.  11  ff.  of  trouble 
made  by  the  relatives,  may  mean  no  more  than  a  supposition 
on  the  part  of  the  deserted  wife  as  to  the  reason  for  her 
husband's  behaviour. 

It  has  been  pointed  out  above''  that  the  style  and  tone  of 
the  two  poems  are  wholly  different,  in  spite  of  certain 
similarities  of  diction",  the  one  being  involved,  excited  and 
desperate,  while  the  other  is  simple  in  style  and  serene  in 

J  Kleines  anrjehnchsisches  Dichterhuch  (Cothen,  1919),  p.  2.3  f. 

-  English  Literature  from  the  Norman  Conquest  to  Chaucer  (London,  1906), 
p.  201  f. 

-  (Irundr.  zitr  Gesch.  tier  angelsaclis.  Litt.  (Leipzig,  1885),  p.  227. 
«  Cf.  Introduction  to  the  Wife's  Complaint,  p.  28,  above. 

•''  Cf.  Introduction  to  the  Wife's  Complaint,  p.  31. 

6  Trautmann  points  out  [Anglia,  Vol.  xvi,  1894,  p.  224 f.)  the  similarity 
between  tlie  following  passages  : 

Wife's  Complaint,  1.  21  ful  oft  wit  beotedan  ;  Husband's  Message,  D,  1.  3 
tcordbeotung(a),  1.  2ij  eald  gebeot. 

Wife's  Complaint,  1.  34  leger  weardia'S ;  Husband's  Message,  D,  1.  0  eard 
weardigan. 

Wife's  Complaint,  1. 18  monnan  funde;  Husband's  Message,  D,  1.  10  monnan 
find  est. 

The  correspondence  however  may  very  well  be  due  to  the  conventional 
nature  of  Anglo-Saxon  poetic  diction.  Cf.  Introduction  to  the  Wanderer, 
p.  2ff.,  above. 


42  THE  HUSBAND'S  MESSAGE 

tone.  This  argument,  however,  would  only  indicate  a  differ- 
ence in  origin  for  the  poems  if  we  assume  that  at  that  time 
no  poet  existed  capable  of  adapting  his  style  to  the  moods 
of  his  characters.  This,  after  all,  is  an  assumption  which 
cannot  be  proved.  It  has  been  pointed  out^  that  there  is 
a  suggestion  of  incompleteness  about  the  Wife's  Complaint, 
and  the  proposal  that  the  Husband's  Message  contains  the 
sequel  to  it  certainly  tends  to  produce  a  richer  and  more 
dramatic  situation.  It  is,  however,  of  the  nature  of  con- 
jecture, even  though,  like  the  suggestions  of  Grein  and 
Blackburn,  containing  nothing  inherently  improbable;  and 
in  my  opinion  it  is  wisest  to  suspend  judgment  on  this 
question  also,  so  long  as  the  origin  and  history  of  both  poems 
remain  wholly  obscure. 

Many  attempts  have  been  made  to  interpret  the  runic 
passage  at  the  close  of  the  poem.  One  line  of  enquiry  has 
led  to  the  suggestion  that  the  runes  make  up  a  name,  or 
the  names  of  the  characters  referred  to  in  the  story.  In 
this  case  the  runes  might  stand  for  the  letters  Avhich  go  to 
form  such  a  name,  or  they  might  each  stand  for  the  initial 
letter  of  five  different  names'^;  or  again  the  name  of  each 
rune  might  form  a  constituent  syllable  of  two  or  more 
names^. 

A  second  suggestion  is  that  the  runes  denote  not  a  person 
or  persons,  but  the  objects  symbolised  by  the  letters.  In 
this  case  it  would  seem  that  the  letters  do  not  all  possess 
here  the  value  given  to  them  in  the  runic  alphabet.  It  is 
not  easy  to  see  how  EA,  which  seems  to  mean  '  earth,'  or 
'  grave,'  would  be  appropriate  in  this  connection. 

None  of  the   suggested   interpretations  are  satisfactory. 

1  Cf.  p.  28f.,  above. 

"^  One  might  be  tempted  to  suggest  that  they  may  possibly  stand  for  the 
initial  letters  of  the  names  of  five  separate  oath- helpers  who  took  part  in  the 
cyre-aS,  especially  as  five  are  stated  to  have  been  the  number  nominated  for 
the  plaintiff  in  the  Laws  of  jEthelstan,  ii,  9.  But  the  cyre-aS  is  again  a 
mere  suggestion,  involving  us  in  a  distorted  syntax  which  casts  grave  doubts 
on  its  value. 

^  For  suggested  interpretations,  cf.  Hicketier,  Anglia,  Vol.  xr  (1889), 
p.  363  ff.;  Trautmann,  ib.  Vol.  xvi  (1894),  p.  219  ff. ;  Blackburn,  Jourii.  of 
Germ.  Philol.  Vol.  iii  (1900),  p.  11,  note  on  this  passage;  Imelmann, 
Die  altenglische  Odoaker-Dichtung,  p.  40 ;  Forsch.  z.  altengl.  Poesie,  p.  163  ff.; 
Sieper,  Die  altenglische  Elegie  (Strassburg,  1915),  p.  213  f.,  etc. 


THE  HUSBAND'S  MESSAGE  43 

Sieper's  suggestion  that  the  runes  possess  magical  signi- 
ficance is  unsupported  by  any  analogy  in  Anglo-Saxon,  and 
even  the  example  cited  from  Norse  (Bosa  Saga  ok  HerrauiSs, 
eh.  5)  is  hardly  a  parallel.  On  the  other  hand  five  runes  are 
hardly  enough  in  themselves  to  spell  an  Anglo-Saxon  proper 
name. 

It  has  been  mentioned  above  ^  that  the  texts  of  the 
Husband's  Message  and  the  Ruin  have  been  badly  damaged 
by  an  accident  to  the  MS.  Attempts  have  been  made  to 
supply  the  lacunae  in  the  text  of  the  former'^;  but  my 
examination  and  measurements  of  the  MS.  and  the  British 
Museum  transcript^  have  led  me  to  the  conclusion  that 
these  attempts  are  in  many  cases  impossible — a  view  which 
is,  I  see,  corroborated  by  the  measurements  of  Sieper^  I 
have  printed  only  what  I  have  been  able  to  read  in  the  MS. 
or  in  the  British  Museum  transcript.  Letters  supplied  from 
the  latter,  and  incomplete  portions  of  letters  big  enough  to 
be  identified  in  either  MS.  or  transcript,  have  been  printed  in 
italics.  In  the  damaged  portions  of  the  text  the  lines  (printed 
in  small  type)  correspond  to  the  lines  of  the  MS.  For  the 
greater  part  of  these  passages  I  have  not  attempted  a 
translation. 

'  Cf.  p.  xii. 

-  Cf.  Klase,  An(jelsnchsische$  Lesebuch  (Halle,  1902),  p.  147  f. ;  Blackburn, 
Journ.  of  Genu.  Philol.  Vol.  in  (1900),  p.  8f. 

3  On  the  latter  see  Tupper,  The  Eiddles  of  the  Exeter  Book  (Boston,  etc., 
1910),  p.  xcvii ;  Anglia,  Vol.  xxxvi,  p.  286  f.;  Chambers,  ib.  Vol.  xxxv,  p.  398  f. 
The  value  of  the  transcript  seems  to  me  to  lie  less  in  any  positive  additions 
to  the  text  than  in  the  provision  of  a  check  upon  proposed  restorations. 

■•  Die  altenglische  Elegie,  p.  134  ff.  (footnotes). 


44 


THE  HUSBAND'S  MESSAGE 


B 

Ic  wses  be  sonde,         ssewealle  neah, 
set  merefaro]>e,         minum  gewunade 
frumsta]>ole  faest ;         fea  senig  wees 
monna  cynnes         ]>set  minne  ]7aer 
5  on  anaede         eard  beheolde, 
ac  mec  uhtna  gehwam         yS  sio  brune 
lagufaeSme  beleolc.         Lyt  ic  wende 
]?8et  ic  ser  o\>]>e  siS         sefre  sceolde 
ofer  meodu         muSleas  sprecan, 

lo  worduni  wrixlan.         pset  is  wundres  dsel 
on  sefan  searolic         ])am  pe  swylc  ne  conn, 
hu  mec  seaxes^  ord         ond  seo  swi]?re  bond, 
eorles  inge]?onc         ond  ord  somod, 
)>ingum  ge)?ydan,         pset  ic  wip  pe  sceolde 

15  for  unc  anum  twam-         terendspraece 
abeodan  bealdlice,         swa  hit  beorna  ma, 
uncre  wordcwidas         widdor  ne  msenden. 


c 


I  Nu  ic  onsundran  l)e  seegan 
II  ic  tudre  aweox  in  mec  aeld 

III  londes  settaw 

IV sa 


wille 


treo  cyn 
.     .     .     sceal  ellor 
.     e  sealte  streamas^ 
(S)-*  ful  oft  ic  on  bates 


V gesohte  \)seY  mec  mon  dryhten  min 

VI .     .     .     ofer^  heali  hofu'^. 

Eom  nu  her  cumen 
on  ceolpele,         and  nu  cunnan  scealt 
hu  ]7u  ymb  modlufan         mines  frean 
(10)  on  hyge  hycge,         Ic  gehatan  dear 
5  J>£et  pxi  J?ser  tirfseste         treowe  findest. 

1  So  edd.,  seaxeff  ms.  -  So  edd.,  ticaji  ms. 

3  Complete  in  B.M. 

■*  The  bracketed  numbers  are  those  which  appear  in  most  other  editions 
and  in  references  to  the  Husband's  Message  in  the  dictionaries. 

^  From  this  point  to  1.  20  below  my  lines  do  not  correspond  to  the  lines  of 
the  MS.    In  the  ms.  1.  vi  ends  with  ')>ele'  and  1.  7  with  'on.' 


THE  HUSBAND'S  MESSAGE  46 


B 

Once  I  was  on  the  sea-shore,  by  the  sands,  near  the  clififs, 
and  dwelt  firmly  rooted  in  ray  original  home.  Very  few  human 
beings  were  there  who  looked  upon  my  dwelling-place  in  that 
solitary  waste,  but  each  dawn  the  dark  wave  of  the  sea  em- 
braced and  played  around  me.  Little  did  I  think  that  I  should 
ever  at  any  time  in  my  life  speak  and  hold  discourse  over  the 
mead,  mouthless  as  I  am.  It  is  a  great  marvel,  wonderful  to 
the  minds  of  those  who  are  ignorant  of  such  things — how  the 
point  of  a  knife  and  the  right  hand  of  a  knight — his  ingenuity 
and  the  point  together — laid  violent  hands  upon  me... so  that 
it  has  fallen  to  my  lot  to  announce  to  thee  boldly  a  message 
in  thy  presence  and  mine  alone,  in  such  a  way  that  no  other 
men  may  publish  abroad  our  conversation. 


c 


...Now  I  have  come  here  on  shipboard,  and  now  thou  shalt 
learn  what  to  think  in  thy  mind  of  the  heart's  love  of  my  lord. 
I  dare  promise  that  thou  wilt  find  noble  loyalty  in  him. 


46  THE  HUSBAND'S  MESSAGE 

D 

Hwset !  pec  J)onne  biddan  het         se  ]?isne  beam  agi'of 
)?9Bt  )?u  sinchroden         sylf  gemunde 
on  gewitlocan         wordbeotunga 
(15)  J^e  git  on  serdagum         oft  gespraBCon 
5  J^enden  git  moston         on  meoduburgum 
eard  weardigan,         an  lond  bugan, 
freondscype  fremman.          Hine  fsehj^o  adraf 
of  sige]?eode.         Heht  nu  sylfa  pe 
(2o)lustum  Iseran^         j^set  ]?u  lagu  drefde, 
10  si)?J?an  J^u  gehyrde         on  hli]?es  oran 
galan  geomorne         geac  on  bearvve. 
Ne  Iset  pn  pec  si]7|?an         sipes  getwsefan, 
lade  gelettan         lifgendne  monn. 
(25)  Ongin  mere  secan,         meewes  epe\. 
15  Onsite  ssenacan,         pgst  ]7U  suS  heonan 
ofer  merelade         monnan  findest, 
pser  se  J?eoden  is         ]?in  on  wenuni. 
Ne  maeg  him     .     .     n- worulde         willa... 
(30)  mara  on  gemyndum,         ]?a?s  pe  he  me  ssegde, 
2oJ?onne  inc  geunne  al-* 

XIII  waldend  god    .     .     set  somne  si|)J)an  motan  secgum  7 

XIV  gesi])um  s    .     .     .     «tlede  6eagas  he  genoh  ha 

XV  fa«  (35)  ffdan  go^ ed  el  })eode  e 

XVI  >el  healde  faegre  folda 

XVII  ra  hseletia  t)eah  ]>e  her  min  wine       

XVIII  nyde  gebaeded  nacan  ut  a})rong  (40)  7  on  y])a  geong  .     . 
XIX  sceolde  faran  on  flot  weg  fort5  sij^es  georn* 

mengan  merestreamas.         Nu  se  mon  hafaS 
wean  oferwunnen ;         nis  him  wilna  gad 
ne  meara  ne  maSma         ne  meododreama, 
(45)  senges  ofer  eorpan         eorlgestreona 

1  em.  Thorpe,  Imram  ms. 

-  The  MS.  has  a  space  of  2-7  cm.  between  him  and  woruJde.  The  outline 
of  n  is  traceable  on  the  vellum. 

3  From  this  point  my  Unes  correspond  to  those  of  the  ms. 

*  From  this  point  again  my  lines  do  not  correspond  to  those  of  the  ms. 
1.  XIX  ends  in  the  ms.  with  mengan  me. 


THE  HUSBAND'S  MESSAGE  47 

D 

Hearken  nioroovor '  He  who  inscribed  this  rod  has  bidden 
me  ask  thee,  lady,  to  remember  in  thy  own  heart  the  vows 
to  which  thou  and  he  often  pledged  yourselves  in  former 
days  when  ye  were  still  able  to  live  at  home  in  the  ban- 
queting halls,  dwelling  in  the  same  land  and  indulging  your 
affection.  He  was  driven  by  vendetta  from  his  glorious  land. 
Now  the  same  man  has  joyfully  commanded  me  to  exhort 
thee  to  betake  thyself  to  the  sea,  as  soon  as  thou  hearest  the 
plaintive  cuckoo  calling  in  the  wood  on  the  hillside.  There- 
after let  no  living  man  deter  thee  from  thy  journey,  nor  hinder 
thy  voyage.  Make  thy  way  to  the  deep,  the  seamew's  home. 
Seat  thyself  in  a  bark  and  then  southward  from  here  over  the 
ocean-path  thou  wilt  find  where  thy  princely  lover  is  awaiting 
thee.  No  greater  joy  in  the  world  can  he  conceive  of — so  he 
told  me — than  that  God  Almighty  should  grant  that  hence- 
forth ye  shall  be  able  [to  dwell]  together.... 


(xvii)... though  here  my  dear  lord,  forced  by  necessity, 
launched  his  vessel  and  had  to... over  the  course  of  the  waves, 
setting  forth  upon  the  highroad  of  the  deep,  stirring  the 
waters  of  the  sea  in  his  eagerness  to  escape.  Now  the  man 
has  overcome  his  troubles.  He  has  no  lack  of  luxuries — of 
steeds,  or  jewels,  or  of  the  joys  of  good  living,  or  any 
possessions  on  earth  such  as  nobles  have. 


48 


THE  HUSBAND'S  MESSAGE 


25  peodnes  dohtor! 
ofer  eald  gebeot 
gecyre  ic  setsorane 
EA.  W.  and  D, 
(50)  ]?get  he  pa,  waere 
30  be  him  lifgendum 
pe  git  on  ferdagum 


gif  he  J>in  beneah, 
incer  twega, 

S.  R.  geador, 
ape  benemnan 
and  |?a  winetreowe 

Isestan  wolde 
oft  gespraecon^ 


em.  Thorpe,  gespraeconn  ms. 


THE  HUSBAND'S  MESSAGE  49 

O  Princess !  If  he  shall  gain  thee,  in  addition  to  the  vows 
made  by  you  both  in  the  past  I  would  nominate  S,  R,  EA, 
W,  and  D  all  together  to  declare  or^  oath  that  as  long  as  he 
lives  he  will  observe  the  covenant  and  bond  of  affection  to 
which  ye  frequently  pledged  yourselves  in  the  past. 


51 


V.    THE  EUIN 

The  Ruin  is  found  on  fol.  123  6-124  6  of  the  Exeter  Book, 
where  it  follows  immediately  upon  the  Husband's  Message. 
The  burn  which  destroyed  much  of  the  text  of  the  latter  has 
done  even  greater  damage  to  the  Ruin,  so  that  many  lines  are 
lost,  A  word  or  a  letter  can  be  restored  here  and  there  from 
(?  Robert)  Chambers's  transcript',  but  not  enough  to  add 
materially  to  our  knowledge  of  the  poem. 

The  subject  is  a  ruin  or  group  of  ruins — evidently  stone 
buildings  of  the  Roman  period,  though  the  life  depicted  is 
that  of  a  Saxon  prince's  residence,  such  as  would  be  familiar 
to  the  author.  In  the  opening  lines  he  dwells  on  the  scene 
of  desolation  before  him.  Then  (1.  ix)  comes  the  first  place 
where  the  MS.  is  damaged.  When  it  again  becomes  legible  the 
poet  is  calling  up  a  picture  of  the  splendours  of  a  wealthy 
court  and  all  the  riches  which  it  had  contained — a  description 
which  is  interrupted  in  11.  17  to  24  by  a  brief  account  of  how 
the  place  came  into  its  present  ruinous  condition.  After  1.  33 
the  MS.  again  becomes  illegible.  The  result  of  the  whole  is  to 
leave  on  the  mind  of  the  reader  a  contrast  between  the  present 
condition  of  the  place  and  its  former  splendour  as  seen  through 
Saxon  eyes. 

In  many  respects  the  Ruin  recalls  the  latter  half  of  the 
Wanderer^ — a  resemblance  which  is  partly  due  to  the  simi- 
larity of  the  subject ;  but  it  differs  from  the  Wanderer  in  that 
the  reflections  are  not  represented  here  as  being  spoken.  In- 
deed the  impersonal  character  of  the  poem,  and  especially  the 
opening  lines,  have  led  at  least  one  writer^  to  regard  it  as  a 
riddle.  It  also  resembles  the  same  part  of  the  Wanderer  in 
being  highly  rhetorical  and  studied  in  style.  On  the  other 
hand  it  has  certain  features  which  dififerentiate  it  from  all  the 

*  Cf.  F.  Tupper,  in  Anglia,  Vol. xxxvi, p.  287  f. ;  cf .  also  pp.  xi  and  43  above. 

*  Cf.  Introduction  to  the  Wmiderer,  p.  4,  above. 

'  E.g.  Hicketier,  Anf/lia,  Vol.  xi,  p.  3(36  f.  Cf.  also  Introduction  to  the 
Husband' .1  Messa<ie,  p.  .38,  above. 

4—2 


62  THE  RUIN 

other  poems  in  this  book,  e.g.  the  rhymes  combined  with 
[parallelism  of  ideas  in  11.  5  scorene,  gedrorene ;  7  forweorone, 
geleorone;  32  tveal,eall;  24  wow^r  ^ecro/i^r  and  perhaps  11  steap, 
geap ;  and  in  the  individual  character  of  its  vocabulary.  There 
are  a  considerable  number  of  air.  \ey.  and  unusual  compounds 
such  as  7  waldend-wyrhtan ;  23  teaforgeapa ;  24  hrostheag ; 
and  probably  8  heardgripe. 

The  majority  of  early  scholars,  e.g.  Conybeare\  Leo-,  Earle^ 
and  Wulcker^  regarded  the  Ruin  as  referring  to  a  town, 
whereas  Ettmiiller',  Grein'',  Sweef^  and  others  were  of  opinion 
that  the  description  was  more  appropriate  to  a  fortress.  The 
references  to  stone  walls,  together  with  other  details  (burg- 
stede,  torras,  luig steal,  etc.),  seem  to  point  to  fortifications.  On 
the  other  hand  it  is  not  without  significance  that  Earle  and 
Leo  came  independently  to  the  conclusion  that  the  scene  of 
the  ruin  must  be  Bath, — an  identification  which  has  been 
accepted  by  Wiilcker  and  most  subsequent  writers,  including 
Sieper^  and  Schlicking^  The  reference  to  haj)u...hat  in 
1.  XXX  f.  can  hardly  refer  to  any  artificial  system  of  heating 
like  the  hypocausts  used  by  the  Romans,  for  these  would  have 
been  unrecognisable.  On  the  other  hand,  so  far  as  I  am  aware, 
there  is  no  evidence  of  extensive  Roman  buildings  at  any  of 
the  hot  springs  in  this  country  except  at  Bath. 

It  is  true  that  Bath  does  not  appear  to  have  been  strongly 
fortified  in  Roman  times,  though  like  most  Romano-British 
cities  of  the  period  it  was  surrounded  by  walls.  But  the 
Saxons^",  whose  social  organisation  was  essentially  military, 

1  Illustrations  of  Anglo-Saxon  Poetry  (London,  1826),  p.  249  f.  Conybeare 
compares  the  poem  with  Llywarch  Hen's  Elegy  on  Urien  Reged. 

2  Carmen  Anglosaxonicum  in  Cudice  Exonieiwi  servatum  quod  vulgo  inscribi- 
tur  Ruinae,  Hallesehe  Universitatsschrift,  1865,  p.  5,  etc. 

3  Proceedings  of  the  Bath  Natural  History  and  Antiquarian  Field  Club, 
March  1871,  Vol.  ii,  No.  3,  p.  259  fi. 

*  Anglia,  Vol.  ii,  p.  379:  Grund.  z.  Gesch.  der  angelsachs.  Litt.  (Leipzig, 
1885),  p.  211  f. 

5  Engla  and  Seaxna  Scopas  and  Boceras  (QuedUnburg,  etc.  1850),  p.  213  f. 
®  Kurzgefasste  anqelsdchsische  Grammatik  (Kassel,  1880),  pp.  10,  15. 

7  '  Sketch  of  the  History  of  Anglo  Saxon  Poetry'  in  W.  C.  Hazlitt's  edition 
of  Th.  Warton's  History  of  English  Poetry  (London,  1871),  Vol.  ii,  p.  18. 

8  Die  altenglische  Elegie  (Strassburg,  1915),  p.  227. 

9  Kleines  angelsachsisches  Dichterbuch  (Cothen,  1919),  p.  32. 

10  The  capture  of  Bath  by  the  West  Saxons  is  recorded  in  the  Saxon 
Chronicle  sub  ann.  577,  and  it  is  likely  enough  that  the  place  was  destroyed 


THE  RUIN  53 

could  haicUy  have  conceived  of  any  place  with  buildings  of 
importance  except  as  a  fortress,  and  it  would  be  natural  to 
tiiein  to  think  of  the  place  as  one  which,  in  the  time  of  its 
g\ory,  was  full  of  the  military  retinues  of  princes,  like  the 
D;uiish  king's  residence  in  Beoioulf. 

The  damaged  portions  of  the  text  are  printed  below  in 
the  same  way  as  in  the  Httshand's  Message  (cf.  p.  43  above). 
I  have  not  ventured  to  attempt  a  translation  of  these 
passages. 

about  thi8  period,  though  the  entry  itself  can  hardly  be  regarded  a8  historical. 
In  later  times  there  was  a  flourishing  religious  house  there,  which  is  generally 
believed  to  have  been  founded  towards  the  end  of  the  seventh  century.  The 
foundation  charter  (Birch,  Cart.  Sax.  No.  43),  issued  by  Osric,  king  of  the 
Hwicce,  is  dated  67G,  but  its  genuineness  has  been  doubted.  The  absence  of 
any  reference  to  the  &hhey — the  present  structure  stands  almost  on  the 
top  of  the  springs — would  seem  rather  to  suggest  that  the  poem  was  composed 
before  its  foundation;  but  it  would  be  hazardous  to  lay  much  weight  on  this 
inference.  For  references  to  Roman  Bath,  see  H.  M.  Scarth,  Aquae  Solis  or 
Notices  of  Roman  Bath  (London,  1864) ;  A.  J.  Taylor,  "The  Roman  Baths  of 
Bath,  etc.  (Bath,  1913) ;  L.  H.  Wilson,  Bath  (1909) ;  F.  J.  Haverfield,  in  the 
Victoria  County  History  of  Somerset  (London,  1906),  Vol.  i,  p.  219  fE. 


54 


THE  RUIN 

1  Wraetlic  is  pees  wealstan.         Wyrde  gebraecon ; 
burgstede  burston,         brosnaS  enta  geweorc. 
Hrofas  sind  gehrorene,         hreorge  torras, 
*hrim  geat  torras  *berofen,         hrim  on  lime, 

5  scearde  scurbeorge,         scorene  gedrorene, 

seldo  undereotone.  EorSgrap  hafaS 

waldend  wyrhtan  forweorone,  geleorone, 

heardgripe  hrusan,  o]>  hund  cnea 

werj^eoda  gewitan.  Oft  ]>?es  wag  gebad 
lo  rseghar  and  readfah         rice  sefter  o]?rum, 
ofstonden  under  stormum  ;         steap^ 

IX  geap  gedreas  wonaS  giet  se     .     .     .     .     nura  ge 
X  heapen  felon grimme 

XI gegi'unde?i (15)^  a  scan  heo 

XII g  or>onc  aer  sceaft 

XIII g  lam  rindum  beag  mod  mo 

XIV.     .     .     .     ry  ne  swiftne  gebreegd  (20)  hweet  red  in  hringas^ 

Aygerof  gebond 

weallwalan  wirum         wundrum  togsedrag. 

Beorht  waeron  burgrseced,         burnsele  monige, 
15  heah  horngestreon,         heresweg  micel, 

meodoheall  monig  mandreama  full, 

(25)  o]?  ]7set  ]>?et  onwende         Wyrd  seo  swij^e. 

Crungon  walo  wide,         cwoman  woldagas, 

swylt  eall  fornom         secgrof  wera. 
20  Wurdon  hyra  wigsteal         westensta]?olas, 

brosnade  burgsteall.         Betend  crungon, 
(30)  hergas  to  hrusan.         For)?on  J?as  hofu  dreorgiaS, 

and  ]7ses  teaforgeapa         tigelum  sceadeS 

hrostbeages  hrof         Hrjn-e  wong  gecrong 
25  gebrocen  to  beorgum,         J^ser  iu  beorn  monig 

glsedmod  and  goldbeorht,         gleoma  gefrsetwec?^ 

^  From  this  point  to  1.  xiv  my  lines  correspond  to  those  of  the  ms. 

2  The  bracketed  numbers  are  those  which  appear  in  most  other  editions 
and  in  references  to  the  Ruin  in  the  dictionaries. 

3  From  this  point  to  1.  33  below  my  lines  do  not  correspond  to  the  lines 
of  the  MS. 

*  em.  Conybeare ;  gefrxtwecf  ms. 


65 


THE  RUIN 

Wondrous  is  this  masonry,  shattered  by  the  Fates. 
The  fortifications  have  given  way,  the  buildings  raised  by 
giants  are    crumbling.    The  roofs   have  collapsed ;   the 

towers  are  in  ruins There  is  rime  on  the  mortar.  The 

walls  are  rent  and  broken  away,  and  have  fallen,  under- 
mined by  age.  The  owners  and  builders  are  perished  and 
gone,  and  have  been  held  fast  in  the  earth's  embrace,  the 
ruthless  clutch  of  the  grave,  while  a  hundred  generations 
of  mankind  have  passed  away.  Ked  of  hue  and  hoary  with 
lichen  this  wall  has  outlasted  kingdom  after  kingdom, 
standing  unmoved  by  storms.    The  lofty  arch  has  fallen... 


Resolute  in  spirit  he  marvellously  clamped  the  foundations 
of  the  walls  with  ties.  There  were  splendid  palaces,  and 
many  halls  with  water  flowing  through  them ;  a  wealth  of 
gables  towered  aloft.  Loud  was  the  clamour  of  the  troops ; 
many  were  the  banqueting  halls,  full  of  the  joys  of  life — 
until  all  was  shattered  by  mighty  Fate.  The  dead  lay  on 
all  sides.  Days  of  pestilence  had  come,  and  all  the  warriors 
were  carried  off  by  death. 

Their  defences  became  waste  places,  their  fortifications 
crumbled  ;  the  troops  who  should  have  repaired  them  lay 
dead  on  the  earth.  And  so  these  courts  lie  desolate,  and 
the  framework  of  the  dome  with  its  red  arches  sheds  its 

tiles where  of  old  many  a  warrior,  joyous  hearted  and 

radiant  with  gold,  shone  resplendent  in  the  harness  of 


56  THE  RUIN 

(35)  wlonc  and  wingal         wighyrstum  scan  : 

seah  on  sine,  on  sylfor,         on  searogimmas, 

on  ead,  on  seht,         on  eorcanstan, 
30  on  J?as  beorhtan  burg         bradan  rices. 

Stanhofu  stodan ;         stream  hate  wearp 
(40)  widan  wylme.         Weal  eall  befeng 

beorhtan  bosme^. 

XXX  {>0er  \>a,  baj)u  wseron  ^  hat  on  hrejjre  |)8et  waes  hy^elic  leton  })o5fi 

XXXI  geotan ofer  harne  stau  hate  strea 

XXXII  mas  un oj)^  (45)  ],aet  bring 

XXXIII  mere  hate |)8er  J>a  ba 

XXXIV  Jju  wseron  )?onne  is 

XXXV  re  -p  is  cynelic  jjing  huse 

XXXVI  burg 

1  From  this  point  my  lines  correspond  to  those  of  the  ms. 

2  B.M.  ivsenon.    Only  the  upper  half  of  seron  in  wseron  is  legible  in  E.  B. 

3  B.M.    So  also  Schipper  in  E.  B.  where  the  o  is  no  longer  visible. 


THE  RUIN  57 

battle,  proud  and  Hushed  with  wine.  He  gazed  upon  the 
treasure,  the  silver,  the  precious  stones,  upon  wealth,  riches 
and  pearls,  upon  this  splendid  citadel  of  a  broad  domain. 
There  stood  courts  of  stone,  and  a  stream  gushed  forth  in 
rippling  Hoods  of  hot  water.  The  wall  enfolded  within  its 
bright  bosom  the  whole  place  which  contained  the  hot 
flood  of  the  baths 


59 


VI.    THE  BATTLE  OF  BKUNANBURH 

This  poem  is  preserved  in  the  Saxon  Chronicle  sub  ann. 
937,  where  it  is  given  by  five  of  the  seven  extant  texts.  Of 
these  the  oldest  is  the  Parker  MS.  (173)  in  the  Library  of 
Corpus  Christi  College,  Cambridge  (A).  This  portion  of  the 
MS.  is  attributed  by  Warner  to  c.  960 ^  Of  the  remaining 
MSS.,  all  contained  in  the  Cottonian  Collection,  Tib.  A.  vi 
(B)  is  said*  to  date  from  c.  1000  (or  possibly  later) ;  Tib.  B. 
I  (C)  from  about  the  middle  of  the  eleventh  contury' ;  and 
Tib.  B.  IV  (D)  from  c.  1050-1100*.  W  is  Wheloc's  edition 
of  a  MS.  now  almost  wholly  destroyed  (Otho  B.  xi).  This  MS. 
is  believed  by  Plummer  to  have  been  based  solely  on  A  and 
to  date  from  some  time  before  c.  1067^,  As  the  basis  for  the 
following  text,  MS.  A  has  been  chosen,  with  the  necessary 
corrections  from  the  other  MSS. 

The  battle  celebrated  in  this  poem  was  one  of  a  series  of 
attempts  on  the  part  of  the  princes  of  Dublin  and  their 
allies  to  regain  the  kingdom  of  Northumbria,  which  they  had 
held  for  a  few  years  previous  to  927 «.  The  immediate  cause 
of  the  battle  appears  to  have  been  the  invasion  of  Scotland 
by  Aethelstan  in  934^  when  his  army  is  believed  to  have 
penetrated  to  Forfarshire  and  his  fleet  to  have  reached 
Caithness^  In  937  the  Scots  under  Constantine  II,  in 
alliance  with  Anlaf,  King  of  Dublin,  and  Owen  (Eugenius*), 
King  of  the  Britons  of  Strathclyde,  retaliated  by  invading 
England.    The  expedition  was  met  by  an  English  army  under 

1  Cf.  Earle  and  Plummer,  Two  Saxon  Chronicles  (Oxford,  1899),  Vol.  ii, 
p.  xxvii.  Plummer  himself  would  apparently  date  this  (the  eighth)  hand 
somewhat  earlier. 

*  lb.  p.  xxix.  3  11   p,  XXX  f .  ^  lb.  p.  XXX  IT.  »  lb.  p.  xcviii  f. 
«  It  was  in  this  year  that  Aethelstan  expelled  Guthfrith  (Sax.  Chron 

E,  F). 

'  16.  E,  etc. 

^  Symeon  of  Durham,  Historia  Regum  (Rolls  Series),  §  107.  Cf.  id.  Historia 
Dunelmemis  Eccleiiue  (Rolls  Series),  cap.  xviii.  Cf.  also  Skene,  Celtic  Scotland 
(Edinburgh,  1876),  Vol.  i,  p.  3.52. 

*  William  of  Malmesbury,  Gesta  Regum  (Rolls  Series),  §  134. 


60  THE  BATTLE  OF  BRUNANBURH 

Aethelstan  and  his  brother  Edmund,  and  defeated  at  a  place 
called  Brunanburh^  Unfortunately  none  of  the  authorities 
give  any  clear  indication  as  to  the  position  of  this  place. 
Many  identifications  have  been  proposed,  of  which  perhaps 
the  one  most  commonly  accepted  is  Burnswark  (or  Birrens- 
wark)  Hill,  near  Dumfries-. 

The  Annals  of  the  Saxon  Chronicle  for  this  period  are  very 
meagre  except  where,  as  here  (cf.  942,  973,  etc.),  metrical 
pieces  are  introduced.  The  most  interesting  accounts  of  the 
expedition  which  have  come  down  to  us  are  those  in  the 
Irish  Chronicles.  In  the  Annals  of  Ulster^  (sub  ami.  936) 
we  are  told  : 

'A  great,  lamentable  and  horrible  battle  was  stubbornly 
fought  between  the  Saxons  and  Norsemen,  in  which  many 
thousands  of  Norsemen,  beyond  counting,  were  slain.  But 
the  King,  i.e.  Amlaibh  [Anlaf]  escaped  with  a  few.  On  the 
other  side,  however,  a  great  multitude  of  Saxons  fell.  But 
Aethelstan,  King  of  the  Saxons,  was  enriched  with  a  great 
victory.' 

Tavo  years  later  the  annalist  refers  respectfully  to  Aethel- 
stan as  '  the  pillar  of  dignity  of  the  Western  World.'  Further 
details  of  the  battle  are  given  in  the  Annals  of  Clonmac- 
noise*  {suh  ann.  931) : 

'  The  Danes  of  Logh  Rie  (Lough  Ree)  arrived  at  Dublin. 
Awley  [Anlaf]   with  all  the  Danes   of  Dublin  and  north 


1  Brunandun{e)  (Aethelweard);  i?r««a7i6w?7i  (Florence  of  Worcester);  Weon- 
dun(e),  Jitbrunnanwerc  or  Brunnanbyrig  (Symeou  of  Durham) ;  Bruneswerce 
or  Burneweste  (Gaimar),  Duinbrunde  (Pict.  Chron.). 

2  Cf.  T.  Hodgkin,  Political  History  of  England,  Vol.  i  (London,  1906), 
p.  335  f.  For  some  accovint  of  various  suggested  identifications  see  Earle  and 
Plummer,  Two  Saxon  Chronicles,  Vol.  ii,  p.  140  f.  Ambitious  attempts  are 
also  to  be  found  in  the  transactions  of  various  societies,  e.g.  Lancashire  and 
Cheshire  Antiquarian  Society,  Vol.  xxvi,  p.  35  if.  ;  Associated  Architectural 
Societies^  Reports  (Lincoln  Architectural  Society),  Vol.  xxviii,  Part  i,  p.  28  ff. 
etc.  In  view  of  the  name  \Veondun(e)  given  by  Symeon  it  has  been  suggested 
that  this  battle  was  identical  with  the  one  at  Vinheiffr,  described  in  Egils  Saga, 
oh.  52  f.;  but  a  serious  difficulty  is  presented  by  the  fact  that  the  latter  is 
said  to  have  taken  place  before  the  expulsion  of  Eric  Bloodaxe  from  Norway 
in  935.  Egill's  dealings  with  that  king,  as  described  in  ch.  56  f.,  were 
a  direct  consequence  of  the  death  of  his  brother  Th6r61fr,  who  fell  at 
VinheiSr. 

3  Ed.  W.  M.  Hennessy  (Dublin,  1887). 

*  Quoted  by  O'Donovan  in  the  Annals  of  the  Kingdom  of  Ireland  by  the 
'Four  Masters,  Vol.  ii,  p.  633,  footnote. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BRUNANBURH  61 

part  of  Irt'land,  departed  and  went  over  seas.  The  Danes 
that  departed  from  Dublin  arrived  in  England,  and,  by  the 
help  of  the  Danes  of  that  kingdom,  they  gave  battle  to  the 
Saxons  on  the  plains  of  Othlyn,  where  there  was  a  great 
slaughter  of  Normans  and  Danes,  among  which  these 
ensueing  captains  were  slain, — viz.  Sithfrey  and  Oisle,  the 
two  sones  of  Sittrick  Galey,  Awley  Fivit  [i.e.  Olafr  Hviti, 
Anlaf  the  White]  and  Moylemorrey,  the  son  of  Cossewarra, 
Moyle-Isa,  Geleachan,  King  of  the  Islands;  Ceallach,  prince 
of  Scotland,  with  30,000,  together  with  800  captains  about 
Awley  Mac  Godfrey  (Norse  GuSroSr),  and  about  Arick  Mac 
Brith,  Hoa,  Deck\  Imar,  the  King  of  Denmark's  own  son, 
with  4,000  soldiers  in  his  guard  were  all  slain.' 

The  Constantine  who  left  a  young  son  slain  on  the  battle- 
field was  Constantine  II,  son  of  Aedh  and  grandson  of 
Kenneth  I  (Mac  Alpin).  He  was  king  of  Alba  (i.e.  Scotland 
north  of  the  Clyde  and  Forth)  from  c.  900-942.  Since  the 
days  of  his  grandfather  the  dynasty  had  been  trying  to 
extend  their  power  into  the  south  of  Scotland.  He  was 
called  in  by  Aldred  and  Uhtred,  the  rulers  of  Bamborough, 
to  assist  them  against  Ra?gnald  in  918,  but  was  defeated  by 
the  latter  at  Corbridge-.  He  is  said^  to  have  submitted  to 
Aethelstan  in  926 ;  but  hostilities  broke  out  later,  and 
Aethelstan  invaded  his  territories  in  934  (cf.  p.  59).  In  942 
he  retired  and  became  abbot  of  the  monastery  of  St  Andrews^ 
His  successor,  Malcolm  I,  son  of  Donald,  was  in  alliance  with 
Edmund'.  According  to  the  Pictish  Chronicle^  it  was  said 
that  Constantine  had  come  out  of  his  monastery  for  a  time  to 
fight  against  Eadred,  though  others  assigned  the  expedition 
to  his  successor  Malcolm.  This  discrepancy  will  no  doubt 
account  for  the  varying  length  of  reigns  assigned  to  Con- 

'  This  sentence  would  seem  to  be  a  mistranslation.    The  original  is  lost. 

-  Symeon  of  Durham,  Historia  de  Sancto  Cuthberto  (Rolls  Series),  x,  §22  ; 
but  cf.  the  Pictish  Chronicle,  ed.  Skene  in  Chronicler  of  the  Picts  and 
Scots  (Edinburgh,  1867),  p.  9,  where  Constantine  is  said  to  have  been 
victorious. 

'•'  Sax.  Chron.  D. 

■■  Cf.  Skene,  op.  cit.,  p.  1.51. 

»  Cf.  Sax.  Chron.  A,  sub  ami.  9i5. 

*  Skene,  op.  cit.,  p.  10. 


62  THE  BATTLE  OF  BRUNANBURH 

stantine  and  Malcolm  in  the  Scottish  records  ^    Constantine 
is  said  to  have  died  in  952-. 

The  identity  of  the  Anlaf  mentioned  in  the  poem  has 
given  rise  to  a  good  deal  of  discussion.  The  poem  itself  does 
not  mention  his  father's  name,  while  the  following  entries  in 
the  Saxon  Chronicle  (our  earliest  authority)  clearly  recog- 
nise two  kings  of  this  name  belonging  to  the  same  family. 
Among  the  Latin  historians  of  the  twelfth  century  we  find 
a  curious  discrepancy.  Symeon  of  Durham''  describes  the 
leader  of  the  Norse  forces  in  the  battle  at  Brunanburh  as 
the  son  of  Guthlrith,  while  on  the  other  hand  William  of 
Malmesbury*  refers  to  him  as  the  son  of  Sihtric\  Sihtric 
(Sigtryggr  I)  became  king  of  Dublin  c.  916  and  died  in  926®. 
He  had  succeeded  Rsegnald  (Rognvaldr) — his  brother  or 
cousin — in  York  c.  921-5  ^  and  entered  into  an  agreement  with 
Aethelstan,  whose  sister  he  married,  in  925®.  On  his  death' 
he  was  succeeded,  at  least  in  the  north  of  England,  by  Guth- 
frith^"  (GuSroSr),  who  was  probably  his  brother ^\  but  the 
latter  was  expelled  by  Aethelstan  in  927^-.  Later  we  find  two 
kings  called  Anlaf  reigning  (in  succession  ?)  in  the  north  of 
England.  One  Anlaf  was  the  son  of  Guthfrith,  the  other  of 
Sihtric.    The  former  died  c.  942  ^^   This  is  clearly  the  Anlaf 

1  Cf.  Skene,  op.  cit.,  p.  cxli  f.  ^  Annals  of  Ulster,  sub  ann.  951  (952). 

*  Hist.  Dun.  Eecles.,  Book  ii,  cap.  xvni,  sub  ann.  934. 

■*  Gest.  Reg.  Angl.  §  131. 

s  According  to  Florence  of  Worcester  (Ghronicon  ex  Chronicis,  ed.  Thorpe, 
Vol.  I,  p.  132)  the  Anlaf  who  fought  at  Brunanburh  was  the  son-in-law  of 
the  Scottish  king  Constantine  ;  but  he  does  not  identify  him  with  Anlaf 
Sihtricsson,  whom  he  mentions  on  p.  134. 

6  There  appears  to  be  some  doubt  as  to  whether  he  remained  king  of 
Dublin  till  his  death.  According  to  the  Annals  of  Ulster,  919  (920)  he  'left 
Dublin  through  Divine  Power.'  On  this  question  see  Steenstrup,  Norman- 
nerne  (Copenhagen,  1882),  Vol.  iii,  p.  17 ;  Vogt,  Dublin  som  Norsk  By 
(Christiania,  1896),  p.  123. 

7  Cf.  Sax.  Chron.  D,  sub  ann.  923,  925 ;  Annals  of  Ulster,  sub  ann.  920  (921). 

8  Sax.  Chron.  D. 

9  lb.  sub  ami.  926;  Annals  of  Ulster,  sub  ann.  926  (927);  Ghronicon  Scoto- 
rum  (KoUs  Series),  sub  ann.  926. 

M  Sax.  Chron.  E,  F,  sub  ann.  927.  Fl.  of  Worces.,  Mon.  Ghron.  ex  Ghron. 
Vol.  I,  p.  130  f. 

"  W.  of  Malmesbury,  Gest.  Reg.  Angl.  §  734.  Florence  of  Worcester  says 
{loc.  cit.)  that  he  was  a  son  of  Sihtric;  this  statement  is  more  difficult  to 
reconcile  with  the  chronology  of  the  two  Anlafs,  of  whom  the  son  of  Guthfrith 
would  seem  to  have  been  the  older  man. 

12  Sax.  Chron.  E,  sub  ann. 

1*  Sax.  Chron.  E,  snb  ann. ;  cf.  Ghron.  Scot.,  sub  ann.  940. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BRUNANBURH  63 

who  according  to  the  Saxon  Chronicle  (D)  was  accepted  as 
king  by  the  Northumbrians  in  941,  and  subsequently  cap- 
tured Tarn  worths  He  was  then  besieged  in  Leicester  by 
Edmund,  but  came  to  terms  with  him.  He  was  succeeded 
in  the  North  of  England  by  his  brother  Raegnald  and  by  his 
namesake  Anlaf  the  son  of  Sihtric,  both  of  whom  were 
shortly  afterwards  expelled  by  Edmund''.  Anlaf  the  son  of 
Sihtric,  who  is  also  called  Cwiran  (Cuaran),  made  another 
attempt  to  establish  himself  in  Northumbria  a  few  years 
later,  but  after  two  or  three  years  he  was  again  expelled'. 
In  Dublin  however  his  reign  was  long  and  prosperous, 
though  he  was  eventually  defeated  in  980  by  Maelsechlainn 
(Malachy)  II,  and  died  the  same  year  as  a  pilgrim  in  lona^ 

From  the  Saxon  Chronicle  one  would  certainly  infer  that 
the  defeated  leader  at  Brunanburh  was  the  son  of  Guthfrith 
— the  same  man  who  after  Aethelstan's  death  succeeded  in 
establishing  his  power  over  a  considerable  part  of  the  Mid- 
lands as  well  as  in  the  North  of  England — rather  than  his 
cousin  and  successor,  the  son  of  Sihtric.  The  identification 
with  the  latter  cannot  be  traced  with  any  certainty  beyond 
the  Norman  historians  who  lived  nearly  two  centuries  after 
the  event.  Malmesbury,  it  is  true,  appears  to  have  had  an 
early  Latin  authority  for  this  reign ;  but  his  inaccuracy  and 
want  of  judgment  are  in  general  so  palpable  that  he  cannot  be 
trusted  unless  he  is  evidently  reproducing  the  words  of  his 
original. 

The  evidence  of  the  Irish  historians,  though  not  entirely 
clear^  points  to  the  same  conclusion.  According  to  the  Four 
Masters,  sub  ann.  935  'Amlaeibh  [Anlaf],  son  of  Godfrey 
[i.e.  Guthfrith],  lord  of  the  foreigners,  came  at  Lammas  from 
Ath  Cliath  and  carried  off  as  prisoners  Amlaeibh  Ceanncairech 
from  Loch  Ribh  (Lough  Ree),and  the  foreigners  who  were  with 
him  after  breaking  their  ships.'  On  their  return  journey  they 

1  Sax.  Chron.,  sub  ann.  943.  -'  lb.  A,  sub  ann.  944.    Cf.  E. 

'  Sax.  Chron.  E,  sub  ann.  949,  952. 

*  Annals  of  tlie  Four  Masters  (transl.  J.  O'DoDOvan,  Dublin,  1856),  sub  ann. 
980  ;  etc. 

"  Cf.  the  confused  entries  with  regard  to  the  plundering  of  Cill-Cuilind, 
AnnaLs  of  Ulster,  sub  ann.  937,  938,  etc.  Cf.  also  War  of  the  Gaedhil  with  the 
GaiU  (Rolls  Series),  p.  282. 


64  THE  BATTLE  OF  BRUNANBURH 

plundered  Clonmacnoise^ ;  and  Todd  suggests^  that  the  ex- 
pedition was  undertaken  with  the  object  of  collecting  men 
and  supplies  for  the  expedition  to  England.  For  it  is  stated 
immediately  after  the  above  entry  that  '  the  foreigners  of 
Ath  Cliath  (i.e.  Dublin)  left  their  fortress  and  went  to 
England,'  and  in  ann.  936  (as  also  in  the  Annals  of  Ulster, 
sub  ann.  937)  'Amlaibh,  son  of  Godfrey,  came  to  Dublin  again.' 
It  will  be  seen  that  this  account  of  Anlaf's  movements  is 
quite  in  accordance  with  the  passage  from  the  Annals  of 
Clonmacnoise  quoted  above ;  but  that  the  annalists  were  not 
in  entire  agreement  is  seen  from  the  entry  in  the  Four  Masters, 
sub  ann.  938  '  A  victory  was  gained  by  the  king  of  the  Saxons 
over  Constantino,  son  of  Aedh ;  Anlaf,  or  Amhlaeibh,  son  of 
Sitric;  and  the  Britons.' 

This  piece  has  certain  characteristics  which  differentiate  it 
from  other  Anglo-Saxon  poems.  Its  nearest  affinities  are 
clearly  with  the  poem  on  the  Battle  of  Maldon.  Both  would 
seem  to  have  been  composed  not  long  after  the  events  with 
which  they  deal.  Both  use  the  metrical  form  and  the  con- 
ventional terminology  of  early  heroic  poetry.  But  besides 
extolling  the  prowess  of  the  leaders  whom  they  celebrate, 
they  are  inspired  to  a  considerable  extent  by  national 
patriotism — a  feeling  which  is  wanting  in  the  earlier  poetry, 
and  which  testifies  to  the  growth  of  national  consciousness 
in  the  England  of  the  tenth  century. 

In  other  respects  there  is  a  marked  contrast  between  the 
two  pieces.  Our  poem  contains  no  detailed  description  of  the 
battle  and  no  speeches.  On  the  other  hand,  the  poet  has 
been  carried  away  by  the  feeling  of  triumph.  He  gloats  over 
the  discomfiture  of  the  enemy,  in  a  style  not  unlike  that 
of  Laurence  Minot^  and  even  descends  to  abuse  of  the  old 
Scottish  king  (eald  inwidda,  1.  46).  In  spite  of  these  features 
the  poem  is  by  no  means  a  simple  unsophisticated  song 
of  victory.    The  most  individual  feature  of  its  style  is  the 

1  Annals  of  Ulster  (Kolls  Series),  sub  ann.  935  (936). 

2  War  of  the  Gaedhil  loith  the  Gaill,  p.  281. 

3  Cf.  (ed.  J.  Hall,  Oxford,  1897),  i,  11.  65—80  ;  ii,  11.  7—24,  etc. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BRUNANBURH  65 

liberality  with  which  the  traditional  })hraseology  of  poetry 
has  been  employed.  Epithets  are  piled  one  upon  another  in 
a  way  which  renders  translation  into  modern  English  very 
dirticult ;  and  this  difficulty  is  increased  by  a  superabundance 
of  adverbial  phrases,  e.g.  1.  46  fF. ;  1.  54  ff. ;  1.  G6  ff.,  etc. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  poem  contains  a  number  of  forms 
which  deviate  from  the  standard  (literary)  West  Saxon 
language  of  the  time,  e.g.  geflemed,  nede,  giung,  gelpari, 
gesleht,  hlehhan,  ageted.  Some  of  these  forms  are  peculiar  to 
the  Parker  text,  and  we  might  be  inclined  at  first  sight  to 
attribute  them  to  the  scribe,  especially  in  view  of  the  fact 
that  he  has  made  some  obvious  mistakes ;  but  this  is 
probably  not  the  true  explanation.  Such  irregular  forms  do 
not  occur  in  the  preceding  and  following  annals  in  the 
Paxker  text,  and  there  are  enough  of  them  in  the  texts  of 
the  poem  contained  in  the  other  three  MSS.  to  render  it  more 
than  probable  that  they  come  from  the  original.  Their  com- 
parative infrequency  in  the  three  later  texts  is  therefore 
probably  due  to  correction.  We  may  notice  also  in  this  con- 
nection the  occurrence  of  words  of  Scandinavian  origin,  e.g. 
diennede  (O.  N.  dynja),  1.  12 ;  cnear  (O.  N.  knorr),  11.  35,  58 ; 
and  more  particularly  the  intransitive  use  of  the  verb  lecgan 
in  1.  22,  which  is  common  in  early  Norse,  but  of  which  the 
Anglo-Saxon  dictionaries  give  no  other  instance.  These  con- 
siderations, as  far  as  they  go,  would  seem  rather  to  point  to 
the  Danelagh  as  the  home  of  the  poet — a  supposition  which  is 
hardly  disproved  by  the  national  character  of  his  sympathies. 
In  any  case  the  reader  can  hardly  fail  to  be  struck  by  the 
resemblance — in  tone  as  well  as  in  subject  matter — between 
this  poem  and  that  on  the  Battle  of  Hafs fjord,  p.  90  below. 


66 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BRUNANBURH 

Her  ^l^elstan  cyning,         eorla  dryhten, 

beorna  beahgifa,         and  his  broj^or  eac, 

Eadmund  sepeling,         ealdorlangne  tir 

geslogon  set  ssecce^         sweorda  ecgum 
5  ymbe  Brunnanburh.         Bordweal  clufan, 

heowan  heaJ>olinde,         hamora  lafan^ 

afaran*  Eadweardes,         swa  him  gesepele  wees 

from  cneomsegum         pa,  hie  set  campe  oft 

wip  la))ra  gehwsene         land  ealgodon*, 
lo  hord  and  hamas.         Hettend^  crungun, 

Sceotta  leoda"         and  scipflotan 

fffige  feollan.         Feld  dsennede'^ 

secga  swate^         siS)?an  sunne  up 

on  morgentid,         msere  tungol 
15  glad  ofer  grundas,         Godes  condel  beorht, 

eces  Drihtnes,         otS®  sio^"  sejjele  gesceaft 

sah  to  setle".         peer  Iseg  secg  ma^nig 

garum  ageted^^         guma^^  nor]>erna" 

ofer  scild  scoten,         swilce  Scittisc  eac 
20  werig  wiges^^  saed^*^.         Wesseaxe^'  forS 

ondlongne  dseg,         eorodcistum" 

on  last  legdun         la]?uni  J?eodum, 

heowan  herefleman^^         hindan  J>earle 

mecum  mylenscearpan^".         Myrce  ne  wyrndon 
25  heardes^^  hondplegan         ha?le)ja  nanum 

pse^  mid  Anlafe         ofer  sera  gebland^* 

•  secce  D ;  geslogan  set  sake  B.  ^  lafum  B,  C,  D. 

s  eiiforan  B,  D ;  aforan  C.  *  geaUiodon  D. 

5  he  ted  D.  "  Scotta  leode  B,  C,  D. 

7  dennade  B,  C;  dennode  D;  dijnede  W.  »  B,  C,  D;  secgas  hwate  A. 

9  ^  B.  10  S20  B,  C;  sd  D.  ^^  smtle  J). 

12  forgrundcn  B.         ^^  guman  B,  C,  D.  '*  norfferne,  B,  C;  norpxrne  D. 

^^  wigges  B,  C.         i**  rajrf  D.  i^  WestsexeB;   WessexeC;  Wenseaxe  J). 

'8  andlangne  dmg  cored  cystavi  B,  C,  D. 

i«  here  flyman  B;  here  flymoti  (J  ;  h eor a  flyman  T> ;  hereflimanW. 
*•>  mylen  scearpuru  B,  C;  mycel  scearpum  D. 
81  B,  C,  D;  he  eardes  A;  heordes  W. 
22  /e  W;  para  de  B,  C ;  para  pe  D.      23  ^ar  gebland  B,  C.  D ;  geblond  W. 


67 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BRUNANBURH 

In  this  year  King  Aethelstan,  lord  of  knights  and  liberal 
rewarder  of  warriors,  and  his  brother,  Prince  Edmund  also, 
won  undying  glory  by  the  edge  of  the  sword  in  battle  at 
Brunanburh.  With  their  hammered  blades  the  sons  of 
Edward  clove  the  serried  bucklers,  and  hacked  the  shields  of 
linden  wood,  for  with  them  it  was  an  instinct  inherent  in 
their  family  always  to  defend  their  country,  their  treasure,  and 
their  homes  in  battle  against  every  enemy. 

The  foemen  were  laid  low,  the  warriors  of  the  Scots  and  the 
host  from  the  ships  fell  doomed.  The  field  was  flowing  with 
the  blood  of  men  from  the  time  when  the  sun,  that  glorious 
star,  the  bright  candle  of  God,  the  Lord  eternal,  rose  on  high 
above  the  horizon  in  the  morning  hours — until  that  noble 
being  sank  to  its  rest.  There  lay  many  a  warrior,  men  of 
the  North,  torn  by  the  spear,  shot  over  their  shields ;  and 
many  a  Scotsman  too  lay  lifeless — they  had  had  their  fill 
of  battle. 

All  day  long  the  West  Saxons  with  troops  of  horse  pressed 
on  in  pursuit  of  the  enemies'  forces.  Fiercely  they  cut  down 
the  fugitives  from  behind  with  swords  sharpened  on  the 
grindstone.  Nor  did  the  Mercians  refuse  hard  fighting  to  any 
of  the  warriors  who  in  the  ship's  bosom  had  followed  Anlaf 
over  the  tossing  waters  to  our  land  to  meet  their  doom  in 

5—2 


68  THE  BATTLE  OF  BRUNANBURH 

on  lides^  bosrae         land  gesohtun, 

faege^  to  gefeohte.         Fife  Isegun 

on  pam  campstede         cyninges^  giunge^ 
30  sweordum  aswefede,         swilce  seofene  eac 

eorlas  Anlafes,         unrim^  heriges 

flotan  and  Sceotta^         Dser  geflemed''  wearS 

NorSmanna  bregu^         nede  gebeded®, 

to  lides  stefne         litle  weorode. 
35  Cread^"  cnear  on"  flot^^         cyning^^  ut  gewat 

on  fealene"  flod         feorh  generede. 

Swilce  ]?aer  eac  se  froda         mid  fleame  com 

on  his  cyppe  nor5         Costontinus^^ 

bar'*'  hildering".         Hreman  ne  j^orfte 
40  msecan^*  gemanan.         He^^  waes  his  ma^ga  sceard, 

freonda  gefylled         on  folcstede-", 

beslagen-^  aet  ssecce,         and  his  sunu  forlet 

on  wffilstowe         wundun  forgrunden^^, 

giungne^^  set  gu5e.         Gelpan-*  ne  porfte 
45  beorn  blandenfeax-^         bil  geslehtes-*^, 

eald  inwidda^^         ne  Anlaf  ]?y  ma 

mid  heora  herelafum         hlehhan  ne  j^orftun 

|j8et  hie^^  beaduweorca         beteran  wurdiin 

on  campstede         cumbelgehnades^^ 
Sogarmittinge^"         gumena  gemotes 

wsepengewrixles         )?8es^^  hi  on  wselfelda 

wij>  Eadweardes         afaran'^  plegodan. 

Gewitan  him  pa  NorSmen         n^gledcnearrum^^, 

dreorig  daraSa  laf         on  Dinges^^  mere 
55  ofer  deop^  wseter         Difelin'''^  secan 

1  li^es  C.  2  fage  D.  ■*  -gas  B,  C,  D.  ^  geonge  B,  C  ;  iunga,  D. 

6  7  unrivi  C.  6  Scotta  B,  C,  D.  ^  geflymed  B,  C,  D.  ^  5^^^^  g^  q  j^ 
9  gebsRded  B,  C,  D;  iieade  geb.  C,  D;  nyde  W.  ^°  creat  D. 

^1  B,  C,  D;  cnea  ren  A.  ^^  flod  D.  ^^  cyning...flod  om.  D. 

i-i  fealone  B,  C.       i^  Constantinus  B,  C,  D.       i«  lial  D.        ^^  h.  rinc,  B,  C,  D. 

18  mecea  B;  meca  C;  mecga  D.  ^^  her  B,  C.  ""  on  his  folcstede  C. 

21  forslegen  B;  beslegen  C;  beslasgen  D.  --  B,   C,   D;/er-  A. 

23  'geongne  B,   C,   D.  ^4  ^j^^pan  B,   C,   D,  W.  25  .jga;  g^   c. 

26  geslihtes  G,   D;    -slyhtes  B.  ^7  inioitta  B,   C;  inwuda  D. 

2«  B  ;  fti  C,  D;  ^eo  A.  29  culbod-,  superscribed  !;ei  cumbel-  A; 

cuvibol  gehnastes  B,  C,  D.  3"  mittunge  D.  =*!  ^^^  ^^  j) 

32  eaforan  B ;    aforan  C.  *^  negled  C ;  rf£E(;  ^ZedZ  o/j  garum  D. 

3*  dynges  B;  dinges  C;  dyniges  D;  Dinnes  W.  ^*  deopne  D. 

3«  Dj^ejf  B  ;  DyflinC;  Dyflig  D. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BRUNANBURH  G9 

battle.  On  the  field  of  battle  lay  five  young  kings  stretched 
lifeless  by  the  sword,  and  with  them  seven  of  Anlaf's  earls 
and  a  countless  host  of  seamen  and  of  Scots.  There  the 
prince  of  the  Northmen  with  but  a  small  following  was  com- 
pelled by  irresistible  force  to  flee  to  the  prow  of  his  ship.  The 
king's  bark  was  launched  in  haste,  and  he  made  his  way  out 
over  the  grey  waters  and  saved  his  life. 

There  also  the  aged  Constantine,  the  grey-haired  warrior, 
set  off  in  flight  to  his  country  in  the  North.  No  cause  had  he 
to  exult  in  that  clash  of  arms.  He  was  bereaved  of  his  kins- 
men and  friends,  who  had  been  cut  down  in  the  struggle  and 
lay  lifeless  on  the  field  of  battle.  On  the  place  of  slaughter 
he  left  his  young  son  mangled  by  the  blows  he  had  received 
in  the  conflict.  No  need  had  the  hoary  knight — the  old 
scoundrel — to  exult  in  the  clash  of  swords.  As  little  cause 
had  Anlaf :  no  need  had  they  to  gloat — they  and  the  remnants 
of  their  hosts — over  their  superiority  in  martial  deeds  upon 
the  field  of  battle,  when  the  standards  came  into  collision, 
when  spear  met  spear  and  man  encountered  man  and  blade 
was  crossed  with  blade — as  they  competed  with  the  sons  of 
Edward  on  the  field  of  slaughter. 

Then  the  sorry  remnant  of  the  Norsemen,  who  had  escaped 
the  spears,  set  out  upon  the  sea  of  Dinge  in  their  nail-studded 
ships,  making  for  Dublin  over  the  deep  waters.    Humiliated 


70  THE  BATTLE  OF  BRUNANBURH 

eft  Iraland\         aewiscmode. 

Swilce  J7a  gebro]?er^         begen  setsamne^ 

cyning  and  a3|7elmg         cyppe  sohton, 

Wesseaxena  land,         wiges  hreamige^ 
60  Letan  him  behindan         hrae  bryttian^ 

saluwigpadan*         ]?one  sweartan  hrsefh 

hyrnednebban''         and  pane  base  wan  padan^ 

earn  aeftan  hwit         seses  brucan 

grsedigne  guShafoc"         and  pset  grsege  deor 
65  wulf  on  wealde.         Ne  wearS  wael  mare 

on  J>is  eiglande^"         aefre"  gieta 

folces  gefylled^'*         beforan  )>issum 

sweordes  ecgum,         )>8es  pe  us  secgaS  bee, 

ealde  uSwitan,         si]?)?an  eastan  hider 
70  Engle  and  Seaxe         up  becoman 

ofer  brade^^  brimu         Brytene  sohtan 

wlance  wigsrai]7as         Weal  as  ^^  ofercoman 

eorlas  arhwate         eard  begeatan. 

1  B,  C,  D  (Yra-  C,  D)  ;  7  eft  hiralandA.      2  broffor  C.     3  hegemtrunneD. 
*  hreniige  B,  C,  D ;  a  superscribed  e  in  A. 

5  hrawbryttigeanBihrabrittiganC;  hrabryttingaD  ;  hrmfn B7-yttian\N ; 
m  of  hrm  superscribed  w  in  A. 

6  salo-  B,  C,  D.  '  hyrnet-  T>. 

8  7  ^one  hasu  (haso  B)  padan  (wad-  D,  W),  B,  C,  D.  »  cuff-  D. 

i»  eglande  B,  iglande  C,  D.  "  B,  C,  D;  mfer  A.  12  afjjlledB. 

13  B,  C,  D ;  brad  A ;  brymum  brad  W.  "  B,  C,  D ;  loealles  A. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BRUNANBURH  71 

in  spirit  thoy  returned  to  Ireland.  The  two  brothers  also,  the 
King  and  the  Prince  of  the  English,  both  together  returned 
to  their  country,  the  land  of  Wessex,  triumphing  in  their 
victory. 

Behind  them  they  left  a  heap  of  carnage  to  be  shared  by 
*he  black  raven  with  its  dusky  plumage  and  hooked  beak, 
and  the  dun-coated  white-tailed  eagle — a  feast  to  be  enjoyed 
by  the  hungry  hawks  of  battle,  and  by  that  grey  beast,  the 
volf  of  the  forest. 

Never  in  this  island  before  now,  so  far  as  the  books  of  our 
ancient  historians  tell  us,  has  an  army  been  put  to  greater 
slaughter  at  the  edge  of  the  sword,  since  the  time  when  the 
Angles  and  Saxons  made  their  way  hither  from  the  east  over 
the  wide  seas,  invading  Britain,  when  warriors  eager  for  glory, 
proud  forgers  of  battle,  overcame  the  Welsh  and  won  for 
themselves  a  country. 


72 


NORSE  MANUSCRIPTS 

Norse  MSS.  which  consist  wholly  or  mainly  of  poetry  are 
few  in  number,  and  with  the  exception  of  those  which  con- 
tain the  poems  of  the  Edda  they  are  of  comparatively  little 
importance.  Most  of  the  early  poems  which  have  survived, 
including  the  pieces  contained  in  this  volume,  owe  their  pre- 
servation to  the  fact  that  they  have  been  incorporated  b/ 
way  of  quotation  in  prose  works  of  a  much  later  date.  One 
consequence  of  this  is  that  the  great  bulk  of  Norse  poetrj 
has  come  down  to  us  in  a  fragmentary  state.  Very  often  we 
have  only  single  strophes  of  what  were  probably  poems  of 
considerable  length.  Sometimes  again  we  are  left  in  doubt 
as  to  whether  the  passages  quoted  are  complete  poems  or 
merely  extracts. 

The  remains  of  Norse  poetry  of  the  ninth  and  tenth  cen- 
turies are  preserved  chiefly  in  historical  works  of  the  thirteenth 
century,  most  of  which  were  written  in  Iceland.  Perhaps  the 
most  interesting  of  these  is  the  Heimskringla  of  Snorri 
Sturluson  (d.  1241),  a  history  of  the  kings  of  Norway  from 
the  earliest  times  to  1177.  The  same  author  also  wrote  an 
account  of  the  diction  of  poetry  (Skdldskaparindl)  in  his  Prose 
Edda,  and  here  also  a  very  large  number  of  quotations  from 
early  poets  are  preserved. 

At  one  time  the  number  of  vellum  MSS.  containing  sagas 
and  other  prose  works  was  very  considerable.  They  were 
written  for  the  most  part  between  the  thirteenth  and  fifteenth 
centuries ;  not  a  few  dated  from  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth 
century  and  were  thus  almost  contemporary  with  the  rime 
when  historical  writing  was  at  its  best.  Unfortunately  a  very 
large  number  of  these  MSS.  were  destroyed  in  the  great  fire 
in  the  University  Library  at  Copenhagen  in  1728^  We  are 
therefore  largely  dependent  for  our  knowledge  of  such  works 
upon  paper  copies  of  these  MSS.,  which  were  made  in  the 
1  Cf.  p.  xi,  above. 


NORSE  MANUSCRIPTS  73 

sovontoenth  centurv.  Fortunately,  owing  to  the  zeal  dis- 
played by  Scandinavian  scholars  during  that  period,  those 
are  numerous,  and  for  the  most  part  evidently  written  with 
great  care.  It  is  the  practice  of  Scandinavian  scholars  to  call 
the  paper  MSS.  by  the  names  of  the  vellums  from  which  they 
are  copied,  and  which  are  now  preserved  only  as  a  few 
shrivelled  leaves,  when  they  survive  at  all. 

It  will  be  convenient  here  to  give  a  short  account  of  the 
MSS.  of  the  historical  work  from  which  the  four  following 
pieces  are  derived. 

I.  Fagrskinna.  The  University  Library  at  Copenhagen  is 
known  to  have  possessed  two  vellum  MSS.  of  this  work — 
A  and  B — both  of  which  were  burnt  in  1728.  The  name 
Fagrskinna  ('  Beautiful  Vellum  '),  which  is  due  to  Torfaeus, 
belongs  properly  only  to  the  former  of  these  MSS.  (which  is 
believed  to  have  been  written  in  the  early  part  of  the  four- 
teenth century)  though  it  is  now  generally  applied  to  the 
work  itself.  B,  of  which  a  small  fragment  remains,  appears 
to  have  been  much  earlier,  and  was  probably  written  about 
1250.  It  is  known  to  have  come  to  Copenhagen  from  Bergen 
some  time  between  1610  and  1728.  Upon  the  paper  mss. 
which  are  derived  partly  from  A,  partly  from  B,  we  are 
almost  wholly  dependent  for  our  knowledge  of  the  Hrafnsmdl 
and  the  Eiriksmdl.  They  contain  also  the  Battle  of  Hafs- 
fjord  and  the  Hdkonarmdl  str.  1 — 7,  and  19 — 21. 

II.  Heimskringla  (H),  Snorri's  History  of  the  kings  of 
Norway  (see  above).  This  work  is  preserved  in  an  imperfect 
form  in  a  number  of  paper  MSS.  descended  from  a  MS.  known  as 
Kringla  (K),  which  appears  to  have  been  written  c.  1260,  as 
well  as  in  certain  vellums  of  which  the  most  important  are 
the  Codex  Frinavus  (F)  and  the  Jofrskinna  (J),  both  written 
about  1325,  and  both  far  from  complete. 

III.  The  Flateyjarbdk  (Fl.),  with  which  may  be  classed 
certain  other  texts  published  in  the  Forn-Manna  Sogvr 
(F.  M.  S.).  The  Flatei/jarhdk,  like  the  Heiviskringla,  contains 
sagas  of  the  kings  of  Norway,  but  these  sagas  are  for  the  most 
part  much  longer  than  those  contained  in  the  Heimskringla, 
and  it  is  clear  that  the  compiler  has  frequently  incorporated 


74  NORSE  MANUSCRIPTS 

many  shorter  independent  narratives  in  recounting  the  lives 
of  the  kings.  Thus  the  Saga  of  Olaf  Tryggvason  virtually 
contains  the  history  of  Norway  and  much  of  the  history  of 
Iceland  and  Denmark  down  to  King  Olaf 's  own  times. 

The  first  folios  of  the  Flateyjarbok  were  written  in  the 
year  1387,  but  according  to  the  editor^  the  greater  part  of 
the  text  seems  to  be  of  somewhat  earlier  date,  probably 
between  1370  and  1380.  It  was  taken  from  Iceland  in  1662 
by  Torfaeus  as  a  present  from  Bishop  Brynjolf  Sveinsson  to 
King  Frederick  III,  and  is  now  in  the  Royal  Library  at 
Copenhagen.  Previously  to  that  date  it  is  known  to  have 
been  in  the  possession  of  a  family  who  had  dwelt  on  the 
Island  of  Flatey  in  BreitSifjor6r  since  the  fourteenth  century. 

The  text  of  the  Saga  of  Olaf  Tryggvason  contained  in 
the  Forn-Manna  Sogur  (ed.  Copenhagen,  1825)  Vols,  i-ili  is 
based  on  a  vellum  Arn.  Magn.  No.  61  which  presents  a  text 
very  close  to  the  Flateyjarbok.  The  editors  also  used  the 
Flateyjarbok  itself  as  well  as  several  MSS.  nearly  related  to  it. 

In  general  the  text  of  the  poems  preserved  in  these  MSS.  is 
hardly  better  than  that  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  poems — for  which, 
as  we  have  seen,  we  are  for  the  most  part  dependent  upon  a 
single  MS.  It  is  to  be  remembered  however  that  the  former 
poems  were  not  written  down  until  some  two  or  three  centuries 
after  their  composition,  and  that  the  language  in  which  they 
are  preserved  is  that  which  was  current  in  Iceland  or  in 
Norway  in  the  thirteenth  century.  This  frequently  spoils  the 
metre  of  the  poems ;  in  particular  Norwegian  MSS.  often  fail 
to  show  the  alliteration,  since  certain  initial  sounds  had 
disappeared  in  the  language  of  Norway  by  the  thirteenth 
century.  Scandinavian  scholars  usually  publish  the  poems 
in  a  form  of  language  which  is  substantially  that  of  the 
earliest  Icelandic  MSS. 

In  the  Hrafnsmdl  and  the  Eiriksmdl  I  have  followed  the 
orthography  of  the  only  text  (Fagrskinna)  in  which  these 
poems  are  preserved,  with  a  few  exceptions  which  will  be 
noted  in  due  course.  The  texts  of  the  other  five  poems  are 
derived  very  largely  from  seventeenth  century  (paper)  copies 
1  C.  K.  Unger  (Christiania,  1860—1868),  Vol.  i,  p.  ii  f. 


NORSE  MANUSCRIPTS  75 

(often  minu'rous)  of  lost  Mss.  It  has  been  the  custom  to  base 
the  printed  editions  on  a  colhition  of  the  surviving  vellums 
and  of  these  paper  Mss.,  which  often  preserve  a  better  text  than 
the  vellums  ;  but  not  many  complete  transcripts  of  individual 
MSS.,  whether  vellum  or  paper,  have  been  published.  As  the 
orthography  of  the  various  mss.  differs  to  a  certain  extent,  it 
has  been  the  custom  for  editors  of  such  conflate  texts  to 
normalise,  though  there  is  some  difference  between  the 
systems  adopted  by  the  various  editors.  I  have  followed, 
except  in  the  two  poems  above  mentioned,  the  orthography 
employed  in  the  poems  contained  in  the  sagas  published  by 
SigurSur  Kristjansson  at  Reykjavik,  as  I  think  this  system 
is  probably  the  one  most  familiar  to  English  readers. 

It  should  be  observed  that  the  language  of  the  Fagrskinna, 
which  is  Norwegian  of  c.  1250,  differs  in  a  few  respects  from 
the  Icelandic  of  the  same  period.  The  chief  points  to  notice 
are:  (1)  x  stands  (as  in  Anglo-Saxon)  for  a  short  as  well  as  a 
long  vowel,  generally  corresponding  to  Icelandic  e,  as  in  smgi; 

(2)  oey  corresponds  to  Icel.  ey,  as  in  hceyra ;  (3)  initial  h-  is 
lost  before  I  and  r,  as  in  IfjiSi  7nngherendr ;  (4)  a  is  regularly 
preserved  before  u  in  the  following  syllable  (as  in  fagrum, 
tjorgha&om),  owing  to  the  absence  of  labial  umlaut ;  (5)  ^  and 
n  are  doubled  before  d  (as  in  late  Icelandic  texts  such  as  the 
Flateyjarhok),  e.g.  Harallde,  lannd.  c  is  often  written  for  k, 
V  for  (internal)  /,  and  e,  o  for  i,  u  respectively  in  unaccented 
syllables,  but  these  features  are  also  found  in  early  Icelandic 
MSS.;  gh  is  sometimes  written  for  (internal)  g. 

I  have  added  the  initial  h-  before  I  and  r  to  show  the 
alliteration,  but  in  other  respects  I  have  not  departed  from 
the  orthography  of  the  Fagrskinna^,  though  it  must  be 
remembered  that  this  represents  the  language  of  a  period 
nearly  four  centuries  later  than  the  time  of  Hornklofi. 

1  Except  that,  as  elsewhere,  (1)  i  and  j,  u  and  v  are  distinguished  re- 
spectively according  to  their  modern  usage,  (2)  o  is  distinguished  from  o,  and 

(3)  accents  are  inserted  to  mark  the  lonR  vowels.  The  Fafirskinnn  does  not 
mark  accents,  while  the  usage  of  the  earlier  Icelandic  mss.  is  inconsistent  in 
this  respect. 


76 


VII.    THE  HRAFNSMAL 

With  the  exception  of  Bragi  Boddason  who  is  believed 
to  have  lived  in  the  early  part  of  the  ninth  century,  the 
earliest  Norwegian  poets  whose  names  have  come  down  to 
us  in  connection  with  existing  works  are  those  who  were 
attached  to  the  court  of  Harold  the  Fairhaired.  Harold  is 
believed  to  have  been  bom  c.  850,  and  to  have  succeeded  his 
father  Halfdan  in  the  kingdoms  of  Vestfold  (in  the  south- 
east of  Norway)  and  Sogn  (on  the  west  coast)  when  he  was 
about  ten  years  of  age.  In  the  course  of  the  next  twelve 
years  he  subdued  the  whole  of  Norway,  which  had  previously 
contained  a  considerable  number  of  kingdoms.  His  last  great 
battle  was  the  naval  action  in  the  Hafsfjord,  off  Stavanger, 
in  872,  when  he  encountered  and  defeated  the  confederate 
kings  of  the  south-west. 

Among  the  best  known  of  the  poets  in  Harold's  train  are 
Thj6?!olfr  of  Hvin  and  Thorbjorn  Hornklofi.  The  former  was 
specially  honoured  by  the  king,  and  entrusted  by  him  with 
the  upbringing  of  one  of  his  sons.  Two  of  his  longer  works 
have  survived,  of  which  one  is  the  Ynglingatal,  a  genealogical 
poem  in  which  he  traces  the  ancestry  of  a  certain  Rognvaldr — 
apparently  a  first  cousin  of  Harold — back  to  the  early  kings 
of  Sweden  and  the  god  Freyr.  Another  work  of  the  same 
poet  is  the  Haustlong,  which  celebrates  various  adventures 
of  the  gods  with  the  giants.  In  addition  to  these,  a  number 
of  strophes  are  attributed  to  him  in  the  prose  histories  of 
Harold's  reign,  as  well  as  in  Snorri  Sturluson's  Prose  Edda. 
Many  of  these  strophes  are  however  assigned  to  Hornklofi 
by  other  authorities^ 

Of  Thorbjorn  Hornklofi  little  is  known.  In  the  Fagrskinna, 
eh.  2,  he  is  described  as  an  '  old  friend  of  kings-,'  and  it  is 

1  The  frequent  confusion  of  these  two  poets  is  believed  to  be  partly  due  to 
the  practice  of  writing  an  initial  letter  in  mss.  in  place  of  the  full  name. 
p  would  stand  for  either  ThjoSdlfr  or  Thorbjorn  (Hornklofi).  Cf.  F.  J6nsson, 
Den  Oldnorske  og  Oldislandske  Litteraturs  Historie  (Copenhagen,  1894), 
Vol.  I,  p.  431. 

-  A  similar  expression  is  applied  to  Thjo^olfr  in  the  Flateyjarbok,  Vol.  i, 
p.  567. 


THE  HRAFNSMAL  77 

stilted  that  he  had  been  familiar  with  court  life  from  his 
childhood.  In  the  Sk-dlda  Saga\  ch.  1,  he  is  said  to  have  had 
an  influential  relative  in  the  Uplands  called  Hrolfr  Hnetja — 
father-in-law  of  Earl  Rognvaldr  of  Mcere,  and  grandfather  of 
Hrolfr  (Rollo),  the  first  earl  of  Normandy.  He  is  mentioned 
also  in  an  interesting  passage  in  Egils  Saga,  ch.  8,  which 
incidentally  would  seem  to  indicate  that  the  praise  which 
Hornklofi  bestows  upon  the  king  for  his  treatment  of  his 
court  poets  was  not  undue  :  '  Of  all  the  men  of  his  retinue 
King  Harold  showed  most  honour  to  his  poets,  and  the 
second  high-seat  was  assigned  to  them.  Here  in  the  first 
place'-  sat  AuSun  Illsktt'lda.  He  was  the  eldest  of  them  and 
had  been  the  poet  of  Halfdan  the  Black,  the  father  of  King 
Harold.  Next  to  him  sat  Thorbjorn  Hornklofi,  and  next 
again  Olvir  Hnufa.  Next  to  the  last  named  a  seat  was 
assigned  to  BarSr.'  The  Skdlda  Saga  gives  an  account  of  a 
discreditable  adventure  which  befell  the  first  three  of  these 
on  one  occasion.  To  atone  for  it  they  had  to  undertake  a 
dangerous  mission  to  Sweden. 

Portions  of  at  least  two  of  Hornklofi's  poems  have  come 
down  to  us,  in  addition  to  some  detached  strophes  attributed 
to  him  in  the  Prose  Edda.  Of  these  longer  pieces  one  was 
known  as  the  Glymdrdpa.  It  is  in  the  common  skaldic  metre 
called  Drottkvxd'i,  and  contained  apparently  a  general  survey 
of  Harold's  expeditions  and  battles.  The  second  is  the  piece 
given  below.  With  the  exception  of  two  strophes  it  is 
preserved  only  in  the  Fagrskinna.  Strophe  6  however  is 
quoted  also  in  the  Heimskringla  {Saga  of  Harold  the  Fair- 
haired,  ch.  16),  and  strophe  13  also  in  the  Flateyjarbok, 
Vol.  I,  p.  568  (and  Forn-Manna  Sogur,  Vol.  x,  p.  179),  though 
here  it  is  attributed  not  to  Hornklofi  but  to  AuSun.  No 
name  is  given  to  this  poem  by  any  of  the  early  authorities. 
By  modern  scholars  it  has  been  variously  called  Hraf)isiiidi\ 
Haraldsmdl*  and  Haraldskvie^i^. 

The   metre  used  in  this  poem  is  chiefly  the  Mdlahdttr, 

'  Forn-Manna  Sogur,  Vol.  iii.     -  Lit.  'inmost,'  i.e.  farthest  from  the  door. 

•*  J.  SigurSsson,  Snorra  Edda,  Vol.  iii,  p.  41u. 

*  Moebius,  Edda  Samundar  kins  Fro6a  (Leipzig,  1860),  p.  228. 

'  Wisen,  Carmina  Norrana  (Lund,  188G),  p.  122. 


78  THE  HRATNSMAL 

which  is  found  also  in  certain  poems  of  the  Edda,  e.g.  the 
Atlamdl  and  portions  of  the  Atlakvi&a  and  the  Ham&ismdl. 
Strophes  10 — 15  are  partly  in  Ljo&ahdttr.  For  this  combina- 
tion we  may  compare  the  Hdkonarmdl  and  the  Eiriksmdl. 
In  strophes  8  and  15  we  have  Fornyrd'islag — the  metre  used 
in  most  of  the  narrative  poems  of  the  Edda  and  practically 
identical  with  that  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  poems. 

The  setting  of  the  poem  is  somewhat  peculiar.  It  consists 
of  a  dialogue  between  a  valkyrie  and  a  raven  ^  in  which  the 
latter  tells  the  former  many  interesting  details  about  the 
warriors  of  King  Harold  and  the  life  spent  by  various  classes 
of  people  at  his  court.  It  is  not  at  all  certain  that  the  poem 
is  complete.  Strophes  1 — 6,  which  clearly  form  the  beginning 
of  a  poem,  are  quoted  by  the  Fagrskinna  on  pp.  6 — 9^  strophes 
7 — 11  on  pp.  9 — 11,  strophes  12,  13  on  pp.  11,  12,  and 
strophes  14,  15  on  p.  12,  the  quotations  being  separated  by 
short  prose  passages.  Some  strophes  may  have  been  omitted 
between  the  quotations  and  possibly  also  at  the  end. 

In  Skdldskaparmdl,  ch.  2,  there  is  a  single  strophe  quoted 
which  previous  editors  have  generally  regarded  as  forming 
a  part  of  the  Hrafnsmdl : 

Valr  la  par  a  sandi,         vitinn^  enum  eineygja 

Friggjar  faSmbyggvi ;         fognuSum  daS  slikri^ 

There  lay  the  dead  on  the  strand,  allotted  to  Frigg's 

one-eyed  husband.    Our  hearts  were  gladdened  by  such 

doings. 

The  subject  of  fognu&um  is  not  stated.  The  use  of  the 
word  in  this  connection  would  be  applicable  to  ravens,  and 
consequently  would  not  be  out  of  place  in  the  Hrafnsmdl ; 
but  it  is  to  be  observed  that  Snorri  himself  cites  ThjoSolfr 
of  Hvin,  not  Hornklofi,  as  the  author. 

Two  further  fragments  have  generally  been  regarded  as 

1  We  may  compare  the  Serbian  poem  on  Kraljevic  Marko  which  is  com- 
posed in  the  form  of  a  dialogue  between  a  Vila  and  an  eagle  (Karadzic, 
Srpske  Narodne  Pjesme,  Vol.  ii  (Vienna,  1875),  p.  328  £f.). 

'  The  references  are  to  b\  Jonsson,  Fagrskinna  (Copenhagen,  1902-3). 

»  K ;  vitt  Cod.  Worm. 

*  The  notes  to  this  strophe  and  the  two  strophes  on  p.  79  below  will  be 
found  on  p.  181  below. 


THE  HRAFNSMAL  79 

forming  u  part  of  the  Hrafnsindl.  They  arc  found  in  the 
Flatei/jarbolc,  Vol.  I,  p.  576  (and  Forn-Manna  Sugar,  Vol.  X, 
p.  194  f.).  The  second  one  occurs  also  in  ih.  Vol.  i,  p.  42  (and 
Forn-Manna  Sogur,  Vol.  I,  p.  7)  and  in  the  Heimskringla 
{Saga  of  Harold  the  Fairhaired,  ch.  21).    They  are  as  follows: 

1  Annat  skulu  pxr  eiga         ambattir  Ragnhildar, 
disir  draniblatar,         at  drykkjunuilum, 

an  seis  hergaupur         es  Haraldr  of  hafi 
sveltar  valdreyra',         en  verar  J>eira  bra^S. 

2  HafnaSi  Holmrygjum  ok  HorSa  meyjum, 
hverri  enni  Heinversku  ok  Holga-  gettar* 
konungr  enn  kynstori,         es  tok  konu  Danska. 

1  Those  haughty  dames,  the  handmaidens  of  Ragnhildr, 
shall  have  something  else  to  relate  over  their  cups  than 
that  ye  wolves  have  been  stinted  of  the  blood  of  slaughter 
by  Harold  and  feasted  by  their  husbands. 

2  The  king  of  noble  lineage  turned  away  the  maidens  of 
the  Holmrygir,  and  of  the  HorSar,  and  all  those  of 
HeiSmork,  and  of  the  stock  of  Helgi,  when  he  took  a 
Danish  wife. 

These  strophes,  like  the  last,  are  in  the  Mdlahdttr,  and 
the  second  of  them  is  attributed  to  Hornklofi  by  the  Heims- 
kringla, together  with  the  Flatei/jarbok,  Vol.  i,  p.  42,  and 
the  Forn-Manna  Sogur,  Vol.  I,  p.  7  ;  but  they  are  both 
assigned  to  ThjoSolfr  in  the  Flateyjarhok,  Vol.  i,  p.  576 
{Forn-Manna  Sogur,  Vol.  X,  p.  194  f.).  All  that  one  can  say 
with  safety  is  that  they  might,  not  inappropriately,  have 
formed  a  portion  of  the  Hrafnsrndl. 

The  majority  of  scholars,  following  the  suggestion  of  Munch 
and  Unger^  believe  that  the  piece  given  on  p.  90  below 

•  F.M.  S.  Vol.  XII,  p.  226;  valdreyrgar  Flat.;  valdreyrar  F.  M.S.  Vol.  x, 
p.  195. 

2  F.M.S.  Vol.  I,  p.  7;  Ilalga  K;  Holga  Fris.  ;  kaljya  J  1;  holda  F.M.  S. 
Vol.  X,  p.  195 ;  Flat.  Vol.  i,  p.  576. 

^  H'''trda...mttar,  Haralldr  meyium  \  liverre  hinn(e)  hmversku  \  hilmir  nor- 
rmne  Flat,  i,  p.  42. 

*  Oldnnrsk  Lwsebog,  Chnstian\&,18i7,  p.  HI.  This  does  not  however  appear 
to  have  been  the  view  of  Nygaard  who  in  Udvalg  af  den  Norroiu'  Litcratur 
(Bergen,  1875),  p.  316  f.,  printed  the  piece  given  on  p.  90  below  as  a 
separate  poem  under  the  title  of  Slaget  i  Havemjjord. 


80  THE  HRATNSMAL 

originally  formed  part  of  the  Hrafnsmdl;  and  in  modern  editions 
this  piece  is  usually  inserted  between  strophes  6  and  7.  It  is 
in  the  same  metre  (Mdlahdttr)  as  the  Hrafnsmdl  and  is 
generally  assumed  to  be  by  the  same  author;  but  the  external 
evidence  gives  little  support  to  this  view.  Of  the  three 
works  in  which  it  is  preserved,  two,  the  Fagrskinna  and  the 
Flateyjarhok,  attribute  it  to  ThjotJolfr.  It  is  only  in  Snorri's 
Heimskringla  that  Hornklofi  is  given  as  the  author ;  and 
Snorri  himself  in  the  Prose  Edda  {Gylfaginning,  ch.  2) 
quotes  one  of  the  strophes  as  by  ThjoSolfr.  The  chief  argu- 
ment for  believing  that  the  two  poems  were  originally  one 
is  that  the  opening  of  the  Hrafnsmdl  leads  one  to  expect 
the  description  of  a  battle,  though  what  is  actually  preserved 
deals  in  the  main  with  the  king's  life  in  times  of  peace. 
The  poem  ma}'^  originally  have  contained  some  account  of  a 
battle  or  of  Harold's  prowess  in  warfare ;  but  it  does  not 
necessarily  follow  that  this  was  the  piece  on  the  battle  of 
Hafsfjord,  even  if  the  latter  is  Hornklofi's  work^ 

It  has  indeed  been  urged ^  that  King  Harold's  wars,  with 
the  exception  of  the  battle  of  Hafsfjord,  are  treated  in  the 
Glymdrdpa,  and  that  this  battle  was  omitted  here  because 
it  had  already  been  celebrated  in  the  earlier  poem :  it  was 
not  the  custom  for  Norse  poets  to  deal  with  the  same 
incident  on  more  than  one  occasion.  But  no  one  doubts  that 
the  Glymdrdpa,  as  we  have  it,  is  incomplete ;  we  cannot  tell 
what  it  contained  originally.  It  is  quoted  in  the  Heimskringla 
in  connection  with  the  two  battles  at  S(51skel  and  with 
Harold's  adventures  in  Gotaland ;  but  the  Fagrskinna  gives 
it  in  connection  with  the  battle  of  Hafsfjord.  In  point  of 
fact  the  references  to  naval  battles — especially  in  Norway — 
which  it  contains  are  scarcely  of  such  a  character  as  to 
enable  us  to  identify  them  with  certainty.    Again  it  seems 

^  Finnur  J6nsson  urges  [Ben  Oldnorske  og  Oldislandske  Litteraturs  His~ 
torie,  Copenhagen,  1894,  Vol.  i,  p.  432)  that  'it  is  exceedingly  improbable 
that  Thorbjorn  should  have  composed  two  poems,  both  in  the  same  metre 
(Mdlahattr),  and  both  in  the  same  (dialogue)  form,  between  the  same 
characters  '  ;  but  there  is  nothing  to  show  that  the  same  characters  (i.e.  the 
raven  and  the  valkyrie)  are  involved  here  ;  and  the  opening  word  (heyrU'i  or 
Jitzyritu)  is  scarcely  sufficient  to  show  that  the  poem  was  iu  dialogue  form 
at  all. 

-  Finnur  J6nsson,  op.  cit.,  Vol.  i,  p.  430. 


THE  HRAFNSMAL  81 

to  me  that  the  amount  of  historical  poetry  of  this  period 
which  has  come  down  to  us  is  scarcely  sufficient  to  prove 
that  the  poets  never  dealt  with  the  same  events  on  more 
than  one  occasion.  Negative  evidence  should  I  think  be 
used  with  special  caution,  more  especially  when  we  are  con- 
sidering a  poem  like  the  Glymdrdpa  which  is  in  the  nature 
of  a  retrospect  covering  the  events  of  a  number  of  years. 
And  lastly,  I  cannot  help  thinking  that  it  is  a  somewhat 
strange  assumption  that  a  poet  who  was  in  Harold's  service 
for  some  twenty  or  thirty  years,  as  is  believed  S  should  have 
composed  only  two  poems  in  honour  of  the  king  during  the 
whole  of  that  period. 

I  do  not  mean  of  course  to  deny  the  possibility  that  the 
two  pieces  given  here  belonged  to  the  same  poem.  But 
I  think  that  the  reasons  hitherto  given  for  combining  them 
are  insufficient.  The  author  of  the  Fagrskinna  had  clearly  no 
suspicion  that  the  two  poems  were  connected.  The  Hrafnsmdl 
is  quoted  in  full  under  Hornklofi's  name  ('  as  the  poet 
Homklofi  says  '  etc.)  on  p.  6  ffi,  some  time  before  the  mention 
of  the  battle  at  Hafsfjord.  When  this  battle  comes  to  be 
mentioned  the  poem  on  it  is  introduced  wdth  the  words  '  As 
the  poet  ThjoSolfr  of  Hvin  says.'  At  the  end  the  writer 
adds:  '  Hornklofi  speaks  of  this  battle  as  follows,' and  with 
that  he  goes  on  to  quote  the  Glymdrdpa.  It  seems  to  me 
preferable  therefore  to  give  the  two  poems  separately  and  let 
the  reader  form  his  own  opinion  as  to  their  relationship. 

The  text  of  the  poem  as  given  below  is  based  on  the 
paper  copies  of  MS.  B  as  printed  by  Finnur  Jonsson  in 
his  edition  of  the  Fagrskinna  (Copenhagen,  1902-3).  The 
readings  of  the  surviving  copies  of  A  have  sometimes  been 
adopted  in  preference  however,  and  the  principal  variant 
readings  of  all  these  paper  MSS.  (A  1 — 2,  B  1 — 2)  have  been 
indicated  in  footnotes.  Where  A  1 — 2  and  B  1 — 2  are  in  agree- 
ment respectively  the  letters  A,  B  have  been  used  without 
figures. 


'  For  the  date  of  the  Glymdrdpa,  cf.  F.  Jonsson,  Den  Oldn.  og  Oldisl. 
Litt.  Hist.  Vol.  I,  p.  429  f. 


THE  HRAFNSMAL 

I  jETlySi  /iringberendr         meSan  ec  fra  Harallde  ssegi^ 
odda^  ij?r(5ttar^         enom  avarauSgha^; 
fra  malom  man  ec  sgegja         J^aeim  er  ek  moey  hoeyrtSa 
hvita  haddbjarta         er  viS  hramn  doemde^ 

'   2  Vitr^  p6ttez  valkyrja ;         verar  ne  varo 

psekkir  feimo''  enni  framleito         er  fuglsrodd  kunni. 
Cvadde  en  kvaerkhvita         oc  en  gloegghvarma* 
Hymiss  hausroeyti^         er  sat  d  horne^"  vinbjarga" : 
3  '  Hvat  er  ySr,  Aramnar,         hvaSan  evop  er  comner 
meS  drseyrgu  nefi         at  degi  anndvaerSum  ? 
Holld  loSer  ySr  i  kl6m,         Arses  )?8efr  gjsengr^^  6v  muni; 
nser  hygg  ec  y3r"  i  nott  bjoggu"         pvi  er  vissuS^^  at 
naer^^  liggja.' 
i'  4  RcByfSizk  hinn  hbsQaSri         oc  um  hyrnu  }?erSi, 
■       arnar"  seiSbroSer,         oc  at  annsvorum  hugSi :  /' 
(^      'Harallde  ver  fylgSum,         syni  HalfSanar,    j 
•;     ungum  Ynglingi^^         sISan  or  asggi  comom.  1 

5  Kunna  hugtSa  ec^®  l^ic  konong  myndu         ]?ann  er^  a  Kvin- 

num-i  byr, 
drottenn  NorSmanna.         Djupum  rseSr  hann  kjolom, 
roSnum  rondum,         rauSum-  skjolldura, 
tjorghaSom^^  drom,         tjolldum  drifhum-1 

6  Uti  vill  jol  drecca         ef  seal  seinn  ratJa 

fylkir  enn  framlyndi,         oc  Froeys  laeik  hsefja-^ 
Ungr  Iseiddiz  elldvelli^         oc  inni  sitja^, 
v:       varma  dyngju         eSa  vattu  diinsfulla^*.' 

1  ec . .  .ssegi  B  :  seghi  ec  A.  -  oddi  A.  ^  iprottir  A. 

*  hinum  avarau&gha  A;  enom  harfagra  B.  ^  rsedde  A.  ®  Vig  B. 

"^  em.  von  Friesen ;  psekkir  suamo  enne  framsotto  B  ;  peckirren  {-rfen  A  2) 
nonn  hinni  framleito  A  so  v.  Friesen;  -ren  (-rfen  A  2)  no  hinni  F.  Jonsson. 

8  glaeg-  A;  gleegg  arma  B.  »  A,  Al ;  so  also  Arni  Magniisson's  correction 
in  B 1-2  ;  roya  A  2 ;  raeya  B. 

^"  hormum  A.  "  B;  hjarga  A.  '-  gjcengr  yd'r  A.  ^^  yifr  om.  A. 

"  B  ;  hjuggud  A.  i^  vissu  B.  ^^  nser  B;  ndr  B  1-2,  A. 

I''  A ;  annar  B.  '^  ecflingi  A.  i*  om.  B.  ^^  pannz  A. 

21  kymnum  A.        ^''  oc  r.  A.        ^^  tjorgum  B.        -^  oc  drifnum  skjoldum  A. 

25  hevja  A ;  heyja  A 1 ;  H,  F.  -6  .pgm  g .  .yigi  F. 

27  at  sitja  A,  H,  F.  ^8  -fula  B. 


83 


THE  HKAFNSMAL 

1  Hearken,  noblemen,  while  I  celebrate  Harold  the  magnifi- 
cent and  his  feats  of  arms.  I  will  tell  of  the  words  which 
I  heard  spoken  by  a  maiden  fair  and  golden  haired  as 
she  held  converse  with  a  raven. 

2  The  valkyrie  prided  herself  on  her  wisdom ; — and  the 
warlike  maid  took  no  pleasure  in  men,  for  she  knew  the 
language  of  birds.  With  white  throat  and  sparkling  eyes 
she  greeted  the  skull  picker  of  Hymir  as  he  sat  on  a 
jutting  ledge  of  rock, 

3 'How  is  it  with  you,  ye  ravens?  Whence  are  ye  come 
with  bloody  beak  at  the  dawning  of  day  ?  Torn  flesh  is 
hanging  from  your  talons,  and  a  reek  of  carrion  comes 
from  your  mouths.  I  doubt  not  that  ye  have  passed  the 
night  amid  a  scene  of  carnage.' 

4  The  sworn  brother  of  the  eagle  shook  his  dusky  plumage, 
wiped  his  beak,  and  thought  upon  his  answer : 

'We  have  followed  Harold,  the  son  of  Halfdan,  the 
youthful  scion  of  Yngvi,  ever  since  we  came  out  of  the  egg. 

5 '  I  thought  that  thou  wouldst  know  the  king  who  dwells 
at  Kvinnar,  the  lord  of  the  Northmen.  He  has  under  his 
command  deep  ships  with  their  reddened  stripes  and 
crimson  shields,  tarred  oars  and  foam-besprinkled  awnings. 

6 '  If  he  shall  have  his  own  desire  the  resolute-hearted 
prince  will  drink  his  Yule  at  sea  and  play  the  game  of 
Freyr.  Even  in  his  youth  he  showed  no  inclination  for 
the  fireside  and  indoor  life,  the  warm  bower  or  pillows 
stuffed  with  down.' 

6—2 


J-\ 


84  THE  HRAFNSMAL 

I     7  '  Hversso  er  hann^  fegjavaP         Jjseim  er  folld  vserja,  '^ 
itra  6gnflytr         vi5  i)?r6ttarmenn  sina  ? ' 

8  '  Mjok  ero  rceyfSir         r6gbirtingar, 
)7aeir  er  i  Harallz  tiini         hunum  vaerpa ; 
i  f^  ero  )?eir  goeddir^         oc  fagrum  msecom*, 
malme  Hiinlenzkum         oc  mane  austroeno.    - 

:.    9  Da  ero  ]?sBir  rseifir         er  vitu*  romo  vasne,  "1 
orvir  upp  at  hlaupa         oc  arar  at  svaegja^  ■:■ 
I,    homlur  at  brjota         en  hae  at  slita^ 
c^  rikulega^  hjgg  ^c  \k  vorru         )?oeysa  at  visa  raSe.' 

■  lo  'At  skallda  reiSo^  vil  ec  \\q,  spyrja,         allz  )7u  j^ykkis  skil 
vita ; 
Greppa  ferSir-"         \vi  mannt"  gorla  kunna, 
l^aeirra  er  meS  Haralldi  hafaz.' 

11  'A  gjaerSum^^  sdr  J>8eira         oc  a  gullbaugum 

at  ]?aeir  ero  i  kunnlseicum  viS  konong. 
Felldum^^  ra?5a  J?8eir  rauSum         oc  vel  faghrrendaSom^S  *• 
',       sverSum  silfrvofSum,         saerkjum  hringofhom, ' 
:      gylltum  annfetlum         oc  grofnom^^  hjalmum,    - 
'     Aringum  handberom,         er  ]>8eim  Haralldr  valde.'    b 

12  'At  bersserkja  rseiSu  vil  ec  spyrja^**,         bsergir  Arsessevar  ; 
hversso  er  fenget^^         J?seim  er  i  folk  vaSa, 

vigdjorfum  verom  ? ' 

13  'UlfheSnar^*  hseita,         ]78eir  er  i  orrostu" 

bloSgar  rander  bera ; 
vigrar  rjdSa  er^"  til  vigs  coma, 

j?8eim  er  )?ar  sist  saman. 
,       ArsaeSesmonnum  seinum,         bygg  ec,  ]7ar  undir  felaz^^  7 
-  (     skyli  s4  en  skilvisi         )?8eim  er  i  skjolld  hoggva^.'    C' 

1  B  1-2  ;  >a«  B  ;  om.  A.       --gjafaB.        ^  }>essheSnir'S,.        ^mmtumA2. 

6  vita  B.  *  sveighja  A.  "^  om.  at  B.  ®  reeiku-  B.  9  roedo  B» 

^<*  far  er  A.  n  vmnt  A.  ^-  georcfum  A. 

1^  oc  skjoldum  A ;  oc  skj-  A  2.  ^^  om.  oc  vel,  and  vdffom  rondum  B. 

15  grrcE?)?<m  B.  "  pik  spyrja  K.  i''  A;  per  fengocfB. 

18   tJ  ;  >eir  A  and  om.  after  h.  i^  B  (orras^/),  F.  M.  S.  x,  p.  179,  Fl.  : 

orrostum  A. 
20  pa  er  A.  -^  >«?•  hssfa  at  standa  F.  M.  S.,  Fl. 

-2  />ds  skatnar  skilvisir  i  skj'dld  hoggva  F.  M.  S. ,  Fl. 


THE  HRAFNSMAL  85 

7  '  What  of  the  generosity  which  he  shows  to  those  who 
guard  the  hxnd,  the  martial  leader  amid  his  splendid 
champions  ? ' 

8  '  Very  magnificent  is  the  life  enjoyed  by  the  glorious  cham- 
pions who  play  chess  in  Harold's  court.  They  are  enriched 
with  money  and  with  splendid  swords,  with  the  metal  of 
Himaland  and  with  girls  from  the  East. 

9 '  Their  spirits  are  high  when  they  know  that  there  is  a 
prospect  of  battle.  Eager  are  they  to  leap  up  and  bend 
their  oars,  to  break  the  oar  loops  and  split  the  tholes,  to 
churn  up  the  waters  with  mighty  strokes,  as  I  can  aver, 
at  the  command  of  their  prince.' 

lo '  I  should  like  to  ask  thee  of  the  position  of  the  poets, 
since  thou  hast  confident  knowledge :  full  well  thou  must 
know  the  troops  of  bards  who  dwell  with  Harold.' 

1 1  '  Their  connection  with  the  king  is  apparent  from  their 
apparel  and  their  jewels.  They  possess  cloaks  of  scarlet 
with  magnificent  borders,  swords  bound  with  silver,  coats 
of  woven  mail,  gilded  baldricks  and  graven  helmets, 
bracelets  on  their  wrists — all  of  which  have  been  be- 
stowed on  them  by  Harold.' 

12  '  I  should  like  to  ask  thee  of  the  position  of  the  berserkir, 
thou  taster  of  the  carrion  flood ;  what  provision  is  made 
for  the  martial  heroes  who  march  to  battle  ? ' 

1 3  '  Wolf-coats  are  they  called  who  bear  bloody  shields  in 
battle.  They  redden  their  spears  when  they  come  to  the 
fight,  and  then  they  act  all  in  a  body.  I  doubt  not  that  it 
is  only  upon  men  of  tried  valour  who  fight  without 
flinching  that  the  wise  king  will  rely  on  such  occasions.' 


86  THE  HRAFNSMAL 

7     14  'At  Iseicarum  oc  triiSum^         hsefi  ec  J^ic  lit  freget; 
hvaerr  er  oergati         J^seira  AnndaSar 
at  htisum  Harallz?' 

•/    15  'At  hundi  selskar  AnndaSr- —         oc  hseimsku  drygir- 
oeyrnalausum,         oc  jofur  hlcegir.  - 
Hinir  ero  oc  aSrer         er  um  aelld  sculu 

brennanda  spon  bera ; 
logandum  hufum         hafa^  ser  undir^  linda  drepet 

hseldrseipir^  haler.' 

1  trupo  A.  "  om.  A  2.  ^  jiafa  pser  B  1-2.  *  und  A. 

5  hel-  A. 


THE  HRAFNSMAL  87 

14  '  I  have  neglected  to  ask  thee  of  the  jesters  and  jugglers ; 
what  cheer  have  AndaSr  and  the  rest  at  Harold's  court  ? ' 

1 5 '  AndaSr  fondles  his  earless  dog  and  plays  the  fool  and 
makes  the  prince  laugh.  There  are  others  too  whose  task 
it  is  to  carry  burning  chips  through  the  fire.  The  skipping 
fellows  have  their  blazing  hoods  tucked  under  their  belts.' 


88 


VIII.   THE  BATTLE  OF  HAFSFJORD 

The  subject  of  the  following  poem^  is  the  Battle  of 
Hafsfjord,  the  final  and  decisive  action  by  which  Harold 
the  Fairhaired  succeeded  in  establishing  his  power  over  the 
whole  of  Norway.  Previously  to  this  he  had  conquered  the 
district  of  Trondhjem,  and  then  in  the  two  battles  at  Solskel 
he  had  defeated  and  killed  or  expelled  the  kings  of  Moere 
(M^re),  Raumsdalr  (Romsdal),  and  the  FirSir  (i.e.  the  region 
round  the  Nordfjord).  The  whole  of  the  coast  down  to  and 
including  the  Sogne^ord  was  now  in  his  possession.  The  only 
kings  who  retained  their  independence  were  those  of  the 
south-west — HorSaland,  Rogaland,  Ag?5ir,  and  Thelamork, 
corresponding  approximately  to  the  present  provinces  of 
South  Bergenhuus  and  Christiansand,  and  these  in  alarm 
formed  a  confederacy  against  him.  In  872  Harold  proceeded 
from  Trondhjem  southwards,  and  encountered  the  allied 
forces  in  the  Hafsfjord  near  Stavanger. 

Several  accounts  of  the  battle  have  been  preserved.  Among 
these  we  may  mention  specially  those  contained  in  Egils  Saga, 
ch.  9,  arid  the  Saga  of  Harold  the  Fairhaired  {Heimskringla), 
ch.  18.  According  to  the  former  there  assembled  '  a  great  host 
from  inland  and  from  the  eastern  districts,  on  the  Bay,'  led 
by  Eric,  King  of  HorSaland,  Sulki,  King  of  Rogaland  and  Earl 
S6ti  his  brother,  Kjotvi  the  Wealthy  and  Thorir  Haklangr, 
both  from  AgSir^,  and  others.  Egils  Saga  gives  a  somewhat 
detailed  account  of  the  leading  men  who  fought  on  King 
Harold's  ship.  In  the  prow  were  Th6r61fr  Kveldulfsson,  the 
poets  BarSr  the  White  and  Olvir  Hnufa,  and  Ey vindr  Lambi ; 
and  in  the  forecastle  were  Harold's  twelve  berserkirl    The 

1  For  tbe  question  of  the  possible  connection  of  this  poem  with  the 
Hrafnsmdl,  cf.  the  introduction  to  that  poem,  p.  79  ff.  above. 

2  There  appears  to  be  a  discrepancy  between  Egils  Saga  and  the  Heims- 
kringla. In  the  former  Th6rir  is  called  King  of  Ag^ir,  while  Kjotvi's  position 
is  not  specified.  In  the  Heimskringla  Kjotvi  is  called  king  and  Th6rir  is 
said  to  be  his  son. 

3  Cf.  also  the  Saga  of  Harold  the  Fairhaired  {Heimskringla),  eh.  9. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  HAFSFJORD  89 

account  given  in  the  HeiinskHngla  is  evidently  derived  very 
largely  from  the  poem.  Thus  it  is  stated  that  the  fleets  met 
oft"  JaSarr  in  Hafstjord.  Harold  was  victorious,  and  the 
leaders  of  the  allies  were  killed  except  Kjotvi,  who  fled  to  an 
island,  '  using  it  as  a  shield.'  The  host  was  scattered,  some 
escaping  by  ship,  others  'inland  through  JaSarr.'  The  subjects 
of  the  diff"erent  kings  submitted  to  Harold  after  the  battle, 
and  his  power  was  now  established  over  the  whole  of  Norway. 

The  question  of  the  date  of  the  poem  is  to  some  extent 
bound  up  with  the  question  as  to  the  relationship  between  it 
and  the  Hrafnsmdl.  The  reference  to  Utsteinn  in  strophe  3 
might  seem  to  suggest  that  it  was  composed  some  time  after 
the  battle,  since  this  place  is  mentioned  as  one  of  Harold's 
favourite  residences  in  his  later  years  S  and  it  could  hardly 
have  come  into  his  possession  before  the  conquest  of  HorSa- 
land  and  Rogaland.  But  the  five  strophes  by  themselves 
convey  the  impression  of  a  song  of  victory,  like  the  poem  on 
the  battle  of  Brunanburh,  and  it  may  be  that  Harold  had 
taken  up  his  quarters  temporarily  at  IJtsteinn  after  the  battle. 
If  the  place  had  previously  been  a  residence  of  the  kings  of 
Rogaland  this  would  be  natural  enough,  and  the  references 
in  the  poem  would  then  gain  in  significance. 

The  poem  on  the  battle  is  preserved  in  several  different 
works — the  Fagrskinna,  pp.  16 — 18,  the  Flateyjarhok,  Vol.  i, 
p.  574  (together  with  Forn-Manna  Sogur,  x,  p.  190  ff.)  and 
the  Heimskringla,  Saga  of  Harold  the  Fairhaired,  ch.  18 
(including  the  Codex  Frisianus",  p.  48).  In  the  Fagrskinna 
and  the  Flateyjarhok  it  is  attributed  to  Thj6i561fr  of  Hvin,  in 
the  Heimskringla  to  Thorbjorn  Hornklofi.  Strophe  5  is  also 
found  in  Gylfaginning,  ch.  2.  The  text  given  below  is  based 
in  the  main  on  Kringla  (cf.  p.  73  above),  but  the  chief  varia- 
tions in  the  readings  of  the  MSS.  have  been  pointed  out  in 
the  notes  below. 

1  Saga  of  Harold  the  Fairhaired  {Heimskringla),  ch.  37.  Cf.  also  Howorth, 
Saga  Book  of  the  Viking  Club,  Vol.  ix,  p.  172,  with  reference  to  G.  Storm's 
paper  on  the  battle  of  Hafsfjord. 

^  Ed.  C.  R.  Unger,  Christiania,  1871. 


90 


THE  BATTLE  OF  HAFSFJORD 

1  HeyrSu^  i  HafrsfirSi         hve  hizug-  barSisk 
konungr  enn  kynstori*         viS  Kjotva  enn  auSlagSa^ ; 
knerrir  kdmu  austan,         kaps^  um  lystir*^ 

me6  glnondum  hofSum         ok  grofnum  tinglum. 

2  HlaSnir  varu''  holSa         ok  hvitra  skjalda*, 
vigra  vestroenna         ok  Valskra  sverSa ; 
grenjiit5u  berserkir,         gu5r  vas'  ]>eim  a  sinnum, 
emjuSu  ulfheSnar         ok  Isorn  duSu". 

3  FreistuSu  ens  framrdSa         es  J?eim  flyja"  kendi, 
allvalds^-  austmanna,         es  byr  at  Utsteini ; 
sto'Sum^^'  Nokkva  bra  stillir^^         es  hanum  vas  styrjar 

vseni^^ ; 
hlommun  vas  a  hlifum,         a3r  Haklangr  felli. 

4  Leiddisk  pa.  fyr  Liifu         landi  at  halda 

hilmi  enum  halsdigra;         holm  let  s6r  at  skjaldi. 

Slogusk  und"  sess]7iljur^^         es  sarir  varu, 

letu  upp  stjolu  stiipa^^,         stungu  i  kjol  hofSum. 

5  A  baki  16tu  blikja —         barSir  varu  grjoti — 
Svafnis"  salnsefrar         seggir  hyggjandi — 
CBstusk  austr  kylfur-" —         ok  um  JaSar  hljopu^^ 
heim  or  HafrsfirSi,         ok  hugSu  a  mjoSdrykkju. 

^  hceyrSu  A,  B  ;  heyrffi  Fl. ;  heyr&ir  JmIl,F,  2  hraustliga  FI. 

3  F,  H,  A  i-e) ;  kynstorB;  kostsami  J  1.  ^  A,  B,  H  ;  auffga  F. 

5  haps  J  1  (J  2).  6  fylldr  J  (-ir  J  2).  ^  v.  Peir  K,  J  1,  A,  B,  Fl. 

'  hvitum  skjoldum  Fl. 

»  K,  J  1,  A,'  (gnmr  v.  /.)  B  ;  v(ar)J:>  F  ;  g.  es  J^eim  hUf&i  Fl. 
1*  J  1 ;  glumffo  K  ;  gullu  F;  isar  iarn  (om.  B)  dudii  A,  B  ;  isarn  hitu  Fl. 
^^fylgja  F.  i^  F,  A,  B;  -vast  J  1,  2;  -valldr  K. 

13  em.  F.  J6n88on ;  stolf'om  K ;  stodum  J  ;  stauSom  F  ;  stoffu  nokkvar  Fl. 

14  H,  A,  B,  F;  steindir  Fl. 

1^  H,  F,  A,  B ;  h.  v.  s.  vanz  B ;  er  stillir  dtti  enn  styrjar  nenni  Fl. 

i«  F,  A;  undir  K,  J  1,  B.       »7  g^ss  um  J^iljur  Fl.       i*  stufa  J  1 ;  standa  FL 

1*  B;  svafins  A;  svaulnis  F;  svolnis  Ups. 

2"  J  1  (-^ci/i/r  J  2) ;  austkylpor  K;  aud'kylfor  F  ;  austr  Fl.  (om.  /c.). 

2i  Jaif'arbygif'ir  Fl.  (om.  oft). 


91 


THE  BATTLE  OF  HAFSFJORD 

1  Hearken  how  the  king  of  noble  lineage  fought  yonder  in 
Hafsfjord  against  Kjotvi  the  wealthy.  A  fleet  came  from 
the  east,  with  gaping  figure-heads  and  carved  beaks — 
impelled  by  desire  for  battle. 

2  They  were  laden  with  warriors  and  white  shields,  with 
spears  from  the  West  and  swords  from  France.  The  ber- 
serks were  howling,  the  'wolf-coats'  were  yelling,  and 
swords  were  clashing :  their  warfare  was  in  full  swing. 

3  They  made  trial  of  the  resolute  monarch  of  the  men  of 
the  east,  who  dwells  at  Utsteinn. — He  pointed  them  the 
road  to  flight.  The  king  brought  out  his  ocean  steeds 
when  he  had  a  prospect  of  battle.  There  was  a  clashing 
of  shields  ere  Haklangr  fell. 

4  Then  the  thick-necked  chief  showed  no  inclination  to 
maintain  his  land  against  the  Shock-head.  He  used  the 
island  as  a  shield.  Those  who  were  wounded  thrust  them- 
selves under  the  benches,  arching  their  backs  and  pushing 
their  heads  down  into  the  keel. 

5  The  prudent  warriors  took  care  to  cover  their  backs  with 
glittering  shields — the  shingles  of  Othin's  hall — as  they 
were  pelted  with  stones.  Their  prows  were  in  headlong 
flight  towards  the  east,  and  homewards  from  HafsQord 
they  fled  by  way  of  JaSarr,  with  their  minds  set  on  the 
meadcups. 


IX.   THE  EIRIKSMAL 

Harold  the  Fairhaired  is  said  to  have  resigned  the  throne 
when  he  was  eighty  years  of  age  (i.e.  about  the  year  930)  to 
his  son  Eric  {Eirikr  Blo'd-oxy.  The  new  king  was  not  popular, 
and  in  the  year  after  Harold's  death  (934)  a  rival  claimant  to 
the  throne  appeared  in  the  person  of  Haakon,  one  of  Harold's 
youngest  sons  (cf.  p.  101).  In  the  following  year  Eric  had  to 
leave  the  country.  He  is  said  to  have  first  made  his  way  to 
the  Orkneys,  where  he  received  a  friendly  reception  from 
the  sons  of  Torf  Einarr.  After  this,  according  to  all  Norse 
authorities,  he  was  placed  by  Aethelstan  in  charge  of  the 
Northumbrian  kingdom,  and  fixed  his  residence  at  York-. 
Under  Aethelstan's  successor,  Edmund,  he  was  displaced  by  a 
rival  named  Olaf  and  took  to  harrying  the  neighbouring 
lands.  Eventually  he  was  killed  in  battle  against  Olaf,  and 
with  him  there  fell  two  of  Torf  Einarr's  sons  and  five  other 
princes  ^ 

The  Norse  tradition  regarding  the  life  of  Eric  after  his 
departure  from  Norway  is  not  entirely  to  be  trusted.  English 
records  know  nothing  of  his  presence  in  Northumbria 
under  Aethelstan,  though  as  the  annals  of  the  time  are  very 
meagre,  their  silence  is  not  conclusive.  What  the  English 
authorities  make  clear,  however,  is  that  Eric  became  king  of 
Northumbria,  apparently  on  two  separate  occasions,  during 
the  reign  of  Eadred  (not  Edmund)'*.  He  was  twice  expelled 
by  Eadred,  and  it  would  seem  that  in  the  interval  the  North- 
umbrians were  governed  by  Olaf  Cuaran,  King  of  Dublin. 
For  what  happened  after  Eric's  second  expulsion  we  have  no 
contemporary  authority,  and  the  exact  date  is  uncertain. 
Symeon  of  Durham  says^  that  Eiricus,  the  last  king  of  North- 

1  Cf.  the  Saga  of  Harold  the  Fairhaired  {Heimskringla),  ch.  41. 
-  Cf.  the  Egils  Saga,  ch.  59  ;  the  Saga  of  Haakon  the  Good  {Heimskringla), 
ch.  3;  Fagrskinna,  ch.  G. 

^  Cf.  the  Saga  of  Haakon  the  Good  (Heiimkriugla),  ch.  4. 
■»  Cf.  Saxon  Chronicle,  sub  ann.  948,  954  D ;  952,  954  E. 
*  Historia  liegum  (Rolls  Series),  Vol.  ii,  §  159. 


94  THE  EIRfKSMlL 

umbria,  was  driven  out  and  killed  by  Maccus,  the  son  of 
Anlaf.  Thereupon  the  Northumbrians  submitted  to  King 
Eadred  who  gave  the  province  to  Earl  Osulf.  Matthew  Paris, 
who  wrote  three  hundred  years  after  these  events,  but  who 
evidently  had  access  to  authorities  now  lost,  states^  that  King 
Eilricus  was  treacherously  slain,  with  his  son  Haericus  and 
his  brother  Reginaldus,  in  a  desert  called  Steinmor,  by  the 
'  Consul '  Maco,  through  treachery  on  the  part  of  Earl  Osulf. 

The  Anlaf  mentioned  by  Symeon  of  Durham  is  doubtless 
the  Olaf  who  is  said  in  the  Norse  authorities  to  have  killed 
Eric,  and  we  have  no  reason  for  doubting  that  he  was  the 
famous  Olaf  Cuaran"^.  But  the  affair  in  which  Eric  lost  his 
life  would  seem  to  have  been  an  ambush  rather  than  a  battle. 
Perhaps  on  resigning  the  throne  he  had  been  given  a  safe- 
conduct  by  Earl  Osulf  of  Bamborough,  who  had  subsequently 
betrayed  him  to  his  enemy.  The  scene  of  the  massacre  was 
evidently  on  the  Roman  road  from  York  to  Carlisle,  not  far 
from  Kirkby  Stephen.  It  may  be  observed  that  though  the 
English  authorities  give  no  hint  of  a  real  battle,  they  confirm 
in  two  cases  the  evidence  of  the  sagas  as  to  the  persons  killed  I 

In  the  Fagrskinna,  ch.  7,  it  is  stated  that  the  poem  which 
follows  was  composed  at  the  request  of  Queen  Gunnhildr, 
Eric's  widow,  who  retired  to  the  Orkneys  and  resided  there 
for  some  time  after  Eric's  death*.  Subsequently  the  Queen 
with  her  sons  made  her  way  to  Denmark,  where  they  received 
protection  from  Harold  Blue-tooth,  and  whence  they  made 
frequent  attempts  to  wrest  the  kingdom  of  Norway  from 
Haakon. 

The  poem  is  obviously  incomplete.  Of  the  author  nothing 
is  known,  though  we  may  doubtless  assume  that  he  was  one  of 
Eric's  followers.  It  may  have  been  composed  in  Orkney  shortly 
after  the  news  of  the  disaster  became  known ;  at  all  events  it 
can  hardly  be  many  years  later,  since  Eyvindr  Finnsson's 
Hdkonarnidl  (cf  p.  104  ff.  below)  is  evidently  modelled  on  it. 

1  Chronica  Majora  (Bolls  Series),  Vol.  i,  sub  ann.  950. 

2  Cf.  p.  62  fif.  above. 

2  I.e.  Harekr  and  Rognvaldr.   Cf.  the  Saga  of  Haakon  the  Good  (Heims- 
kringla),  ch.  4. 
*  Ih.  ch.  5. 


THE  EIRfKSMAL  95 

Finnur  Joiisson  has  pointed  out^  that  the  anthorwas  familiar 
with  the  diction  of  the  Edda  poems.  Cf.  str.  (j*  with  Voluspd, 
str.  41-;  str.  6-  with  Udvamdl,  str.  l^  38^  Fdfnismdl,  str.  24'; 
str.  7*  with  Hdi'barpsljdp,  str.  9*,  Vafprupnismdl,  str.  31  The 
metre  of  the  poem  is  the  Ljdtfahdttr  except  in  str.  1,  which  is 
in  the  Mdlahdttr. 

With  the  exception  of  strophes  1  and  2  this  poem  is  pre- 
served only  in  the  Fagrskinna"-  (cf  pp.  73  tf.  and  81,  above), 
and  indeed  only  in  those  MSS.  which  are  derived  from  the  later 
of  the  two  vellums  (A).  In  the  MSS.  derived  from  B  there  is 
a  lacuna  at  this  point.  The  first  five  lines  are  preserved  also 
in  the  Skdldskaparmdl,  ch.  2. 

^  Den  Oldnorske  og  Oldislandske  Litteraturs  Historie  (Copenhagen,  1894), 
Vol.  I,  p.  452. 

"  Ed.  F.  J6nsson  (Copenhagen,  1902-3),  pp.  28—30. 


96 


THE  EIRIKSMAL 

1  'Hvat  er  J^at^  drauma-,'  qvaS  OSenn,         'er  ek^  hugSumk 

firi  dag  litlu^  '' 

^)    Valholl  riSja^         firi  vegno  folki  ?     b 
(.    Vacta  ec  einherja,         baS  ec  uprisa  '^ 

becki  at  strd,         borSkaer®  at  lytJra,   '■'' 

valkyrjur  vin  bera,         sem  visir  come.  : 

Er  mer''  6v  heimi         hollda  vanir 

gofgra  noccora,         sva  er  mer  glatt  hjarta.    ^ 

2  '  Hvat  J^rymr  ]7ar,  Bragi,         sem  j^usund  bivizt 

e]?a  msenge  til  mikit  ? ' 
'  Braka  all  beccj?ili         sem  muni  Balldr  coma 
eptir  i  6sins  sale.' 

3  '  Heimsco  msela,'  qvaS  Osinn,    '  scallt  ]?u,  hinn  horski  Bragi, 

]>6  at  J?u  vael  hvat  vitir. 
Fyr  ^iriki*  gly™r,         er  her  mun  inn  koma 
jofurr  i  63inns  sale. 

4  '  Sigmundr  oc  Sinfjatli,         risit  snarlega, 

oc  gangit  i  gogn  ^  grame  ; 
inn  ]?u  bj6S         ef  ^irikr  se ; 

bans  er  mer  nu  v6n  vituS.'  ^ 

5  '  Hvi  er  J?er  -^iriks  von,'  kvaS  Sigmundr,         '  hselldr  enn 

annara  kononga  ? ' 
'  pvi  at  margu  lannde,'  sagSe  OSenn,       '  harm  hevir  maeki 
roSet, 

oc  bl(55oct  svaerS  borit.' 

6  '  Hvi  namt  J?u  hann  sigri  )?a         er  J^er  J?6tti  hann  snjallr 

vera  ? ' 

'  J?vi  at  ovist  er  at  vita,'  sagtJe  OSenn, 
'  ser  ulfr  enn  hosve         a  sjot  goSa.' 

1  pet  k2.  2  dcBina  Cod.  Sn.  E  757.  ■'  om.  Cod.  Sn.  E  757. 

*  risa  Codd.  Sn.  E.  ^  riiti  A2;  a  added  above  the  line  in  A. 

«  Cod.  Ups. ;  horkar  A.  ''  me  A  2.    The  r  has  been  added  later  in  A. 

8  em.  Munch  and  Unger ;  Jiirlkr  iis.       ^  em.  Munch  and  Unger ;  gongo  A. 


97 


THE  EIRIKSMAl 

1  What  dream  is  this  ? '  said  Othin,  'a  little  before  daylight 
I  thought  I  was  preparing  Valholl  for  a  slain  host.  I  was 
awakening  the  einherjar,  and  bidding  them  rise  up  and 
cover  the  benches  and  cleanse  the  beakers — I  was  bidding 
the  Valkyries  bring  wine  as  if  a  prince  was  coming.  I  have 
hope  of  some  noble  heroes  from  the  world  ;  so  my  heart  is 
glad. 

2  '  What  uproar  is  that,  Bragi,  as  if  thousands  were  in  motion 
— an  exceeding  great  host  approaching  ? ' 

'All  the  timbers  of  the  benches  are  creaking  as  if  Balder 
were  coming  back  to  Othin's  abode.' 

3  '  Surely  thou  art  talking  folly,  thou  wise  Bragi,'  replied 
Othin,  'although  thou  knowest  everything  well.  The  noise 
betokens  the  approach  of  the  hero  Eric,  who  must  be  coming 
here  into  Othin's  abode. 

4  '  Sigmundr  and  Sinfjotli !  Arise  quickly  and  go  to  meet 
the  prince.  If  it  be  Eric,  invite  him  in !  I  have  now  con- 
fident hope  that  it  is  he.' 

5  '  Why  dost  thou  hope  for  Eric  rather  than  for  other  kings  ? ' 
asked  Sigmundr. 

'  Because  he  has  reddened  his  sword  in  many  a  land,'  re- 
plied Othin,  '  and  carried  a  bloodstained  blade.' 

6  '  Why  hast  thou  robbed  him  of  victory  when  thou  knevvest 
him  to  be  valiant  ? ' 

'  Because  it  cannot  be  clearly  known,'  replied  Othin : — 
'  The  grey  wolf  is  gazing  upon  the  abodes  of  the  gods.' 
K.  '  7 


98  THE  EIRfKSMAL 

7  '  Hseill  pd  nu,  Mirikr,'  kvaS  Sigmundr,  '  vael  scalt  pu. 

her  kominn ! 

oc  gack  i  holl,  horscr  ! 
Hins  vil  ec  J>ic  fregna :         hvat  fylgir  per 
jofra  fra  egg J?rymu  ? ' 

8  '  Konongar  eru  v,'  sag]?!  Eirikr,  '  ksenni  ec  per  nofn^ 

allra ; 

ec  em  hinn  setti  sjalfr.' 

1  em.  Munch  and  Unger;  namfn  A. 


THE  EIRfKSMlL  09 

'  Hail  now  to  thee,  Eric  ! '  cried  Sigmiindr,  '  Welcome  shalt 
thou  be  here!  Enter  our  hall,  wise  (prince) !  One  thing 
I  would  ask  thee :  What  heroes  attend  thee  from  the  roar 
of  battle  ? ' 

'  There  are  five  kings  (here),'  said  Eric, '  I  will  make  known 
to  thee  the  names  of  all.    I  am  the  sixth  myself.' 


7—2 


101 


X.    THE  HAKONARMAL 

Haakon  I,  commonly  called  the  Good,  was  one  of  the 
youngest,  if  not  the  youngest,  of  the  sons  of  Harold  the  Fair- 
haired.  The  circumstances  of  his  birth  and  death  are  curiously 
picturesque.  He  is  said^  to  have  been  born  on  a  rock  (called 
'  Haakon's  Rock '),  on  the  shore  where  the  ship,  on  which  his 
mother  was  travelling  to  visit  King  Harold,  was  anchored  for 
the  night. 

While  still  a  child,  Haakon  was  sent  to  England  where  he 
was  brought  up  as  a  Christian  by  Aethelstan.  Whatever  may 
be  thought  of  the  details  of  the  story  as  given  in  the  Saga  of 
Harold  the  Fairhaired  (Heimskringla),  ch.  39,  there  is  no 
need  to  doubt  the  main  fact.  Harold's  relations  with  Aethel- 
stan are  recorded  also  by  William  of  Malraesbury^. 

In  the  year  after  his  father's  death  (cf.  p.  93  above), 
Haakon  made  his  way  to  Norway,  and,  before  twelve  months 
had  elapsed,  succeeded  in  expelling  his  brother  Eric  (in  935). 
He  reigned  prosperously  for  over  twenty-five  years,  and  was 
an  exceedingly  popular  king,  though  his  efforts  to  introduce 
Christianity  proved  a  failure.  Towards  the  end  of  his  reign, 
several  attempts  were  made  at  conquest  by  the  sons  of  Eric*. 
On  the  last  occasion,  as  King  Haakon  was  being  entertained 
at  Fitje  in  the  Island  of  StorS  (Stordo),  news  was  brought  that 
a  mighty  fleet  was  at  hand.  The  king  armed  himself  in  his 
corselet,  and  girt  himself  with  his  sword  Quernbiter;  he  put 
a  gold  helmet  on  his  head,  took  up  his  shield  and  halberd,  and 
proceeded  to  array  his  men.   A  fierce  fight  now  took  place. 

'  King  Haakon  was  more  easily  recognised  than  other  men 
and  his  helmet  glittered  when  the  sun  shone  on  it.  The  fray 
wiis  very  fierce  around  him.  Then  Eyvindr  Finnsson  took 
a  hood  and  drew  it  over  the  King's  helmet,  whereupon  one  of 

1  Saga  of  Harold  the  Fairhaired  {Heimskringla),  ch.  37. 

2  Gesta  Regum  Anglorxim  (Rolls  Series),  i,  §  135. 

'  Cf.  the  Saga  of  Haakon  the  Good  {Heimskringla},  ch.  19,  21  f.,  28  f. 


102  THE  HAKONARMAL 

the  enemy  cried  loudly:  "Is  the  King  of  the  Norwegians  hiding, 
or  has  he  fled?    Where  has  his  golden  helmet  vanished  ?' "  ' 

Haakon's  foes  were  routed,  but  the  king  received  his  death- 
wound  in  the  battle.  He  set  sail  the  same  night  for  his 
house  AlreksstaSir,  but  soon  grew  exhausted  from  loss  of 
blood,  and  asked  to  be  put  ashore.  He  landed  at  '  Haakon's 
Rock,'  and  by  a  strange  coincidence  is  said  to  have  died  on 
the  spot  on  which  he  had  been  born^ 

According  to  the  Saga  of  Haakon  the  Good  (Fagrskinna), 
ch.  11,  the  Eyvindr  Finnsson  mentioned  above  'made  a  poem 
on  the  death  of  King  Haakon,  and  modelled  it  on  that  which 
Gunnhildr  had  had  made  for  King  Eric... and  he  relates  in 
the  poem  many  things  which  occurred  in  the  battle.'  The 
poem  here  referred  to  is  the  Hdkonaymdl.  Eyvindr  was  a 
member  of  King  Haakon's  retinue,  being  indeed  his  grand- 
nephew,  and  a  great-grandson  of  Harold  the  Fairhaired.  He 
fought  by  Haakon's  side  throughout  the  battle  at  Fitje,  and 
it  is  curious  that  he  tells  us  so  little  in  his  poem  of  what 
actually  took  place.  He  was  surnamed  Skdldaspillir,  '  the 
Plagiarist,'  and  there  is  rough  justice  in  the  nickname ;  for  the 
Hdkonarmdl  is  in  form  obviously  a  close  and  frank  imitation 
of  the  Eiriksmdl,  while  his  other  chief  poem,  the  Hdleygjatal, 
which  has  only  come  down  to  us  in  fragments,  is  just  as 
evidently  based  on  the  Ynglingatal  of  Thj6S61fr  of  Hvin''. 

Yet  Eyvindr  is  no  mechanical  copier  of  other  poets.  There 
is  a  difference  of  tone  between  the  Eiriksmdl  and  the 
Hdkonarmdl ;  and  though  the  former  is  incomplete,  it  is  not 
likely  that  the  Hdkonarmdl  is  indebted  to  it  for  its  spirit  of 
reflection  and  note  of  regret  for  the  things  that  have  passed 
away.  Indeed  it  would  seem  that  the  poem  is  as  much 
inspired  by  hostility  to  Harold  Greycloak,  Haakon's  successor, 
as  by  loyalty  to  Haakon  himself  Especially  is  this  noticeable 
in  the  last  four  strophes  of  the  poem.  Strophe  18  reads  like 
a  direct  challenge  to  Harold  who,  with  his  two  brothers, 

1  Saga  of  Haakon  the  Good  (Heimskringla),  ch.  30,  31. 

2  lb.  ch.  32. 

3  According  to  Olrik  (The  Heroic  Legends  of  Denmark,  transl.  L.  M, 
Hollander,  New  York,  1919,  pp.  Ill,  175  f.  and  pass.),  the  first  part  of  the 
Hdkonarmdl  (e.g.  str.  5)  contains  reminiscences  also  of  the  Bjarkamdl. 


THE  HAKONARMAL  103 

'  broke  open  the  sanctuaries,  destroyed  the  images,  and  earned 
thereby  great  hatreds'  Equally  double-edged  arc  strophes  19 
and  20,  while  in  strophe  21  Eyvindr  applies  the  melancholy 
roHections  of  the  Hdvamdl  (str.  76  f.)  to  the  famine  and 
<Hstress  which  prevailed  in  the  land  after  Haakon's  death. 

There  are  moreover  several  points  of  detail  in  which  the 
Hdkonarmdl  differs  from  that  portion  of  the  Eiriksmdi  which 
has  come  down  to  us.  In  the  latter  it  is  Sigmundr  who 
questions  0th in  as  to  why  he  has  robbed  Eric  of  victory.  In 
the  former  the  question  is  put  by  Haakon  himself  and  strikes 
a  querulous  note. — '  Surely  we  have  deserved  victory  of  the 
gods  ! '  Further,  in  strophes  15 — 20  one  is  tempted  to  suspect 
that  Haakon  is  entering  Valholl  with  some  misgiving.  He 
does  not  appear  to  trust  the  gods. — '  We  will  keep  our 
armour  in  our  own  possession...  It  is  well  to  have  one's 
gear  to  hand.'  Finally,  in  strophe  21  Eyvindr's  own  dis- 
satisfaction is  clearly  expressed.  The  Eiriksmdi  is  a  vivid 
picture  of  the  triumphal  entry  of  Eric  into  Valholl.  In  the 
Hdkonarmdl  the  note  of  triumph  is  sounded  in  a  minor  key, 
and  the  reader  is  almost  more  conscious  of  the  personality  of 
Eyvindr  than  of  Haakon  himself. 

Like  the  Eiriksmdi,  the  Hdkonarmdl  is  composed  in  a 
combination  of  Mdlahdttr  and  LjoMhdttr.  The  latter  is  used 
in  strophes  1  and  2,  and  from  strophe  9  (3)  to  the  end  of 
the  poem,  while  the  Mdlahdttr  is  used  for  the  description  of 
the  battle  in  strophes  8 — 8. 

The  whole  poem  is  preserved  in  the  Heimskringla  (K,  J,  F), 
and  strophes  1 — 7  and  19 — 21  also  in  the  Fagrskinna  (cf. 
p.  73  above).  The  text  given  below  is  based  in  the  main  on 
Kringla  (cf.  p.  73  above)  but  the  chief  variations  in  reading 
are  pointed  out  in  the  notes. 

*  Cf.  the  Saga  of  Harold  Greycloak  (Heimskringla),  ch.  2. 


104 


THE  HAKONARMAL 


1  Gondul  ok  Skogul        sendi  Gautatyr 

at  kjosa  um  konunga, 
hverr  Yngva  settar         skyldi  meS  OSni^  fara 
ok 2  i  ValholP  at*  vesa. 

2  BroSur  fundu  pser^  Bjarnar         i®  brynju  fara, 

t  konung  enn  kostsama,         kominn  und^  gunnfana ; 

driipSu  dolgraar^         en  darraSr"  hristisk, 
upp  vas  )>a  hildr  um  hafiS. 

3  Het  a  Haleygi'"         sem"  a  Holmrygii^ 
c  jarla  einbani'^         f6r  til  orrostu.- 

t  Gott  hafSi  enn  gjofli"         gengi  NorSmanna  '^ 
oegir^*  Eydana,         stoS  und^^  arhjalmi^''.  ' 

4  Hrauzk  6t  hervaSum^^         hratt^^  a  vol!  brynju 
visi^"  ver5ungar-S         dSr^  til  vigs  toeki^.  ^ 
Lek  vis  IjotSmogu^*,         skyldi  land  verja    -' 
gramr^  enn  glaSvaeri ;         — stoS  und^  gullhjalmi^.  - 

5  Sv4  beit  J>a  sverS         6r'^^  siklings  hendi 
vaSir  VafaSar,         sem  i  vatn-^  brygt5i. 
BrokuSu  broddar^",         brotnuSu  skildir^^ 
glumruSu^"  glyrahringar^         i  gotna^  hausum^. 

6  Troddusk^"  torgur  fyr  Tys  ok  bauga^''  »' 
hjalta  harSfotum  hausar  NorSmanna.  **' 
R6raa  varS  i  eyju,         ruSu  konungar^  ;." 

:.    skfrar^'  skjaldborgir         i  skatna  bloSi.  ' 

1  oj^in  J  (1).  2  om.  J  (1),  A,  B.  ^  -hollu  J  (1). 

*  om.  F.  5  K^  A,  B  ;  funno  /r  J  (1),  J  (2) ;  /.  /^{ar)  F. 

6  or  F.  ^  undir  B,  unnd  A,  vHf"  F. 

^  em.  F.  J6nsson  ;  dolgrdr  K;  dolqur  F;  dolgarar  J  (1) ;  dolgar  A,  B. 

9  darrar  J  (1) ;  durr  vorDr  ristizk  B.  ^^  Holmrygi  J  (1). 

11  F,  A,  B;  sems  K.  12  Sd  er  her  kallar  J  (1).  '-^  -dani  F. 

w  F,  J(l),  A;  gofgi  K,B.        ^^  A;  oeyger  B  ;  jii^fr  F;  egir  J  (1);  ey^/r  K. 
16  undir  A,  B.  i''  (7uW-  F;  haom-  B.  i^  herfotum  B.  i9  re«  A. 

20  K,  J  (2),  A;  vis  J  (1);  ?7?s(rB.  21  varD'avgar  k;  vmrif'unga  B. 

22  at^r  en  B.  ^*  fce/cfz  K.  -*  -mangu  B,  A,  A  (2) ;  maugu  A  (1). 

25  pram  K;  3!/^!  Skdldskap.  ch.  64.  ^6  ^.  undir  B. 

27  L6k...gullhjdlmi  occurs  also  in  Sknldskaparmdl,  ch.  64.  -**  i  B. 

as  vam  o/F.  ^o  irykudo  odd{ar)  J  (1) ;  brakaif-u  b.  A,  B. 

SI  skill(ir)  F.  '-  glaumroif'o  F  ;  glumD'rad'u  B ;  ghimff'u  A. 

3»  K,  F  ;  gylfringa  J  (1) ;  -par  A,  B.  ^4  jo^^^  j  (i)  35  haustum  B. 

*6  Traud'ad'u  A,  B.  '''  ui^''  tj/^s  o/"  (tysvin  A)  vallde  A,  B. 

38  _^rar  margir  F.  2*  sHra  B. 


105 
THE  HAKONARMAl 

1  Gondul  and  Skogul  wore  sent  by  Gautatyr  to  choose 
a  king  of  Yngvi's  race,  who  should  go  to  join  Othin  and 
dvvoll  in  Valhr.ll. 

2  They  found  Bjorn's  brother  arraying  himself  in  coat  of 
mail ;  the  noble  king  was  stationed  beneath  his  standard. 
Deadly  shafts  were  descending  and  the  dart  was  quivering. 
The  battle  had  now  begun. 

3  He  called  on  the  men  of  Halogaland  and  likewise  upon 
them  of  Rogaland,  he  who  had  dealt  slaughter  to  earls,  as 
he  marched  to  battle.  A  brave  force  of  Northmen  had 
the  generous  prince. — In  helmet  of  bronze  he  stood, 
a  terror  to  the  Danes. 

4  Leading  his  chosen  band  he  cast  off  his  raiment  of  battle, 
flung  his  mail-coat  to  the  ground  before  he  began  to 
fight.  In  helmet  glittering  with  gold  the  joyous  prince 
stood  and  sported  with  the  sons  of  the  host.  His  part  it 
was  to  guard  the  land. 

5  Then  did  the  sword  in  the  hero's  hand  pierce  VafotSr's 
garments  as  if  it  had  been  whisked  through  water.  Spear- 
heads were  shivered  and  shields  rent.  The  resounding 
steel  clashed  on  the  skulls  of  warriors. 

6  Targets  and  skulls  were  crushed  by  the  blade  of  the 
generous  ruler  of  the  Northmen.  A  tumult  arose  in  the 
island  as  the  king  reddened  the  bright  serried  shields 
with  the  blood  of  warriors. 


106  THE  HAKONARMAL 

7  Brunnii  beneldar         i^  bloSgum  undum, 
lutu^  langbarSar         at  lySa  fjorvi, 
svarra?5i  s4rgymir^         a  sverSa  nesi, 

fell  floS  fleina         i  fjoru  StortJar^ 

8  Blendusk^  viS  roSnuw^         und  randar  himni 
Skoglar  veSr,  16ku         viS  sky^  um  bauga ; 
umSu  oddlar         i  0(5ins  veSri, 

hne  mart  manna         fyr  msekis  straumi. 

9  Sdtu  J?a  doglingar         meS  sverS  um  togin, 
meS  skarSa  skjoldu         ok  skotnar^  brynjur; 
vasa  sa  herr         i  hugum  ok"  atti 

til  Valhallar  vega. 

10  Gondul  J?at  maelti —         studdisk  geirs  skapti. — 

'  Vex  nil  gengi  goSa, 
es  Hakoni^**  hafa         raeS  her  mikinn 
heim  bond"  um  boSit.' 

11  Visi  p&t  heyrSi         hvat  valkyrjur  mseltu 

masrar  af^^  mars  baki ; 
hyggiliga  16tu         ok  hjalmaSar  satu*^ 
ok  hofSusk  hlifar  fyrir. 

12  '  Hvi  )?u  sva  gunni,'  kva?5  Hakon,     '  skiptir,  Geirskogul"  ? 

Varum  pd  verSir         gagns  fra  goSum.' 
'  Ver  J?vi  voldum,'  kvat5  Skogul,         '  at  J?u  velli  helt^^ 
en  J?inir  fiandr^^  flugu,' 

13  '  Ri?5a  vit  mi  skulum/         kvaS  en  rikja  Skogul, 

'  groenwa^^  heima  goSa, 
OSni  at  segja         at  nti^^  mun  allvaldr  koma 
^^"  hann  sjalfan^"  at  sea.' 

1  F  and  J  (1)  omit  this  strophe  from  i  blnff'gum...Stord'ar.  2  j^n^  ^^ 

^  -gymis  A ;  avaratt'e  siorgymiier  B. 

*  Strophes  8—18  are  omitted  in  the  Fagrskinna. 

^  F.  omits  this  strophe;  J  (1)  omits  vi!^... straumi. 

6  em.  Munch  and  Unger;  roU'narK.  ^  em.  Munch  and  Unger;  skysK. 

8  skorn{ar)  F.  9  F ;  er  B,  i"  hakon  F.  11  bpndr  F. 

12  a  J  (1).  i»  satu  J  (1) ;  stoif-o  K,  F.  "  i  gmr  J  (1). 

15  em.  F.  J6nsson;  hellz  K,  F;  hellzt  J  (1).  i«  Jiandm{enn)  F. 

1^  em.  Munch  and  Unger  ;  gr^na  K,  F;  grona  J  (1). 
J8  F;  her  K.  ^^  F;  ok  K.  20  k,  F  ;  sialfr  J  (1). 


THE  HAKONARMAL  107 

7  The  swords  raged  like  blazing  fire  in  bloody  wounds.  The 
halberds  stooped  to  draw  the  life  of  men.  The  blood 
gushed  forth  upon  the  swords  like  the  sea  breaking  upon 
a  headland ;  a  torrent  of  gore  was  shed  upon  the  shores  of 
Storth. 

8  Skogul's  gales  raged  in  confusion  beneath  the  reddened 
canopy  of  the  shield,  her  clouds  rolled  around  the  bucklers. 
The  waves  of  blood  roared  in  Othin's  gale,  and  hosts  were 
overthrown  by  the  tide  of  gore. 

9  Now  the  prince  was  sitting  with  sword  drawn,  with  shield 
cleft  and  mail-coat  pierced ;  in  no  cheerful  mood  was  the 
host  which  was  making  its  way  to  Valholl. 

10  Then  said  Gondul  as  she  leaned  upon  the  shaft  of  her 
spear:  'Now  will  the  forces  of  the  gods  be  increased, 
since  they  have  summoned  Haakon  with  a  great  host  to 
the  divine  abodes.' 

1 1  The  prince  heard  what  the  noble  valk3a'ies  were  saying. 
Thoughtful  was  their  mien  as  they  sat  on  their  steeds, 
with  helmets  upon  their  heads,  holding  their  shields 
before  them. 

12  'Why  hast  thou  thus  decided  the  battle,  Geirskogul  ?'  asked 
Haakon ;  '  Surely  we  have  deserved  victory  of  the  gods  ! ' 
'  We  have  brought  it  about  that  thou  hast  won  the  day,' 
replied  Skogul,  'and  that  thy  foes  have  fled.' 

13  '  Now  must  we  both  ride,'  said  the  mighty  Skogul,  '  to  the 
green  homes  of  the  gods,  to  tell  Othin  that  a  monarch  is 
coming  to  enter  his  presence.' 


108  THE  HAKONARMAL 

14  '  HermdSr  ok  Bragi,'         kva3  Hroptatyr, 

'  gangit5  i  gogn  grami, 
pviat^  konungr  ferr,         sas  kappi  J^ykkir, 
til  hallar  hinig.' 

15  Rsesir  J?at  maelti —         vas  fra  r6mu  kominn, 

stdS  allr  i  dreyra  drifinn  : — 
'  IlltiSigr  mjok-         ]?ykkir  oss*  OSinn  vesa, 
sjam^  ver  hans  um  hugi.' 

16  '  Einherja^  griS         skalt  pd  allra  hafa, 

l^igg  ]fu  at  Asum  ol. 
Jarla  bagi,         pu  att  inni  her 
atta  broeSr,'  kvaS  Bragi. 

17  'Gei-Q'ar  varar/         kvatS  enn  g6t5i  konungr, 

'  viljum  ver  sjalfir®  hafa; 
hjalm  ok  brynju         skal  hirSa  vel, 
gott  es  til  gors''  at  taka.' 

18  pa  pat  kyndisk,         hve  sa  konungr  hafiSi 

vel  um  l^yrrat  veum, 
es  Hakon  baSu         heilan  koma 
raS  oil  ok  regin. 

19  GoSu  doegri         verSr  sa  gramr  um  borinn, 

es  ser  getr  slikan  sefa ; 
hans  aldar         mun  se  vesa 
at  g65u  getit. 

20  Mun  obundinn         a  yta  sjot 

Fenrisulfr  um^  fara, 

aSr  jafngoSr         a  auSa  troS 

konungmatSr®  komi. 

21  Deyr  fe,         deyja  fra^ndr, 

eySisk  land  ok  laS ; 
siz"  Hakon         for"  meS  heiSin  goS, 
morg  es  J>j65  um  )?jaS. 

1  K,  J  (1) ;  alls  F.     ^osF.    3  om.  F.    ■•  K,  J  (1) ;  s'la  F.    ^  Enhveria  J  (1). 
«  sialfr  J  (1).  7  gors  K;  geyrs  F,  J  (1).  *  0/  F  ;  om.  K,  J  (1). 

9  K,  F  ;  konungr  J  (1).  i"  sizt  K,  J  (1) ;  siti  F.  "J;  om.  K,  F. 


THE  HAKONARMAL  109 

14  '  HeriiioSr  ami  Bragi,'  said  Hroptatyr,  'go  ye  to  meet  the 
prince ;  for  there  is  coming  to  our  hall  a  king  who  has 
proved  himself  a  hero.' 

15  Then  spake  the  prince  who  had  come  from  the  tumult, 
and  stood  all  drenched  with  blood. — '  Othin  has  shown 
himself  very  hostile  towards  us.  We  are  afraid  of  his 
displeasure.' 

16  '  No  harm  shalt  thou  get  from  any  of  the  Einherjar,'  said 
Bragi ;  '  Accept  ale  from  the  JEsir !  Foe  of  Earls,  thou 
hast  eight  brothers  in  our  abode.' 

17  '  We  will  keep  our  armour  in  our  own  possession,'  said  the 
brave  king ;  '  helm  and  mail-coat  must  be  well  guarded. 
It  is  well  to  have  one's  gear  to  hand.' 

18  Then  it  was  made  manifest,  when  all  the  divine  council 
bade  Haakon  welcome,  how  that  king  had  dealt  reverently 
with  the  sanctuaries. 

19  A  prince  who  gains  for  himself  such  a  character  is  born 
under  a  happy  star;  his  life  will  ever  be  held  in  good 
report. 

20  The  wolf  of  Fenrir  will  be  let  loose  upon  the  homes  of 
men  before  so  good  a  prince  shall  succeed  to  his  vacant 
place. 

21  Cattle  are  dying,  kinsfolk  are  dying,  land  and  realm  are 
laid  waste,  and  many  people  have  been  reduced  to  bondage 
since  Haakon  passed  away  to  the  heathen  gods. 


Ill 


XL   THE  DAKRADARLJOD 

This  poem  is  preserved  in  the  Njdls  Saga,  ch.  157.  It 
follows  immediately  on  the  account  of  the  battle  of  Clontarf  \ 
which  was  fought  on  Good  Friday,  1014,  between  Brian 
Borumh,  the  high-king  of  Ireland,  and  SigurSr,  Earl  of  Orkney. 

The  accounts  of  the  battle  preserved  in  Norse  and  Irish 
literature  are  singularly  full  and  interesting^  According  to 
the  Njdls  Saga  (ch.  154)  the  battle  had  its  origin  in  the  desire 
of  KormlotS,  the  mother  of  Sigtryggr  Silken-beard,  King  of 
Dublin,  to  be  avenged  on  Brian  Borumh,  to  whom  she  had 
formerly  been  married.  To  accomplish  this  end,  she  sent  her 
son  to  SigurSr,  Earl  of  Orkney,  and  to  Br<53ir,  a  Viking  chief 
coasting  off  the  Isle  of  Man,  bidding  him  offer  any  terms  to 
gain  their  assistance.  Taking  her  at  her  word  Sigtryggr 
promised  his  mother  in  marriage  to  each  of  them  without 
informing  the  other,  and  thus  obtained  their  aid.  There  is  no 
reason  for  questioning  the  truth  of  this  story;  but  it  is  to  be 
noted  that  according  to  Irish  authorities  it  was  Brian  who  took 
the  offensive,  and  an  attack  was  no  doubt  expected  from  him. 

The  Irish  forces  came  up  on  Palm  Sunday,  but  the  battle 
did  not  take  place  till  the  Friday.  According  to  Njdls  Saga, 
ch.  157,  this  was  because  BroSir  had  ascertained  by  witchcraft 
that  if  they  fought  on  Good  Friday  King  Brian  would  fall  but 
gain  the  victory ;  but  if  they  fought  before  that  day  the 
battle  would  prove  fatal  to  all  who  were  against  him^  Accord- 
ing to  the  Irish  accounts^  the  two  armies  met  on  the  morning 
of  Good  Friday  and  the  battle  opened  with  a  single  combat. 

'  The  Story  of  the  Irish  War  contained  in  ch.  loi  ff.  is  connected  only  in 
the  loosest  way  with  the  rust  of  the  saga,  and  is  believed  to  have  been  taken 
from  a  lost  Brjnns  Saga  which  was  used  also  in  ThorsteinsSar/a  Sid'uhabsonar 
(cf.  F.  Jonsson's  ed.  of  Urennu-Njdh^aga  (Halle,  1908),  pp.  xxxtl.).  Thor- 
steinu,  son  of  Hallr  a  SiSu,  is  said  to  have  been  present  at  the  battle  tof^ether 
with  Hrafn  the  Red,  and  it  is  possible  that  the  story  of  the  battle  was  derived 
ultimately  from  them. 

-  Cf.  Njdh  Saga,  ch.  156,  157;  Thorsteins  Saga  Siihuhalssonar,  ch.  2; 
Orkneyinga  Saga,  ch.  13,  etc.;  War  of  the  Gaedhil  with  the  Gaill  (Rolls 
Series),  p.  151  ff. ;  Annals  of  Loch  Ce  (Rolls  Series),  p.  3  ff.,  etc. 

^  Cf.  however  the  JVar  of  the  Gaedhil  with  the  Gaill,  p.  157.  There  is 
nothing  irreconcilable  in  the  two  accounts. 

*  War  of  the  Gaedhil  ivith  the  Gaill,  p.  176  ff. 


112  THE  DARRADARLJOD 

Plait,  son  of  the  King  of 'Lochlainn,'  and  'a  brave  champion 
of  the  foreigners'  (i.e.  the  Norsemen),  had  challenged  Domh- 
nall,  a  warrior  on  Brian's  side,  the  night  before  the  battle ; 
and  now  he  stepped  forward  in  front  of  the  Irish  host  crying 
three  times  "Faras  Domhnall?"(5'va?'  es,  'where  is,'  Domhnall  ?) 
Domhnall  answered  and  said  "  Sund,  a  snithing "  (Here, 
O  nidingr,  'wretch')  ! 

'  They  fought  then,  and  each  of  them  endeavoured  to 
slaughter  the  other;  and  they  fell  by  each  other,  and  the  way 
that  they  fell  was,  with  the  sword  of  each  through  the  heart 
of  the  other ;  and  the  hair  of  each  in  the  clinched  hands  of 
the  other.  And  the  combat  of  that  pair  was  the  first  [of  the 
battle].' 

Then  the  hosts  came  together  and  a  tremendous  fight  took 
place,  lasting  from  sunrise  to  sunset,  from  tide  to  tide^ 

'And  each  party  of  them  remembered  their  ancient  ani- 
mosities towards  each  other,  and  each  party  of  them  attacked 
the  other.  And  it  will  be  one  of  the  wonders  of  the  day 
of  judgment  to  relate  the  description  of  this  tremendous 
onset^...It  appeared  to  the  people  of  Ath  Cliath  (Dublin) 
who  were  watching  them  from  their  battlements,  that  not  more 
numerous  would  be  the  sheaves  floating  over  a  great  company 
reaping  a  field  of  oats ;  even  though  two  or  three  battalions 
were  working  at  it,  than  the  hair  flying  with  the  wind  from 
them,  cut  away  by  the  heavy  gleaming  axes,  and  by  bright 
flaming  swords.  Whereupon  the  son  of  Amhlaibh  (i.e.  King 
Sigtryggr),  who  was  on  the  battlements  of  his  tower,  watching 
them  said :  "  Well  do  the  foreigners  reap  the  field,"  said  he  ; 
"Many  is  the  sheaf  they  let  go  from  them^".' 

The  Irish  annalist  continues  in  words  which  recall  passages 
of  the  Darradarljdd"  {stTOiph.es  1,  9): 

'There  was  a  field,  and  a  ditch,  between  us  and  them,  and 
the  sharp  wind  of  the  spring  coming  over  them  towards  us ; 
and  it  Avas  not  longer  than  the  time  that  a  cow  could  be 
milked,  or  two  cows,  that  we  continued  there,  when  not  one 
person  of  the  two  hosts  could  recognize  another... we  were  so 

1  War  of  the  Gaedhil  with  the  Gaill,  p.  191. 

2  16.,  p.  175.  3  lb.,  p.  191. 


THE  DARRADARLJOD  113 

covered,  as  well  our  heads  as  our  faces,  and  our  clothes,  with 
the  drops  of  gory  blood,  carried  by  the  force  of  the  sharp  cold 
wind  which  passed  over  them  to  us.  And  even  if  we  attempted 
to  perform  any  deed  of  valour  we  were  unable  to  do  it,  because 
our  spears  over  our  heads  had  become  clogged  and  bound  with 
long  locks  of  hair,  which  the  wind  forced  upon  us,  when  cut 
away  by  well-aimed  swords,  and  gleaming  axes ;  so  that  it  was 
half  occupation  to  us  to  endeavour  to  disentangle,  and  cast  them 
otf.  And  it  is  one  of  the  problems  of  Erinn,  whether  the 
valour  of  those  who  sustained  that  crushing  assault  was 
greater  than  ours  who  bore  the  sight  of  it  without  running 
distracted  before  the  winds  or  fainting^' 

There  fell  Earl  SigurSr  of  Orkney  defending  the  famous 
raven  banner^  and  there  fell  Murchadh,  eldest  son  of  King 
Brian,  and  a  countless  host  of  men  on  either  hand. 

According  to  Njdls  Saga  King  Sigtryggr  commanded  one 
wing  of  the  host;  but  the  Irish  annals  are  unanimous  in 
declaring  that  he  watched  the  battle  with  his  wife  from  the 
fortifications  of  Dublin,  and  this  is  no  doubt  correct.  Even 
his  troops  were  apparently  not  engaged  ;  for  the  Irish  are  said 
to  have  forborne  from  attacking  Dublin  through  fear  that 
Sigtryggr's  men  would  come  out  and  attack  theml 

According  to  the  Irish  chronicle^  King  Brian  was  kneeling 
on  a  cushion  with  his  psalter,  'for  he  would  not  fight  on  a  holy 
day^'  His  end  is  told  with  characteristic  picturesqueness  by 
the  Irish  annalist.  After  a  watch  kept  by  Brian's  attendant 
which  vividly  recalls  the  watch  kept  by  Sister  Anne  in  the 
Bluebeard  story,  BroSir  was  seen  approaching  with  two 
attendants. 

'  One  of  the  three  who  were  there,  and  who  had  been  in 
Brian's  service,  said  "Cing,  cing,"  said  he,  "  this  is  the  king." 
"No,  no,  but  priest,  priest,"  said  Br6t5ir.  "It  is  not  he  but  a 
noble  priest."    "  By  no  means,"  said  the  soldier,  "that  is  the 

'   War  of  the  Gaedhil  with  the  Gaill,  p.  183. 

-  For  further  details,  cf.  str.  6  below,  note.    Cf.  also  Njdls  Saga,  ch.  157  ; 
Thorsteius  Saga  Sidukalssonar,  ch.  2. 
3  War  of  the  Gaedhil  with  the  Gaill,  p.  209.    Cf.  also  p.  211. 
••  lb.  p.  197. 
*  Cf.  hyds  Saga,  ch.  157. 


114  THE  DARRADARLJOD 

great  king  Brian."  '  Then  BrotJir  turned  aside  and  slew  King 
Brian  and  was  afterwards  slain  himself  ^ 

This  great  battle  which  was  regarded  by  bards  and  annalists 
alike  as  one  of  the  greatest  in  Irish  history^  was  the  occasion 
of  many  poems  which  are  scattered  up  and  down  the  Irish 
annals  ^  and  elsewhere  ^  It  is  said  in  both  the  Norse  and 
Irish  authorities  to  have  been  accompanied  by  strange  visions 
and  portents ^  One  of  these  visions  is  thus  described  in 
Njdls  Saga  (ch.  156) : 

'  On  the  morning  of  Good  Friday  the  following  event 
happened  in  Caithness.  A  man  called  DorruSr  was  out 
walking  and  saw  twelve  persons  ride  in  a  body  to  a  dyngja^ 
where  they  all  disappeared.  He  went  to  the  dyngja  and 
looked  in  through  one  of  the  windows  and  saw  that  there 
were  women  inside  and  they  had  set  up  a  loom.  Men's  heads 
served  for  weights,  men's  entrails  for  the  weft  and  warp, 
a  sword  for  the  "beater  in"  and  an  arrow  for  the  hrxll.  They 
sang  the  following  verses.' 

At  this  point  the  saga  inserts  the  poem  Darra(^arlj6&,  after 
which  it  continues  as  follows  : 

'Then  they  pulled  down  the  web  and  tore  it  asunder,  and 
each  of  them  kept  the  part  she  had  hold  of.  DorruSr  now 
turned  away  from  the  window  and  went  home.  And  they 
mounted  their  steeds,  and  rode  six  to  the  south  and  the  other 
six  to  the  north.  Brandr,  the  son  of  Gneisti,  had  a  similar 
vision  in  the  Faroes,' 


1  The  War  of  the  Gaedhil  with  the  Gaill  and  the  Annals  of  Loch  Ce  are 
silent  as  to  BrolSir's  slayer.  According  to  Njdls  Saga  he  was  slain  by  Ulfr 
the  Quarrelsome ;  according  to  Thorsteins  Saga  Sid'uhalssonar,  ch.  2,  by 
Ospakr  his  own  brother. 

2  It  is  the  climax  to  which  the  War  of  the  Gaedhil  with  the  Gaill  works 
up  and  with  which  the  work  abruptly  closes.  It  is  also  the  opening  entry  and 
the  starting-point  of  the  Annals  of  Loch  Cd.  Its  importance  however  is 
literary  rather  than  historical.  Sigtryggr  continued  to  reign  over  Dublin  for 
many  years. 

^  War  of  the  Gaedhil  with  the  Gaill,  pp.  205,  207 ;  Keating's  History  of 
Ireland  (Ir.  Text  Soc),  Vol.  ni,  Section  xxv,  p.  277. 

4  Cf.  Njdls  Saga,  ch.  157. 

5  Cf.  the  War  of  the  Gaedhil  ivith  the  Gaill,  p.  173  ;  Thorsteins  Saga 
Siif'uhalssonar,  ch.  2;  Annals  of  Loch  Ce,  pp.  7 — 11. 

«  Dyngja,  generally  used  in  Iceland  for  the  ladies"  bower.  Originally  it 
would  seem  to  have  meant  a  room  for  weaving,  as  a  rule  partly  or  wholly 
underground ;  cf.  early  German  dung  (tunc),  textrina. 


THE  DARRAt)ARLJ6»  116 

It  is  o^iMierally  ao^reeii  that '  DiirniLir'  is  a  myth  and  owes  his 
existence  to  the  expression  vefr  darrafSar  in  str.  4,  An  easier 
explanation  would  be  provided  by  the  name  of  the  poem 
Darradm'ljiUy  as  suggested  by  Munch',  if  this  was  current 
when  the  stoiy  was  written  down ;  but  none  of  the  Mss.  give 
a  title  to  the  poem.  It  is  worth  noting  that  the  expression 
ve/r  darraiSar  occurs  in  Egill  Skallagrimsson's  Hofudlausn 
(str.  5)  which  is  said  to  have  been  composed  in  936.  Accord- 
ing to  F.  Jdnsson-  DarraSr  ('Dorro|7r ')  is  a  name  of  Othin ;  but 
other  scholars  take  the  expression  to  mean  '  web  of  the  spear.' 

Of  the  date  and  authorship  of  the  poem  we  know  nothing. 
The  majority  of  scholars,  including  S.  Bugge^  F.  J6nsson'*, 
E.  Mogk',  etc.  believe  it  to  have  been  composed  not  very 
long  after  the  battle,  whether  in  the  British  Isles  or  in 
Iceland,  the  latter  view  being  favoured  by  F.  Jdnsson. 
Heusler®  on  the  other  hand  thinks  that  it  dates  from  a  later 
period,  and  that  it  was  based  on  stories  of  the  battle  '  in  saga 
form,'  though  he  admits  that  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  its 
being  as  early  as  the  eleventh  century.  Others'"  again  have 
suggested  that  the  poem  was  not  originally  connected  with 
the  battle  of  Clontarf,  and  in  this  connection  we  may 
perhaps  note  that  it  contains  no  proper  names  except 
Irar  in  str.  8.  So  far  as  I  am  aware,  however,  no  scholar 
appears  to  have  stated  the  grounds  for  his  view  in  any  detail. 

The  poem  was  known,  perhaps  in  ballad  form,  in  Orkney  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century.  In  Lockhart's 
Life  of  Sir  Walter  Scott  (Edinburgh,  1902),  Vol.  iv,  p.  223  ff., 
the  following  passage  occurs  : 

'  A  clergyman. .  .while  some  remnants  of  the  Norse  were  yet 
spoken  in  North  Ronaldsha,  carried  thither  the  translation  of 
Mr  Gray,  then  newly  published,  and  read  it  to  some  of  the 

1  Det  norske  Folks  Historic  (Christiania,  1853),  Part  i,  Vol.  ii,  p.  648,  foot- 
note. 2  Brennu-Njdlssaga  (Halle,  1908),  p.  415,  note  to  str.  4. 

3  {Norsk)  Historisk  Tidsskrift,  1901,  Vol.  ii,  pp.  75  f. 

••  Den  Islandske  Litteraturs  Historic  (Copenhagen,  1907),  p.  78. 

^  Geschichte  der  Norwegisch-Isliindischen  Literatur  (Strassburg,  1904), 
p.  BTC).  6  Eddica  Minora  (Dortmund,  1903),  p.  ui. 

"  Rosenberg,  Nordboernes  AandsUv,  Vol.  i,  p.  376  f.  ;  Steenstrup,  Nornian- 
nerne  (Copenhagen,  1882),  Vol.  iii,  p.  170. 

8—2 


116  THE  DARRADARLJOD 

old  people  as  referring  to  the  ancient  history  of  their  islands. 
But  so  soon  as  he  had  proceeded  a  little  way,  they  exclaimed 
they  knew  it  very  well  in  the  original,  and  had  often  sung  it 
to  himself  when  he  asked  them  for  an  old  Norse  song ;  they 
called  it  The  Enchantresses' 

It  is  not  impossible  that  the  poem  may  have  come  from 
Iceland  to  Orkney  at  some  time  during  the  Middle  Ages  or 
possibly  even  later;  but  as  it  stands,  the  external  evidence, 
taken  in  connection  with  the  reference  to  Caithness  in  the 
saga,  certainly  points  to  the  north  of  Scotland  rather  than 
to  Iceland. 

The  evidence  contained  in  the  poem  itself,  however,  presents 
certain  difficulties.  It  has  been  mentioned  that  it  contains  no 
proper  names  except  the  word  Irar.  The  historical  informa- 
tion which  it  gives  may  be  summed  up  as  follows  :  (1)  a  great 
battle  is  taking  place,  which  concerns  a  young  king  for  whose 
safety  and  success  the  spell  is  being  sung  (str.  4,  5,  6,  10) ; 
(2)  a  mighty  chief  {rikr  granir),  also  described  as  jarlma&r, 
(str.  7)  is  slain ;  (3)  the  Irish  also  are  suffering  a  disaster 
which  will  never  be  forgotten  (str.  8);  (4)  the  people  who 
hitherto  have  been  confined  to  the  outlying  headlands  will 
now  rule  the  country  (str.  7). 

It  is  to  be  observed  that  while  (2),  (3)  and  (4)  of  these  items 
are  mentioned  only  in  one  strophe — or  rather  half-strophe — 
each,  the  'young  king'  is  the  subject  of  four  out  of  the  eleven 
strophes,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  it  is  with  him  that 
the  poem  is  primarily  concerned.  It  cannot  therefore  be 
derived  from  the  only  Icelandic  form  of  the  story  (Njdls  Saga) 
which  has  come  down  to  us;  for  there  the  sympathy  is  obviously 
on  the  side  of  Brian,  while  Sigtryggr  appears  as  a  cunning 
enough  but  by  no  means  heroic  character.  The  Icelanders  who 
were  present  in  the  battle  had  gone  there  in  the  following  of 
Earl  Sigurt5r,  not  of  Sigtryggr ;  nor  was  the  latter  a  man  of 
any  great  distinction,  although  he  reigned  for  more  than  half 
a  century. 

The  facts  pointed  out  above  would  seem  rather  to  point  to 
Dublin  as  the  original  home  of  the  poem.  King  Sigtryggr's 
followers  might  regard  the  battle  as  no  great  misfortune,  and 


THE  DARRAt)ARLJ(3»  117 

look  forward  to  victories  over  the  Irish  in  the  future.  But 
other  difficultiesstill  remain.  According  to  the  Irish  authorities, 
which  are  both  earlier  and  fuller  than  the  Norse,  Sigtryggr 
took  no  part  in  the  battle,  so  that  the  working  of  the  spell  for 
his  safety  would  seem  to  be  superfluous.  Why  too  should  the 
youth  of  the  king  be  so  frequently  mentioned  ?  His  father 
died  in  980  and  he  himself  became  king  in  988,  so  that  he 
cannot  have  been  far  short  of  forty  at  the  time  of  the  battle. 
I  am  inclined  therefore  to  suspect  that  the  poem  was  com- 
posed for  some  other  occasion,  probably  in  Ireland',  and  that 
it  only  became  associated  with  the  battle  of  Clontarf  at  a  later 
period,  whether  in  Orkney  or  in  Iceland.  We  know  that  the 
early  years  of  Sigtryggr's  reign  were  disturbed,  e.g.  in  993, 
when  he  was  ejected  for  a  time  from  Dublin;  but  few  details 
of  these  events  have  been  preserved.  It  is  not  impossible, 
however,  that  it  was  originally  concerned  with  some  earlier 
king,  e.g.  with  the  earlier  Sigtryggr,  who  in  the  year  919 
defeated  and  slew  the  high-king  Njall  Glundubh  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Dublin — an  event  which  would  certainly 
seem  to  suit  str.  7  more  appropriately  than  anything  that  we 
know  of  in  the  history  of  the  later  Sigtryggr.  It  is  perhaps 
worth  pointing  out  that  in  that  case  the  use  of  the  expression 
vefr  darra&ar  by  Egill  in  936  could  be  satisfactorily  explained 
as  due  to  our  poem.  The  expression  itself  may  have  been 
suggested  by  the  Irish  word  morevglaim,  '  the  great  woof  of 
war,'  which  occurs  in  The  Song  of  GarolVs  Sword-,  dating 
from  909. 

I  It  is  of  interest  to  note  in  this  connection  that  the  word  gagar  (str.  3, 
1.  4)  is  a  Gaelic  loan  word.  Irish  elements  are  distinctly  discernible  also  in 
the  account  of  the  battle  in  the  prose  of  Njnls  Saga — in  tlie  miraculous 
healing  of  the  arm  of  Brian's  servant,  and  in  the  joininj^  of  Brian's  head  to 
his  body  after  it  had  been  severed.  These  elements  are  in  all  probability 
derived  "from  the  lost  Brjdns  Saga  (cf.  p.  118  below).  We  may  compare  the 
account  in  the  Three  Fragments  of  Annals  (ed.  J.  O'Donovan,  Dubliu,  ls60, 
Vol.1,  p.  45  f.), of  the  miraculous  joining  of  Donnba's  head  to  his  body.  Munch 
snggested  (Det  nor:ike  Folks  Historie,  Christiania,  1853,  Part  i,  2,  p.  647)  with 
much  probability  that  the  story  of  the  battle  may  have  been  brought  to 
Iceland  by  Thorstemn,  son  of  Hallr  4  Sidu,  who  stayed  for  some  time  with 
Kert5jiilfatSr  after  he  had  surrendered  to  him  (cf.  Xjdls  Saga,  eh.  157)  ;  but  I  do 
not  think  this  explanation  will  hold  good  for  the  poem,  which  would  seem 
thus  to  have  been  composed  in  Dublin,  and  later  to  have  found  a  home  in  the 
north  of  Scotland. 

-  An  annotated  text  and  translation  of  this  poem  are  given  by  Kuno 
Meyer  in  the  Revue  Celtique,  Vol.   xx  (1899),  p.  9  ff.  ;    and  in  the  Gaelic 


118  THE  DARRADARLJOD 

The  folloAving  short  piece  occurs  in  Njdls  Saga,  ch.  157, 
just  after  the  I)arra&arlj6&  (cf,  p.  114  above).  It  is  intro- 
duced as  follows :  '  Earl  Gilli  in  the  Hebrides  dreamed  that 
a  man  came  to  him  and  gave  his  name  as  Herfinnr  and  said 
that  he  had  come  from  Ireland.  The  Earl  dreamed  that  he 
asked  him  for  news  from  that  quarter.  The  man  recited 
this  verse.' 

Here  follows  the  fragment  given  below : 

Vask  ]7ars  bragnar  bortSusk,       brandr  gall  ^  Irlandi, 
margr  )>ars  moettusk  torgur;       malmr  gnast  i  dyn  hjalma; 
s6kn  l^eira  frdk  snarpa ;       SigurSr  fell  i  dyn  vigra ; 
aSr  tceSi  ben  bloeSa;       Brjann  fell  ok  belt  velli\ 

'  I  have  been  in  Ireland  where  heroes  were  fighting  and 
many  a  sword  was  clashing  as  shield  met  shield — the  steel 
was  shivered  in  the  crash  of  armour.  Fierce  I  know  was 
the  encounter  of  those  warriors.  SigurSr  fell  in  the  crash  of 
spears,  but  the  blood  was  already  pouring  from  his  wounds. 
Brian  fell  but  won  the  victory.' 

Nothing  definite  is  known  as  to  the  origin  and  date  of 
the  poem,  though,  like  the  DarTa&arljd&,  it  may  have  been 
preserved  in  the  Brjdns  Saga\ 

In  order  to    understand  clearly   the   metaphor   which    is 

worked  out  so  fully  in  the  first  two  strophes  of  the  Darra^ar- 

Ijdd',  it  is  necessary  to  have  a  clear  understanding  of  the  old 

upright  or  perpendicular  loom  (vefsta&r,  vefstoll)  which  was 

still  in  common  use  in  Iceland  in  the  latter  half  of  the 

eighteenth  century''. 

Journal,  Vol.  x  (1900),  p.  613  ff.  (cf.  especially  bis  note  on  the  variant 
readings  of  morenglaim).  The  translation  has  also  been  reprinted  in  Ancient 
Irish  Poetry"^  (London,  1913)  p.  72,  by  the  same  author.  Similar  terms 
are  not  unknown  elsewhere  in  Norse  and  in  other  Teutonic  languages, 
e.g.  Helgakvid'a  Hundingshana.  i,  str.  3  f.,  Beotvulf,  1.  697  ;  but  I  do  not 
know  of  any  parallel  so  close  as  the  Irish  one  given  above. 

1  dyn  hjalma,  cf.  1.  3,  dyn  vigra. — Kennings  for  battle. 

Some  editors  omit  the  stop  after  bloscfa.  Cf.  Asmundarson's  ed.  and  the 
Orkneyinga  Saga  (Rolls  Series),  Appendix,  p.  362.  The  translation  would 
then  be,  'Brian  fell  but  won  the  battle  before  his  wounds  began  to  bleed.' 

2  Cf.  F.  J6nsson's  ed.  of  Brennu-Njdlssaga,  p.  xxxff. 

3  Accounts  of  the  Norse  upright  loom  and  the  technical  terms  used  in 
connection  with  it  are  to  be  found  in  the  Antiquarisk  Tidsskrift  (Copen- 


THE  DARRADARLJCD  119 

The  root  principle  of  all  weaving  is  the  rapid  passing  to 
and  fro  of  a  single  free  thread  of  yam  (i.e.  weft  thread) 
alternately  under  and  over  a  series  of  parallel  threads  of 
yarn  (i.e.  warp  threads).  This  process  is  represented  by  the 
e.xpression  vinda  vef.  To  ensure  a  durable  fobric,  care  must 
be  taken  in  simple  weaving,  as  in  the  ordinary  darning 
stitch,  that  the  weft  thread  is  never  placed  under  the  same 
thread  of  warp  in  two  consecutive  passages.  To  facilitate 
the  weaver's  task  the  threads  of  the  warp  are  invariably 
stretched  and  held  taut,  generally  by  weights. 

In  the  old  Icelandic  upright  loom  the  warp  threads  (vefr) 
are  attached  to  a  thick  rounded  bar  of  wood  (rifr)  which 
revolves  freely  in  two  wooden  sockets  at  the  top  of  two 
upright  wooden  posts  (hleinar).  A  beam  (skaft)  or,  later, 
two  or  even  several  beams,  rested  on  wooden  pegs  {skaftillir) 
in  the  middle  of  the  hleinar.  To  this  skaft  are  attached  the 
ends  of  a  number  of  threads.  At  the  unattached  ends  are 
loops  through  each  of  which  is  threaded  every  alternate 
warp  thread.  The  backward  and  forward  movement  of  the 
skaft  thus  serves  to  decussate  the  warp  threads  in  much  the 
same  way  as  the  heilds  of  a  modern  horizontal  hand  loom. 
Naturally  the  shed,  or  space  between  the  warp  threads,  is 
widened  and  work  facilitated  by  the  addition  of  a  second 
skaft.  The  ends  of  the  warp  opposite  to  the  rifr  are 
weighted  (kljdd'r),  singly  or  in  groups,  by  heavy  stones 
(kljdsteinar),  which  hang  freely  and  hold  the  warp  taut. 
The  work  of  the  reed  in  the  modern  hand  loom  seems  to 

hagen,  1846 — 1848),  p.  212;  A.  Barlow,  History  and  Principles  of  Weaving 
(London,  1878),  p.  58  ff.  ;  Dictionary  of  Greek  and  Roman  Antiquities 
(ed.  Smith,  Wayte  and  Marindin,  London,  1890—1891),  s.v.  Tela;  Fritzner, 
Ordhorj  over  det  gamle  norske  Sprog  (Christiania,  1886 — 1896),  s.v.  vefr,  akeiS 
(f.  (2)),  hrmll,  etc.  Further  references  may  be  made  to  K.  Leems,  Beskrivelse 
over  Finiiuirken.-;  Lapper,  published  (English  translation)  in  Pinkerton's 
Voyages  and  Travels  (London,  1808),  Vol.  i,  p.  447;  N.  M.  Petersen, 
Historiske  Forttellinger  om  Islmndernes  Fterd  hjemme  og  nde  (Copenhagen, 
1862),  Vol.  II,  p.  3.50 ff.;  E.  Sundt,  Folkevennen  for  i8(;,5,  p.  59 ff.  Sub- 
sequent accounts  of  Norse  and  Icelandic  weaving  have  been  based  for  the  most 
part  on  0.  Olavius's  CEkonnmisk  Reise  gjennem  Island,  Soroe,  1772,  Vol.  i 
(2nd  ed.  Amsterdam,  1780,  Vol.  ii,  630).  His  account,  however,  is  far  from 
clear  (cf.  p.  120  below),  and  the  above  descriptions  all  require  to  be  checked  by 
the  account  given  by  Mr  Ling  Roth  of  some  practical  experiments  made  by 
him  on  these  upright  looms.  Cf.  his  pamphlet  Ancient  Egyptian  and 
Greek  Looms,  published  in  'Bankfield  Museum  Notes,'  Second  Series,  No.  2 
(Halifax,  1913),  p.  34  ff. 


120  THE  DARRADARLJ(3D 

have  been  done  by  different  implements  at  different  periods, 
and  on  this  point  there  is  no  consensus  of  opinion  among 
experts.  It  seems  to  be  clear,  however,  that  at  any  rate  a 
part  of  this  work  was  done  by  the  skei^,  a  large  smooth 
spear-shaped  implement  of  whalebone.  It  may  have  been 
used  also  to  'sley'  or  force  up^  the  threads  of  the  weft  so  that 
they  should  lie  close  together  to  give  the  necessary  firmness 
to  the  fabric.  This  work  appears  to  have  been  performed 
in  some  cases  by  a  comb-shaped  implement,  and  the  skeifi 
inserted  into  the  shed,  as  its  shape  suggests,  to  give  the 
necessary  blow  to  the  comb  from  below.  Mr  Roth  however 
declares-  that  he  can  get  no  good  results  from  sleying  the 
threads  of  the  upright  loom  with  this  '  comb.' 

The  same  vagueness  unfortunately  exists  as  to  the  use  of 
the  hrasll,  a  small  sharp  implement  of  bone  or  hard  wood 
hanging  from  the  rifr  by  a  cord.  It  would  no  doubt  be 
used  to  separate  the  threads  of  the  warp,  preparatory  to 
threading  them  through  the  loops  of  the  heilds ;  and  it  may 
also  have  been  used  for  adjusting  the  weft  threads  from 
time  to  time.  It  is  to  be  noted,  however,  that  in  Olavius's 
account  of  the  Icelandic  loom  the  hrxll  and  the  skeiS  are 
both  said  to  be  used  for  '  beating  in '  the  weft ;  but  the 
description  is  obscure  in  many  other  points  also,  and  Mr  Roth 
is  of  the  opinion^  that  the  hriell  was  used  as  a  preliminary 
to  the  skei(S.  He  refers  to  the  statement  of  N.  Annandale  {The 
Faroes  and  Iceland,  Oxford,  1905,  p.  195  f.)  that  he  obtained 
in  the  Faroes  a  beater-in  ('  weaver's  sword  ')  made  of  a  whale's 
jaw  or  rib.  Such  an  object  would  probably  serve  the  purposes 
of  both  a  hrsell  and  a  skei&,  having  approximately  the  shape 
of  the  former  and  the  dimensions  of  the  latter.  The  shuttle 
was  unknown,  and  the  weft  threads  were  pushed  through 
the  warp  by  hand.  ^ 

1  It  is  to  be  observed  that  on  the  upright  looms  of  the  North  the  cloth 
was  woven  downwards,  the  first  weft  thread  being  inserted  at  the  top  of  the 
warp  and  sleyed  upwards. 

"^  Cf.  H.  L.  Roth,  Ancient  Egyptian  and  Greek  Looms  ('  Bankfield  Museum 
Notes,'  Second  Series,  No.  2,  Halifax,  1913),  p.  20  and  footnote. 

*  Ancient  Egyptian  and  Greek  Looms,  p.  35. 


THE  DARRADARLJ6*)  121 

Tilt'  t'ol lowing  are  the  more  important  MSS.  of  Njdls  Saga 
in  which  the  poem  has  been  preserved': 
F  :  Reykjabdk  (AM.  468),  c.  1800. 
A  :  Mddruvallahok  (AM.  132),  c.  1850. 
I   :  Grdskinna  (Gl.   Kgl.   Saml.   2870),  c.    1300  (17th   C. 

transcript). 
E  :  Oddahuk  (AM.  4(56),  15th  Century. 

Ms.  I  is  incomplete,  and  for  the  portion  which  includes 
the  Darra&ai^ljod'  we  are  dependent  on  a  seventeenth  century 
transcript.  The  text  of  the  poem  which  it  offers  is  on  the 
whole  the  most  reliable ;  but  its  readings  often  require  to 
be  checked  by  a  comparison  with  the  other  three  MSS.  I  have 
therefore  taken  I  as  the  basis  of  my  text,  indicating  the  most 
important  of  the  variant  readings  in  the  footnotes  below. 

The  metre  of  the  poem  is  Foniyr^dislag.    Cf.  p.  78  above. 

1  Cf.  Jon  Thorkelsson,  '  Om  handskrifterne  af  Njala'  in  Njdla,  Vol.  ir 
(Copenhagen,  1889),  p.  649  ff.  Cf.  also  p.  579  ff.;  F.  Jdnsson's  edition  of 
Brennu-Njdlssaga  (Halle,  1908),  p.  xlii  ;  Heusler,  Eddica  Minora,  p.  xriViii. 


122 


THE  DARRABARLJOD 

1  Vitt  es  orpit^         fyr  valfalli 
rifs*^  reiSisky^,         rignir  bloSi ; 

nil's  fyr  geirum         grar  upp  kominn 
vefr  verJTJoSar         sas^  vinur  fylla 
rauSum  vefti®         Randves  bana*. 

2  S4s  orpinn  vefr'         yta  |7ormum 
ok  harSkljaSr^         hofi5um  manna; 
eru  dreyrrekin         dorr®  at  skofbum, 
jarnvarSr^"  yllir",         enn  orum  hraelaSr^^; 
skukim  ^^  sla  sverSum         sigrvef  l^enna. 

3  Gengr  Hildr  vefa"         ok  Hjorjjrimul, 
SanngriSr^^,  SvipuP^         sverSum  tognum^''; 
skaft  mun  gnesta,         skjoldr  mun  bresta^®; 
mun  hjalmgagarr         i  hlif  koma. 

4  Vindum^",  vindum         vef  darratSar, 
sas  ungr  konungr         atti  fyrri ; 

fram  skulum  ganga         ok^"  i  folk  vaSa, 
J^ars  vinir  vdrir         vapnum  skifta. 

5  Vindum,  vindum         vef  darraSar, 
ok  siklingi         slSan  fylgjura  ; 

J>ar  sja^^  bragna^         blo&gar  randir 
Gunnr  ok  Gondul         psers  grami  hlifSu^^. 

6  Vindum,  vindum         vef  darraSar, 
)?ars  ve  vaSa         vigra  manna; 
l^tum  eigi         lif  bans  farask^ ; 
eigu  valkyrjur         vals^^  um  kosti.' 

1  A  ;  orffit  I ;  orpinn  E  ;  orf(inn)  F.  ^  reifs  I.  ^  -sky  om.  E,  F,  I. 

*  pmr  er  A,l;  pmr  E,  F.  ^  om.  E. 

*  A  ;  Randves  likal;  randverks  bla  E  ;  randversk  bla  F.        "^  vefr  orpinn  I. 
^  -kliaprmes.       ^  davggrE.       ^'>  iarnvaraS'E,;  iarvarSr  1.       ^^  ylliF,E. 

12  A,  I ;  hrselaff  E ;  hrmlar  F.  '»  A,  E,  F ;  skal  I.  "  at  vefa  I. 

1^  SangriSr  A  ;  ok  Sandg(ri)cfr  I ;  Sangnicfr  F  ;  SavgniS{r)  E. 

1^  Sipul  F  ;  om.  I.  i7  tognum  A,  I ;  rekna  E,  F. 

1*  skopt  munu  gnesta,  en  skildir  munu  bresia  I.  ^^  I  om.  this  strophe. 

20  Jlokk  E.  21  sia  E,  F,  I ;  sd^i  A. 

22  em.  Thorkelsson  and  Gislason;  bragnarF,,  F  ;  bara  A;  bera  I. 

23  A,  E,  I ;  fylg&u  F.  24  uj  ^er  svaraz  F. 
25  E,  F,  I  (margin);  vigs  A,  I  (text). 


123 


THE  DARRABARLJO© 

1  A  loom  has  been  set  up,  stretching  afar  and  portending 

slaughter and  a  rain  of  blood  is  pouring.    Upon  it  has 

been  stretched  a  warp  of  human  beings — a  warp  grey 
with  spears,  which  the  valkyries  are  filling  with  weft  of 
crimson. 

2  This  warp  is  formed  of  men's  entrails,  and  is  heavily 
weighted  with  human  heads.  Blood-stained  javelins 
serve  as  heddles,  the  spool  is  shod  with  iron,  the  hriell 
is  formed  of  arrows,  and  it  is  with  swords  that  we  must 
sley  this  web  of  battle. 

3  Hildr  is  going  to  weave,  and  Hjor]?rimul,  SanngriSr  and 
Svipul  with  drawn  swords.  The  spearshaft  will  snap,  the 
shield  will  be  cleft,  and  armour  will  be  pierced  by  the 
render  of  the  helmet. 

4  We  are  weaving,  weaving  the  web  of  the  spear.  Young 
is  the  king  who  owned  it  in  the  past.  Forth  must  we 
step,  and  make  our  way  into  the  battle,  where  the  arms 
of  our  friends  are  clashing. 

5  We  are  weaving,  weaving  the  web  of  the  spear,  and  we 
shall  continue  to  aid  the  hero.  Then  Gunnr  and  Gondul 
who  have  guarded  the  prince  will  look  upon  the  bloody 
shields  of  warriors. 

6  We  are  weaving,  weaving  the  web  of  the  spear,  while 
the  standard  of  the  valiant  warrior  is  advancing.  We 
shall  not  suffer  him  to  lose  his  life.  It  is  for  the  valkyries 
to  determine  who  shall  be  slain. 


124  THE  DARRADARLJOD 

7  peir  munu  lySir         londum  raSa, 
es  litskaga         at5r  um  bygSu ; 
kveSk  rikjum  gram         raSinn  dau(5a ; 
niis  fyr  oddum         jarlmacSr^  hniginn. 

8  Ok  munu  Irar         angr  um  biSa, 
)»ats  aldri  mun         ytum  fyi-nask ; 
mis  vefr  ofinn,         enn  vollr  i-oSinn ; 
munu  um  lond  fara         laaspjoll  gota. 

9  Niis  ogurlegt         um  at  litask, 

es  dreyrug  sky         dregr^  meS  himni ; 

mun  loft  litat''         lytJa  bl6t5i, 

es  soknvarSir''         syngja^  kunnu*'. 

10  Vel  kvaSum"  ver         um  konung  ungan 
sigrljotJa^  ^olS" ;         syngjum  heilar ! 
Enn  hinn  nemi  es  heyrir  a 
geirfljoSa^"  lj<^S",         ok  gumum  segi^-. 

11  RiSum  hestum         hart'^  lit  berum 
brugSnum  sverSum         a  braut  heSan. 

1  saklauss  maifr  1.  ^  es...dregr:  at  dreyrugt  sky  dregsk  A,  1.  ^  litask  I. 
*  em.  F.  J6nsson ;  spar  varar  E,  F  ;  spar  var&ar  A ;  pa  er  sokn  vardar  I. 
5  A,  I ;  springa  E,  F.  ^  om.  A. 

'  kvdSu  E  ;  kveSu  A  ;  k[ra)Su  F.  ^  sigrhlio^a  A,  E,  I;  sigr  hliSa  F. 

9  A,  F  ;  flioff  E,  I.  i«  I;  geirljoSa  A  ;  geirhljoSa  E,  F. 

"  hljoSl;  Jljod E  ;  fjoldf  A,  F.         ^^  a,  I ;  skemti  E,  F.         '»  AUz  A. 


THE  DARRAf)ARLJ6f)  125 

7  The  people  who  have  hitherto  occupied  only  the  out- 
lying headlands  shall  have  dominion  over  the  land.  I 
declare  that  death  is  ordained  for  a  mighty  prince. — 
Even  now  the  earl  has  been  laid  low  by  the  spears. 

8  The  Irish  too  will  suffer  a  sorrow  which  will  never  be 
forgotten  by  men.  Now  the  web  has  been  woven  and 
the  field  dyed  crimson.  The  news  of  the  disaster  will 
travel  throughout  the  world. 

9  It  is  ghastly  now  to  look  around,  when  blood-red  clouds 
are  gathering  in  the  sky.  The  air  is  being  dyed  with  the 
blood  of  men,  while  the  maidens  of  battle  are  singing. 

10  Many  spells  of  victory  have  we  chanted  well  for  the 
young  king.  May  we  have  luck  in  our  singing!  And  may 
he  who  hearkens  to  the  spear-maidens'  lay  learn  it  and 
tell  it  to  men. 

1 1  Let  us  brandish  our  swords,  and  gallop  our  barebacked 
steeds  out  hence  and  away. 


126 


XII.    THE  SONATOREEK,  ETC. 

Egill  Skallagrimsson,  the  most  important  of  all  the  poets 
of  Iceland,  was  born  about  the  year  900  at  Borg  in  Borg- 
arfjorSr,  where  his  father  Skallagrimr  had  settled  on  his 
departure  from  Norway  in  878,  The  story  of  his  life,  together 
with  what  remains  of  his  poems,  is  preserved  in  the  saga 
which  bears  his  name,  and  which  appears  to  have  been 
written  down  about  the  close  of  the  twelfth  century.  At  an 
early  age  Egill  showed  signs  of  a  truculent  and  unruly  dis- 
position. He  went  abroad  for  the  first  time  about  the  year 
915  with  his  elder  brother  Thorolfr,  and  spent  the  next  ten 
years  in  Norway.  His  conduct  there  brought  upon  him  the 
hostility  of  Eric  (B165ox),  son  of  King  Harold  the  Fair- 
haired,  and  more  especially  of  Eric's  wife  Gunnhildr.  In 
consequence  of  this  the  two  brothers  had  to  leave  Norway. 
They  went  to  England  and  took  service  under  King  Aethel- 
stan  whose  territories  were  threatened  with  invasion  by 
'  Olaf  the  Red,'  who  is  represented  in  the  saga  as  King  of 
Scotland.  In  the  campaign  which  ensued  Thordlfr  was 
killed.  Egill  was  handsomely  rewarded  for  his  services  by 
King  Aethelstan,  and  shortly  afterwards  went  back  to 
Norway,  where  he  married  AsgerSr,  his  brother's  widow. 
With  her  he  returned  home  to  Iceland  (about  927).  Some 
years  later,  hearing  of  the  death  of  his  wife's  father,  he  again 
visited  Norway  to  claim  her  share  of  the  property.  The 
claim  was  disputed  by  the  husband  of  his  wife's  sister  who 
alleged  that  AsgerSr  was  illegitimate.  Egill  again  incurred 
the  wrath  of  Eric  who  was  now  king,  and  his  life  was  saved 
only  by  the  efforts  of  the  baron  Arinbjorn,  a  relative  of  his 
wife.  Eventually  Egill  murdered  both  the  rival  claimant  and 
a  young  son  of  the  king,  and  then  escaped  to  Iceland.  In 
936  he  again  set  out  for  England  to  visit  King  Aethelstan, 
being  unaware  that  Eric  had  been  expelled  from  Norway 
and  was  now  established  under  Aethelstan  at  York.   Egill's 


THE  SONATORREK  127 

shi[)  was  wrecked  at  the  mouth  of  the  Humber,  but  he  suc- 
ceeded in  finding  his  friend  Arinbjorn,  who  persuaded  him 
to  compose  a  panegyric  on  King  Eric  (the  HofuiSlami}),  by 
means  of  which  he  was  enabled  to  save  his  life.  After  some 
time  spent  with  King  Aethelstan,  and  another  short  visit  to 
Norway,  he  returned  home  to  Iceland  (about  938).  He  was 
again  in  Norway  for  about  two  years  (about  950 — 952) ;  but 
apart  from  this  he  spent  the  rest  of  his  life  in  his  native 
land.  He  occupied  the  family  home  at  Borg  until  after  his 
wife's  death  (about  973),  when  he  gave  it  up  to  his  son 
Thorsteinn.  After  this  he  lived  with  his  stepdaughter 
Thordis  at  Mosfell,  where  he  died  about  982.  Besides  Thor- 
steinn he  had  two  sons,  both  of  whom  died  young  (about 
960),  and  two  daughters,  one  of  whom  (ThorgerSr)  was 
married  to  Olaf  Pai,  and  is  a  prominent  character  in  the 
Laxdiela  Saga. 

Three  of  Egill's  longer  poems  have  been  preserved — the 
Hofu^lausn,  composed  at  York  in  936,  the  Sonatorrek,  an 
elegy  on  the  loss  of  his  two  sons,  and  the  Arinhjarnar- 
drdpa,  composed  in  honour  of  his  friend  Arinbjorn.  The  two 
latter  are  believed  to  date  from  about  960.  In  addition  to 
these,  he  is  known  to  have  composed  at  least  three  other  long 
poems,  one  of  which  (the  A&alsteinsdrdpa)  was  a  panegyric 
in  honour  of  King  Aethelstan,  composed  about  926.  Of  this 
the  first  verse  and  the  refrain  have  been  preserved  and  are 
given  below.  The  saga  contains  also  a  large  number  of 
single  strophes,  which  are  said  to  have  been  composed  by 
Egill  on  various  occasions. 

Egill's  poems,  more  especially  the  shorter  pieces,  are 
typical  examples  of  the  highly  artificial  style  of  composition 
cultivated  by  the  poets  of  his  day.  The  extravagant  kennings 
render  them  distasteful  to  the  modern  reader,  and  this 
distaste  is  intensified  by  the  habit  of  interweaving  two  or 
more  co-ordinate  sentences,  which  are  not  always  easy  to 
disentangle.  Indeed  it  must  have  required  considerable 
familiarity  with  the  art  to  apprehend  the  poet's  meaning 
when  he  was  declaiming  them.  At  the  same  time,  they  are 
of  considerable  interest  for  the  light  which  they  throw  on 


128  THE  SONATORREK 

the  man's  character,  in  addition  to  the  information  which 
they  give  in  regard  to  the  life  and  thought  of  the  times. 

The  most  important  texts  of  Egils  Saga  are  contained  in 
two  vellums,  AM.  132  (M),  dating  probably  from  about  the 
middle  of  the  fourteenth  century,  and  the  Wolfenbuttel  MS. 
( W),  which  is  of  about  the  same  date  but  incomplete — and  one 
paper  MS.  AM.  453,  copied,  apparently,  in  the  seventeenth 
century,  from  a  MS.  (K),  dating  from  about  1400,  of  which 
only  a  small  fragment  (AM.  162  E)  now  remains.  Of  these 
MSB.  M  is  in  every  way  the  best.  According  to  F.  Jonsson 
the  remaining  mss.  are  of  no  independent  value. 

As  specimens  of  Egill's  style  I  have  selected  (1)  two 
strophes  from  ch.  55,  which  form  a  short  elegy  on  the  death 
of  his  brother  Th6r61fr,  (2)  the  opening  strophe  and  the 
refrain — all  that  is  preserved — of  his  panegyric  on  King 
Aethelstan,  also  from  ch.  55,  (3)  the  elegy  (Sonatorrek)  on 
the  deaths  of  his  two  sons,  from  ch.  78. 

With  regard  to  the  two  former  pieces  it  is  to  be  observed 
that  according  to  the  saga  the  war  against  '  Olaf  the  Red ' 
broke  out  very  shortly  after  Aethelstan  had  succeeded  to  the 
throne.  Thorolfr  and  Egill  offered  their  services  to  the  king, 
and  the  former  was  given  an  important  command  in  the 
army.  In  the  fighting  which  followed  he  was  killed,  but  the 
English  were  victorious,  largely  owing  to  Egill's  bravery. 
Olaf  was  slain,  and  his  army  was  dispersed. 

It  is  clear  that  the  saga,  which  was  not  written  down  until 
about  the  year  1200,  is  inaccurate  in  several  particulars.  In 
'  Olaf  the  Red '  two  distinct  persons  appear  to  be  confused. 
Anlaf  (OMfr),  son  of  Guthfrith,  King  of  Dublin,  and  his  ally 
Constantine,  King  of  Scotland;  but  neither  of  them  was 
killed  in  battle  against  Aethelstan^.  The  battle  described  in 
the  saga  is  said  to  have  taken  place  shortly  after  Aethel- 
stan's  accession,  and  many  years  before  King  Eric  was 
expelled  from  Norway  (935).  It  cannot  therefore  be  the 
Battle  of  Brunanburh  which  was  fought  in  937^,  in  spite  of 
the  similarity  between  the  names   Vinhei&r  and  Vind  and 

1  Cf.  p.  61  ff.  above.  -  Cf.  p.  59  ff.  above. 


THE  SONATORREK  129 

the  name  Weondini  which  Symeon  of  Durham'  gives  to  the 
Battle  of  Brunanburh.  It  would  appear  rather  bo  have  been 
an  earlier  attempt  on  the  part  of  Anlaf  to  reclaim  the  king- 
dom from  which  his  father  Guthfrith  had  been  expelled. 
In  the  saga  Egill  is  represented  as  reciting  the  following 
strophes  at  his  brother's  funeral  on  the  battlefield ;  but  the 
expressions  joi-d'  groer,  etc.  (str.  1),  and  vestan  (str.  2),  rather 
suggest  that  they  were  composed  at  some  later  date,  pre- 
sumably after  the  poet's  return  to  Iceland. 

1  Gekk  sas  63isk  ekki*,         jarlsmanns  bani,  snarla, 
)?reklunda5r  fell  pundar         porolfr  i  gny  stdrum. 
JorS  groer,  enn  v6r  verSum,         Vinu  nser  of  minura — 
helnauS  es  J?at — hylja         harm,  ^gsetiim^  barma. 

2  Valkostura  hl(53k  vestan         vang  fyr  merkistangir, 
6tt  vas  el  ]?ats-*  sottak         Asils  blaum^  NatJri ; 
ha?5i  ungr  viS  Engla         Aleifr  j^rumu®  stala; 
helt,  ne'  hrafnar  sultu,         Hringr  a®  vapna  pingi. 

1  Th(5r61fr  the  bold-hearted,  the  slayer  of  the  earl,  he  who 
feared  nothing,  strode  forth  valiantly  and  fell  in  Thundr's 
great  uproar.  Near  Vina  the  earth  is  green  over  my 
noble  brother.  That  is  a  deadly  sorrow;  but  we  will  sup- 
press our  grief. 

2  In  the  West  I  covered  the  ground  with  heaps  of  slaughter 
in  front  of  my  standard.  Violent  was  the  storm  which  I 
brought  upon  ASils  with  my  black  Adder.  The  young 
Aleifr  raised  a  tempest  of  steel  against  the  English. 
Hringr  busied  himself  in  the  clash  of  weapons,  and  the 
ravens  did  not  go  hungry. 

The  other  strophe  is  all  that  remains  of  a  drdpa  or 
panegyric  poem  in  honour  of  Aethelstan,  which  Egill  is  also 
represented  (ch.  55)  as  having  produced  shortly  after  the 
battle. 

'  Uistoria  Dunelmemis  Ecclesiae  (Rolls  Series),  cap.  xviii ;  Historia 
liegum,  ib.  §  83. 

2  oin.  W.  3  em.  F.  JoDsson,  dgatan  M;  agimtan  W,  K. 

•«  M,  W  ;  />at  K.  »  vief  bl.  K.                       «  olafr  Primn  M,  W. 

7  par  er  W  ;  meSan  K.  «  at  W. 

K.  9 


130  THE  SONATORREK 

pa  orti  Egill  drapu  um  ASalstein  konung,  ok  er  i  )?vi  kvaeSi 
J>etta : 

Nu  hefir  foldgnarr  felda  — fellr  jor3  und  niS  Ellu — 

hjaldrsnerrandi,  harra  hi3fut5baSmr,  J?ria  jofra. 

ASalsteinn  of  vann  annat  — alt's  Isegra  kynfraegjum — 

her  sverjum  )^ess,  hyijar  hrannbrjotr^l — konungmanni. 

Enn  ]7etta  er  stefit  i  drapunni: 

N6  liggr  heest  und  hraustum  hreinbraut  ASalsteini. 

Then  Egill  composed  a  panegyric  upon  King  Aethelstan, 

which  contained  the  following  strophe  : 

The  scion  of  kings... he  who  rouses  the  battle  into  fury, 
has  now  laid  three  princes  low.  The  land  falls  into  the 
hands  of  Ella's  kinsman.  Aethelstan  has  accomplished 
yet  more.  Here  we  swear  it,  O  distributor  of  gold ! 
There  is  nothing  so  noble  as  a  royal  person  of  renowned 
stock. 

And  this  is  the  refrain  of  the  poem  : 

The  highest  mountain  ridges  are  now  subject  to  the 
valiant  Aethelstan. 

The  Sonatorrek  appears  to  have  been  composed  some 
thirty-five  years  after  the  poems  given  above.  It  is  preserved 
in  ch.  78  of  the  saga,  where  an  account  is  given  of  the  cir- 
cumstances from  which  it  arose. 

Egill  had  bought  timber  from  a  ship  which  had  come  up 
the  White  River,  and  his  son  BoSvarr,  then  about  seventeen 
years  of  age,  went  with  the  men  on  an  eight-oared  boat  to 
bring  it  home.  A  storm  arose  and  the  ship  foundered,  and 
the  whole  crew  were  drowned. 

Egill  heard  the  same  day  what  had  happened  and  went 
to  look  for  BoSvarr's  body.  Having  found  it  he  rode  with  it 
to  Digranes  and  placed  it  in  the  family  barrow  beside  his 
father  Skallagrimr.  Then  he  rode  home  to  Borg,  and  went 
straight  to  bed  and  locked  himself  in.    No  one  dared  to  dis- 

1  em.  F.  Jousson;  ms.  hannhrjdtr. 


THE  SONATORREK  131 

tiirb  him,  and  he  lay  thus  for  two  days  without  food  or  (h'irik. 
But  on  the  third  morning  his  wife  AsgerSr  sent  a  mes- 
senger to  bring  their  daughter  ThorgerSr  from  HjarSarholt. 
ThorgerSr  set  oft' immediately  and  rode  to  Borg  with  two  com- 
panions. 

'  AsgerSr  greeted  her  and  asked  whether  they  had  had 
supper. 

ThorgerSr  replied  in  a  loud  voice :  "  I  have  had  no  supper, 
and  I  will  not  have  any  till  I  arrive  at  Freyja's  home.  I  think 
that  the  best  thing  for  me  to  do  is  to  follow  my  father's 
example.  I  have  no  wish  to  survive  my  father  and  my 
brother." 

She  went  to  the  bedroom  and  called  out :  "  Father,  open 
the  door.    I  want  us  both  to  go  the  same  journey." 

Egill  undid  the  lock,  and  ThorgerSr  stepped  up  into  the 
bedroom  and  closed  the  door ;  she  lay  down  on  another  bed 
that  was  there. 

Then  Egill  said  :  "  You  have  done  well,  daughter,  in  want- 
ing to  accompany  your  father.  You  have  shown  how  greatly 
you  are  devoted  to  me. — How  could  it  be  expected  that  I 
should  want  to  live  under  such  a  burden  of  grief?" 

After  this  they  were  silent  for  a  while. 

Then  Egill  said  :  "What  are  you  doing,  daughter?  Are  you 
chewing  something  ? " 

"  I  am  chewing  samphire,"  she  replied,  "  because  I  think  it 
will  do  me  harm ;  I  am  afraid  that  otherwise  I  may  live  too 
long." 

"Is  samphire  bad  for  people?"  asked  Egill. 

"Very  bad,"  said  she  ;  "  will  you  have  some?" 

"  Why  not  ? "  said  he. 

A  little  while  after  she  called  out  and  asked  them  to  give 
her  a  drink.    Then  they  gave  her  a  drink. 

Then  Egill  said :  "  It  is  always  so  with  those  who  eat 
samphire. — They  grow  more  and  more  thirsty." 

"  Would  you  like  a  drink,  father?"  says  she. 

He  took  it  and  gulped  down  a  deep  draught.  It  was  in  a  horn. 

Then  said  ThorgerSr :  "  Now  we  have  both  been  tricked. 
This  is  milk." 

9—2 


132  THE  SONATORREK 

Then  Egill,  who  had  the  horn  to  his  lips,  took  a  great  bite 
out  of  it  and  threw  it  down. 

Then  ThorgerSr  said  :  "  What  shall  we  do  now  ?  Our  plan 
is  spoilt.  I  think  it  would  be  best  now,  father,  for  us  to  pro- 
long our  lives,  so  that  you  could  compose  an  elegy  on  BoSvarr, 
and  I  will  carve  it  on  a  rod,  and  after  that  we  can  die  if  we 
like.  I  hardly  think  that  your  son  Thorsteinn  could  compose 
a  poem  on  BoSvarr,  and  it  is  not  right  that  he  should  not  be 
celebrated  ; — for  I  do  not  think  that  you  and  I  will  be  at  the 
feast  when  he  is  waked." 

Egill  said  that  he  was  not  likely  to  be  able  to  compose 
anything,  even  if  he  attempted  it :  "  However  I  will  try," 
said  he. 

Egill  had  had  another  son  called  Gunnarr,  and  he  also  had 
died  a  short  time  before.    Then  Egill  began  the  poem 

Egill  began  to  recover  his  spirits  as  he  proceeded  with  the 
poem.  And  when  it  was  finished  he  took  it  to  AsgerSr  and 
ThorgerSr  and  his  household.  Then  he  left  his  bed  and  took  his 
place  in  his  high  seat.  He  called  that  poem  Sonatorrek.  After- 
wards Egill  had  a  funeral  feast  made  for  his  sons  according 
to  ancient  custom ;  and  when  ThorgerSr  went  home,  Egill 
saw  her  off  and  gave  her  presents.  Egill  dwelt  for  a  long  time 
at  Borg  and  lived  to  a  great  age.' 

The  Sonatorrek  is  preserved  in  the  saga  almost  entire.  It 
is  composed  in  the  Kvi&uhdttr — a  variety  of  the  old  epic 
metre  in  which  three-  and  four-syllable  half-verses  alternate. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  metaphors  in  this  poem  are  of  a 
somewhat  different  kind  from  those  which  occur  in  court 
poetry,  reflecting  as  they  do  rather  the  life  of  the  Northern 
farmer,  e.g.  the  beehive,  the  boathouse,  building  timber, 
grafting,  and  possibly  the  steelyard — and  the  same  remark 
may  perhaps  be  made  in  regard  to  the  type  of  mind  which 
the  poem  reveals.  Other  metaphors,  however,  are  drawn 
from  the  mythology  current  among  the  poets  of  the  time, 
e.g.  the  references  to  Ran,  ^Egir  and  Othin.  Egill's  allusions 
to  the  gods  do  not  seem  to  be  of  a  very  serious  character  either 
here  or  in  his  other  poems — with  the  exception  of  a  strophe 
in  ch.  56,  where  he  invokes  them,  evidently  with  great  gusto,  in 


THE  SONATORREK  133 

a  curse  upon  King  Eric.  His  attitude  towards  the  gods  may 
be  contrasted  with  that  of  Th(')rolfr  of  Mostr  towards  his  '  dear 
friend  Thor,'  or  that  of  Hrafnkcll  Freysgot5i,  who  'loved  Freyr 
so  much  that  he  gave  him  half  of  all  the  best  things  that 
he  had,'  including  a  horse.  Yet  although  the  tone  of  Egill's 
references  to  the  gods  are  characteristic  of  the  times,  some  of 
the  allusions  to  religion  in  the  poem  are  of  a  somewhat 
unusual  character.  In  particular  we  may  notice  the  refer- 
ences to  immortality  in  str.  10  and  21,  in  connection  with 
which  it  is  perhaps  worth  remembering  that  Egill  had  been 
for  some  time  in  Aethelstan's  service,  where  he  had  been 
primesigned  and  must  have  acquired  some  knowledge  of 
Christianity. 

Unfortunately  the  text  of  the  poem  is  in  a  far  from  satis- 
factory condition.  It  is  preserved  for  the  most  part  only  in 
K,  the  worst  of  the  Mss.  referred  to  on  p.  128  above.  Strophe  1 
is  found  also  in  M  and  W,  and  str.  23  and  the  first  half  of  24 
in  the  Prose  Edda  (Skdldskaparmdl,  ch.  2).  I  have  followed 
the  text  of  K^  as  given  by  Finnur  Jonsson  in  his  edition  of 
Egils  Saga  (Copenhagen,  1886 — 1888),  except  in  strophe  1 
and  in  other  cases  where  departure  from  the  MS.  reading 
appeared  necessary.  No  exhaustive  collation  of  the  readings 
of  the  various  MSS.  seems  ever  to  have  been  published,  and 
in  many  cases  it  is  very  difficult  to  make  out  from  the 
editions  what  readings  have  MS.  support.  The  editions  of 
Vigfusson  and  Powell  (Corpus  PoeticumBoreale,  Oxford,  1883) 
and  of  F.  Jonsson  {ed.  cit,  also  Copenhagen,  1913)  contain  a 
very  large  number  of  emendations.  In  some  of  these  cases 
F.  Jdnsson  himself  seems  to  have  gone  back  to  the  MS.  reading 
in  his  edition  of  Egilsson's  Lexicon  Poeticum'. 

1  As  represented  by  AM.  453. 

^  Lexicon  Poeticum  Antiquae  Linguae  Septentrionalis,  revised  and  re- 
edited  by  F.  J6nsson  (Copenhagen,  1913 — 1916). 


134 


THE  SONATORREK 

1  Mjok  enim^  tregt         tungu  at  hrcEra 
6t  loftatt^         IjoS  pniSara^*. 

Era  nu  vsent^         6r*  ViSurs*  )>yfi, 
ne  hogdroegt         or  hugar  fylgsni. 

2  Esa  au^peystT\         pvi  at  ekki  veldr 
hofuglegr,         or  hyggju  staS 
fagnafimdr         i^riggjar^  nisja, 
arborinn         or  Jotunheimum. 

3  Lastalauss         *es  lifnaSi 

d  Nokkvers         nokkva  Bragi*. 
Jotuns  hals         undir  J>j6ta^ 
nains  niSr         fyr  naustdurum, 

4  pvit  att  min         a  enda  stendr 
*sem  hrsebamar         hlinr  mark  a*. 
Esa  karskr  matJr,         sds  koggla"  berr 
frsenda  hrors         af  fletjiim  ni?5r". 

5  p6  raunk  mitt         ok  moSur  hror 
fbSur  fall         fyrst  um  telja, 

psit  berk  ut         or  orShofi 
mserSar  timbr         mdli  laufgat. 

6  Grimt  varumk  hlis         J?ats  hronn  um  brant 
fbSur  mins         a  frsendgarSi. 

Veitk  ofult         ok  opit  standa 
sonar  skarS,         es  mer  sser  um  vaim. 

7  Mjok  hefr  Ran         ryskt  um  mik ; 
emk  ofsnau(5r         at  astvinum. 
Sleit  marr^^  bond         minnar  attar, 
snaran^^  |?att         af  sjalfum  mer. 

1  M,  W ;  er  Mm  K.  ^  m_  W;  edr  loptvxi  K.  »  M,  W ;  -pundara  K. 

*  vsBnlegt  K.       ^  M,  W ;  Jtm  K.       «  Vidris  K.       ^  em.  G.  Pilsson  ;  and-  K. 

8  em.  G.  Palsson ;  ^riggia  K.  »  fiota  K.  "  J^augla  K. 
^i  em.  Dietrich;  ridfur  K.            ^^  viars  K.            ^^  om.  K. 


135 


THE  SONATORKEK 

1  It  is  very  difficult  for  me  to  set  in  motion  with  my  tongue 

a  lofty  poem There  is  now  nothing  to  be  hoped  for 

from  Othin's  spoil.    It  is  not  easily  to  be  drawn  from  the 
recesses  of  my  soul. 

2  The  happy  discovery  of  Frigg's  relatives,  brought  long 
ago  from  Jotunheimar,  cannot  easily  be  made  to  flow 
from  the  depths  of  my  heart ;  for  it  is  repressed  by  heavy 
grief 

3  Faultless... Ymir's  streams  are  roaring  down  in  front  of 
the  entrance  to  my  kinsman's  grave-mound. 

4  For  my  line  is  drawing  to  an  end,  like  the of  the 

forests  battered There  is  no  happiness  in  the  man 

who  is  carrying  down  from  his  house  the  last  remains  of 
one  of  his  fixmily. 

5  Now  first  I  will  tell  of  my  own,  his  father's  loss,  and  of 
his  mother's  bereavement.  Such  is  the  timber,  clad  with 
foliage  of  diction,  which  I  will  bring  forth  from  my  temple 
of  speech  to  build  my  edifice  of  poetry. 

6  The  rent  which  the  waves  have  made  in  the  pale  of  my 
father's  family  has  been  harrowing  to  me.  Empty  and 
unoccupied  I  see  the  place  from  which  the  sea  has  torn 
my  son. 

7  Greatly  has  Ran  afflicted  me.  I  have  been  despoiled  of 
a  dear  friend.  The  sea  has  rent  the  ties  of  my  kindred 
and  torn  a  stout  thread  from  me  myself 


136  THE  SONATORREK 

8  Veizt  eP  sok         sverSi  um  raekak, 
vas  olsmiS         allra  tima. 

*Ro3a  vagsbroeSr         um  voga  mgettak, 
foerag  andvigr  Mgis  mani  * 

9  En  ek  ekki         eiga^  );6ttumk 
sakar  afl         viS  sonar^  bana. 
pvit  al)>j63         fyr  augum  verSr 
gamals  pegns         gengileysi. 

10  Mik  hefir  marr         miklu  rsentan, 
grimt  es  fall  frsenda  at  telja, 
sit5an's  minn  a  munvega 
attar  skjoldr  aflifi  hvarf. 

11  Veitk  J?at  sjalfr         at  i  syni  minum 
vasa*  ills  J?egns         efrii  vaxit, 

ef  sji  randviSr         roskvask  nseSi, 
unz  Hergauts         hendr  um  toeki. 

12  iE  let  flest         J?ats  fatJir  mselti, 
]>6tt  oil  )>j63         annat  segSi ; 

ok  mer  upp  belt         um  Aerbergi^ 
ok  mitt  afl         mest  um  studdi. 

13  Oft  kemr  mer         *ma  biarnar* 
i  byrvind         broetJra  leysi ; 
h3'ggjumk  um         es  hildr  )7r(5ask, 
nysumk  bins         ok  hygg  at  jfvi, 

14  hverr  m6r  hugaSr         a  hliS  standi 
annarr  J^egn         viS  oSrgeSi ; 

J>arfk  J?ess  oft         *of  her  giaurum* 
verSk  varfleygr         es  vinir  )?verra. 

15  Mjok's  torfyndr         sas  triia  knegim 
ofalJ?j63         elgjar  galga, 

J?vit  niflgoSr         niSja  steypir 
brdSur  her         vi3  baugum  selr. 

^  em.  G.  Palsson ;  um  pa  K.        ^  eigna  K.         •*  em.  F.  Jonsson;  su&s  . 
*  var  K.  5  em_  Wis^n ;  verbergi  K. 


THE  SONATORREK  137 

8  Know  that  if  I  could  have  avenged  my  cause   with  my 
sworI,  the  ale-brewer  would  have  been  no  more 


9  But  I  felt  that  I  had  not  strength  to  contend  with  the 
destroyer  of  my  son.  The  helplessness  of  the  old  man 
will  be  manifest  to  all. 

10  Greatly  has  the  sea  robbed  me.  It  is  harrowing  to  speak 
of  the  loss  of  kinsmen — from  the  time  that  the  shield  of 
my  kindred  passed  from  this  life  to  paths  of  bliss. 

1 1  I  know  it  of  my  own  conviction  ; — the  promise  of  a  good 
man  would  have  matured  in  my  son,  if  that  martial  soul 
had  been  allowed  to  ripen  until  the  hands  of  the  War  God 
had  embraced  him. 

12  Ever  did  he  attach  most  value  to  his  father's  words,  even 
when  all  the  world  gainsaid  me;  he  upheld  me  in  my 
house  and  was  the  chief  stay  of  my  strength. 

13  The  void  left  by  the  brothers  often  comes  into  my 

I  wonder — I  cast  about  me  and  meditate  upon  the 

question  where,  when  the  conflict  rages,  I  shall  find 

14  another  spirited  knight  who  wall  stand  by  my  side  in  the 
struggle.  I  have  often  had  need....  I  will  take  to  flight 
prudently,  now  that  my  friends  are  vanishing. 

15  It  is  very  difficult  to  find  anyone  in  the  world... whom 
we  can  trust;  for... he  who  debases  his  kindred  barters 
here  his  brother  for  treasure. 


138  THE  SONATORREK 

1 6  Finnk  J>at  oft,         es  fear  beisir 

17  pat's  ok  maelt         at  mangi  getr^ 
sonar  iSgjold,         nema  sjalfr  ali, 
ne-  J>ann  niS  es  oSrum  se 
borinn  maSr  i  broSur  staS. 

18  Erumka  )?ekt  jTJoSar  sinni, 
p6tt  ser  hverr  sdtt  um  haldi. 
Burr's  byskips  i  bee  kominn 
kvdnar  sunr  kynnis  leita. 

19  Enn  m6r  *fanst*         i  fdstum  )>okk 
hrosta  hilmir         a  hendi  stendr. 
Maka  upp         *i  aroar  grimu* 
rynis  reiS         rettri^  halda, 

20  siz  sun  minn  sottar  brimi 
heiffcuglegr  or  heimi  nam, 
]?anns^  ek  veit  at  varnaSi 
vamma  vanr^  vi5  mmaeli®. 

21  pat  mank  enn         es  upp  um  hof 
i  GoSheim         Gauta  spjalli 
dttar  ask         )>anns  ox  af  mer, 
ok  kynviS         kvanar  minnar. 

22  Attak  gdtt         vis  geira  drdttiu  ; 
gerSumk  tryggr         at  trua  hanum, 
aSr  vinat         vagna  runi'', 
sigrhdfundr^,         um  sleit  viS  mik. 

23  BlcBtka^  pvi         broSur  Vilis, 
goSjaSar^",         at  gjarn"  seak, 

J?6  hefir  Mims^'^  vinr         mer  um  fengnar^^ 
bdlva  boetr,         es  et^*  betra  telk^^ 

1  em.  G.  Palsson ;  einginn  geti  K.  ^  em.  G.  Magnaeus ;  alitue  K. 

-  8  em.  G.  Palsson ;  rjetti  K.  *  em.  Wis^n  ;  J>ann  K. 

^  em.  F.  J6nsson  ;  var  K.  ^  em.  B.  M.  Olsen ;  nammli  K. 

^  em.  Vigfusson  ;  runne  K.  ^  sigrhaufunde  K. 

9  em.  Wis6n  ;  blotka  K;  biota  Sn.  EddaU;  blotka  ek  ei  af,  Sn.  Edda  AM. 
10  gudjarjyar  Sn.  Edda;  gods-  K.  "  gjarna  Sn.  Edda  R. 

i'-*  em.  Dietrich;  viis-  K;  niins-  Sn.  Edda  W ;  minnis  Sn.  Edda  U. 
i»  fengit  Sn.  Edda.      "  ef  hit  K.      i'  so  Pfeiffer,  telde  K ;  telz  Sn.  Edda  W. 


THE  SONATORREK  139 

16  I  find  generally  that  when  money  is  claimed 

17  It  is  also  said  that  no  one  can  obtain  compensation  for  a 
son,  unless  he  raise  up  a  second  son  to  himself,  nor  will 
he  get  a  man  who  is  the  son  of  another  to  take  the  place 
of  his  adopted  brother. 

18  The  society  of  mankind  is  unpleasing  to  me,  even  though 
everyone  keeps  the  peace.  My  child,  the  son  of  my  wife, 
has  gone  to  seek  his  companions  in  the  beehive  dwelling. 

19  But... the  ruler  of  the  malt  brew  stands  confronting  me 
in  unyielding  mood.  I  have  not  been  able  to  hold  upright 
my  vehicle  of  knowledge 

20  since  the  raging  fever  snatched  from  the  world  my  son 
who,  as  I  can  aver,  led  a  blameless  life  and  kept  himself 
free  from  reproach. 

21  I  remember  still  how  the  friend  of  the  Gautar  raised  up 
to  the  home  of  the  gods  a  shoot  of  my  stock  sprung  from 
me,  the  sapling  from  my  wife. 

22  I  was  friendly  with  the  Lord  of  the  Spear ;  I  trusted  him 
without  misgiving  until  the  Lord  of  cars,  the  awarder  of 
victory,  broke  friendship  with  me. 

23  It  is  not  because  I  am  eager  to  do  so  that  I  am  wor- 
shipping Vili's  brother,  the  chief  of  the  gods.  Yet  Mimir's 
friend  has  granted  me  compensation  for  my  misfortunes 
which  I  account  as  a  substantial  benefit. 


140  THE  SONATORREK 

24  Gafumk  I)?r6tt         ulfs  um^  Mgi, 
vigi  vanr,         vammi  firrSa, 

ok  ]7at  geS         es  gerSak  mer 
visa  fiandr         af  ^  velondum. 

25  Erumk^  torvelt.         Tveggja  baga 
njorvanift         A  nesi^  stendr. 
Skalk  p6  glaSr         gd'Sum^  vilja 
ok  ohryggr         Heljar  bitSa. 

^  U ;  ofc  K.  2  em.  G.  Magnaeus ;  ad  K.  ^  nu  er  mier  K. 

*  nesin  K.  ^  em.  Wis6n;  me^  goSan  K. 


THE  SONATORREK  141 

24  The  foe  of  the  wolf,  long  tried  in  battle,  granted  me  fault- 
less art  and  a  disposition  which  has  enabled  me  to  expose 
the  hostility  of  secret  foes. 

25  Hard  is  my  lot.  The  giant  sister  of  Othin's  adversary  is 
standing  on  the  headland.  Yet  will  I  gladly  await  my 
death,  with  a  good  will  and  without  regret. 


142 


XIII.    THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  GOTHS 
AND  THE  HUNS 

The  following  poem  is  preserved  in  ch.  12 — 15  of  the 
Saga  of  Hervor  and  Hei&rekr.  Unlike  the  rest  of  the  pieces 
contained  in  this  volume  it  belongs  definitely  to  heroic 
poetry,  and  its  nearest  affinities  are  with  the  heroic  poems 
of  the  Edda,  especially  perhaps  with  the  Atlakvi&a,  which 
it  resembles  both  in  language  and  subject,  as  will  be  pointed 
out  below.  In  some  respects  indeed  it  would  seem  to  be  of 
a  more  historical  character  than  the  heroic  poems  of  the 
Edda.  It  presents  clearly  the  national  features  of  the  in- 
vasion which  it  describes — thus  avoiding  the  usual  tendency 
of  Norse  poetry  to  lose  sight  of  the  national  in  the  personal, 
and  to  represent  great  wars  as  struggles  between  wealthy 
families.  We  may  note  too  that  the  special  characteristic 
of  the  Huns — their  wealth  in  horses — is  more  prominent 
here  than  anywhere  else.  All  these  features  go  to  show  the 
antiquity  of  the  poem,  or  at  least  of  the  poetic  tradition  on 
which  it  is  based. 

It  is  clear  that  much  of  the  prose  in  the  part  of  the  Saga 
of  Hervor  and  Hei&rekr  to  which  our  poem  belongs  is  a  close 
paraphrase  of  lost  verses.  This  and  other  questions  relating 
to  the  history  of  the  poem  have  been  discussed  by  Heusler\ 

The  same  scholar,  following  Heinzel-,  holds  that  certain 
features  of  the  poem  point  to  a  continental  South  Teutonic 
origin — such  as  e.g.  (1)  words  and  phrases  used  in  a  sense 
which  is  familiar  to  us  from  German  but  not  from  Norse 
poetry;  e.g.  skalkr,  str.  10;  par  i  Hunalandi,  str.  2 ;  Angantys 
mapr,  str.  27,  etc.;  (2)  the  frequent  verse  conclusion  v^  ^; 
e.g.  2,  1 ;  10,  2;  14,  1 ;  15,  2,  etc.  ;  (3)  the  construction  saxi 
ok  me&  sver&i,  etc.,  strophes  2,  7.    Some  of  these,  if  they 

1  Eddica  Minora  (Dortmund,  1903),  p.  xiii ;  cf.  also  Heinzel,  '  Ueber  die 
Hervararsaga '  in  Sitzungsherichte  der  philoaophisch-historuchen  Classe  der 
kaiserlichen  Akademie  der  Wissenschaften  (Vienna),  Vol.  cxiv,  p.  457. 

2  Cf.  'Ueber  die  Hervararsaga,'  p.  449  ff. 


BATTLE  OF  THE  GOTHS  AND  HUNS   143 

are  not  of  foreign  origin,  must  be  regarded  as  indications  of 
considerable  antiquity.  S/calhr,  although  bearing  the  re- 
quired sense  both  in  England  and  Germany,  is  used  in  Norse 
elsewhere  only  in  the  sense  of  '  rogue '^ 

There  are  many  expressions  used  in  the  poem  which  recall 
Atlahvi&a,  Helgakvitfa  Hundingsbana  II  and  other  early 
heroic  poems.  Some  of  these  will  be  pointed  out  in  the 
notes  below.  We  may  notice  too  the  curious  resemblance 
between  the  opening  of  this  poem  and  that  of  the  Atlakvi&a. 
In  each  case  a  messenger  (seggr)  is  sent  by  a  prince  to  the 
hall  of  his  enemy  to  demand  an  interview.  On  entering 
he  finds  the  occupants  seated  at  a  feast,  and  proceeds  to 
announce  his  message.  We  may  further  compare  the  cata- 
logue of  treasures  and  possessions  offered  by  Atli  to  Gunnarr 
(Atlakvi&a,  str.  4,  5)  with  the  very  similar  list  demanded 
by  HloSr  from  Angantyr  (Battle  of  the  Goths,  etc.,  str.  7,  8), 
In  each  case  the  reply  is  accompanied  by  a  second  cata- 
logue. The  scene  of  both  poems  is  laid  in  the  same  country 
and  indicated  by  place-names  and  descriptions  (sometimes 
of  an  unusual  character)  which  are  common  to  both,  such  as 
sto&um  Danpar  (B.  of  G.,  str.  8 ;  Akv.  str.  5),  hris  Jyat  et 
ms&ra  es  Myrkvit^r  heitir  (B.  of  G.,  str.  8 ;  Akv.  str.  5). 

Some  of  the  names  which  are  found  in  our  poem  and  the 
Atlakvida  occur  also  in  the  opening  strophes  (as  well  as 
in  the  prose  introduction)  of  the  Volundarkvi&a.  We  hear 
there  of  three  valkyries,  of  whom  one  is  called  Hervor 
(daughter  of  HloSver),  the  same  name  as  that  of  Angantyr  s 
warrior  sister.  One  of  her  companions  is  called  Olriin, 
whose  father's  name  Kiarr  occurs  also  in  the  Atlakvi&a,stT.  7. 
After  spending  seven  years  with  Yolundr  and  his  brothers 
they  fly  away  d  Myrkvan  vi(S  to  resume  a  life  of  warfare. 

Confused  reminiscences  of  the  story  seem  to  be  preserved 
in  Saxo's  Danish  History,  (1)  in  the  names  Humblus  and 
Lotherus,  Book  i,  p.  2,  etc.;  (2)  in  the  incident  of  Eric's 
visit  to  the  army  of  the  Huns,  Book  v,  pp.  190  f,  194  f. 
The  sources  from  which  Saxo  derived  his  information  are 

1  Heinzel,  op.  cit.,  p.  459  f. ;  but  see  note  to  str.  10  below  (p.  202). 


144   BATTLE  OF  THE  GOTHS  AND  HUNS 

uncertain,  but  Olrik^  holds  that  (1)  comes  from  Danish 
tradition,  while  (2)  is  to  be  traced  to  Icelandic-Norwegian 
sources.  Much  of  the  latter  story  is  given  by  Saxo  in  verse, 
and  it  is  possible  that  the  tradition  reached  him  partly  in 
the  form  of  poems.  His  narrative  contains  some  elements 
which  are  not  found  in  the  Hervarar  Saga  but  which  j^et 
appear  to  bear  the  stamp  of  antiquity. 

The  characters  of  the  story  were  also  known  to  the  poet 
of  Widsith.  In  1. 116  Angantyr  and  Hlo&r  and  perhaps  Sifka 
appear  again  as  Incgenpeow  and  Hlipe  and  Sifeca,  though 
the  context  seems  to  suggest  that  the  last-named  was  a 
man.  Ormarr  is  certainly  the  Wyrmhere  of  1.  119,  and  no 
doubt  there  is  a  reference  to  the  Goths  (Hre&gotan)  in  the 
Hreeda  here  who  are  mentioned  as  occupying  the  forest  on 
the  Vistula  {Wistlawudu)  in  1.  121.  If  this  forest  is  to  be 
identified  with  the  MyrkviSr  of  our  poem,  as  seems  likely, 
the  story  probably  refers  to  the  struggle  between  the  Goths 
and  the  Huns  towards  the  close  of  the  fourth  century.  It  is 
to  be  noted  that  the  JEtlan  leodum  of  Widsith  1.  122  may 
be  merely  a  periphrasis  for  Huns^. 

Various  attempts  have  been  made  to  identify  the  battle, 
RajQi^  regarded  it  as  identical  with  that  described  by  Jordanes, 
ch.  17,  as  taking  place  between  the  Goths  and  the  Gepidae, 
and  held  that  the  name  of  the  River  Aucha  (Goth,  ahwa 
'  river ')  appears  in  the  first  element  of  Arheimar.  On  the 
other  hand  Heinzel  *  suggested  the  battle  fought  on  the  Cata- 
launian  Plain  in  451  a.d.  between  the  Romans  and  Visigoths 
on  the  one  hand  and  the  Huns  and  Ostrogoths  under  Attila 
on  the  other.  This  view  has  been  accepted  by  F.  Jonsson^, 
Mogk^,  Olrik'',  etc.;  but  it  is  improbable,  as  Chambers* 
points  out,  that  the  name  of  an  unknown  leader  (Humli) 

1  Cf.  '  Kilderne  til  Sakses  Oldhistorie,'  in  Aarb.  /.  Nord.  Oldk.  og  Hist. 
1892,  p.  130  f. 

2  Cf.  V.  Jagi(5,  'Slavisciies  in  nordischen  Sagen,'  in  Archiv  fUr  Slavische 
Philologie,  Vol.  xi,  1888,  p.  308. 

^  Antiquites  russes  (Copenhagen,  1850),  Vol.  i,  p.  lllf. 
■*  '  Ueber  die  Hervararsaga,'  p.  465  ff. 

*  Den  idandske  Litteraturs  Historic  (Copenhagen,  1907),  p.  344. 

*  Geschichte  der  Norwegisch-Isldndischen  Literatur  (Strassburg,  1904), 
p.  838.  ^  Danmarks  Heltedigtning  (Copenhagen,  1910),  Vol.  ri,  p.  228. 

8  Widsith  (Cambridge,  1912),  p.  48. 


BATTLE  OF  THE  GOTHS  AND  HUNS   145 

shoulil  havt'  boon  substituted  for  that  of  the  famous  Attila 
who  figures  so  hirgely  in  Teutonic  tradition. 

The  name  Myrk-vi&7'  means  '  dark  forest,'  and  may  well  be 
a  general  term  for  any  part  of  the  forest  region  of  central 
Europe,  or  what  we  may  perhaps  call  the  traditional  forest 
land  of  heroic  poetry.  I  see  no  reason  why  it  should  not  be 
used  in  this  poem  for  the  Wistlawudu  of  Widsith,  which  is 
mentioned  in  close  connection  with  Wyrmhere  (Ormarr) 
and  which  must  be  located  in  Poland.  This  would  harmonise 
better  than  any  locality  in  the  West  with  the  references  to 
the  Dniepr.  It  is  worth  noting  too  that  the  words  and 
Harva&a  fjollum,  which  occur  in  a  verse  in  ch.  12,  just 
before  the  beginning  of  the  poem,  may  preserve  an  early 
Teutonic  form  of  the  name  of  the  Carpathians^ 

The  fact   that  we  cannot  identify  any  of  the  characters 

ti-om  historical  sources  is  natural  enough,  if  the  scene  of  the 

poem  is  to  be  placed  in  a  part  of  Europe  which  was  outside 

the  horizon  of  Roman  historians.    It  is  commonly  assumed 

by  modem  writers  that  the  Goths  evacuated  their  old  home 

in  the  third  century,  when  we  lirst  hear  of  them  on  the 

lower  Danube.    But  there  is  no  satisfactory  evidence  that 

these  early  movements  of  the  Goths  were  due  to  anything 

more  than  an  expansion,  such  as  we  find  later,  e.g.  among 

the  Franks   and   the  Alamanni.    It  must  be  remembered 

that  the  Romans  were  as  a  rule  aware  only  of  movements 

in  the  neighbourhood  of  their  own  frontiers.     Apart  from 

vague  rumours,  they  had  no  means  of  ascertaining  whether 

a  remote  region  had  been  evacuated.    If  the  whole  nation 

had  migrated  at  this  time,  the  remembrance  of  their  old 

home  would  scarcely  have  been  preserved  in  Anglo-Saxon 

poetry.     The   passage   cited  above   from    Widsith   supplies 

definite  evidence — the  trustworthiness  of  which  I   see  no 

'  This  identification  was  suggested  by  Vi^fusson  (^Corp.  Poet.  Bor.,  Vol.  i, 
pp.  349,  352).  Heinzel  {op.  cit.,  p.  499)  preferred  to  connect  the  name  with 
the  Chorrati,  a  Slavonic  people  who  in  later  times — at  least  from  the  ninth 
century  onwards,  and  probaljly  much  earlier — were  settled  on  the  northern 
side  of  the  western  Carpathians  (cf.  Zeuss,  Die  Deut.scheii,  p.  621  f. ;  Jagic, 
op.  cit.,  p.  307);  but  the  two  ideutiticatious  are  not  mutually  exclusive,  for 
the  Chorvaii  may  have  obtained  tbeir  name  from  the  Teutonic  form  of  tlie 
name  for  the  mountains.  For  the  explanation  of  the  latter  see  Streitberg, 
Vrgermanische  Gramniatik  (Heidelberg,  1896),  p.  136. 

K.  10 


146   BATTLE  OF  THE  GOTHS  AND  HUNS 

reason  for  doubting — that  there  was  a  Gothic  population  in 
Poland  till  at  least  towards  the  close  of  the  fourth  century. 
On  the  other  hand,  by  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  century 
the  Slavs  are  found  on  the  line  between  the  Danube  and 
the  'peoples  of  the  Danes \'  so  that  some  time  before  this 
Poland  must  have  ceased  to  be  a  Teutonic  area.  Moreover, 
as  there  is  no  reference  to  Attila,  the  events  described  in 
our  poem  are  probably  to  be  regarded  as  having  taken  place 
before  his  time.  Several  names  in  the  poem  are  clearly  old, 
e.g.  Danpar,  Grytingar,  and  probably  Jossurr,  Gizurr,  Dylgja'-. 
The  presumption  is  that  the  story  was  dealt  with  in  poetry 
at  an  early  period,  either  by  the  Goths  or  some  neighbouring 
people,  and  subsequently  made  its  way  to  the  North. 

The  only  early  (vellum)  MSS.  of  the  Hervarar  Saga  which 
have  survived  are  the  Haukshok  (H),  AM.  544,  which  breaks 
off  in  ch.  11,  and  the  Codex  Regius  (R),  no.  2845  in  the 
Royal  Library  at  Copenhagen,  which  breaks  off  in  str.  10  of 
our  poem.  From  this  point  we  are  entirely  dependent  on 
paper  MSS.,  dating  for  the  most  part  from  the  seventeenth 
century.  Of  these  AM.  192  (i),  AM.  202  (k),  AM.  582  (1) 
and  Salanska  Saml.  80  of  the  University  Library  at  Upsala 
(u)  all  appear  to  be  derived  from  a  lost  seventeenth  century 
MS.  This  lost  MS.  appears  to  have  used  both  H  and  R  for  the 
earlier  chapters  of  the  saga,  and  there  is  no  reason  for  doubting 
that  it  did  so  also  in  the  later  parts  which  are  now  lost  in 
the  vellums.  The  relationship  between  i,  k,  and  1  is  very 
close,  and  no  doubt  all  three  are  derived  from  the  lost  seven- 
teenth century  MS.  through  a  common  intermediary.  Again, 
k  and  1  sometimes  show  points  in  common  which  differ  from 
i,  and  k  contains  corrections  made  by  the  scribe  himself  as 
well  as  by  Arni  Magnusson.  The  fourth  paper  MS.  (u)  some- 
times offers  better  readings  than  the  other  three,  and  some- 
times shows  textual  corruptions  not  found  in  them.  It  is  no 
doubt  derived  from  the  lost  seventeenth  century  MS.  through 
a  different  intermediary. 

1  Procopius,  Gothic  War,  II,  xv,  3. 

^  Cf.  notes  to  these  names,  p.  198  ff.  below. 


BATTLE  OF  THE  GOTHS  AND  HUNS   147 

A  further  MS.,  Holm.  no.  TiO  (s),  which  belongs  to  the 
k,  1  group,  contains  additions  and  corrections  tVoin  the  hand 
of  the  Icelander  Guinuiudr  Olaffson  (-f-1695)'. 

According  to  S.  Bugge^  the  remaining  Mss.  have  no  inde- 
pendent value.  Their  variant  readings  rarely  merit  con- 
sideration, and  only  as  emendations.  Such  is  AM.  345  (a), 
which  Bugge  holds  is  based  on  1  or  on  a  closely  related  MS., 
probably  influenced  by  u.  It  is  ou  this  MS.  that  Rafn's 
text  is  based.  The  following  text  is,  with  the  reservations 
stated  below,  substantially  that  of  Bugge  as  published  by 
him  in  Norr^ne  Skrifter  af  Sagnhistorisk  Indhold  (Christiania, 
1873),  though  the  text  of  Heusler  and  Ranisch^  has  been 
consulted  throughout.  Bugge  based  his  text  as  far  as  str.  10 
on  R,  with  occasional  readings  from  the  paper  MSS.  After 
R  stops  he  made  a  text  from  a  collation  of  the  paper  MSS., 
occasionally  adding  or  transposing  passages  on  the  authority 
of  other  poems  and  of  the  prose  of  the  saga.  I  have  followed 
his  text  for  the  most  part  only  in  so  far  as  it  has  the  authority 
of  the  MSS.  of  the  Hervarar  Saga. 

The  metre  may  be  described  as  a  combination  of  Fornyr- 
tSislag  and  Mdlahdttr,  somewhat  similar  to  w^hat  is  found  in 
the  Atlakvid'a  and  the  Ham&ismdl.  As  in  these  poems,  there 
is  a  considerable  amount  of  irregularity,  half  lines  of  three 
and  six  units  being  found.  In  the  texts  which  have  come 
down  to  ns  alliteration  is  frequently  wanting,  and  in  several 
cases  it  is  doubtfid  whether  passages  should  be  printed  as 
prose  or  verse  (e.g.  strophes  18,  26  ff.).  The  explanation  may 
be  either  that  the  verses  have  been  forgotten,  or  that  the 
author  of  the  saga  was  paraphrasing  rather  than  quoting. 
Emendations  based  on  metrical  considerations  are  therefore 
better  avoided^. 


•  For  further  details  relating  to  the  paper  mss.  cf.  Bugge,  Introduction  to 
his  edition  of  Hervarar  Saga  in  Norr^ne  Skrifter  af  Sai/nhistorisk  Indhold 
(Christiania,  ls73);  Heiiizel,  'Ueber  die  Hervararsaga,'  pp.  417 — 437; 
Heusler  and  Ranisch,  Eddica  Minora  (Dortmund,  ly03),  p.  viif. 

2  Loc.  cit. ;  cf.  also  Heinzel,  op.  cit.,  p.  433  ;  Heusler  and  Kanisch,  loc.  cit. 
=>  Op.  cit.,  p.  1  ff. 

*  I  have,  however,  in  conformity  with  the  plan  adopted  in  the  other  pieces, 
followed  Bugge  and  the  other  editors  in  giving  the  usual  poetic  forms  instead 
of  the  late  forms  which  frequently  occur  in  the  mss. 

10—2 


148 


THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  GOTHS  AND 
THE  HUNS 

1  Ar  kvatJu  Humla         Hunum^  rdSa, 
Gizur  Gaiitum,         Gotum  Anganty^ 
Valdar  Donum,         en  Volum  Kiar^ 
Alrek^  enn  froekna^         Enskri  J?j63u. 

2  HloSr  vas  )>ar«  borinn         i  Hunalandi'' 
saxi  ok  meS^  sverSi,         siSri^  brynju, 

.,   hjalmi"  hringreifSum,         hvossum"  maeki,  ^ 
j/  mari  vel  tomum^^         a  mork  enni  helgu. 

3  HloSr  reiS  austan^^         HeiSreks  arfi",  ' 
kom  hann^^  at  garSi         par  es  Gotar^**  byggja 
a  Arheima,         arfs  at  kveSja^'', 

J?ar  clrakk  Angantyr         erfi  HeiSreks^^. 

4  Segg  fann  hann  uti         fyrir  sal  havum,  f 
•  ■    ok  siSforlan         siSan  kvaddi : 

'  Inn  gakktu,  seggr,         i  sal  havan, 
:-   bis  m^r  Anganty         andspjoll  bera.' 
Sa  gekk  inn  fyrir  konungsborS  ok  kvaddi  Anganty 
konung  vel,  ok  mselti  siSan : 

5  -,       '  Her  es  HloSr^"  kominn         HeiSreks  arff^egi^", 
3        broSir  J^inn         enn  beSskammi"^; 

!■      mikill  es  sa  maSr  mjok^^         4  marsbaki;    v 
?/     vill  nu,  J?j63ann-^,         viS  |?ik  tala.' 

6  Rymr  vas  i  ranni ;         risu  meS  goSum, 
vildi  hverr  heyra         hvat^^  HloSr  mgelti, 
ok  Jjait^^  es  Angantyr         andsvor  veitti.      ' 

^  s  ;  the  rest  Jir  (firir)  her.  ^  Angantyr,  a,  i,  k,  1. 

^  Kiar  K,  i;   Vollwu  Akjar  a.  *  Alfrek  s;  Alfrekur  i,  k,  1 ;  Alrekr  E. 

5  s;  frcekni  the  rest.  ®  R,  i ;  /«  k,  1,  a  ;  om.  s. 

'■  R,  s ;  Humla  landi  i,  k,  1,  a.  ^  om.  s.  "  ok  meif  siSri  s. 

w  R,  1 ;  om.  a,  s.        i'  ok  hvossum  a,  k,  1,  s.       i-  R,  i  ;  tomdum  a,  k,  1,  s. 
1^  R,  i ;  utan  a,  k,  1,  s  ;  sunnarm  u. 

1*  So  all  Mss.  according  to  Bugge  ;  mogr  R  (Rafn).  ^^  R ;  om.  the  rest. 

1"  R;  of.  also  prose  Gotum  Angantyr;  Oaiitar  a,  i,  k,  1,  s. 
1''  R,  i ;  krejja  a,  k,  1,  s.  i"  s ;  erji  Heidreks  konungs  the  rest. 

19  Hloffverr  a,  k,  1.  20  r  .  arji  u. 

21  becfskam{m)i  R,  i;  beSrammi  a,  k  (?),  1,  s ;  bandskai  (for  hauSskdi,  Bugge)  u. 

22  a,  i,  k,  I ;  m'ogr  n;  xmgr  R.  ^^  R  ;  pjocfaas  a,  i,  k,  1. 
2*  hvat  er  a  ;  pat  er  s.  ~^  em.  Bugge  ;  pat  mss. 


149 


THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  GOTHS  AND 
THE  HUNS 

1  Long  ago,  according  to  the  story,  Humli  ruled  the  Huns, 
Gizurr  the  Gautar,  Angantyr  the  Goths,  Valdarr  the  Danes, 
and  Kiarr  the  Vahir,  while  Alrekr  the  Bold  ruled  the 
English  nation. 

2  HloSr  was  born  in  the  land  of  the  Huns  in  a  holy  forest, 
with  cutlass  and  with  sword,  with  ample  coat  of  mail, 
with  treasure-decked  helmet,  with  keen  blade,  and  with 
well-trained  steed. 

3  HloSr,  Hei?5rekr's  heir,  rode  from  the  east,  till  he  came 
to  Arheimar,  to  the  court  where  the  Goths  dwell,  to 
demand  his  inheritance.  There  Angantyr  was  holding 
HeitJrekr's  funeral  feast. 

4  Outside  the  lofty  hall  he  met  a  man  who  had  arrived  late, 
and  thereupon  addressed  him  : 

'  Enter,  sir,  the  high  hall  and  bid  Angantyr  hold  parley 
with  me.' 

He  entered   and  stood  before  Angantyr's  table   and 
saluted  the  King,  saying : 

5  '  Thy  base-born  brother  HloOr,  HeiSrekr's  heir,  has  come 
hither.  Very  mighty  is  the  man  as  he  sits  on  his  steed.  It  is 
his  wish  that  he  may  speak  with  thee  forthwith,  O  King.' 

6  A  clamour  arose  in  thi-  hall.  They  stood  up  with  the 
hero ;  everyone  was  anxious  to  hear  what  HloSr  had  said 
and  the  answer  which  Angantyr  would  give. 


150   BATTLE  OF  THE  GOTHS  AND  HUNS 

Da  mselti  Angantyr:  'Vel  p\i  kominn,  HloSr  br6?5ir^; 
gakk  inn  meS  oss  til  drykkju,  ok  drekkum  mjoS  eftir  foSur 
okkarn  fyrst  til  sama  ok  ollum  oss  til  vegs  meS  ollum  varum 
sdma.'  HloSr  segir :  '  Til  annars  foru  ver  hingat,  enn  at 
kyla  vomb  v^ra ' ;  J^a  kvaS  HloSr : 

7  ''    'Hafa  vil  ek  halffc  alt^         J?at  es  HeiSrekr  atti, '- 

';  al^okafoddi,  einum  skatti,  ^ 
i.  kii  ok  af  kalfi,  kvern  )y6tandi,if 
i_    py  ok  af  Israeli         ok  peiva  barni*.  tr 

8  ^     '  hris  J'at  et^  ma^ra*'         es  MyrkviSr  heitir'^,  - 
<^     grof  ]7a  ena  helgu^         es  stendr  a  Gotf>j6Su^ 

.;    stein  j^ann  enn  fagra^°     es  stendr"  a  stoSum  Danpar^^  7 
I    halfar  hervaSir^^         J?aer"  es  HeiSrekr  atti,  -' 
J     loud''  ok  ly(5a'*'         ok  Ijdsa^'  bauga.'  - 

Angantyr  kva3 : 

9  '■      'Bresta'^  mun'^  br65ir,         en  blikhvita  rond^®, 

ok  kaldr  geirr         koma  viG  annan^\-.; ' 
^  ok  margr  gumi         i  gras  hniga,     --j 
^    dSr  enu^^  Tyrfng         I  tvau^''  deilak^*  '  / 
,_^    eSa  J7er,  Humlungr,         halfan  arf  gefak-?.  '  ' 

lo     •:     'By?5  ek  )?er,  frsendi^**,         fagrar  veigar-'', 

fe  ok-«  fjolS  meiSma^^         sem  /^ik^"  fremst  tiSir;  ' 
tolf  hundruS  gef  ek  j^er  manna,         tolf  hundruS  gef 

ek  p6r  mara, 
t61f  hundruS  gef  ek  ];'er  skalka,       ]7eira  es  skjold  bera.  f^ 

1  V.  p.  k.  vel  pit  verir  i,  k,  1.  ^  om.  a.  ^  U;  af  al  a,  i,  k,  1,  s,  u. 

i  R ;  hornum  a,  i,  k,  1,  s.  ^  E  ;  hnsi  pxd  enu  i,  k,  1,  u,  a  {Jiinu  1,  a). 

6  i ;  meira  R  ;  mxta  a,  k,  1,  u. 

7  Myrkviffir  heitn  R  ;  -ur  heita  i,  1 ;  -ur  heitir  u. 
^  a,  i,  k,  1,  u  ;  enu  godit  R. 

»  em.  from  str.  12:  Gotii  pioSar  R;   GocfpioSu  i,  u  ;  g'otpioSa  1;  g'otu 
Ph'tpar  k ;  gotu  piopa  a.  '»  a,  i,  k,  1,  u  ;  meira  R.  "  E,  a. 

12  u  ;  Damp  aar  R.  i^  R  ;  herhorqir  a,  i,  k,  1,  s.  "  E ;  om.  a,  i,  k,  1,  u. 
15  landa  (-i  u)  a,  i,  k,  1,  u.  i^  om.  ok  lySa  R.  "  R,  i ;  Ijosra  a. 

1^  R,  a,  u,  1 ;  hcra  i,  k.  ■"  a,  i,  k,  1 ;  mun  cicfr  u  ;  munfyr  R. 

20  s  ;  lind  en  blikhvita  R  ;  en  hlikhvita  lind  u  ;  minn  blikhvita  hond  a,  i,  k,  1. 

21  em.  Bugge;  a7inat  i,  k,  1;  randir  a  ;  ok...annan  om.  R. 

22  a,  i,  k,  1 ;  er  u.  -^  R  ;  i  mitt  a,  i,  k,  1.  24  ^^^,7^  r  .  a,  i,  k,  1 ;  deili  u. 
2''  i,  k  ;  gefa  1,  u  ;  ek  mun  Humlung  halfan  lata  eSa  Tyrfing  i  tvaudeila  R. 
28  R ;  ek  mun  hjoffa  per,  the  rest.  27  til  heilla  sdtta  R. 

28  jnikit  riki  ok  cerit  fe,  xii  hundniff  vapnacfra  R  ;  ck  vil  etc.  s. 

'-■»  s :  meicfna  a,  i,  k,'  1,  u.  ^"  em.  Bugge ;  mik  a,  i,  k, 


BATTLE  OF  THE  GOTHS  AND  HUNS       151 
Then  Angantyr  spoke  : 

'  Thou  art  welcome,  HloSr,  my  brother ;  enter  and  take 
part  in  our  feast.  Let  us  first  drink  mead  in  honour  of 
our  father's  memory,  and  to  the  glory  of  us  all  with  full 
Ceremony.' 

HloSr  replied : 
'  We  are  come  hither  for  a  different  purpose  than  to  fill 
our  stomachs,' 

Then  he  said  : 
7  '  I  will  have  half  of  all  that  HeitSrekr  owned — of  his  tools 
and  weapons,  his  undivided  hoard,  cows  and  calves  and 
the  murmuring  handmill,  slavewoman  and  bondman,  and 
their  children  with  them. 

8 '  I  will  have  half  the  noble  forest  Avhich  is  called 
MyrkviSr,  the  holy  tombs  which  stand  among  the  people 
of  the  Goths,  the  beautiful  stones  which  stand  at  Danpr's 
abode,  the  raiment  of  battle  which  HeiSrekr  owned,  his 
lands  and  liegemen  and  his  glittering  treasures.' 

Angantyr  replied : 
9 '  The  gleaming-white  shield  will  be  cloven,  my  brother, 
and  cold  spear  will  clash  with  spear,  and  many  a  man 
will  sink  to  the  grass  before  I  will  divide  Tyrfing  in  two, 
or  give  thee  the  half  of  the  patrimony,  thou  child  of 
Humli. 

lo '  I  offer  thee,  my  kinsman,  beautiful  goblets,  cattle  and 
abundance  of  jewels,  whatsoever  thou  most  desirest. 
Twelve  hundred  men  will  I  give  thee,  twelve  hundred 
steeds  will  I  give  thee,  twelve  hundred  squires  will  I 
give  thee,  such  as  bear  the  shield. 


152   BATTLE  OF  THE  GOTHS  AND  HUNS 

11  '  Mannii  gef  ek  hverjum         mart  at  |>iggja 
annat^  oeSra         enn  hann  d(S7'  d^; 

mey  gef  ek  hverjum         manni  at  J^iggja,     t.- 
-    meyju  spenni  ek  hverri         men  at  halsi*. 

12  •     'Mun  ek  um^  J^ik  sitjanda         silfri  msela,    . 

enn  ganganda  jjik*^         gulli  steypa,  - 
sva'  a  vega*  alia         velti  baugar ; 
'    }?ri?5jung  GotjyoSar^         |?vi  skaltu  einn"  rat5a.' 
Gizurr  GrytingaliSi,  fostri  HeiCreks  konungs,  vas  |>a  meS 
Anganty  konungi ;  hann  vas  |?a  ofrgamall ;  ok  es  hann 
heyrSi  bot5  Angantys  konungs,  j^otti  honum  hann  ofmikit 
bjoSa,  ok  maelti : 

13  '  petta  es  l^iggjanda^"         j^jyar"  barni^^      '^ 

T     barni'^  l^yjar"         ]?6tt^^  se  borinn  konungi".    y 
J     pa  hornungr^-'         a  haugi  sat, 
•   es^®  oSlingr         arfi  skifti.'      / 

HloSr  reiddist  nu  mjcik,  er  hann  vas  }?ybarn  ok  hornungr 
kallaSr,  ef  hann  ]>SBgi  boS  broSur  sins ;  snori  hann  |?a  |?egar 
i  brott  meS  alia  sina  menn,  til  ]?ess  es  hann  kom  heim  i 
Hunaland  til  Humla  konungs,  mdSurfoSur  sins ;  ok  sagSi 
honum  at  Anganty r  br65ir  bans  hafSi  [eigi]  unnt  honum 
helmingaskiftis.  Humli  konungr  spurSi  alt  tal  l^eira;  varS 
hann  ]?d  reit5r  mjok,  ef  Hlo3r  dotturson  bans  skyldi  am- 
battarson  heita,  ok  mselti : 

14  'Sitja  skulum^'' ver  i  vetr         ok  ssellega  lifa, 
drekka  ok  doema         dyrar  veigar ; 

kenna  Hiinum'^         hervajtn^''  bua, 
]?au  es  djarfliga         skulum  fram  bera. 

15  r;    '  Vel  skulu  ver^*,  Hld6r,         herliS  biia, 

ok  rammlega^^         hildi  heyja^- 

meS  tdlfvetra-^  mengi         ok  tvoevetrum  fola, 

sva  skal  Hiina         her  urn  safna.' 

1  manni. ..d  om.  k.      ^  n  2,  3  om.  a.      ^  eui.  Bugge  ;  a  nyd'i  i,  1 ;  drdd'i  u. 

*  mKn  spenni  ek  mri  at  halsi  u.      ^  om.  a,  k,  1.      ^  om.  i,  k,  1.      ''  so  at  k. 

*  u  ;  vegu  a,  i,  k,  1.  ^  k  ;  Godpiopar  {God-  1)  i,  I ;  (lod  pioda  u. 
'**  pignjandi  1,  u.  "  em.  Bugge  ;  pyar  mss.  1.  1;  pijar  1,  1.  2.  '^-  barvii  u. 
1*  i;  ok  f>6tt  k,  1,  u.  1*  konungr  a,  i,  k,  1.  ^^  Htivtlungr  a.  ^^  erin  s,  a. 
17  skulu  u.     1*  hvorjum  u.      '"  s  ;  vdpn  at  hila  the  rest.     20  k,  1,  a  ;  per  i ; 

ver  per  u.      -'  s  ;  rammlegar  a,  k,  1 ;  framlega  u  ;  franliga  i.        -^  u;  hildir 
hey(j)a  a,  i,  k,  1.         ^^  i,  s;  xii  var  gbmlum  u;  vctra  gomlu  k,  1,  a. 


BATTLE  OF  THE  GOTHS  AND  HUNS   153 

1 1  '  I  will  give  to  every  man  a  bounteous  gift,  finer  than 
anything  that  he  had  before;  I  will  give  to  each  man  a 
maiden  as  a  gift,  and  round  every  maiden's  throat  I  will 
clasp  a  necklace. 

12  'As  thou  sittest  I  will  encase  thee  in  silver,  and  as  thou 
walkest  I  will  cover  thee  with  rings  of  gold  so  that  they 
will  roll  in  all  directions,  and  thereby  shalt  thou  have  a 
third  part  of  the  Gothic  nation  under  thine  own  sway.' 

Gizurr,  a  liegeman  from  the  Grytingar,  King  HeiSrekr's 
foster-father,  was  then  with  King  Angantyr.  He  was  a 
very  old  man  at  that  time.  And  when  he  heard  King 
Angantyr's  offer,  he  thought  that  he  w^as  offering  too 
much,  and  said : 

13 'This  is  indeed  an  offer  for  a  bondwoman's  child,  for  a 
bondwoman's  child,  even  though  his  father  was  a  king. 
When  the  prince  divided  his  inheritance  the  illegitimate 
son  was  sitting  on  the  mound.' 

HloSr  now  grew  ver}'  angry  at  being  called  the  child  of 
a  bondwoman  and  an  illegitimate  son,  if  he  accepted  his 
brother's  offer ;  so  he  departed  at  once  with  all  his  men  and 
returned  home  to  King  Humli,  his  mother's  father,  in  the 
land  of  the  Huns.  And  he  told  Humli  that  Angantyr  his 
brother  had  not  granted  him  an  equal  share.  King  Humli 
enquired  as  to  all  that  had  passed  between  them,  and  was 
very  angry  that  HloSr,  the  son  of  his  daughter,  should  be 
called  the  son  of  a  bondmaid,  and  he  said : 

14  '  We  will  stay  at  home  for  the  winter  and  take  our  joy  of 
life.  We  will  quaff  the  costly  draughts  and  we  will  hold 
council  together.  We  will  instruct  the  Huns  to  prepare 
the  weapons  of  war  which  we  shall  bravely  cany  to  battle. 

1 5  '  Nobly  will  we  array  a  host  of  warriors,  O  HlotSr,  and 
manfully  will  we  offer  battle,  with  troops  from  the  age  of 
twelve  years,  with  steeds  from  the  age  of  two  years — even 
thus  shall  the  host  of  the  Huns  be  assembled.' 


154   BATTLE  OF  THE  GOTHS  AND  HUNS 

penna  vetr  satu  )?eir  Humli  konungr  ok  HloSr  um  kyrt 
um  varit  drdgu  J?eir  her  saman  sva  mikinn  at  aleySa  va» 
eftir  i  Hunalandi  vigra  manna.... Enn  fimm  J^usundir 
[varii]  i  hverja  fylking,  j^eira  er  ]7iettan  hundruS  varu  i 
hverri  ]?usund,  enn  I  hvert  hundraS  fernir  Qurir  tigir ;  enn 
]?essar  fylkingar  varu  |?rjar  ok  j^rir  tigir.  Sem  )?essi  herr 
kom  saman  riSu  ]?eir  skog  |?ann,  es  MyrkviSr  heitir,  es  skilr 
Himaland  ok  Gotaland.  Enn  sem  J?eir  kdmu  af  skoginum, 
J?a  vdru  bygSir  storar  ok  vellir  slettir,  enn  a  vollunum  st6S 
borg  ein  fdgr;  pur  reS  fyrir  Hervor,  systir  Angantys  ok 
HloSs,  ok  meS  henni  Ormarr  fdstri  hennar;  varu  J>au 
sett  par  til  landgaezlu  fyrir  her  Hiina;  hofSu  ]?au  ]?ar 
mikit  lis. 

pat  var  einn  morgun  um  solar  uppras,at  Hervor  stoS  upp 
a  kastala  einum  yfir  borgarhlisi ;  hun  sa  jdreyki  st6ra 
sut5r  til  skogarins,  sva  longum  fal  sdlina ;  pvi  nsest  sa  hun 
gloa  undir  joreyknum,  sem  a  gull  eitt  liti,  fagra  skjbldu 
ok  gulli  lagSa,  gylta  hjalma  ok  hvitar  brynjur.  Sa  hun 
pa,  at  )7etta  vas  Huna  herr  ok  mikill  mannfjoldi.  Hervor 
gekk  ofan  skyndilega  ok  kallarliiSrsvein  sinn  ok  baS  blasa 
saman  liS.  Ok  siSan  meelti  Hervor:  'TakiS  vapn  ySur  ok 
buizt  til  orrostu,  enn  p\\,  Ormarr,  rit5  i  mdt  Hunum  ok  bjoS 
J>eim  orrostu  fyrir  borgarhliSi  enu  sySra.'    Ormarr  kvaS : 

i6       ■',  '  Skal  ek  vist  riSa         ok  rond  bera  ^ 
Gota^  JTJoSum,         gunni  at  heyja.'' 

Da  reiS  Ormarr  afborginni  mot  Hunum;  hann  kallaSi 
]7a  hatt,  baS  ]?a  riSa  til  borgarinnar  ok  mseiti:  'Uti  fyrir 
borgarhliGinu  su5r  a  vollunum  pur  byS  ek  ytJr  orrostu.'... 
Enn  meS  pwi  at  Hunar  hafa  lit5  miklu  meira,  snori  mann- 
fallinu  i  lis  J?eira  Hervarar;  ok  um  sisir  fell  Hervor  ok 
mikit  lis  umhverfis  hana.  Enn  es  Ormarr  sa  fall  hennar, 
flySi  hann  ok  allir  J7eir  es  lifit  }»agu....Ok  sem  Ormarr 
kom  fyrir  Anganty  konung,  p-A  kvaS  hann  : 

17      c  'Sunnan  em  ek  kominn         at  segja  spjoll  )7essi :    • 
SviSin  es  oil  mork-         ok  MyrkviSar  heiSr^  ^ 
drifinn  oil  GotpjoS         gumna  bloSi.    ^^ 

1  k ;  Gauta  i,  1,  s,  u;  Gauta  kindum  (for  G.  pj.)  a. 

2  s  ;  myrk  u  ;  mork  ok  om.  a,  i,  k,  1.  -^  heiihi  i,  k,  1,  s ;  heitf'ur  u. 


BATTLE  OF  THE  GOTHS  AND  HUNS   155 

That  winter  King  Humli  and  HloSr  remained  quiet;  but 
the  following  spring  they  collected  such  a  large  army 
that  the  land   of  the  Huns  was  swept  bare  of  fighting 

men And  there  were  five  'thousand'  in  each  legion, 

each  '  thousand  '  containing  thirteen  '  hundreds,'  and  each 
'hundred'  four  times  forty  men;  and  these  legions  were 
thirty-three  in  number. 

When  these  troops  had  assembk'd,  they  rode  through 
the  forest  which  was  called  MyrkviSr,  and  which  separated 
the  land  of  the  Huns  from  that  of  the  Goths.  And  when 
they  emerged  from  the  forest,  they  came  upon  a  thickly 
inhabited  country  with  level  fields ;  and  in  these  plains 
there  was  a  fair  fortress.  It  was  under  the  command  of 
Hervor,  the  sister  of  Angantyr  and  HloSr.  and  Ormarr 
her  foster-father  was  Avith  her.  They  had  been  appointed 
to  defend  the  land  against  the  host  of  the  Huns,  and 
they  had  a  large  army  there. 

It  happened  one  morning  at  sunrise  that  as  Hervor  was 
standing  on  the  summit  of  a  tow^er  over  the  gate  of  the 
fortress,  she  looked  southwards  tow^ards  the  forest,  and 
saw  clouds  of  dust  arising  from  a  great  body  of  horse,  by 
which  the  sun  was  hidden  for  a  long  time.  Next  she  saw 
a  gleam  beneath  the  dust,  as  though  she  were  gazing  on 
a  mass  of  gold — fjiir  shields  overlaid  with  gold,  gilded 
helmets  and  white  corslets.  Then  she  perceived  that  it 
was  the  host  of  the  Huns  coming  on  in  vast  numbers. 
She  descended  hastily  and  called  her  trumpeter,  and  bade 
him  sound  the  as.-^embly. 

Then  said  Hervor:  'Take  your  weapons  and  arm  for 
battle;  and  do  thou, Ormarr, ride  against  the  Huns  and  ofter 
them  battle  before  the  Southern  Gate.'   Ormarr  replied  : 
i6  'I  will  certainly  take  my  shield,  and  ride  with  the  troops 
of  the  Goths  to  give  battle.' 

Then  Ormarr  rode  out  of  the  fortress  against  the  Huns. 
He  called  loudly,  bidding  them  ride  up  to  the  fort,  saying: 
'  Outside  the  gate  of  the  fortress,  in  the  plains  to  the 
south — there  will  I  offer  you  battle.'... But  the  host  of 
the  Huns  was  far  superior  in  numbers,  so  that  Hervor's 
troops  began  to  suffer  heavy  losses ;  and  in  the  end  Hervor 
fell,  and  a  great  part  of  her  army  round  about  her. 

And  when  Ormarr  saw  her  fall,  he  fied  with  all  those 

who  still  survived And  when  he  came  into  the  presence 

of  King  Angantyr,  he  cried  : 
17  *  I  am  come  from  the  south,  and  this  is  the  news  which  I 
have  to  offer.    The  whole  of  the  woodland  and  forest  of 
Myrkvi3r  is  ablaze  and  all  the  land  of  the  Goths  is  drenched 
with  the  blood  of  men. 


156        BATTLE  OF  THE  GOTHS  AND  HUNS 

1 8  '  Mey  veit  ek  HeiSreks . . . 

t      systur  |?ina         svigna  til  jar3ar,    ' 
'■■    hafa  Hunar         hana  felda, 

ok  marga  aSra         ySra  )?egna.  "^ 

19  'Lettari  gorSist  hun  at  bb^vi^         enn  vi3  biSil  roeSa/'- 
e3a  i  bekk  at  fara         at  bruc5ar  gangil' 

AngaDtyr  konungr,  |>a  es  hann  heyrSi  j^etta,  bra  hann 
gronum,  ok  tok  seint  til  orSa,  ok  maelti  J?etta  um  siSir: 
'  ObrdSurlega  vastu  leikin,  en  agaeta  systir,'  ok  sfSan  leit 
hann  yfir  hirS  sina,  ok  vas  ekki  mart  liS  me3  honum ;  hann 
kvaS  psi : 

20  '  Mjok  varu^  ver  margir         es  ver  mjoS  clrukkum, 
nil  erum*  ver  faeri'         es  ver  fleiri  skyldum.    •> 

21  5'  I-   'Sekkat  ek  J?ann         i  minu  liSi, 

v    p6tt  ek  biSja*'         ok  baugum  kaujDa", 
es  muni  riSa         ok^  rond  bera,     / 
ok  |?eira^  Hiina         herliS  finna'".'  / 

Gizurr  gamli  sagSi : 

22  '  Ek  mun  ]?ar"  einskis         eyris  krefja,  '*' 
ne  skjallanda^^         skarfs  or  gulli ;  - 

p6  mun  ek  riSa         ok^^  rond  bera,    w 
Htina'''  )>j6Sum         herstaf'"^  bj66a.'   ^/ 

Gizurr  herklgeddist  meS  goSum  vapnum,  ok  hljop  a  hest 
sinn,  sem  ungr  vseri ;  pa  maelti  hann  til  konungs  : 

23  '  Hvar  skal  ek  Hiinum  hervig  kenna  ? ' 

Angantyr  konungr  kvaS : 

24  '  Kendu  at^®  Dylgju^''         ok  a  DdnheiSi, 
ok  a  ]?eim  oUum         Jossurfjollum^^; 

^  em.  Bugge;  littare  g'orif'isk  lu'm  d  liautfre  i,  k,  1  {littre  1);  om.  (I.)  u  and 
at  hadni.        -  ad  leik  i  sard  eh  ad  lud  geingii  u.         '^  varum  i.        *  i ;  eru  1. 

'  fmrri  a.  *  biiPi  a.  ''  kaupi  a.  ^  em.  Bugge ;  i  mss. 

^  Jyeir  a,  i,  1 ;  om.  k.  ^^  bera  u.  11  i,  k,  1 ;  J>ik  u. 

'2  em.  Bugge;  skjalldandau;  skuUdanda  a.,  i,  k,  1. 
13  em.  Bugge ;  I  a,  i,  k,  1,  u.  i-*  a,  i,  k,  1 ;  gotta  u. 

1^  k;  gunni  at  a,  i,  1,  u  (ad).       ^^  a  a,  i,  k,  1 ;  ad  u.       ^^  a,  k;  Dilgiu  1,  u. 
1^  losur-  i ;  lassar-  u;  lossar-  a  ;  lossdr-  k;  lossar-  1?  Jossa-  s. 


BATTLE  OF  THE  GOTHS  AND  HUNS   157 

18  T  have  certain  knowledge  that  thy  sister,  King  HeiSrekr's 
(laughter...,  has  fallen  lifeless.  The  Huns  have  laid  her 
low,  and  many  of  your  warriors  with  her. 

19 '  More  readily  did  she  make  ready  for  battle  than  to  talk 
with  a  wooer  or  to  take  her  seat  at  the  bridal  feast.' 

When  King  Angantyr  heard  that  he  drew  back  his  lips, 
and  it  was  some  time  before  he  spoke.    Then  he  said : 
'  In  no  brotherly  wise  hast  thou  been  treated,  my  noble 
sister ! ' 

Then  he  surveyed  his  retinue,  and  his  band  of  men  was 
but  small ;  then  he  said  : 

20 '  When  we  were  drinking  mead  we  were  a  great  host,  but 
now  when  we  should  be  many  our  numbers  are  few. 

21  '  I  do  not  see  a  single  man  in  my  host  who,  even  if  I  were 
to  beg  him  and  offer  him  a  rich  reward,  would  take  his 
shield  and  ride  to  seek  out  the  host  of  the  Huns.' 

Gizurr  the  old  said  : 
22 '  I  will  not  ask  a  single  ounce  or  ringing  piece  of  gold ; 
yet  I  will  take  my  shield  and  ride  to  challenge  the  troops 
of  the  Huns  to  battle.' 

Gizurr  armed  himself  with  good  weapons  and  leapt  on 
his  horse  as  if  he  had  been  a  young  man.    Then  he  cried 
to  the  King : 
23  '  Where  shall  I  challenge  the  Huns  to  battle  ? ' 

King  Angantyr  replied : 
24 'Challenge  them  to  battle  at  Dylgja  and  on  DiinheiCr 
and  on  all  the  mountains  of  Jossurr,  where  the  Goths 


158   BATTLE  OF  THE  GOTHS  AND  HUNS 

J?ar^  oft  Gotar         gunni-  ha3u,  " 
ok  fagran  sigr         frsegir  vagu-^'. 
Nd  reiS  Gizurr  I  brott  ok  ]>a,T  til,  es  hann  kom  i  her 
Hiina ;  hann  rei3  eigi  nser  enn  sva  at  hann  matti  tala  viS 
]?a ;  pA  kallar  hann  hari  roddu  ok  kvaS : 

25  'Felratr*  es  ySrw' fylki,         feigr  es  ySarr^  visir,  t^ 
/,    gnsefar  ySr  gunnfani,         gramr  es®  ySr''  OSinn.  v' 

26  L    '  ByS  ek  y3r  at^  Dylgju**         ok  a  DunheiSi    '■ 
t        orrostii         undir  Josurfjollum'"; 

*hr8ese*  ySur"         at  ha  hvorju^-,    ' 

ok  lati  sva  OSinn  flein  tljuga  sem  ek  fyrir  inseli.'  / 

Da  es  Hlo6r  hafSi  heyrt  orS  Gizurar,  pa,  kvaS  hann : 

27  'Takid"    es^^    Gizur,    mann    Angantys,    kominn    af^'' 
Arheimum.' 

Humli  konungr  sag(5i : 

28  '  Eigi  skulum^^  arum  spilla,  }>eim  es  fara  einir  saman.' 
...Gizurr  drap  J;a  hest  sinn   sporum   ok   reiS  a  fund 

Angantys  konungs  ok  gekk  fyrir  hann  ok  kvaddi  hann 
vel.  Konungr  spyrr  hvart  hann  hefSi  fundit  Huna. 
Gizurr  maelti :  '  TalaSa  ek  vi5  j^a,  ok  stefnda  ek  |7eim  a 
vigvoU  d  Diinheisi  ok  at  Dylgjudolum.'  Angantyr  spyrr 
hvat  mikit  li"5  Hunar  hafa.  Gizurr  maelti :  '  Mikit  es  J?eira 
mengi. 

29  Sex*®  ein  eru         seggja  fylki^', 

i  fylki  hverju         fimm  )?usundir^^ 
i  |?usund  hverri'^         ]>rettan  hundruS^";  ■ 
i  hundraSi  hverju         halir^^  fjortaldir.' 
A  oSrum  degi  h6fu  j?eir  sina  orrostu  ;  ok  borSust  allan 
]?ann  dag  ok  foru  at  kveldi  I  herbuSir  sinar.    Deir  bortSust 

1  So  Verelius  ;  bar  u  ;  baru  i;  bdru  a,  k,  1. 

^  So  Verelius  ;  ok  geir  a,  i,  k,  1 ;  gu  u. 

''  u ;  fngo  k  ;  fehigu  a,  i,  1 ;  2t7niu  cod.  582. 

*  a;  feltiir  the  rest.  ^  era.  Bugge;  yS'ar  mss.  ^  cm.  i,  k,  1. 

7  u,  1 ;  ora.  i,  k.  8  a,  i,  1,  u ;  d  k.  »  cf.  str.  24.  10  cf_  gt^.  24. 

^^  i ;  hrsEsi  a  ;  hrmsu  1;  hro  si  u  ;  om.  k. 
12  i,  1,  a  ;  at  hai  hvorium  u  ;  om.  k. 

1^  em.  Bugge,  Take  (or  taki)  pier  mss.         !■*  a,  i,  1,  u;  itr  k.         *^  skulun. 
1*  This  strophe  as  in  u  ;  cf.  Saxo,  p.  191.        ^'^  vc  eru  I  fylki  i,  k,  1;  jimtdn 
eru  fylki  seggja  s.  ^*  piisund  a,  i,  k,  1.         ^^  i  hv.  f>.  a,  i,  k,  1 ;  />  om.  u. 

**  /r.  Amw.  manna  a,  i,  1,  u.  ^^  u ;  hdls  i ;  hdlfs  a,  k,  1. 


BATTLE  OF  THE  GOTHS  AND  HUNS       ir>9 

have  often  given  battle,  and  gained  a  glorious  victory  to 
their  renown.' 

Then  Gizurr  rode  away  until  he  came  to  the  host  of  the 
Huns.    He  rode  just  within  earshot,  and  then  called  loudly, 
crying : 
25  '  Your  host  is  panic-stricken,  your  leader  is  doomed  ;  the 
standards  are  raised  against  you ;  Othin  is  wroth  with  you ! 

26 '  I  challenge  you  to  battle  at  Dylgja,  and  on  DiinheiSr, 
under  the  mountains  of  Jassurr.  May  every  battlefield 
be  covered  with  your  corpses,  and  may  Othin  let  the 
javelin  fly  according  to  my  words  ! ' 

When  HloSr  heard  Gizurr' s  words,  he  cried : 

27  '  Lay  hold  on  Gizurr,  Angantyr's  man,  who  has  come  from 
Arheimar.' 

King  Humli  said : 

28  '  We  must  not  injure  heralds  who  travel  unattended.' 

. .  .Then  Gizurr  struck  spurs  into  his  horse  and  rode  back 
to  King  Angantyr  and  went  up  to  him  and  saluted  him. 
The  King  asked  him  if  he  had  parleyed  with  the  Huns. 

Gizurr  replied : 
'  I  spoke  with  them  and  I  challenged  them  to  meet  us  on 
the  battlefield  of  DiinheiSr  and  in  the  valleys  of  Dylgja.' 

Angantyr  asked  how  big  the  army  of  the  Huns  was. 
Gizurr  replied  :  '  Great  is  their  host. 

29  There  are  in  all  six  "  legions  "  of  warriors,  and  in  every 
"  legion  "  five  "  thousands,"  in  every  "  thousand  "  thirteen 
"hundreds,"  and  in  every  "hundred"  a  quadruple  number 
of  men.' 

Next  day  they  began  the  battle ;  and  they  fought 
together  the  whole  day,  and  at  evening  they  went  to 


160   BATTLE  OF  THE  GOTHS  AND  HUNS 

sva  atta  daga...,Dar  fell  HlotSr  ok  Hiirali  konungr,  ok  )?a 
toku  Hiinar  at  flyja....Angantyr  gekk  ])d  at  kanna 
valinn  ok  fann  Hlo3  broSur  sinn.   pa  kvaS  hann : 

30  '  BauS  ek  per,  broSir,         basmir^  oskerSar^ 

5    f6  ok  fjolS  meiSma^,         sem  )>ik*  fremst  tiddi®; 
r    nu  hefir  pd  hvarki         hildar  at  gjoldum, 
Ijosa  baiiga,         ne  land  ekki. 

31  '  Bblvat  es  okkr,  broSir;         bani  em  ek  )?inn  or5inn ; 
J^at  mun  se  uppi;         illr  er  d6mr  Noma.' 

Angantyr  vas  lengi  konungr  i  ReiSgotalandi;  hann  vas 
rikr  ok  orr  ok  herraaSr  mikill,  ok  eru  fra  honum  komnar 
konunga  settir. 

1  So  Verelius  ;  basnir  u  ;  brynjur  s  ;  om.  i,  k,  1. 

2  dskertar  (for  oskerSar)  u;  osker  tvser  a,  i,  k,  1. 

3  meidma  s  ;  meidna  a,  i,  k,  1,  u.  *  em.  Bugge;  viik  a,  i,  1,  u  ;  />u  k. 
^  i,  u  ;  titti  a,  1 ;  tOf'ir  s  ;  girntist  k. 


BATTLE  OF  THE  GOTHS  AND  HUNS   161 

their  quarters.  They  continued  fighting  for  eight  days.... 
There  fell  HloSr  and  King  Humli,  and  then  the  Huns 
took  to  flight... .Angantyr  then  went  to  search  among 
the  slain,  and  found  his  brother  HloSr.    Then  he  cried  : 

30 '  I  offered  thee  unstinted  wealth,  ray  brother,  riches  and 
vast  treasure  to  the  limit  of  thy  desires  ;  but  now  thou 
hast  won  by  thy  warfare  neither  shining  rings  nor 
territory. 

31  'A  curse  has  been  laid  upon  us,  my  brother;  I  have  brought 
about  thy  death.  This  will  never  be  forgotten. — Evil  is 
the  decree  of  the  Norns.' 

Angantyr  ruled  ReiSgotaland  as  kiag  for  a  long  time.  He 
was  powerful  and  munificent  and  a  great  warrior,  and 
lines  of  kings  are  sprung  from  him. 


NOTES 


I.   THE  WANDERER 

1.  Are  gehide^.  A  possible  alternative  translation  would  be,  '  The 
solitary  man  always  lives  to  experience  mercy,'  etc.  So  Greiu,  Thorpe, 
etc.    But  it  is  diificult  to  reconcile  this  translation  oi  gehide^  with  1.  5. 

4.  Hnmcealde,  a  arr.  Xey.,  lit.,  probably  '  cold  as  rime,'  but  possibly 
'made  cold  by  rime,'  i.e.  frost.  The  word  occurs  three  times  in  Norse 
poetry,  where  it  is  applied  to  supernatural  beings.  Cf.  Vafpriif^nismdl, 
str.  21  ;  Fdfnis7ndl,  str.  38 ;  Lokasenna,  str.  49,  50. 

5.  Wyrd  hits  ful  arced.  Arced  is  perhaps  adj. ;  but  the  word  is  very 
rare,  and  the  evidence  as  to  its  meaning  somewhat  doubtful  :  see  B.  and 
T.,  Suppl.  s.v.  I'or  the  sense,  cf.  Beowulf,  1. 455 ;  Oripesspd,  str.  52:  Munat 
skopum  vinna. 

6.  Siva  probably  refers  to  what  follows  rather  than  to  what  has  gone 
before. 

7.  Wiiiemcega  hryre,  perhaps  lit. '  Through  the  fall  of  his  dear  kinsmen.' 
As  the  text  stands,  hryre  can  hardly  be  taken  otherwise  than  as  a  loose 
causal  or  comitative  instrumental.  For  other  explanations,  cf.  Kock, 
Lunds  Universitets  Arssh-tft,  1918,  p.  78 ;  Jacobsen,  The  Wanderer 
(Rostock,  1901),  p.  82  ;  Wyatt,  Anglo-Saxon  Reader  (Cambridge,  1919), 
p.  263. 

13.  pcet  he,  etc.,  lit. '  that  he  fasten  securely  the  closet  of  his  thoughts 
and  keep  his  treasure  chamber.'  Thorpe  placed  a  period  after  hordcofan 
and  continues  :  Hycge  sioa  he  wille,  ne  mceg,  etc. 

17.  Domgeorne.  Cf.  Jldvamdl,  str.  77.  The  same  idea  is  frequently 
expressed  in  Beoioulf. 

dreorigne,  sc.  hyge,  lit.  '  When  it  is  depressed,'  etc.    Cf.  Fragment 
of  a  Monitory  Poem  (Grein-Wulcker,  Bihliothek,  ii,  2,  p.  280),  1.  2 : 
pinne  dom  areer  ; 
heald  hordlocan,  hyge  fseste  bind,  etc. 
It  is  not  clear  whether  reserve  or  caution  is  intended.    Cf.  however  the 
word  durre,  1.  10.    The  same  doubt  arises  in  Hdvamdl,  str.  15  : 
pagalt  ok  hugalt  skyli  J)j6l)ans  barn 
ok  vigdjarft  vesa. 
It  is  much  easier  to  find  parallels  for  injunctions  to  caution  than  to 
reserve,  e.g.  Feeder  Larcwidas,  11.  57,  58.    Cf.  also  the  instructions  to  the 
councillor  in  Budge,  The  Literature  of  the  Egyptians  (London,  1914), 
p.  227  f. :  'If  thou  art  a  wise  man,  and  if  thou  hast  a  seat  in  the  comicil- 
chamber  of  thy  lord... keep  silence,  for  this  is  better  than  to  talk  over- 
much....Think  much,  but  keep  thy  mouth  closed  :  if  thou  dost  not,  how 
canst  thou  consult  with  the  nobles'?' 

22.  Goldwine  minne.  If  the  ms.  reading  were  kept,  goldwine  mine 
would  be  best  taken  as  poet.  pi.  for  sing.,  which  is  extremely  common  in 
A.S.  and  Norse  poetry.  The  emendation  to  minne  however  (Thorpe) 
is  very  slight.    For  this  passage  and  what  follows  cf.  Guplac,  1.  1325  ff. 

23.  Hrusan  heolster  biwrah .  So  edd.  An  emendation  seems  necessary. 
If  heolstre  is  kept  either  hruse  must  be  read  for  hrusan  or  ic  added. 
Cf.  Blick.  Horn.  (ed.  R.  Morris,  E.E.T.S.  1880),  vii,  p.  95:   'peah  |>e 


NOTES  163 

hie  ivr  eort>e  l)0\vrigon  luvfdo ' ;  AVulfstaii  (od.  A.  Napier,  I'orliii,  188.3), 
p.  18.3:  'Swa  hwuet  raanncyunes  swa  ooriVe  icr  forswealb.' 

24.  Wiutercearig.  See  B.  and  T.  s.v.,  where  an  alternative  explanation 
('  Sad  fmm  age ')  is  suggested.  The  compound  occurs  only  here,  and  its 
meaning  is  quite  doubtful.  Imelmanu  omits  in  his  translation  (1920). 
Cf.  earmcearig.  Seafarer,  1.  14. 

gebind,  in  j-Elfric's  glossary  ti-uislates  L.  strictura.  Cf.  Goth,  gahinda, 
'a  band.'  B.  and  T.  translate  '  Over  the  watery  band,'  i.e.  the  surface  of 
the  water.  Grein  translates  strictura,  ligatura,  fasciculus,  and  compares 
Beoiculf,  1.  11.33.  According  to  the  N.E.D.  (cf.  Bind  n.  6)  the  word 
'bind'  is  used  provincially  to  denote  a  (large)  quantity  of  anything. 
Cf.  also  B.  and  T.,  Suppl.  s.v. 

27.  Mill  mine  wisse.  The  second  half  verse  of  I.  27  is  metrically 
defective  if  the  Ms.  reading  is  kept.  Some  editors  suggest  miltse,  but 
the  omivSsion  of  min  as  suggested  by  Klaeber  is  more  easy  to  account 
for.  For  the  phrase  mine  (i.e.  myne)  ivisse,  cf.  Beowulf,  1.  169 :  7ie  his 
myne  wisse,  i.e.  He  had  not  been  able  to  approach  the  throne  (like  a 
member  of  the  court)  and  (therefore)  felt  no  regard  for  it. 

29.  Weriian  mid  wynnum.  Cf.  Heliand,  11.  2818,  28.32  ;  Beowulf, 
1.  1821.  It  is  not  actually  certain  in  the  ms.  whether  wenian  or  weman 
is  the  true  reading.  Thorpe,  Ettmiiller  and  Grein-  have  adopted  the 
latter,  '  entice  me  with  good  cheer.'   Cf.  B.  and  T.  s.v. 

31.   Lyt...leofra   geholena.     For   lyt  with    a    personal    genitive   cf. 
" "  11.  2150,  2836 ;  Be  Manna  [Vyrdum,  1.  30  f. 


32.  Wara&  hine,  lit.  '(The  thought  of)  his  exile  possesses  him.'  Cf. 
Heliand,  1.  1003. 

34.  Selesecgas  ;  so  Thorpe,  Ettmiiller,  Grein  2,  Sweet,  Sieper, 
Schiicking,  Imelmann.  Several  editors,  however  (e.g.  Rieger,  Wiilcker), 
read  sele,  secgas.  Sele-secg  does  not  occur  elsewhere.  Similar  compounds, 
e.g.  seld-guma,  sele-pegn,  are  found  however. 

35.  His  goldwine,  etc.  For  this  conception  of  the  function  of  a  lord 
cf.  Be  Manna  Wyrduyn,  1.  27  f.    Cf.  also  The  Wonders  of  Creation,  1,  91  ff. 

37.  Wat  se  pe  sceal,  etc.  Wat  is  repeated  from  1.  29  ;  the  object  is  to 
be  inferred  from  the  preceding  passage. 

41.  pince^  him  on  mode,  etc.  Is  }>yncetS...brea/i  introduced  as  a 
parenthesis?  I  have  translated  it  as  the  main  sentence,  because  1.  45 
appears  to  contain  an  anacoluthon  ;  i.e.  the  sentence  ponne  onwcecned', 
etc.  is  not  a  true  correlative  to  1.  39  ft". 

43.  Swa...breac.  This  passage  probably  refers  to  some  act  of  homage, 
such  as  the  sword  oath.  In  the  Norges  G anile  Love  (ed.  Keyser  and 
Munch,  1848),  Vol.  ii,  p.  422  f.,  it  is  stated  that  the  king  (of  Norway) 
is  to  sit  on  his  high  seat  with  his  sword  on  his  knees,  the  blade  under 
his  arm  and  the  hilt  on  his  right  knee,  and  to  take  hold  of  it  with  his 
right  hand.  He  who  intends  to  enter  the  hir'iS  is  to  advance,  kneel  on 
the  floor,  and  with  his  right  hand  grasp  the  sword  by  the  hilt,  hold  it 
downwards  in  front  of  him,  then  kiss  the  king's  hand  and  swear 
allegiance.  But  in  the  Wanderer  the  reference  is  perhaps  rather  to  the 
reception  of  any  gift  from  the  king,  since  it  is  not  clear  that  brucan 
(cf.  1.  44)  can  be  used  inceptively.  Cf.  further  L.  M.  Larson,  American 
Historical  Review,  Vol.  13  (1907-8),  p.  461,  footnote  1  ;  F.  Tupper, 
Journal  of  English  and  Germanic  Philology,  Vol.  ii,  1912,  pp.  97  S".,  292. 

11—2 


164  NOTES 

44.  Giefstolas,  prob.  gen.  sing. ;  the  ending  -as  for  -es  is  not  unknown 
in  late  Mss.  Possibly  however  ace.  pi.  (poet.  pi.  for  sing.),  since  hrucan 
is  occasionally  followed  by  the  ace.    Sweet  and  others  emend  to  -es. 

45.  Wineleas  guma.  The  word  wineleas  perhaps  suggests  a  closer 
connection  with  the  preceding  lines  than  can  be  conveyed  in  a  modern 
translation,  for  wine  is  especially  used  for  a  man's  lord. 

46.  Wegas^  for  W.S.  wcegas{ce).  The  form  perhaps  comes  from  an 
earlier  text  written  before  the  W.S.  type  of  language  had  come  into 
general  literary  use.    Cf.  1.  64  n. 

47.  Brcedan  fepra,  or  perhaps  '  preening  their  feathers.' 

50.  Sare  may  be  causal  instrumental  of  the  substv.  or  nom.  pi.  of  the 
adj.  agreeing  with  henne.  The  latter  is  the  more  usual  construction. 
Gr.  Koh.  take  it  as  an  adverb. 

51.  OeondhweorfetS.  The  prefix  geond-  here  and  throughout  the  poem 
appears  to  be  used  in  a  somewhat  unusual  sense  to  mark  the  exhaustive 
nature  of  the  verb  ;  cf.  geondscemve&,  1.  52 ;  geond  pence,  1.  60.  Cf.  also 
1.  58  n. 

52.  GUwstafum,  a  arr.  Xey.,  the  meaning  of  which  is  very  uncertain. 
B.  and  T.,  Sweet,  Schiicking,  Imelmann,  transl.  'joyfully,'  Gr.  Koh. 
signum  Icetitiae.  Thorpe  transl.  '  with  song,'  Gollancz  '  with  snatches  of 
song.'  (Cf.  cwidegiedda,  1.  55  below.)  The  word  gleo  is  generally  used  in 
the  sense  of '  music'  In  the  Epinal  Gloss.  398  gliu  glosses  facetiae  and  in 
lb.  550  in  gliuuae  glosses  in  mimo.  The  word  does  not  occur  in  the  other 
Teutonic  languages  except  in  Norse,  where  it  is  rare.  Cf.  Ham^ismdl, 
str.  7, 

53.  Seega  geseldan,  lit.  '  the  companions  of  warriors.'  The  phrase 
does  not  occur  elsewhere,  but  seems  to  be  analogous  to  9/lda  {fira) 
hea.rn{um\  Beowulf  ipass.,  lit.  'children  of  men,'  i.e.  men  ;  Denigea  leode, 
Beo.  1.  696,  Sceotta  leoda,  '  Men  of  the  Scots,'  Battle  of  Brunanburk, 
1.  11.  We  may  cf.  under  swegles  begong  {Beo.  1.  860)  beside  under 
swegle  {Beo.  1.  1078)  with  the  same  meaning.  These  expressions  may 
be  regarded  as  compounds  in  sense,  just  as  much  as  peodnes  dohtor 
{Husband's  Message,  1.  25),  but  unlike  the  latter,  they  are  compounds 
in  which  the  meaning  of  the  whole. diflfers  but  little  from  that  of  the 
word  which  occurs  in  the  genitive. 

54.  Fleotendra  fertS,  poetic  sing,  for  pi. 

58.  Oeond  pas  woruld.  Cf.  1.  51  n.  The  literal  meaning  appears  to 
be  'I  cannot  think  (however  extensively  I  search)  throughout  this  world 
(of  any  reason)  why  my  heart,'  etc. ;  and  the  entire  phrase  comes  simply 
to  denote  the  exhaustive  nature  of  the  action  expressed  by  the  verb. 
Cf.  Christ  and  Satan,  11.  278,  9 : 

Uton,  la,  gepencan  geond  l)as  worulde 

pset  we  hselende  heran  onginnen. 
Cf.  also  Dear's  Lament,  1.  31. 

61.  Hu  hi...magupegnas,  lit.  'How  they,  proud  young  squires,  have 
abandoned  their  halls.' 

64.  For  pon  ne  mceg,  etc.  Cf.  Gnomic  Verses  (Cotton.),  11.  11,  12. 
Wear  pan,  for  W.S.  wear  pan.  ea  for  eo  is  very  common  in  Northumbrian 
texts,  and  not  infrequent  in  Kentish.   Cf.  1.  46  n. 

66,   Ne  sceal  no,  etc.  Cf.  Be  Marina  Wyrdum,  11.  48 — 50.  For  a  similar 


NOTES  165 

category  cf.  \Vulfst<in's  Sermons  (ed.  A.  Napier,  Berlin,  1883),  p.  40, 
'  Ne  l)eon  ge,'  etc.    Cf.  also  ib.  p.  253,  '  Ne  syn  we,'  etc. 

70.  lieorn  seems  to  be  equivalent  to  eorl,  i.e.  a  man  of  tlie  upper  or 
military  {h/iatrii/a)  cla.ss.  It  is  often  tempting  to  translate  both  these 
pot^tit-al  words  by  'man,'  but  this  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  typical 
man  whom  the  poems  have  in  view  is  of  this  class. 

73.    //«  gcrstlic,  etc.    To  the  best  of  my  knowledge  there  is  no  real 
parallel  to  the  use  of  the  word  gcestlio  here.  B.  and  T.  (cf.  Suppl.  s.v.)  refer 
to  the  verb  gust,  •  to  terrify.'   Cf.  the  N.E.D.  s.v.    Or  can  the  sentence 
possibly  mean  '  a  spiritual  time  '  in  contrast  to  /me  worulde  1   For  the 
construction  cf.  the  Dialogue  of  the  Soul  and  Body.,  1.  3 : 
Huru  c^ajs  behofaS  hselciia  ajghwylc, 
})a>t  he  his  sawle  si5  sylfa  ge)>ence, 
hu  \>ist  bii5  deoplic  {)onne  se  deaS  cymeS. 

77.  Eryt5ge  ,  a  ait.  Xey.  B.  and  T.  suggest  either  '  dismantled '  (cf. 
Norse  hrjOSa.,  'strip,'  'dismantle')  or  'tottering'  (cf.  A.S.  hriSian — which 
however  seems  properly  to  mean  '  be  feverish ').  Gr.  ^  Koh.  suggest 
'beschneit'  (cf.  hri'iS.,  1.  102);  Kock  {Lunds  Universitets  Arsskrift,  1918, 
'Jubilee  Jaunts  and  Jottings.'  p.  78)  'exposed  to  (snow)  storms.' 

80.  Sume  wig  fornom,  etc.  We  may  perhaps  cf.  Beoivulf,  1.  1113.  In 
the  following  lines  sum  is  used  to  introduce  items  in  a  category.  The 
sum  motif  is  a  very  common  one  in  A.S.  gnomic  poetry,  e.g.  Crist, 
1.  664  flf. ;  cf.  also  Be  Marina  Wyrdum  and  Be  Manna  Croeftum,  1.  53. 
Similar  Usts  of  various  forms  of  death  to  that  in  the  Wanderer  are  not 
uncommon,  e.g.  Blick.  Horn.  ed.  R.  Morris  (E.E.T.S.  1880),  p.  95. 
Cf.  also  Wulfstan  {ed.  cit.\  p.  183.  Klaeber  believes  that  these 
categories  are  of  Latin  derivation  (cf.  Archio  f.  d.  St.  der  neueren 
Sprachen,  no.  126,  p.  359)  and  compares  Vergil,  ^neid  X,  1.  557  ff. 
Cf.  Aldhelm,  Carmen  de  resurrectione  mortuorum,  V,  12  ft".  The  wolf  and 
the  raven  or  eagle,  however,  are  commonplaces  of  A.S.  poetry.  Cf. 
Brunanburh^  1.  60  f.  and  note  p.  181  below. 

81.  On  fortSioege,  lit.  '  On  their  journey  hence.' 

sumne  fugel  opbipr.  Cf.  the  passage  in  Blick.  Horn,  cited  above : 
'peah  J)e  hie  ajr  eort^e  bewrigen  haifde...ol)l)e  wildeor  abiton,  ot't»e  fuglas 
tobaeron.'  Thorpe  suggested  that/;f^e^  refers  to  a  ship,  Grein  a  vultm'e, 
Rieger  an  eagle. 

83.  DeatSe  gedaslde.  Sweet  suggests  an  emendation  to  deadne  gedcelde, 
but  this  is  unnecessary.    Cf.  Andreas,  1.  955  : 

Hie  Hn  feorh  ne  magon  deaSe  gedrelan, 
andl.  1215  ff.: 

Ne  magon  hie...|)inne  lichoman...deape  gedaelan. 

85.  Eardgeard.  The  word  occurs  elsewhere  only  in  Crist,  1.  55,  where 
it  refers  to  Jerusalem. 

87.  Bald  enta  gexoeorc,  a  regular  Saxon  phrase  for  structures  dating 
from  Roman  and  prehistoric  times.  Cf.  the  Ruin,  1.  2,  etc.  ;  Beowulf, 
1.  2717  ;  Gnomic  Verses  (Cotton.),  1.  2,  etc,  Cf.  also  Ueliand,  1.  42. 
Similiir  expressions  are  also  applied  to  the  swords  etc.  of  earlier  times. 
Cf.  Beowulf,  1.  1679,  etc. 

88.  Wealsteal.  From  the  description  it  would  seem  that  the  ruin 
which  the  poet  has  in  mind  must  be  that  of  a  Roman  building,  for 
there  is  no  Sixtisfactory  evidence  that  the  Saxons  used  stone  for  any 
save  ecclesiastical  buildings  until  a  late  i>eriod.    The  picture  however 


166  NOTES 

which  is  drawn  of  the  life  of  its  former  occupants  is  that  of  an  English 
prince's  court.  For  this  we  have  a  parallel  in  the  Ruin,  which  likewise 
appears  to  deal  with  the  remains  of  a  Roman  building. 

91.  pas  word  acwi^.  The  variation  in  the  use  of  the  tenses  in  this 
poem  is  perhaps  worth  noting.  The  action  is  really  timeless,  but  the 
past  tense  is  sometimes  used  (e.g.  11.  6  and  111)  in  reference  to  the 
cases  cited. 

92.  Hwcer  cwom,  etc.  It  is  held  by  several  scholars  (e.g.  Bright, 
Mod.  Lang.  Notes,  8,  p.  187  f. ;  Klaeber,  Journal  of  Engl,  and  Gmc.  Phil. 
XII,  p.  259 ;  cf.  also  B.  C.  Williams,  Gnomic  Poetry  in  Anglo-Saxon,  New 
York,  1914,  p.  45;  etc.)  that  these  rhetorical  formulae  are  of  Latin 
derivation  IVbi  sunt,  etc.).  A  number  of  parallels  can  be  found  in 
homiletic  writings,  e.g.  Wulfstan  (ed.  Napier),  p.  263 :  '  Hwaer  syndon 
nu  ]>a,  rican  caseras  7  fa  cyningas  ]>e  jo  wseron,  o55e  l^a  ealdormen  ]>e 
beboda  setton?  Hwaer  is  demera  domstow?...Hw8er  com  middaneardes 
gestreon  ?  Hwser  com  worulde  wela,'  etc.  Cf.  also  Blick.  Horn.  (ed. 
Morris),  p.  99,  and  the  unpublished  sermon  contained  in  Tib.  A.  iii, 
fol.  102  a,  an  extract  from  which  is  given  by  Kluge  in  Engl.  Stud,  viii, 
p.  472  f.  Such  passages  are  no  doubt  derived  in  part  from  L.  originals. 
He  compares  Bede,  Lib.  Scint. :  'Die  ubi  sunt  reges,  ubi  principes,  ubi 
imperatores,  ubi  locupletes  rerum,  ubi  potentes  sseculi  ?  Certe  quasi 
umbra  transierunt ;  velut  somnium  evanuerunt,'  which  is  thus  ren- 
dered in  the  A.S.  translation  :  'Sege  hwar  synd  cyningas,  hwar  ealdras, 
hwar  wealdendras,  hwar  welige  finga,  hwar  mihtige  worulde  gewislice  ? 
.swylce  sceadu  gewitan,  swylce  swefen  fordwinan '  (Cod.  Reg.  7,  C.  iv, 
fol.  92).  On  the  other  hand  it  is  to  be  observed  that  the  formula  hwcer 
cwom  is  not  of  L.  origin,  and  further  that  rhetorical  questions  in 
general  do  not  appear  to  have  been  unusual  in  the  early  Teutonic 
languages.  They  are  of  fairly  frequent  occurrence  in  Norse  poetry, 
both  in  long  poems  and  in  lausavisur;  e.g.  Egils  S.  ch.  61 ;  Eiriksmdl, 
str.  1 ;  Vellekla,  str.  24.  Again  the  question  'where  are?'  with  reference 
to  the  departed  is  of  such  a  character  that  it  could  very  easily  come  into 
use  independently  in  diflferent  countries ;  and  in  point  of  fact  it  is  of 
frequent  occurrence  in  the  early  poetic  literature  of  several  languages, 
e.g.  Greek  (cf.  Riad,  xiii,  1.  219  f.),  Hebrew  (Isaiah  xxxvi,  13)  and 
Sanskrit  (cf.  Rig  Veda,  Book  vii,  Hymn  88,  v.  5),  which  cannot  be 
suspected  of  L.  influence.  Cf.  further  C.  Becker,  '  Ubi  sunt  qui  ante  nos 
in  mundo  fuere'  in  Aufsatze  zur  Kultur-  und  Sprachgeschichte,  vornehm- 
lich  des  Orients,  Ernst  Kuhn  zum  70  Geburtstage  gewidmet,  ]\Iiinich, 
1916.  The  case  as  regards  the  Wanderer  must  therefore  be  regarded  as 
at  least  doubtful.  The  only  point  in  favour  of  the  L.  derivation  is  that 
this  formula  is  unusual  in  A.S.  poetry.  On  the  other  hand  the  whole 
tenor  of  the  passage  from  1.  92 — 105  is  as  alien  as  it  could  well  be  from 
the  homiletic  passages  cited  above. 

93.  Hwcer. .  .gesetu.  The  sing,  verb  with  the  pi.  subject  is  no  doubt  due 
to  attraction  to  the  preceding  phrases.  Cf.  Blick.  Horn.  ed.  cit.  p.  99. 
The  construction  however  is  not  imknown.  Cf.  Matzner,  Eistorische 
Grammatik  der  englischen  Spracke  (Weimar,  1863),  p.  51  (3). 

97.  StondeS  nu  on  laste...weal..  lit.  'There  stands  in  the  track  of... a 
wall.'  For  this  use  of  last  cf.  the  phrase  last  weardian,  Beo.  1.  971, 
etc.,  and  .see  B.  and  T.  s.v.  last.  It  is  quite  in  accordance  with  A.S. 
idiom  to  omit  the  word  'only'  before  'wall.' 

98.  Wyrmlicum  fah,  obscure.  B.  and  T.  transl.  wyrmlic — '  the  body 
of  a  serpent  (of  carving  on  a  wall)';  Gr.  Koh.  serpentis  corpus.    So  far 


NOTES  167 

iis  I  am  aware  the  word  only  occurs  once  elsewhere  in  a  Confession 
published  in  Aii</lia,  xii,  p.  501,  by  Logeman,  where  it  seems  to  be 
useil  in  quite  a  dilVeriMit  sense.  The  serpent  was  a  familiar  design  in 
Anglo-Saxon  cccksiastii-al  art.  \Vc  may  refer  to  the  sculptured 
portal  at  ^lonkwearmouth  Church,  while  on  tombstones  it  is  not  un- 
common. But  a  difficulty  is  caused  by  the  fact  that  we  have  no  evidence 
for  such  designs  on  the  walls  of  fortifications  or  (stone)  houses,  whether 
Roman  or  later.  Is  it  conceivable  that  wi/nn  may  here  come  from 
umrma,  wi/rma  as  in  ^vyrmbaxii,  'coccus'  (equivalent  to  weoloc-read)'i 
We  may  possibly  compare  the  expression  readfah  in  the  Riiin,  1.  10, 
though  the  use  of  teafor,  ih.  1.  23,  points  to  a  different  origin  for  the 
colouring  mentioned  tlbere. 

102.  Ilrmaii  bindei)',  etc.  I  have  adopted  the  emendation  hruse  to 
/inisdH  which  was  suggested  by  Thorpe  and  adopted  by  Ettmuller  and 
most  later  editors,  and  take  uwna  as  standing  in  loose  apposition  to 
Ar/tT,  since  the  former  by  itself  can  hardly  be  the  subject  of  bindetS. 
The  i^eutcnce  /'on}ie...7uhtscua  is  best  rendered  as  a  parenthesis. 

106.  Ball  is  earfoi^lic,  etc.  EarfotSlic  does  not  appear  to  be  used 
elsewhere  in  this  sense.  Possibly  rice  may  be  dative  ;  lit.  '  everything 
is  troublesome  to  earthly  dominion,'  i.e.  earthly  dominion  is  beset  with 
trouble  on  every  side.  I  have  taken  eorpan  rice  as  practically  equivalent 
to  u'orxld.  The  meaning  however  may  be  '  All  earthly  power  is  fraught 
with  trouble.' 

107.  Wyrda  gesceaft.  The  phrase  occurs  again  in  Daniel,  1.  132. 
The  origin  of  this  and  similar  expressions  is  doubtless  to  be  found  in  a 
mythological  conception,  similar  to  that  which  forms  the  subject  of  the 
Darra(Sarlj6(S ;  cf.  the  Rhyming  Poem,  1.  70:  me  }>cet  Wyrd  geivcef. 

108.  Her  hi(S  feoh  Icene,  etc.  The  resemblance  to  Hdvamdl,  str.  76  f., 
was  pointed  out  by  R.  M.  Meyer  in  Die  altgermanische  Poesie  (Berlin, 
1889),  p.  321  f. ;  cf.  also  Hdlconarmdl,  str.  21. 

110.  Gestecd  apparently  occurs  only  here.  It  is  generally  interpreted 
to  mean  'frame.'  It  is  possible  however  that  the  word  may  mean 
'habitations  together  with  their  occupants,'  in  which  case  the  sense 
would  be  '  The  present  generation  with  all  its  belongings  will  pass  away.' 

111.  Gesat  him,  etc.    Cf.  Heliand,  1.  3227  ;  Andreas,  1.  1161. 

113.  Nemf^e  he  (er,  etc.  I  have  taken  the  phrase  /a  bote  as  referring 
to  the  following  sentence,  i.e.  '  seeking  for  grace  through  prayer.'  Cf. 
Prayer  iv,  11. 19,  109.  It  is  possible  however  that  the  phrase  bote  gefretn- 
TTian  may  mean  'make  reparation,' and  that  this  has  no  connection  with 
what  follows  If  this  latter  interpretation  is  correct,  torn  is  probably  to 
be  translated  '  anger '  rather  than  '  grief.' 


II.    THE  SEAFARER 

1.  M<eg  ic,  etc.  For  the  opening  lines  of  this  poem  cf.  the  Wife's 
Complaint,  1.  1  and  n.  Cf.  also  Be  Manna  Mode,  1.  15.  The  word  mceg 
seems  to  have  httle  force  here.  Cf.  the  Wife's  Complaint,  1.  2.  We  may 
compare  its  use  in  the  Lindisfarne  GosjjcIs,  where  it  is  sometimes  em- 
ployed to  render  the  Latin  fut.  or  conj.    See  B.  and  T.  s.  v.  magan  v. 

6.  Atol  ypa  gcwealc.  Cf.  Exodus,  1.  455;  Beoivulf,  1.  848.  The 
phrase  stands  in  loose  apposition  to  cearselda  fela :  'I  have  experienced 


168  NOTES 

many  anxious  situations,  (I  have  experienced)  the  terrible  rolling  of  the 
waves.' 

poer  is  probably  relative,  '  when ' ;  but  the  idiom  can  hardly  be 
reproduced  in  Modern  English. 

8.  Cnossad,  so  ms.  Early  editors,  e.g.  Ettmiiller,  Grein,  Rieger,  etc. 
read  cnossade.  So  also  Wiilcker  and  Imelmann.  For  the  use  of  the 
indie,  pres.  in  dependent  sentences  relating  to  the  past  a  possible 
parallel  is  to  be  found  in  Beowulf,  1.  1923.  For  the  use  of  the  conj.  pres. 
instances  occur  in  Beowulf,  11.  1314,  1928,  2495. 

9.  Mine  fet.  Kluge  em.  fet  to  fotas.  So  also  Schiicking.  Sweet  and 
Sieper  transpose  mine  and  fet  for  metrical  reasons. 

10.  Ceare  seofedun...heortan.  Cf.  Genesis,  \.  354 f.  An  antithesis  is 
doubtless  intended  between  caldum  and  hat ;  but  the  strained  metaphor 
can  hardly  be  reproduced  in  a  translation.  Sweet  emends  hat  to  hate. 
If  the  MS.  reading  is  kept  the  lit.  translation  will  be  '  distress  moaned, 
heat  (subst.)  round  my  heart' ;  or  poss.  'distress  moaned  hotly  (ace.  nt. 
adj.  as  adv.)  round  my  heart.'   (So  Imelmann.)   Cf.  hitter,  1.  55. 

13.  pe... limpets,  etc.  Or  possibly  'who  has  the  happiest  of  lots  (life) 
on  land.'  Imelmann  translates  '  zum  besten  gedeiht.'  The  superlative 
however  is  perhaps  not  to  be  pressed. 

14.  Earmcearig,  or  perhaps  '  made  anxious  by  my  desolation.'  Sweet 
translates  'careworn.' 

16.  Winemcegum  bidroren.  Half  a  line  has  presumably  been  lost  after 
lastum.  The  line  is  metrically  defective  as  it  stands.  There  is  no 
indication  of  a  lacuna  in  the  MS. 

18.  peer  ic  ne  gehyrde,  etc.  Previous  editors  have  punctuated  this 
sentence  differently,  marking  the  stop  after  song  instead  of  aftei-  wceg ; 
'There  I... waves  and  the  i-ecurring  note  of  the  swan.  For  amuse- 
ment I  had  the  call  of  the  gannet,  and  the  scream  of  the  godwit  in 
place  of  human  merriment.' 

20.  Gomene...hleahtor  wera...medodrince.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  his 
mind  has  recurred,  like  that  of  the  Wanderer  (cf.  11.  32 — 55),  to  feasts 
in  the  hall,  where  these  three  elements  are  invariably  to  be  found.  Cf. 
Beowulf,  11.  607—630,  etc. 

21.  Huilpan.  If  the  text  is  correct  the  metre  would  rather  favour 
hwilpan  as  against  hu-ilpan.  Sieper  omits  and;  but  u  for  w  is  not 
uncommon  in  early  texts  and  was  regularly  used  in  early  Northumbrian. 
Ref.  may  be  made  to  the  note  on  this  word  by  M.  Daunt  in  the  Mod. 
Lang.  Rev.  Vol.  xiii,  1918,  pp.  478,  479.  I  came  independently  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  bird  is  the  bar-tailed  godwit,  commonly  called 
yarwhelp  and  halfwhatvp.  Shakespeare  calls  it  scammel.  The  godwit  is 
a  water-bird  and  is  also  called  'sea- woodcock.'  It  may  be  an  objection 
that  the  godwit  is  a  migratory  bird  and  does  not  stay  in  this  country 
in  the  winter.  But  this  objection  applies  also,  curiously  enough,  to  the 
gannet  and  the  tern. 

25.  Urigfepra.  This  line  cannot  be  correct,  as  alliteration  is  wanting. 
Wiilcker,  following  Thorpe,  holds  that  something  has  been  lost  from 
the  text.  Grein  prints  ne  cenig  for  noenig.  Kluge  suggests  heaswigfepra 
for  urigfejyra;  but  the  latter  occurs  elsewhere,  viz.  in  Judith,  1.  210; 
Elene,  11.  29,  111 — in  each  case  as  an  epithet  of  the  eagle. 

26.  Frefran.  The  reading  of  the  MS.  feran  can  hardly  be  correct. 
Cf.  the  Wanderer,  1.  28. 

27 f.   Ah...gehiden.   For  the  use  of  a,ga7i  (in  the  sense  of  hahhan)  with 


NOTES  109 

the  p.p.  cf.  Wulfstan's  Sermo  ad  Anglos  (Sweet's  Reader,  p.  91,  1.  56). 
Owing  to  the  rarity  of  this  construction  .some  editors  (e.g.  Sweet, 
Schiicking)  em.  to  gebideS.  The  tranal.  would  then  bo :  'He  who  has 
a  happy  hfe  and  experiences  no  perilous  adventures,'  etc. 

28.  In  birrgiim,  possibly  poet.  pi.  for  sing.,  as  elsewhere,  e.g.  Genesis, 
1.  25tj2.    Ettinuller,  Schiicking',  etc.  omit  the  comma  before  bealosii'Sa. 

From  Alfred's  Laws,  cap.  40,  it  appears  that  the  term  burh  (perhaps 
properly  '  stockade ')  was  applied  to  the  residences  of  men  of  all  ranks 
above  that  of  the  peasant. 

31.    Xap  ni/itscua,  etc.    With  this  passage  cf.  the  Waiiderer,  1.  102  ff. 

33.    For  i>on.   Cf.  Introduction,  p.  17  f.,  above. 

37.  FertS  to  feran.  Grein  ^according  to  Wiilcker),  emends  fertS  to 
forty  which  seems  more  natural.    In  this  case  we  must  supply  '  me.' 

42.  His  scefore  sorge,  lit.  '  anxiety  with  regard  to  his  sea-voyaging,  as 
to  what  God,'  etc.   see/ore  is  causal  gen.  after  sorge. 

43.  To  hwofi.  Toller  (cf.  Suppl.  s.v.  1(c))  understands  ^erfon  in  this 
passage  in  the  sense  of  'to  bi-ing  a  person  into  a  condition.'  Cf.  Ad- 
monition  to  the  Christian  Life,  1.  59  f.:  '  Uncu«  biS  jjc  to  hwan  jjc  {>in 
Drihten  gedon  wille' ;  Elene,  1.  1157.  Cf.  also  Orosius,  3,  1  ;  Blick.  Horn. 
69,7. 

44.  Ne  bip  him,  etc.    Cf.  1.  20  and  n. 

45.  To  wife  wyn,  or  possibly  '  he  has  no  pleasure  in  his  wife.'  To 
warulde  hyht,  or  possibly  '  no  hope  in  this  world.'  Cf.  Crist,  1.  585  f. ; 
Gufilac,  1.  631  f. 

46.  Ymbe...elles.  The  subject  is  probably  hyge,  1.  45  being 
parenthetical. 

48.  Blostmum  nimaS.  The  text  can  hardly  be  correct,  since  niman 
is  apparently  not  used  elsewhere  with  the  dative.  One  is  tempted  to 
suspect  that  blostmum  nimatj  is  a  corruption  of  blostmia^,  but  it  is  not 
easy  to  see  how  such  an  error  could  have  arisen.  The  writing  in  the 
MS.  is  perfectly  clear,  a  new  line  beginning  at  |  7nu7n. 

byrig  f(^gria&.  FoegriatS  apparently  occurs  only  once  elsewhere  (cf. 
Tollerj  Suppl.  s.v.),  and  there  with  transitive  meaning.  Norse  fegra  is 
also  trans.  I  have  therefore  taken  byrig  as  ace.  If  ftngria^  is  intrans. 
we  must  transl.  'The  houses  of  the  great  (or  fortifications)  begin  to 
look  bright ' ;  but  the  meaning  of  this  is  not  clear.  We  may  perhaps 
cf.  King  Alfred's  Preface  to  his  translation  of  St  Augustine's  Soliloquies, 
ed.  H.  L.  Hargrove  (New  York,  1902),  p.  1. 

50.  Ealle  /a,  etc.  The  lit.  transl.  would  seem  to  be  '  Incite  the 
man  eager  of  heart,  (incite)  to  travel  the  heart  of  one  who  has  such 
inclination.s.' 

51.  Sefan,  .so  modern  editors  (e.g.  Wulcker,  Sieper,  Schucking, 
Imelmann).  Early  editors  emended  to  feran  and  (Grein'^  and  Rieger) 
]?one  (for  }?am). 

52.  Gewitajy.  The  ase  of  the  pi.  here  is  curious,  and  most  editors 
(e.g.  Ettmiiller,  Rieger,  Grein,  Wulcker,  Sweet,  Sieper,  Schucking,  etc.) 
emend  to  gemtan. 

53.  Geac. .  .geomran  reoi-de.  Cf.  the  Husband's  Message,  D,  1. 10  f.  and  n. 
The  cuckoo  figures  largely  as  a  herald  of  Spring  in  Irish  poetry  also. 
Cf.  the  'Song  of  Summer'  in  Ancient  Irish  Poetry,  transl.  K.  Meyer 


170  NOTES 

(London,  1913),  p.  54.    Cf.  also  Sweet's  Anglo-Saxon  Reader  (Oxford, 
1908),  p.  223,  n.  to  1.  53. 

55.  Bitter.  Rieger  emends  to  hitre.  So  also  Sweet,  but  cf.  hat,  1.  11 
and  note  to  1.  10. 

beorn.   Cf.  the  Wanderer,  1.  70  n. 

56.  Esteadig.  So  Wiilcker,  Sweet,  Imelmann,  etc.  The  word  is 
apparently  a  aV.  Xey.  (lit.  'blest  with  luxuries').  Grein  read  the  MS. 
as  eft-  (as  previously  suggested  by  Thorpe),  and  emended  to  sefteadig, 
in  which  he  has  been  followed  by  Rieger,  Kluge,  Schiicking  and  the 
dictionaries  ('  in  easy  circumstances,'  B.  and  T.) ;  but  seft-  does  not 
appear  to  occur  elsewhere  in  compounds.  Sieper  reads  eft-eadig,  but 
translates  'gliickselig.' 

61.  Eorpan  sceatas.  I  take  sceatas  to  be  gen.  sing.  (cf.  Sievers, 
Angelsuchs.  Gram.,  §  237,  Anm.  1),  possibly,  as  elsewhere,  for  an  earlier 
-«s  dependent  upon  wide.  Ofer  is  added  by  Ettmiiller  and  Wiilcker, 
geond  by  Grein  and  Rieger. 

62.  Qifre  and  grcedig  is  a  formula  which  occurs  elsewhere.  Cf. 
Genesis,  1.  793 ;  Dialogue  of  the  Body  and  Soul,  1.  74. 

anfloga.  Sieper  takes  anfloga  as  applying  to  the  cuckoo.  Ettmiiller 
and  Gr.  Koh.  transl.  draco;  but  surely  it  merely  carries  on  the 
metaphor  which  describes  the  speaker's  imagination  as  a  (solitary) 
seabird.    Cf.  Psalms  xi,  1 ;  cxxiv,  7. 

65.  Deade  lif.  This  figurative  use  of  the  adj.  is  rare.  Cf.  however 
Gnomic  Verses  (Exeter  MS.),  1.  79;  cf  also  B.  and  T.  (Suppl.)  s.v.  deadi. 

68.  Simle  preora  sum,  etc.  For  the  asyndetic  form  of  this  sentence, 
cf.  the  Laws  of  Wihtred,  cap.  26.  The  phrase  is  not  uncommon.  Cf. 
preora  an  in  Be  Gri<5e,  eh.  16. 

69.  ^r  his  tiddege.  I  take  cer  as  prep.,  and  the  MS.  tidege  to  be  for 
tiddcege,  with  Gr.  Koh.  etc.  Cf.  Genesis,  1.  1165.  Rieger,  Wiilcker,  Sweet, 
etc.  emend  to  oer  his  tid  aga. 

71.  Fcegum  fromweardum,  lit.  '  Doomed  (and)  about  to  depart.' 

72.  There  are  various  possible  ways  of  taking  this  passage. 

(1)  Lof  {lifgendra  ceftercwej^endra)  subj.  ;  lastworda  betst  pred., 
'The  praise  of  those  who  survive... is  the  best  of  reputations.'  In  this 
case  the  clause  poet  he  gewyrce  is  explanatory  to  lof,  though  somewhat 
anacoluthic.  Fremman  is  governed  by  gewyrce,  '  ?  That  he  succeed 
by  his  labours... in  prevailing' — an  unusual  construction.  The  chief 
difficulty  in  the  way  of  this  interpretation  is  the  first  poet  (in  1.  72) 
which  comes  before  the  subject. 

(2)  Lof  {lifgendra  ceftercwependra)  is  ace.  obj.  of  gewyrce.  The  subj. of 
the  sentence  is  poet  in  1.  72  taken  up  as  usual  by  pcet  in  1.  74.  'It  is 
the  best  of  reputations... that  he  should  gain  the  praise,'  etc.  The 
difficulty  here  is  that  the  object  of  gewyrce  (lof)  comes  before  the 
predicate  of  the  main  sentence ;  and  further  that  we  shall  have  an 
awkward  anacoluthon  in  frernman,  1.  75,  which  in  that  case  can  only 
be  taken  as  loosely  complementary  to  the  sentence  pat  he  gewyrce,  etc. 

In  either  case  hip  must  be  understood  in  the  main  sentence,  but  B. 
and  T.  and  Gr.  Koh.  give  no  examples  of  the  use  of  gewyrcan  with 
the  infin.  The  latter  (following  Rieger)  regard  fremman  as  ace.  sing. 
of  a  fern,  noim  fremme  (Rieger  freme)  governed  by  gevjyrce.  The  form, 
however,  does  not  occur  elsewhere.  Sweet  in  his  Reader  (Oxford, 
1908,  p.  173,  1.  75)  emends  to  /reme  (n.  sing.)  but  omits  the  reference 
in  his  glossary.    K.  Sisam  {Engl.  St.  Bd.  46,  1912-1913,  p.  336)  emends 


NOTES  171 

to  fre mum  (d.  pi.  of  freynu)  making  11.  75  ami  76  parallel,  tran.sl.  'that... 
he"  bring  it  about  by  beneficial  actions  upon  the  earth  against  the  malice 
of  tiends,  liy  doughty  deeds  against  the  devil,  that  the  sons  of  men 
aftorwanls  praise  him,'  and  compares  Beoiimlf,  1.  20  6".  Kock  ('Jubilee 
Jaunts  and  Jottings,'  p.  7<j  La /ids  Unioersitets  Arsskrift,  1918)  emends 
to  fremme  (vb.),  and  translates :  'that  he. ..achieves  and.  brings  about  on 
earth... that  sons  of  men  extol  him  afterwards.' 

75.    Fremman  on  foldan,  etc.    Cf.  Be  Manna  Crceftum,  11.  89,  90. 

79.  Bhvd  seems  to  be  in  loose  syntactical  apposition  with  what  goes 
before. 

80.  Dagas  sitid geioitene,  etc.,  lit.  'The  days,  all  the  splendour,'  etc. 
82.    Ne  aron  nu,  etc.    Cf.  the  Wa7iderer,  1.  92  n. 

84.  M(vst  mid  him.  The  force  of  mid  him  (which  perhaps  applies 
strictly  to  the  following  line  also)  seems  to  be  'More  than  any  others 
of  their  kind '  (i.e.  kings  etc.). 

91.  Yldo  him,  etc.  Cf.  the  picture  of  old  age  in  Budge,  The  Literature  of 
the  Egyptians  (London,  1914),  p.  225. 

92.  Limine... eor}yan  forgiefene.  Some  editors  emend  to  -giefenne 
(sing.).  On  the  other  hand  it  may  be  an  instance  of  the  frequent  poet, 
pi.  for  sing.    Cf.  GucTlac,  1.  1326. 

98.  Bro/^or  his  gehorenum.  Bro}>or  is  nom.,  lit.  'though  he  (as)  a 
brother  for  his  born  (brother).'  Ettmiiller  reads  gehro'Sritm  for  ge- 
borenum ;  but  cf.  Laws  of  Alfred,  ch.  42  (6).  Rieger,  Wiilcker,  etc.  read 
hycgan  for  byrgan,  and  he  ne  for  kine,  'bargaining  by  means  of 
perishable  treasures  that  he  may  not  die  too.'  The  passage  has  been 
discussed  by  ^L  Daunt  in  the  Modern  LMng.  Review,  Vol.  xi,  p.  337  f., 
and  by  Kock  in  Jubilee  Jaunts  and  Jottings,'  p.  76  in  Lunds  Universitets 
Arsskrift.  But  the  poet  clearly  has  in  mind  heathen  customs  and  ideas 
similar  to  those  described  in  Ynglingasaga,  ch.  8,  where  it  is  stated 
that  everyone  should  bring  to  Valholl  such  treasure  as  he  had  on  his 
pyre,  and  should  also  have  for  his  enjoyment  whatever  he  had  buried 
in  the  ground. 

99.  Mapmum  mislicum.  I  take  this  to  be  a  loose  instr.  use,  lit.  'by 
means  of  various  (or  'in  the  form  of  various')  treasures.'  Cf.  Beow.  1.  2181. 

100.  Ne  mceg,  etc.,  lit.  'Gold  will  not  be  able,... when  he  has  hidden 
it,'  etc. 

101.  For  godes  egsan.    Cf.  Andreas,  1.  457  ;  Crist,  1.  1015. 

103.    OncyrretS.   Cf.  the  Wanderer,  1.  107  ;  Rhyming  Poem,  1.  59. 
106.    Dol  bip,  etc.     Cf.  Gnomic  Verses  (Exeter  sis.),  1.  35.    Cf.  also 
Salomon  and  Saturn,  1.  224;  the  Wanderer,  1.  112. 

UnJ^inged,  nom.,  lit.  'When  it  (death)  is  unprepared  for.' 

109.  Mon  sceal,  etc.  For  mon,  the  MS.  has  mod.  So  also  Schiicking. 
The  emendation  (which  has  been  adopted  by  almost  all  editors)  is 
suggested  by  the  Gnomic  Verses  (Exeter  MS.),  1.  51. 

110.  Gcicis,  die,  sc.  '■mon  sceal  wesan.^  Perhaps  however  one  should 
take  (with  Gr.  Koh.)  geiois  and  clcene  as  ace.  sing.  neut.  agreeing  with 
t>(Ft.  The  tran.slation  will  then  be  'A  vehement  heart  must  be  controlled 
and  kept  within  its  due  bounds— ftiithful  to  pledges,  pure  in  maimer  of 
life.' 

112.  Wi}^  bofw,  etc.  The  line  is  defective  as  it  stands.  I  have 
followed  Klaebcr  in  supplying  lufan  after  leofne — which  seems  to  be 
required  by  both  the  sense  and  the  metre. 


172  NOTES 

113.  Fyres  is  obviously  wrong,  if  the  present  order  of  words  is 
correct.  A  word  with  initial  w-  is  required.  Does  fvZne  stand  for  ful{l.)ne 
or  iox  fulnel  For  the  latter  ('guilty')  we  may  refer  to  the  frequent 
references  to  ordeal  in  the  Laws. 

115.  Geworhtne.  The  ms.  reading — geworhttie — can  hardly  be  correct. 
A  possible  emend,  would  be  gewrehtne.  The  meaning  would  then  be 
lit.  'Wish  a  friend  of  his  (or  possibly  'his  lord')  who  has  been  accused 
to  be  burnt  on  the  pyre.'  It  is  presumably  not  to  the  funeral  pyre  of 
heathen  times  that  reference  is  made  here  but  to  the  punishment  of 
enemies  or  criminals  by  burning.  Cf.  Be  Manna  Wyrdum,  1.  43  f. ; 
Aethelstan's  Laws  iv,  6,  §  7,  where  the  reference  is  to  the  punishment 
of  slaves. 

sioi&re.  The  ms.  reading  sivire  is  obviously  wrong.  The  emendation 
to  sivi&re  is  confirmed  by  the  Ruin,  1.  17  ;  Salomon  and  Saturn,  1.  442  ; 
Gnomic  Verses  (Cotton.),  1.  5. 

117.  Uton  we,  etc.  Cf.  Introduction,  p.  18  above.  Cf.  for  the  form  of 
the  concluding  lines  Crist,  11.  771 — 8;  Homily  on  Psalm  28,  11.  43 — 47. 

121.  Gelong.  The  sense  seems  to  require  that  gelong  should  be 
taken  with  in  rather  than  with  peer. 

123,  4.  Geweor}>ade...in  ealle  tid.  Or  does  this  rather  mean  'Who 
has  counted  us  worthy  of  eternal  salvation'?  B.  and  T.  however  do  not 
recognise  this  use  of  geioeorpian. 


III.  THE  WIFE'S  COMPLAINT 

1.  Giedd  wrece,  a  technical  phrase.  Cf.  the  Wonders  of  Creation, 
1.  12;  Beowulf,  1.  1065,  etc.  Cf.  also  the  Seafarer,  II.  1,  2,  and  Beowulf, 
1.  872  f  where  si^  and  wrecan  are  similarly  brought  together. 

2.  Minre  sylfre  si&.  The  fem.  form  of  the  pron.  etc.  shows  that  the 
poem  refers  to  a  woman.  Cf.  Ettmiiller,  Engla  and  Seaxna  Scopas  and 
Boceras,  1850,  p.  214;  cf.  also  Introduction,  p.  28,  above.  /Sid"  seems  to 
be  in  loose  apposition  to  giedd.  The  lax  syntax  in  the  first  two  lines  is 
characteristic  of  the  whole  poem.  Cf.  1.  45  f.  For  the  construction  cf. 
B.  and  T.  s.v.  self,  ii  (3). 

5.  Wite,  etc.  The  same  expression  occurs,  though  with  a  diflferent 
construction  of  the  gen.,  in  Genesis,  1.  1013  f. ;  cf.  GutSlac,  1.  440. 

6 — 15.  The  sequence  of  events  is  not  quite  clear  to  me  ;  but  the 
obscurity  may  be  not  altogether  unintentional. 

7.    Uhtceare.    Cf.  the  Wanderer,  1.  8  ;  Prayer  iv,  1.  95. 

9.  Folga(5.  This  meaning  is  unusual  in  A.S. ;  but  cf.  Bede,  H.E.  v, 
11:'  WillfriS  wees  on  l^a  tid  of  his  eSle  adrifen  and  in  Mercna  land  folgade 
(In  Merciorum  regionibus  exulabat).'  Cf.  also  the  use  of  folgere  {pedi- 
sequa),  Toller,  Suppl.  s.v.  ad  fin.  The  poem  contains  many  air.  Xey.  and 
unusual  constructions.  Cf.  Schiicking,  Zeitschr.  ficr  deut.  Alterthum,  Vol. 
XLViii  (1906),  p.  448  f. 

11.  Ongunnon,  etc.  It  is  not  clear  whether  the  poet  intends  this  as 
a  statement  of  fact  or  merely  as  a  surmise  on  the  part  of  the  heroine. 
All  editors  seem  to  take  the  former  view,  and  the  latter  certainly  seems 
to  postulate  a  somewhat  complex  situation  which  we  should  perhaps 
hardly  be  justified  in  attributing  to  a  poet  of  the  period.  Yet  the  poem 
is  more  subtle  than  any  other  Anglo-Saxon  poem  which  has  come  down 
to  us. 


NOTES  it:} 

14.  LalMicost.  I  h<ave  taken  hii)'lu'  in  the  usual  sense,  'hateful.' 
The  sentence  might  however  be  transl.  'So  that  we  might  live  as  far 
apart  in  the  world  and  as  miserably  as  possible,'  in  which  sense  it  is 
taken  by  tJr.  Koh.,  Schiicking,  Inielmann,  etc. 

15.  I/cr  heard.  This  line  has  given  rise  to  much  speculation.  See  I*., 
and  T.,  Suppl.,  s.v.  heard  vi.  Early  scholars,  e.g.  Thorpe  and  Ettniiiller, 
regarded  Herheard  as  a  proper  name.  I  have  taken  the  Ms.  reading 
herheard  as  two  words,  with  WUlcker.  Grein-,  Trautmann,  Kohler, 
Schiicking,  Imelmann,  keep  the  single  word  herheard 'which  they  regard 
as  an  uimsual  (dialectal)  spelling  of  hearg-eard  and  interpret  as  'a 
dwelling  in  a  grove'  ('temple,'  Gr.-).  Hearg  (Norse  hiirgr,  O.H.G.  haruc) 
is  used  to  transl.  such  words  &^  fanum,  idolum,  and  the  German  word  is 
found  in  addition  glossing  ne77ius,  lucus.  The  phrase  herheard  niman 
could  therefore  probably  bear  the  meaning  'to  take  sanctuary,'  perhaps 
with  the  idea  of  'grove'  involved.  Grein^  emended  to  her  eard  niman 
'  to  t;ike  up  (my)  abode  here.'  So  also  Brandl,  Sieper  (cf.  however  his 
transl.  of  this  passage),  etc.  Cf.  1.  27  below.  See  B.  and  T.  s.v.  niman 
viii  ;  cf.  P.salm  131,  v.  15  ;  Crist,  1.  63;  Gumac,  1.  1051. 

According  to  the  interpretiition  adopted  in  1.  11  the  wife  regards  the 
action  of  her  husband  in  .sending  her  to  the  grove  as  an  act  of  cruelty 
for  which  she  cannot  account,  except  by  her  knowledge  or  suspicion 
that  his  relatives  had  been  sowing  discord  between  them. 

16.  I^ofra  lyt,  etc.  For  lyt  with  the  personal  gen.  cf.  the  Wander^^ 
1.  31  and  u. 

18 — 21.  The  force  oi  ful  gemoecne  is  probably  intended  to  apply  only 
to  heards.  hygeg.,  what  follows  being  intended  as  a  qualification  to  the 
latter  word — in  which  case  we  may  supply  'though'  or  'but'  (cf.  p.  18, 
n.  1  above).  It  is  possible  however  that  heards.  hijgeg.  are  used  pre- 
dicatively.  In  that  case  we  should  translate  '  since  I  have  found  a  man 
fully  suited  to  me  (i.e.  in  birth,  station,  etc.)  to  be,'  etc.  So  Imelmann, 
Forschungen  zur  altenglischen  Poeste,  p.  21. 

20.  Morpor  hycgende.  Lawrence  transl.  '  meditating  upon  death.' 
Stefanovic  {Anglia,  vol.  xxxii,  p.  413)  imderstands  the  phrase  as 
qualifying  mod.  Most  editors  em.  to  hycgendne,  but  the  loss  of  -n  in  the 
ace.  sing.  masc.  of  pres.  part,  is  not  uncommon. 

21.  Blipe  geh(ero.  A  much  easier  construction  is  gained  by  ending 
the  ])revious  sentence  at  hycgende  and  taking  blif^e  gebcero  with  what 
follows.  This  punctuation,  which  was  tirst  adopted  by  Conybeare  in 
his  Ilhistrations  of  Anglo- Sa.ron  Poetry  (London,  1826),  p.  247,  has  been 
followed  by  Stefanovic,  op.  cit.,  p.  414.  (Cf.  also  Ettmiiller,  Scopas  and 
Boceras,  p.  215  n.  for  an  alternative  suggestion.)  But  Conybeare's 
punctuation  destroys  the  parallelism  between  11.  19 — 21  and  11.  42 — 45, 
which  is  surely  intentional.  The  construction  of  blipe  gebcero  is  ren- 
dered difficult  by  the  uncertainty  which  exists  as  to  the  declension  and 
gender  of  gebcero.  Cf.  Toller,  Suppl.  s.v.  If  the  words  here  are  to  be 
taken  as  ace,  the  sentence  can  hardly  be  strictly  syntactical.  The 
expression  is  perhaps  to  be  taken  as  a  compound. 

24.  Sica  hit  no  wcere.  Cf.  the  Wanderer,  1.  96.  The  verse  is  incomplete, 
but  this  may  be  intentional. 

25.  Freondacipe  uncer.  For  the  sense  of  freondscipe,  cf.  the  Husband^s 
Message  D,  1.  7. 

26.  FahiSu  dreogan.  The  words  might  also  mean  'bear  (i.e.  share) 
the  blood-guilt '  or  '  vendett;i' ;  but  this  interpretation  does  not  appear 


174  NOTES 

to  fit  the  context  here,  and  it  was  not  usual  for  a  wife  to  be  involved  in 
a  vendetta  incurred  by  her  husband.  I  have  therefore  preferred  to  take 
fcehtsu  in  the  more  general  sense  of '  hostility,'  which  is  not  uncommon 
in  the  case  of  /a/i,  and  which  gives  additional  point  to  the  words 
mines  fela  leofan. 

27.    Heht  mec,  etc.    The  nearest  parallel  that  I  know  is  in  the  text 
of  the  Helrei(S  Brynhildar  contained  in  the  Flateyjarbdk,  Vol.  i,  p.  356  : 
Let  mig  af  harmi  hugfuUr  konungr 
Atla  systur  undir  eeik  bua. 
('  In  sorrow  the  courageous  king  made  me,  the  sister  of  Atli,  to  dwell 
beneath  an  oak.') 

There  is  nothing  in  the  context  or  elsewhere  to  explain  this  passage, 
and  all  editors,  I  think,  adopt  the  reading  of  the  Codex  Regius  which 
(as  in  several  other  places  in  the  poem)  gives  quite  a  different  sense 
from  the  Flateyjarbolc : 

Let  hami  vara  hugfuUr  konimgr 

dtta  systra  und  eik  borit. 
('The  courageous  king  had  my  (swan)  garb  and  those  of  my  eight  sisters 
carried  beneath  an  oak.')  The  readings  of  the  Flateyjarhdh  however 
are  not  mere  scribal  errors.  In  sagas  we  hear  occasionally  of  sanctuaries 
serving  as  grid^asta&ir,  i.e.  places  where  fugitives  could  seek  refuge  (as 
in  churches  in  later  times).  Thus  in  Fri^pjdfs  Saga,  ch.  2,  Ingibjorg  is 
placed  in  the  sanctuary  of  Baldrshagi  by  her  brothers  when  they  go 
out  freebooting  ;  and  the  sanctuary  of  Freyr  seems  to  serve  a  similar 
pui-pose  in  the  story  of  Gunnarr  Helming,  Flateyjarbok,  i,  p.  337  (cf. 
also  Eyrhyggja  Saga,  ch.  4).  These  sanctuaries  very  frequently  con- 
tained— and  indeed  perhaps  originally  consisted  of — sacred  trees  or 
groves.  In  England  we  hear  of  places  of  sanctuary  or  asylum  {fritygeard) 
round  trees  in  the  North.  Priests'  Law,  §  35.  Parallels  are  not  uncommon 
among  other  peoples.  We  may  refer  especially  to  the  sacred  groves  of 
the  Lithuanians  in  which  no  injury  might  be  offered  to  man  or  beast. 
It  is  not  unlikely  therefore  that  this  is  what  is  meant  both  in  1.  27  ff. 
above  and  in  the  Flat,  text  of  the  HelreiiS.  Our  passage  could  also  be 
interpreted  as  pointing  to  a  prison ;  but  I  do  not  know  any  parallels  to 
the  use  of  such  a  place  in  this  way. 

29.  EortSsele,  cf.  eor&scrcefe,  U.  28,  (-u)  36.  The  meaning  is  not  made 
clear.  The  latter  word  occurs  in  the  Wanderer,  1.  84,  apparently  in 
the  sense  of  '  grave.'  Here  it  would  seem  to  mean  a  cave,  natm-al  or 
artificial.  One  is  tempted  to  think  of  the  'earth-houses'  found  in 
Scotland  and  elsewhere,  but  the  total  absence  of  such  structures  in 
Saxon  England  raises  a  difficulty.  Chambered  long  barrows  may  be 
thought  of,  but  these  are  confined  to  a  limited  district  (Wilts,  Somerset, 
Glouces.)  and  1.  35  rather  suggests  a  larger  space.  The  pi.  eord'scrafu 
in  1.  36  may  point  rather  to  a  succession  of  chambers  such  as  might  be 
found  in  'dene-holes'  or  in  natural  caves. 

30.  Dena  and  dutia-  form  a  frequent  antithesis  in  poetry.  Cf.  Riddle 
28,  11.  1,  2,  etc.  Can  dun  here  possibly  refer  to  the  steep  sides  of  the 
cavern  ?  The  meaning  may  however  be  '  This  is  a  gloomy  dell  sur- 
rounded by  lofty  hills.' 

31.  Bitre  hurgtunas ;  cf.  Grein's  translation  which  takes  the  phrase 
in  a  figurative  sense.  It  might  possibly  mean  however  '  Prickly  is  the 
enclosing  fence.'    The  original  meaning  of  tun  was  'a  hedge,'  cf.  Fris. 


NOTES  176 

tun,  'a  hedge,'  also  Grer.  Z(nt/i.    The  oxpros-sion  however  may  i)().sHiI)ly 
be  used  ironically. 

33.  Fri/nd  sind  on  eorj^an,  etc.,  or  perhaps  '  above  ground.'  Thorpe 
'  My  friond.s  are  in  the  earth  ;  the  once  dear  living  ones  the  grave 
inhabit' :  so  also  Conybeare. 

34.  L''(fer  iri'drdiai)';  Gr.  '  liegen  im  (irabc.'  In  this  interi)retation  the 
\voi\l  lifyende  presents  a  difficulty  (which  is  hardly  satisfactorily  met  by 
Thorpe'.s  transl.),  while  the  following  sentence  {ponne,  etc)  seems  to  be 
pointless. 

37.  Sunwrlangne  dccg,  cf.  Juliana,  1.  495  ;  Metres  of  Hoethius,  4'". 
Lit.  '  when  the  days  are  long  as  in  summer.'  B.  and  T.  cf.  '  livelong,' 
cf.  also  morgenlongne  divg,  Beowulf,  1.  2894.  Schiicking  translates  'AH 
the  summer  long.'  But  cf.  Norse  mrlangr,  also  used  with  dagr, 
denoting  the  length  of  the  spring  day.  Cf.  also  O.S.  sumarlanges  dages, 
Heliand,  1.  3421 .   Imelmann  believes  that  a  contrast  to  uhtan  is  inteudfed. 

42  ff.    In  11.  42 — 45  there  are  three  possible  constructions  : 

(1)  heard  (habban  sceal)  heortau  ge|)oht — swylce  habban  sceal  bli|)e 
gebajro — aic  (prep.)  fon  (habban  sceal)  breostceare,  etc.  Gejyoht  in  1.  43 
can  hardly  be  accusative,  the  evidence  for  the  neuter  form  (cf.  B.  and 
T.  s.v.)  not  being  satisfactory.    But  habban  may  possibly  be  pa.ssive. 

(2)  heiird  (soyle  wesan)  heortan  gejjoht.  Breostceare,  etc.  may  be 
attracted  into  the  construction  of  blif>e  gebairo,  though  in  sense 
belonging  to  heard  heortan  ge}>oht. 

(3)  heiird  (scyle  wesan)  heortan  gel^oht;  swylce...geban"o  ;  eac  (advb.) 
)>on  (  =  J>onne)  breostceare  sinsorgna  gedreag  (3rd  sing.  pret.).  This  is 
perhaps  the  least  probable,  while  (2)  on  the  whole  would  seem  to  be  the 
most  satisfactory. 

geong  mon.  It  is  a  much  debated  question  whether  this  phrase  is 
to  be  taken  as  general  or  particular.  Cf.  Introduction,  p.  30  above. 
Grein,  Boeder,  Imelmann,  Sieper,  etc.  understand  it  to  refer  to  the 
young  man  who  has  caused  the  separation  of  wife  and  husband. 
Schiicking  thought  that  it  referred  to  the  speaker  of  the  poem  who, 
according  to  him,  was  a  man  ;  but  he  has  recently  changed  his  view  in 
favour  of  a  connection  with  the  Crescentia  story.  (Cf.  Introduction, 
p.  29,  n.  8  above).  Williams  and  Lawrence  regard  the  passage  as  gnomic, 
but  suggested  by  reflections  on  the  husband.  In  this  case  a  transition 
from  the  general  to  the  particular  must  be  understood  in  the  following 
lines — at  1.  46,  if  not  before. 

scyle.  The  difference  between  scyle  and  sceal  is,  strictly,  that  between 
statements  of  opinion  and  of  fact ;  but  the  two  forms  appear  to  bo  used 
sometimes  without  any  appreciable  difference  of  meaning,  especially  in 
gnomic  poetry,  e.g.  Seafarer,  1.  109  ff.;  Wonders  of  Creation,  1.  17ff.  ; 
cf.  Hdvamdl,  str.  83,  92,  as  compared  with  str.  80 — 82,  etc.  Grein, 
Sieper  and  others  take  scyle  as  a  true  optative, — '  may  he,'  etc. — a  curse 
upon  the  geong  mon  who,  according  to  them,  is  not  the  husband,  but  one 
of  the  mischievous  relatives. 

43.  Heard  heortan  gepoht,  etc.  Or  perhaps  'He  must  have  stern 
resolutions  in  his  mind — though  a  gracious  demeanour — grief  of  heart 
too,'  etc. 

45.  Sy  let  him  sylfum  gelong.  This  sentence  contains  alternative 
hypotheses,  cf.  Sweet,  New  English  Grammar  (Oxford,  1898),  Vol.  ii, 
p.  13  ;  but  the  .second  hypothesis  is  complicated  by  the  introduction  of 
a  fresh  consideration.  Instead  of  '  Or  whether  he  be  pursued,'  etc.  the 
addition  of  the  clause  '  that  my  friend  sits,'  etc.  causes  the  sup[)ression 


176  NOTES 

of  the  verb  of  the  original  clause,  or  rather  converts  it  from  pers,  to 
impers.  use,  cf.  Schiicking,  Zeitschr.  fiir.  deut.  Alterthum,  Vol.  XLVlii 
(1906),  p.  445  f. 

46.  Wide...feorres  folclondes.  I  take  the  gen.  feorres  folclondes  to 
be  dependent  on  wide. 

50.  On  dreorsele,  etc.  The  scene  which  she  has  in  mind  is  not  quite 
clear  to  me.  Is  it  a  cave  on  the  coast,  to  which  access  can  be  obtained 
only  by  water,  or  a  flooded  ruin  (cf.  ntanhleopu,  Wanderer,  1.  101)  1 

53.  Of  langope.  B.  and  T.  and  Gr.  Koh.  suggest  emendation  of  of 
to  on.  In  accordance  with  the  general  custom  of  A.S.  gnomic  utter- 
ances, this  sentence  is  expressed  in  the  masc.  sing.,  though  the  speaker 
is  obviously  thinking  primarily  of  her  own  position. 


IV.   THE  HUSBAND'S  MESSAGE 
B. 

1.  Scewealle.    Cf.  Beowulf,  1.  1924. 

2.  Merefarope.  Cf.  Andreas,  1.  351,  etc.  The  word  is  generally  under- 
stood to  mean  sea- waves.  Cf.  B.and  T. «.«;.,  also  Tupper.  Thorpe  translates 
'  ocean's  strand.'  The  compound  only  occurs  here  and  in  Andreas,  where 
there  is  nothing  in  the  text  to  preclude  the  meaning  sea-shore,  and  this 
seems  to  give  better  sense  in  our  text.  Cf.  also  Andreas,  1.  255,  and 
Toller,  Suppl.  s.  v.  faro]?  ii.  F'or  a  discussion  of  the  word  and  its  frequent 
confusion  with  warop,  cf.  Krapp,  '  Notes  on  the  Andreas,'  Modern  Philo- 
logy, Vol.  II,  pp.  405,  406. 

3.  Fea  cenig.   Cf.  Psalm  104,  v.  11. 

9.  Ofer  nieodu.  The  line  is  metrically  defective,  nor,  as  it  stands,  is 
it  easy  to  see  the  exact  force  of  ofer.  Grein*  suggested  meodubence ; 
Grein^,  meodudrincende.  The  former  suggestion  has  been  adopted  by 
Tupper  in  his  ed.  of  the  riddle  ( The  Riddles  of  the  E.xeter  Book,  Boston, 
1910),  the  latter  by  Wiilcker.    There  is  no  sign  of  omission  in  the  MS. 

14.  pingum.  All  editors  seem  to  take  this  as  adv.  instr.,  some 
translating  (with  Thorpe)  'purposely,'  others  'violently.'  (Gr.  Koh. 
'potenter,'  ' violenter '  1)  B.  and  T.  give  'purposely'  s.v.  ping  but 
'violently'  s.v.  gepywan  for  this  passage.  The  latter  meaning  is 
practically  imi)lied  in  gepydan.  I  cannot  find  any  parallel  for  the 
meaning  'purposely,'  but  it  might  possibly  mean  'to  the  end  that'  or 
'  by  such  treatment  that.'  Or  is  it  possible  that  it  may  be  a  true  dat., 
'subjected  me  to  such  treatment  that,'  etc.  ? 

C. 

3.    Frean.   Schiicking  emends  to /n[^]a/i  for  metrical  reasons. 
5.    Tirfceste  treowe,  etc.    Cf.  Psalm  100,  v.  6,  where  the  phrase  is 
possibly  suggested  by  this  passage. 


1.  Hivcet  is  frequently  used  by  Anglo-Saxon  poets  to  introduce  a  new 
division  of  the  subject  (here,  the  actual  message).  Cf.  the  Wonders  of 
Creation,  1.  38. 

2.  Sinchroden,  lit,  'treasure-laden.'   Thorpe,  'richly  adorned  one.' 


NOTES  177 

5.  Meoduhurgum.    CL  the   ir^/wt/cn'r,  1.  78. 

6.  Eard  weardi(/an.    Gr.  'wohnen.'    Cf.  Crist,'\.  772. 

7.  Ftvhf'o.   Cf.  the  Wife's  Complaint,  1.  26  and  n. 

9.  Litgu  dre/de,  lit.  'stir,'  'churn  the  sea,'  a  poetical  expression 
couuuon  in  Anglo-Saxon  for  travelling  by  sea.  Cf.  1.  21,  mengan 
mirestnamas ;  Beowulf,  1.  1904  ;  Wanderer,  1.  4 ;  and  (with  a  somewhat 
dirt'erciit  meaning)  Hrafnsmdl,  str.  9. 

10.  Si/^/^a/i  J^u  gehi/rde,  etc.,  i.e.  as  soon  as  spring  is  come. — The 
ancients  usually  avoided  sailing  in  winter. 

11.  Geomorne  geac.   Cf.  the  Seafarer,  1.  53  and  n. 
16.    Findest.    Thorpe  punctuates /nrfcs^;  /dpr. 

19.  He  me  s(egde.  Thorpe  places  a  period  after  scegde  and  translates 
fyonne,  etc.,  1.  20,  as  'Then  may,'  etc. 

XviiL  Geong.  Ettraiiller  and  others  suggest  that  ana  is  the  word 
which  lias  been  lost  here.  May  it  not  have  been  an  infinitive,  parallel 
to  faran  i 

25.  peodnes  dohtor.  I  have  followed  the  punctuation  of  Thorpe. 
Mcst  editors  (e.g.  Ettmiiller,  Wiilcker,  Sieper,  Schiicking,  etc.)  place  a 
comma  after  eorlgestreona. 

gif...beneah...geci/re  appears  to  be  an  irregular  conditional  sentence. 
Instead  of  'if  he  shall  gain  thee  he  will  carry  out  the  bond,'  it  has 
been  turned  to  'if  he  shall  gain  thee  I  would  choose... to  declare  on 
oath  that  he  will  keep  the  bond.'  The  meaning  would  then  be  that 
besides  the  guarantee  of  the  old  vows  the  speaker  would  be  prepared  to- 
get  S.  II.  etc.  to  give  a  further  guarantee.  He  would  choose  them  as  his 
oath-helpers.  Cf.  the  cyre-ap.  Laws  of  Aetbelstan,  cap.  ii,  9.  Cf.  also 
p.  42,  n.  2  above. 

26.  Ofer  eald  gebeot.  The  dictionaries  and  edd.  translate  gebeot  as 
'promise.'  Thorpe  'after  the  old  promise.'  B.  and  T.  'contrary  to  the 
old  promise.'  So  also  Grein,  Trautmann,  Ten  Brink,  Schiicking,  etc. 
Blackburn  '  in  spite  of  the  old  threat  (against  you  both).'  Imelmann 
'  in  accordance  with  the  old  covenant.' 

27.  Gecyre.  All  editors  who  accept  this  reading  (e.g.  Thorpe,  Wiilcker, 
Imelmann,  etc.)  take  the  word  as  coming  from  gecierran,  though  the 
actual  emendation  rr  for  r  which  appears  to  be  required  is  not  always 
printed.  The  sense  however  seems  to  point  to  geceosan,  though  the  use 
of  the  pret.  conj.  in  this  construction  is  unusual  except  in  auxiliary 
verbs,  wcere,  wulde,  etc.  Schipper  read  genyre,  Trautmann,  Tupper, 
Sieper,  and  Schiicking  read  genyre  for  gehyre  (i.e.  with  the  upper  stroke 
of  the  h  efi'aced),  but  they  do  not  translate.   Cf.  Anglia,  xxxvi,  p.  287. 

28.  D.  This  letter  seems  properly  to  be  D,  but  in  the  Ruin,  1.  xviii 
(24),  it  is  obviously  used  for  M,  so  it  may  have  that  value  here  also. 


THE  RUIN 

1.  Wrcetlic,  etc.  Cf.  Gnomic  Verses  (Cotton.),  1.  3  vyrcetlic  weallstana 
geweorc,  here  also  used  of  Roman  masonry.  Wealstaii,  Gr.  Koh.  under- 
stand wealUtan,  and  transl.  'corner  stone,'  presumably  on  the  ground 
of  Cri.^t,  1.  2 — the  third  place  in  which  the  word  occurs.  Hicketier 
{Anglia,  xi,  p.  3G6)  understands  ivealhstan  and  translates  'Roman 
stone.'    The  quality  of  Roman  building  at  ^ath  is  such  that  in  the 

K.  12 


178  NOTES 

ruins  of  the  great  bath  there  can  be  seen  half  an  archway  and  much  of 
the  adjacent  wall  which,  after  a  fall  of  over  twenty  feet,  still  remains 
intact. 

t>ces.  With  Sieper  and  Schiicking  I  take  pees  as  a  variant  of  }?es, 
though  the  form  according  to  Sievers,  §  338,  Anm.  4,  occurs  only  in 
northern  texts.  Earlier  editors  took  it  to  be  gen.  sing.,  but  this  involve.s 
an  unusual  construction.  The  poem  contains  rather  more  dialectal 
forms  than  is  usual,  e.g.  celdo,  -eotone,  waldend,  forweorone^  geleorone, 
cnea,  and  perhaps  s7/Ifor,  besides  the  common  poetic  hafa^^  waldend. 

2.  Enta  geweorc.  The  same  phrase  occurs  in  the  Gnomic  Verses 
(Cotton.),  1.  2,  in  the  passage  (referring  to  Roman  buildings)  quoted 
above.    Cf.  also  the  Wanderer,  1.  87  and  n. 

4.  Hrim  geat  torras.  The  text  is  probably  corrupt.  Thorpe  reads  hrim 
geat-torras  berofen  ('The  hoar  gate-towers  despoiled')  but  suggests  an 
emendation  to  hrimge  ihrimige)  ?  berofne  1  Ettmiiller,  ^/-eor^e  torras,  hrym- 
geat  behrofen  (or  hrymgeatu  behrofenu).  Klipstein,  hreorge  torras  hrimge 
torras  berofene.  Gv^x^^hrungeat  ('  balkentor,'  '  gattertor ')  -torras  (or 
merely  hrungeat)  berofen.  Sieper  emends  to  hrumge  but  gives  no  lit. 
transl.   Schiicking  emends  to  hringgeat  which  he  translates  'Ring-tor.' 

5.  Scurbeorg{e),  a  an.  Xey.,  lit.  'protection  against  storms.'  Some 
editors  interpret  this  as  meaning  'roofs'  or  buildings  genei'ally.  5f?l>n-l\<^^>l'. 

6.  Hafa^...op...gewitan,  lit.  'has  been  holding... perished  and  gone... 
until  (now)... have  passed  away.'  This  seems  to  me  preferable  to  taking 
geioitan  in  a  future  sense. 

7.  Waldend  wyrhtan  ;  perhaps  rather  to  be  taken  as  parallel  to  such 
compounds  as  wine-dryhten  than  as  a  true  dvandva  (like  suhter-gef(ede- 
ran  in  Beowulf,  1.  1164).  Possibly  however  it  should  be  read  waldend, 
wyrhtan. 

8.  Cnea  appears  to  be  a  non-W.S.  form.  Cf.  trea,  Ps.  Vesp.  73, 
5.  Some  editors,  e.g.  Sieper,  Schiicking,  etc.,  emend  to  cne\ow~\a  for 
metrical  reasons. 

10.  Roeghar.  It  is  curious  that  most  editors  take  the  first  element  as 
coming  from  rcege,  'she-goat,'  instead  of  from  rag^t,  'lichen.'  Sieper 
{Die  altenglische  Elegie,  p.  231)  regards  it  as  referring  to  the  grey  sand- 
stone of  which  the  Roman  buildings  of  Bath  were  largely  constructed. 

readfah  was  thought  by  Earle  to  refer  to  the  stains  made  on  the 
stone  by  the  oxide  of  iron  contained  in  the  mineral  springs  ;  but  these 
stains  would  hardly  reach  the  arches,  and  the  word  more  probably 
refers  to  the  prevailing  colour  of  the  internal  walls,  whether  of  bricks 
or  mortar  or  painted  plaster  work.  Cf.  also  teaforgeapa,  1.  23.  Cf.  J. 
Ward,  Romano- British  Buildings  and  Earthivorks,  London,  1911,  p.  283, 
etc.  Cf.  also  the  Wanderer,  1.  98  n.  The  walls  of  the  great  bath-house 
were  entirely  lined  with  red  plaster  made  of  powdered  Roman  brick, 
■which  was  afterwards  polished.  Much  of  this  red  plaster  still  remains 
adhering  to  the  walls. 

11.  Steap  geap  gedreas.  During  the  latter  part  of  the  Roman  occu- 
pation the  great  bath  appears  to  have  had  a  vaulted  roof,  of  which  the 
fallen  arch  referred  to  in  1.  1  above  formed  a  part.  Other  fragments  of 
the  roof  are  still  to  be  seen  on  the  floor  of  the  great  bath. 

geap.  This  word  presents  difficulties.  The  early  editors  took  it 
to  be  a  substantive  (as  also  in  1.  23)  ;  but  ho  such  word  is  recognised 
by  the  dictionaries,  though  (if  Sieper  is  right  in  taking  the  vowel  as 
short)  we  might  compare  O.  N.  gap  in  Ginnungagap.   CK  also  the  gloss 


NOTES  179 

geap,  '  comas,'  with  Toller's  remark  (Suppl.  s.v.  geap),  with  which  we 
may  possibly  compare  late  L.  corna,  'angle.'  '  Kirkland  {American 
Journal  of  Philology,  Vol.  VII,  1886,  p.  367  f.)  suggests  a  wk.  n.  sing. 
geapa  but  does  not  translate.' 

13.  Wirum,  perhaps  the  iron  rods  or  cramps  with  which  the  Roman 
n)asoiis  sometimes  laced  together  the  large  stones  of  their  masonry, 
t'f.  J.  Ward,  Romano- British  Buildings  and  Earthworks,  p.  232  f. 

14.  Burnsele,  i.e.  presumably  '  bathing  chambers.'   Cf.  1.  31  ff. 
17.    Ot>  }'cet,  etc.    Cf.  the  Wanderer,  1.  107. 

19.  Secgrof,  a  air.  \ty.  B.  and  T.  transl.  '(death  carried  off)  the  host 
of  men.'  Cf.  0.  H.G.  ruaba,  'numerus.'  Gr.  Koh.  transl.  eiise  strenuiLs, 
and  add  -ra  (g.  pi.). 

23.  Teaforgeapa.  Cf.  1.  ix  above  and  n.  I  have  taken  teaforgeapa  as  a 
compound  adj.  with  most  recent  editors — Kluge,  Sieper,  Schiicking,  etc. 
Cf.  Gr.  Koh.  s.v.  Teafor  is  used  to  gloss  minium,  'vermilion'  or  'red 
ochre.'  Cf.  B.  and  T.  s.v.  The  allusion  is  probably  to  the  colour  of 
Roman  tiles  or  bricks. 

tigelum  sceade^,  etc.  Cf.  IL  1  and  10,  notes.  The  roof  of  the  great 
bath  appears  to  have  been  composed  wholly  of  red  tiles,  many  of  which 
still  lie  about  the  sides  and  on  the  bottom  of  the  bath. 

24.  Hrostbeag.  See  B.  and  T.  s.v.  Grein^  reads  hrost-heages  href,  '  the 
gable  or  summit  of  the  woodwork  of  the  roof,'  translating  hrost-heag 

,  as  'corona  canterium';  so  also  Schiicking.  Kirkland  {Amer.  Journ.  of 
Philol.  vii,  p.  367)  and  Sieper  keep  the  MS.  reading.  The  former  trans- 
lates beages  rof  as  '  renowned  for  its  treasures,'  and  hrost  as  '  roof,' 
standing  here  for  '  house '  (cf.  L.  tectum).  Sieper  translates  '  the  roof 
renowned  for  its  treasures '  and  refers  to  the  wonderful  gable  decoration, 
frieze  and  capitals  of  the  Roman  temple  which  have  been  found  at  Bath. 
hryre...gecrong.  Toller  transl.  'the  ruin  sank  to  earth.'  Gr.  Kcih. 
take  hnjre  as  instr.  and  apparently  translate  '  {hrostbeages  hrof)  fell  to 
the  ground  in  ruins,'  but  the  accusative  does  not  appear  to  be  used 
elsewhere  in  this  way.  Hryre-u-ong  might  possibly  be  taken  as  the  nom. 
of  a  compound,  but  I  cannot  find  any  certain  parallel  for  this  use  of 
wong.   I  suspect  a  corruption  of  the  text.  ^ 

30.  Bradan  rices.  Burh  seems  here  to  be  used  almost  in  the  sense  of 
'capital'  (cf.  Cantwara-burh).  This  is  preferable  to  taking  br.  ri.  as  a 
descriptive  gen. 

31.  iStream...u'ylme,  lit.  'a  stream  cast  forth  heat  (noun,  d.  sing.)  or 
hotly  (adv.)  in  broad  surge.'  Stream  may  allude  to  the  water  rising 
from  the  springs,  which  at  Bath  are  situated  under  the  supply  cistern 
close  to  the  baths  (cf.  Havertield  in  the  Vict.  County  Hist,  of  Somerset, 
Vol.  I,  p.  244).  This  hot  current  is  conveyed  in  a  broad  lead-lined 
culvert  to  the  great  bath,  etc. 

weal  call  befeng,  etc.  Sieper  regards  this  as  a  reference  to  the  great 
octagonal  wall  of  the  reservoir  enclosing  the  chief  spring  in  Roman 
times,  cf.  Die  altengl.  Elegie,  p.  233.  Cf.  Haverfield  in  the  Vict.  County 
Hist,  of  Somerset,  Vol.  I,  p.  249  f. 

XXX.  Hat  on  hrepre.  With  Sieper  I  take  on  hreSre  with  bapu  (cf. 
Beoiculf  1.  3148  ;  Crist  and  Satan,  1.  99  >.),  though  I  do  not  know  how  to 
preserve  the  metaphor  in  a  translation. 

leton  t>onne  geotan,  etc.  The  following  pas.sage  no  doubt  contained  a 
description,  as  Sieper  suggests  {LHe  altengl.  Elegie,  p.  233),  of  the  way 
in  which  the  hot  water  was  conducted  through  the  great  culvert  from 

12—2 


180  NOTES 

the  reservoir  to  the  great  bath,  whose  '  grey  stone '  floor  was  covered 
with  lead.    L.  xxxv  clearly  refers  to  the  arrangements  of  the  baths. 

XXXii,  XXXiii.  Hringmere.  If  Bath  is  the  scene  of  the  Ruin,  could 
this  refer  to  the  circular  Roman  bath  excavated  in  1885  1  Cf.  Haverfield 
in  the  Vict.  County  Hist,  of  Somerset,  Vol.  i,  p.  244.  For  the  use  of  viere 
as  applying  to  a  cistern,  see  B.  and  T.  s.v.  ill. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BRUNANBURH 

2.  Beorn{a).   Cf.  the  Wanderer,  1.  70  n. 

3.  Eadmund  cepeling.  Under  his  brother  Aethelstan  he  sometimes 
signs  charters  as  clito  or  f rater  regis.  He  was  afterwards  king,  939 — 946. 

5.  Brunnanhurh.  The  mss.  (with  Symeon  of  Durham)  have  Brunnan-, 
but  the  first  7i  is  deleted  in  A.  The  other  authorities  have  Brunan-. 
Cf.  p.  60,  n.  1  (with  Sax.  Chron.  E,  F). 

Bordweal.  Cf.  Beowulf,  1.  2980  ;  probably  a  military  term  expressive 
of  the  close  ranks  in  which  the  warriors  of  the  time  fought,  holding  their 
shields  before  them.  There  is  no  evidence  to  show  that  the  bordweall 
was  formed  of  a  line  of  locked  shields,  like  the  L.  testudo  with  which  it 
has  sometimes  been  compared.  The  round  wooden  shields  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxons,  which  appear  to  have  been  of  no  great  strength  apart  from  the 
iron  bosses,  were  less  suitable  for  such  a  purpose  than  the  shields  of  the  f 
Romans.  Cf.  C.  Oman,  A  History  of  the  Art  of  War  (London,  1898), 
p.  71,  footnote  1. 

6.  Hamora  lafan.  Cf.  Beowulf,  1.  2829,  and  the  other  references 
given  by  B.  and  T.  s.v.  laf  ii,  especially  Riddle  71, 1.  3, '  eom  wra}>ra  laf, 
fyres  and  feole,'  '...the  leaving  of  foes,  of  fire  and  of  file.' 

7.  Swa  him,  etc.    Cf.  Genesis,  1.  2771. 

8.  CneomcBgum.  The  origin  of  the  word  is  probably  to  be  traced  to 
the  conception  of  grades  of  relationship  as  analogous  to  the  joints  of  the 
human  body.  Cf.  the  Laws  of  Aethelred,  vi,  12;  North.  Priests'  Law  61. 
Cf.  also  the  term  heafodmceg,  Beowulf,  11.  588,  2151 ;  and  cneo,  in  the 
Ruin,  1.  8. 

pa...ealgodon.   Cf.  Hdkonarmdl,  str.  4. 

11.  Scipflotan,  i.e.  Anlaf's  forces  which  had  come  by  sea  from 
Dublin,  described  as  guma  northerna  in  1.  18. 

12.  Feld  dcennede,  etc.  This  difficult  word  has  given  rise  to  many 
conjectures  which  are  enumerated  and  discussed  by  Tupper  in  the 
Journal  of  Engl,  and  Germ.  Philol.  Vol.  ii,  1912,  p.  91  f.  There  can  be 
little  doubt  that,  as  Price  suggests,  the  word  is  identical  with  Norse 
dynja,  'to  pour.'  He  translates  'the  field  flowed  with  warriors'  blood.' 
Cf.  Ifjdls  Saga  (Copenh.  ed.,  1772),  ch.  176  '  du7itSi  pa  hmit  um  hann 
allan.^ 

15.  Glad  ofer  grundns,  etc.  Cf.  Beowulf,  11.  2072,  2073,  etc. ;  rodores 
candel,  ib.  1572. 

16,  17.   0(y...setle.   Cf.  the  Heliand,  1.  2819. 

18.    Garum  ageted.   Cf.  Kock,  'Jubilee  Jaunts  and  Jottings'  in  Lunds 
Universitets  Arsskrift,  1918,  p.  1. 
guma  norjyerna.    In  the  Saxon  Chronicle  Norpmen  seems  regularly  to 


NOTES  181 

mean  'Norwegians,'  but  it  is  uncertain  whether  nnrperne  is  always  used 
in  this  sense,  e.g.  an.  890.  According  to  the  Irish  Annals  the  popula- 
tion of  Dublin  consisted  partly  of  Lhibligaill  and  partly  of  Finngaill, 
which  terms  are  usually  supposed  to  mean  Danes  and  Norwegians 
respectively.  It  wi\s  the  latter  however  who  originally  founded  this  city, 
and  jxjrhaps  they  formed  the  predominant  Scandinavian  element. 

28  f.  Fife. .  .cyninges  giungc.  For  details  of  the  slain  cf.  Introduction, 
p.  Gl  above. 

33.    XortSmanna  bregu,  cf.  Introduction,  p.  62  above. 

35.  C read... Hot,  lit.  'The  bark  pressed  afloat  (and)  the  king,'  etc. 
Onjlot  (O.  Norse  djlot;  cf.  A.S.  ojijlote),  lit.  'into  water  deep  enough 
to  enable  a  ship  to  float.'  Creodan  is  a  rare  word  in  Anglo-Saxon.  It 
occurs  again  in  Riddle  4,  1.  28,  where  it  seems  to  denote  waves  dashing 
against  the  clifls.  Cf.  B.  and  T.  s.v.  hopgehncest.  Miss  A.  J.  Robertson 
tells  me  that  the  same  word  occurs  in  the  heading  to  cap.  2  of  the  Laws 
of  Edgar  I,  MS.  B,  with  a  similar  meaning.  The  word  is  not  very  rare 
in  later  times  (in  the  sense  '  to  press,  drive,  or  hasten  on.'  Cf.  N.E.D. 
s.r.  Crowd  2). 

39.  Hreman  ne  J^orfie.  Cf.  11.  44,  47.  For  the  repetition  Schiicking 
compares  the  Dream  of  the  Rood,  11.  35,  42,  45  {Kleines  angelsdchsisches 
DicJUerhuch,  Cothen,  1919,  p.  72). 

40.  Mcega  sceard.  Sceard,  gefylled,  heslagen  are  all  n.  sing,  referring 
to  Constantine  ;  but  it  is  hardly  possible  to  translate  the  passage 
literally. 

42.  His  sumi  forlet.  This  prince  appears  to  be  nowhere  mentioned, 
unless  he  is  the  'Ceallach,  Prince  of  Scotland,'  who  is  said  to  have  been 
killed  in  the  great  battle  described  in  Annal  931  (937)  of  the  Annals  of 
Clonmacnoise.  The  Pictish  Chronicle,  An.  934,  has  :  'In  xxxiv  ejus 
anno  bellum  Duinbrunde  ubi  cecidit  Alius  Constantini.' 

47.    Hlehlian  ne  porftun.   Cf.  Juliana.,  1.  526. 

53.  Ncpgledcnearruni.  For  this  phrase  cf.  0.  Sax.  negilid  skip  and 
the  parallel  expression  ncegledbord,  Riddle  59,  1.  5  ;  Genesis,  1.  1433. 

54.  Dinges  mere.  The  name  is  unexplained.  It  would  seem  to  mean 
the  Irish  Sea  or  some  portion  of  it. 

60.  Letan  him  behindan,  etc.  The  eagle,  raven,  and  wolf  form  part  of 
the  traditional  epic  features  of  the  picture  of  a  battle  in  A.  S.  poetry. 
Cf.  Beowulf,  1.  3024  fi". ;  Elene,  1.  110  ft:  In  Judith,  1.  205  S".,  the  resem- 
blance to  this  passage  is  so  close  that  a  literary  connection  between  the 
two  has  been  suggested  by  Cook  (cf.  Judith,  Boston,  1904),  p.  xxii. 

61.  Saluwigpadan.   Cf.  Be  Manna  Wyrdtim,  1.  37. 

62.  Hasewan  padan.   Cf.  Hrafnsmdl,  str.  4  {hosfja&ri). 

63.  Earn  a;ftan  hmt,  no  doubt  the  white-tailed  eagle  {Haliaettts 
albicilla).  As  late  as  the  early  years  of  last  century  it  nested  in  the 
N.W.  of  England  and  S.W.  of  Scotland,  but  now  rarely  breeds  south  of 
Shetland. 

68.  pees  t>e  tis  secgaS  bee.  Cf.  Sax.  Chron.  (A,  B,  C)  sub  an.  973, 1.  14. 
The  ref.  to  Enqle  and  Seaxe  (1.  70)  comes  ultimately  no  doubt  from 
Bede,  H.  E.  i,  15. 

69.  Ealde  utSioitan,  strictly  in  apposition  to  bee,  lit.  'books,  our 
ancient  sages.' 


182  NOTES 


THE  HRAFNSMAL 

Note  the  following  exceptional  forms  : 

gjoengr  (Icel.  gengr)  str.  3,  sist  (Icel.  s^st  from  sysla),  str.  13. 

p.  78.  Vitmn,..fa(5mhyggvi,  i.e.  slain,  those  who  died  in  battle  being  re- 
garded as  passing  to  Valholl  and  at  the  same  time  as  being  sacrificed 
to  Othin.  It  was  not  uncommon  to  dedicate  an  enemy's  army  to  Othin 
before  the  commencement  of  a  battle.  Cf.  the  iSaga  of  Hrumund 
Greipsson^  ch.  2;  Saga  of  HervUr  and  Heithrek\  ch.  14;  Styrbjarnar 
pdttr,  ch.  2,  etc.  etc.  Cf.  also  Chadwick,  The  Cidt  of  Othin  (London, 
1899),  p.  6  fF. 

eineygja..fa(Smbyggvi,  i.e.  Othin.  Cf.  Voluspd,  str.  28,  29;  Gylfa- 
ginning,  ch.  15. 

p.  79, 1.  A  nnat  skulu.  Munch  and  Unger  understand  this  strophe  to  be 
put  in  the  mouth  of  some  man  of  the  Danish  court  expressing  his  con- 
tempt of  Harold  the  Fairhaired,  whom  he  has  probably  not  hitherto 
known  as  a  warlike  king.  They  emend  />cer  to  peir  and  take  arnbdttir 
Ragnhildar  as  voc. :  transl.  'They  shall  have  something  else  to  relate 
over  their  cups,  ye  gallant  dames,  handmaidens  of  Ragnhildr,  than 
that  ye  are  battle-lynxes  (i.e.  wolves),  whom  Harold  has  (hitherto) 
stinted,'  etc. 

amhdttir  Ragnhildar.  Ragnhildr  was  the  chief  wife  of  Harold  the 
Fairhaired,  and  was  called  Ragnhildr  in  rika.  She  was  the  daughter  of 
Eric,  king  of  Jutland,  and  mother  of  Eric  B165ox.  It  is  said  that  when 
King  Harold  married  her  he  put  away  nine  of  his  other  wives.  Cf.  the 
Saga  of  Harold  the  Fairhaired  {Heimskringla\  ch.  21. 

2.   Holmrygjum.   Cf  p.  188. 

Hortsa  meyjum.  HorSaland  was  the  district  surrounding  the  Har- 
danger  Fjord. 

hiierri...Heinversku.  HeiSmork  (now  Hedemarken)  in  the  east  of 
Norway. 

Eolga  cettar,  i.e.  the  people  of  Halogaland.  For  Holgi  (the  husband 
or  father  of  ThorgertJr  Holgabrii'Sr)  see  Saxo,  Book  ill,  p.  87  ;  Skdld- 
skaparmdl,  ch.  44. 

konungr  enn  ky7ist6ri,  i.e.  King  Harold.  Cf.  the  Battle  of  Eafsfjord, 
str.  1. 

komt,  Danska,  i.e.  Ragnhildr.    Cf.  str.  above. 

1.  HlytSi  hringberendr,  lit.  'Let  those  who  wear  bracelets,  torques, 
etc.,  hearken '  (cf.  Beoivulf  11.  623,  3017),  or  possibly  'who  carry  swords.' 
Cf.  F.  J6nsson,  Diet.  s.  v. 

avaraxifSgha^  i.e.  afar-.  So  Munch  and  Unger,  Wisen  and  F.  Jonsson. 
Wisen  (following  in  part  the  text  of  Munch  and  Unger  in  their  Lcesehog, 
Christiania,  1847)  has  conjecturally  restored  the  text  of  the  entire 
poem  in  Carmina  Noi-rcena  (Lund,  1886),  p.  1 1  flf.  A  more  recent  restora- 
tion of  the  text  is  that  of  F.  Jonsson  in  his  edition  of  the  Fagrskinna 
(Copenhagen,  1902-3),  pp.  6—12,  footnotes. 

frd  mdlom...dcemde.  The  sentence  does  not  seem  to  be  strictly 
syntactical.  The  simple  form  of  the  sentence  would  be  'er  mcEr...vi^ 
hramn  doemde' ;  but  it  is  turned  into  a  dependent  clause  by  the  intro- 
duction of  the  phrase  ek...hoeyr(Si,  after  which  one  would  have  expected 
an  infinitive. 


NOTES  183 

2.  Vera)'...kncn7ii.  I  have  followed  v.  Friesen  in  emending  sva-  to 
/<'/-,  hut  there  is  a  serious  corruption  in  the  text.  Munch  and  Linger 
i-ead  vig  />.  v.,  vcerar  ne  ram,  fyekk  er  j^6  in  frdnleita,  etc.,  and  suggest 
(cf.  note  in  ed.,  p.  137)  'The  valkyrie  thought  herself  warlike,  (and 
though  Valkyries  in  general)  are  not  gentle,  yet  she  is  charming,  she  the 
bright-eyed  one,  who,'  etc.  Wison  read  {vcerar  ne.  vdru)  peklc's  p6  en 
frdnU'ita,  'restless  were  the  valkyries — yet  charming  was  the  bright- 
eyoii  maid.'  The  reading  given  in  Ms.  A  {•!)  Jn't-k-ir  fcnno  Innni  framleito 
would  translate  'no  pleasure  did  the  bright-eyed  Finnish  maid  take  (in 
men).'  For  a  discu.ssion  of  this  and  the  following  passage  see  O.  v. 
Friesen,  Ark.  f.  nord.  Filol.,  Vol.  14  (1902),  p.  62  ff. 

glcegghvarma,  lit.  'with  shining  eyelid.'  Wis^n,  F.  J6nsson,  etc.  follow 
the  variant  reading  ghihvarma,  and  they  and  Munch  and  Unger  trans- 
pose kvcerlchvita  and  ghvhvarma  for  the  sake  of  the  alliteration. 

H/imiss  hausrceyti.  The  expression  is  unexi)lained.  Munch  and  Unger 
suggested  that  Hi'/mir  is  to  be  taken  as  referring  to  Ymir,  the  primeval 
giant  from  whose  skull  the  sky  was  formed  (cf.  Vaff>r[i)^nismdl,  .str. 
21),  in  which  ca.se  Hi'pniss  hausroeyti  im^imQ&n  'sky-plucker,'  i.e.  bird  ; 
but  no  confusion  between  H;^mir  and  V'mir  is  found  elsewhere.  In 
IIymishvi(Sa,  str.  31  it  is  stated  that  'Hymir's  skull  is  harder  than  any 
jar.'  It  is  conceivable  that  Hymir  is  introduced  here  as  a  'spirit  of  the 
rocky  waste'  (cf  JJ^niisk-vi&a,  str.  27);  but  more  probably  the  ex- 
pression is  due  to  some  lost  myth. 

rt  home  vinhjarga.  The  meaning  of  v.  is  uncertain.  F.  J6nsson  (cf. 
Diet,  s.v.)  translates:  'klipper  ved  (omgivende)  enge.'  Wisdn  suggested 
hijmrum  for  hormum  (cf  hamrahjarg,  cited  by  Vigfusson,  Diet.  s.v. 
hjarg) ;  von  Friesen  {Ark:  f.  nord.  Filol,  Vol.  14  (1902),  p.  66  f )  takes 
vinhjarga  to  be  for  vindhjarga  (i.e.  clouds),  and  er  as  referring  to  the 
valkyrie  (cf.  HelgakviSa  Uundingshana  ii,  str.  4. 

3.  yi:er...liggja,  lit.  'Ye  have  passed  the  night,  I  think,  where  ye 
knew  the  dead  were  lying.' 

4.  HmfjaSri,  cf.  The  Batde  of  Brunanhurh,  1.  62. 

5.  A  Kvimium,  unknown,  perhaps  in  HorSaland.  Cf.  F.  Jonsson, 
Diet.  s.v. 

djupum  rcetSr,  etc.  For  details  of  Scandinavian  battleships  in  the 
Viking  Age,  see  Kr.  Kalund  in  Paul's  Grundriss  der  Germanischen 
Philoloaie,  Bd.  ill  (Strassburg,  1900),  pp.  464 — 470;  Montelius,  ^w^^ifr- 
geschicnte  Schwedens  (Leipzig,  1906),  p.  259  ff. 

rof^num  rondum.  Cf.  the  ships  on  the  Baveux  Tapestry.  See  C.  A. 
Stothard  in  Vehista  Monumenta,  London,  1885,  Vol.  vi,  Plates  1,  2, 6,8-10. 

6.  Fr(rys...h€efja,  generally  interpreted  as  'fight';  but  Freyr  is  not 
elsewhere  a  god  of  war.    Cf  Vigfusson,  Diet.  s.v.  leikr. 

elldcdli,  a  cm.  Af-y.  F.  Jonsson  translates  'baking,'  'warming  (one- 
self 0  by  the  tire.' 

vattu.  Vfgfusson  suggested  '  pillows,'  but  gives  no  other  reference  for 
this  use  of  the  word. 

7.  Hversso  er,  etc.  Munch  and  Unger  understand  the  construction  to 
hahversso  er  fegjiifull  Ognjiytir  f>eim,  er  fold  verja,  (ok)  vi(S  itra  i}>r6ttar- 
menn  sina,  'what  of  the  generosity  which  the  martial  leader  sliows  to 
those  who  guard  the  land  and  to  his  splendid  champions.'  F.  J6nsson 
emends  (cf  Diet.  s.v.  itr)  to  itrir  it>r6ttarmem. 

8.  llknum  vcerpa.  The  reference  is  to  the  game  oi hneftafl,  also  called 
King  Itrek's  Game,  which  appears  to  have  had  certain  features  in 
common  with  chess,  and  which  wa.s  played  in  Scandinavia  and  Iceland 


184  NOTES 

till  the  introduction  of  the  latter  game,  probably  in  the  thirteenth 
century.  It  would  seem  that,  like  the  Welsh  tawlhvirdd^  it  was  played 
between  sides  composed,  the  one  of  sixteen  'fair'  (white)  men,  the 
other  of  a  king  (called  hnefi  or  hunn)  and  eight  'dark'  (black)  men. 
Three  of  the  riddles  of  Gestumblindi  refer  to  this  game  (cf.  Hervarar 
Saga,  ch.  11).  In  one  of  these  the  hunn  is  described  as  'that  bea.st 
which  slays  people's  flocks  and  is  girt  around  with  iron.  It  has  eight 
horns,  yet  no  head,  and  it  runs  when  it  can.'  The  answer  is  :  'That  is 
the  hunn  in  hneftafi.  It  has  the  same  name  as  a  bear.  It  runs  as  soon 
as  it  is  thrown.'  For  further  details  see  H.  J.  R.  Murray,  A  History  of 
Chess  (Oxford,  1913),  Appendix  i,  'Chess  in  Iceland,'  pp.  443 — 446. 

malme  Uunlenzkum.  Does  this  mean  steel,  or  gold  ?  F.  J6nssou 
understands  the  latter,  and  compares  Vdla  malme  in  Hindluljotf,  str.  9. 
For  Hiinlenzkr  cf.  note  to  the  Battle  of  the  Goths  and  Huns,  str.  2. 

9.  HiJmlur,  the  strap  in  which  the  oar  was  secured,  generally  in 
small  ships.  It  was  itself  fastened  to  a  hdr  or  upright-standing  curved 
liiece  of  wood,  against  which  the  oar  worked. 

10.  At  skallda  reitSo.  It  is  interesting  to  compare  with  this  passage 
the  position  of  the  Welsh  poets  as  set  forth  in  the  Welsh  Laws.  Cf. 
Wade-Evans,  Welsh  Medieval  Law  (Oxford,  1909),  pp.  167  f.,  179  f. 

greppa  fer&ir.  The  meaning  of  this  expression  is  not  clear.  Fritzner, 
Gering,  etc.  understand  greppr  to  mean  a  warrior  (cf.  garpr).  fer^ir 
greppa  would  then  mean  '  the  expeditions  of  his  warriors.'  Vigfusson, 
Wisen  and  F.  J6nsson  however  understand  greppr  to  mean  'a  poet,' 
'skald,'  s^vAfertSir  greppa  'troops  of  poets.' 

11.  Faghrrenda'dom,  a  doubtful  form  which  does  not  occur  elsewhere. 
Vfgfusson  emends  to  -rendum  (cf.  Diet.  s.v.  fagr-rendr).  Von  Friesen 
(following  B)  suggests /(id'om  rondum,  'with  painted  shields'). 

silfrvof&um.  Munch  and  Unger  and  F.  Jonsson,  'wound  round  with 
silver  thread.'   Wisen  'argento  revinctus.' 

12.  Berscerkja.  Cf.  p.  88  above ;  cf.  also  Ynqlinga  Saga,  ch.  6 ;  Du 
Chaillu,  The  Viking  Age  (London,  1889),  Vol.  I'l,  p.  423  tf. 

fenget.  Munch  and  linger,  followed  by  Wisen,  emend  to  fag nitS.  The 
former  also  read  per  instead  of  er,  following  MS.  B  1 ;  translate  '  How 
do  you  like  the  martial  heroes,'  etc. 

13.  Aroe&esmonnum,  etc.  Cf.  the  Saga  of  Harold  the  Fairhaired 
{Heimskringla),  ch.  9. 

i  skjolld  hoggva,  lit.  '  strike  upon  the  shield.' 

14.  (Ergdti.  So  F.  J6nsson,  who  translates  'royal  entertainment, 
amusement.'  Munch  and  Unger  emended  to  organ,  'grimaces,  gestures.' 
Wisen  translated  'oblectamentum,  quo  hospites  excipiuntur.' 

Anndad'r.  F.  J6nsson  suggests  that  the  more  correct  form  of 
the  name  would  be  QuduSr,  cf.  German  Andahad.  In  his  opinion  the 
juggler  was  undoubtedly  a  German  ;  cf.  Diet.  s.v.  Anda&r.  Nothing  is 
known  of  him  ;  but  in  MS.  R  of  The  Saga  of  Hervor  and  Hei(5reh,  ch.  11, 
the  answer  to  the  riddle  about  King  (trek's  Oame  reads  '  >at  er  Itrekr  ok 
Auda'Sr,  er  )>eir  sitja  at  tafli  sinu.'  For  a  different  explanation  see 
M.  Olsen,  'Til  HaraldskvgeSi  23'  in  Ark.  f  nord.  Filol.,  Vol.  27  (1914), 
p.  381  f. ;  cf.  also  Maal  og  Minne,  1913,  p.  66  ff. 

logandum  hufum,  etc.  The  latter  half  of  this  strophe  is  obscure. 
F.  Jonsson  understands  the  passage  to  refer  to  some  conjuring  trick. 
He  regards  hafa  ser  as  equivalent  to  hafask  (cf.  Lex.  Poet.  s.v.  hafa, 
13,  c).  For  hufum  Vfgfusson  and  Powell  read  lufum  and  translate :  'The 
tripping  fellows  tuck  their  flaming  shock-locks  under  their  belts.' 


NOTES  185 

THE  BATTLE  OF  HAFSFJORD 

1.  /  HafrsfirtSi.  Hafsfjord  is  a  small  fjord  on  the  west  coast  of  Roga- 
land.  Cf.  p.  88  above.  Wisen  and  F.  Jonsson  appear  to  take  i  Ifafrs- 
firiS'i  with  the  vocative,  and  translate  :  'You  can  hear  in  H.  how,'  etc., 
which  certainly  renders  the  order  of  the  words  more  intelligible;  but 
the  variant  readings  suggest  that  difficulty  was  felt  with  this  passage 
in  early  times. 

koiu'ingr  eitn  h/nst6ri,  i.e.  Harold  the  Fairhaired.  F.  J6nsson  thinks 
a  deliberate  contrast  is  offered  by  the  adjectives  kynstdri  and  autSlag^r, 
lineage  being  held  of  greater  account  than  wealth. 

Kjoiva...au(Slag'd\t.  It  was  suggested  by  G.  Storm  that  Haklangr 
(cf.  str.  3  below)  and  Kjotvi  were  identical  with  Olaf  the  A\nute  and 
his  father  GuSrotfr.  His  paper  has  not  been  accessible  to  me,  but 
a  reference  is  given  to  it  by  Sir  H.  H.  Howorth  in  the  Saga  Book  of  the 
Viking  Club,  Vol.  ix,  p.  172  ff.  Olaf  the  White  disappears  from  Irish 
history  about  this  time,  and  it  is  stated  in  the  Three  Fragments  of 
Annals  (ed.  J.  O'Donovan,  Dublin,  1860),  sub  an.  871,  that  he  went  to 
Lochlami,  which  is  generally  identified  with  Norway.  He  had  ruled 
over  Dublin  for  about  twenty  years. 

knerrir...tinglum,  cf.  Landndmabdk,  iv,  ch.  7.  The  battleships  of  the 
Viking  Age  were  frequently  elaborately  carved,  especially  at  the  prow 
and  stern,  which  generally  took  the  form  of  the  head  of  a  dragon  or 
other  animal.    Cf.  Hrafnsmdl,  str.  5  note. 

2.  Hvitra  skjalda.  According  to  F.  J6nsson  the  'white'  shields  were 
foreign.   Cf.  Glymdrdpa,  str.  4. 

vestrcenna,  i.e.  'from  the  British  Isles.'  The  preceding  seventy -five 
years  had  been  a  period  of  constant  raids  in  the  British  Isles,  and  by 
this  time  a  considerable  Norwegian  population  was  settled  there, 
especially  in  Dublin,  the  Hebrides  and  Orkney. 

Valskra,  prob.  '  from  Valland,'  i.e.  France,  unless  the  word  is  a  tra- 
dition from  earlier  (Roman)  times.  We  may  perhaps  cf.  the  word 
frakka  (spear)  in  Rigspula,  str.  35,  A.S.  franca,  if  this  word  is  derived 
from  the  name  of  the  Franks  {Frakkar,  A.S.  Francan).  Cf.  also 
superne  gar.  Battle  of  Maldon,  1.  134. 

berserkir.    Cf.  Hrafnsmdl,  str.  12  note. 

a  sinnum.  Vfgfusson,  F.  J6nsson,  etc.,  translate  'was  drawing  to  a 
close';  cf.  Rigsjf>ula,  str.  31. 

ulfhetSnar,  i.e.  berserkir.    Cf.  Vigfusson,  Diet.  s.v.  berserkr. 

3.  A  ustmanna.  F.  J6nsson  takes  this  to  mean  Norwegians  generally, 
in  which  .sense  the  word  is  often  used  to  distinguish  the  people  of  the 
homeland  from  those  who  had  settled  in  the  West.  But  is  this  sense 
really  appropriate  here  ?  Harold's  original  kingdom  was  in  the  East, 
viz.  Vestfold,  near  the  Christiania  Fjord. 

at  Utsteini.  It  is  a  question  whether  we  should  not  translate  'is 
residing,'  and  take  the  pa.ssage  as  referring  to  temporary  quarters,  for 
which  pur})0se  the  position  of  the  island  would  obviously  be  suitable. 
Cf.  p.  89  above.  In  this  case  we  should  perhaps  (with  Wisen  and 
F.  J6nsson)  understand  h.  i.  llaf.  (str.  1,  1.  1)  as  an  address  to  the 
audience. 

st6^iLm...brd,  lit.  'He  set  in  motion  the  studs  of  Nokkvi.'  Nokkvi, 
according  to  F.  .Icinsson,  is  the  name  of  a  sea-king.  Cf.  Hyndlrdj6<)', 
str.  20  ;  Thidur,  iii,  1.  One  of  the  kings  killed  at  the  Battle  of  Solskel 
was  called  Nokkvi.  Cf.  the  Saga  of  Harold  the  Fairhaired  {Heims- 
hringla),  ch.  10. 


186  NOTES 

stillir.  So  most  editors,  e.g.  Munch  and  Unger,  Nygaard,  Wisen,  etc. 
The  latter  omits  Nokkvi.  ¥.  Jonsson  omits,  regarding  it  as  a  later 
addition.  Cf.  his  edition  of  the  Heimskringla  (Copenhagen,  1893-1901), 
p.  124,  footnote.    Cf.  also  str.  1  above,  n. 

Haklangr,  i.e.  Thorir  Haklangr,  perhaps  king  of  AgSir.  Cf  p.  88 
above,  footnote  2. 

4.  Lufu,  i.e.  Harold.  The  nickname  was  given  to  him  in  the  early- 
part  of  his  career  in  consequence  of  a  vow  which  he  made  not  to  cut  or 
comb  his  hair  till  he  was  ruler  of  all  Norway.  Cf.  the  Saga  of  Harold 
the  Fairhaired  {Heimskringla),  ch.  4.  When  the  conditions  were  fulfilled 
he  had  his  hair  washed  and  combed,  and  was  afterwards  called  '  Harold 
the  Fairhaired '  {ib.  ch.  23). 

hilmi  enum  haJsdigra,  F.  Jonsson  emends  (cf  ed.  1913)  to  hilmir  enn 
halsdigri ;  but  lei&ask  is  used  impersonally  elsewhere.  Cf.  Diet.  s.v. 
The  hihni  referred  to  is  Kjotvi.  According  to  F.  Jonsson  there  is 
a  touch  of  irony  here  and  throughout  the  poem,  e.g.  es  J^eimflceja  kendi, 
str.  3.  He  understands  the  meaning  to  be  that  although  a  bully  (cf  his 
'  thick  neck'),  yet  he  showed  no  inclination,  etc. 

holm  let  ser  at  skjaldi,  i.e.  (according  to  Munch  and  Unger,  F. 
Jdnsson,  etc.)  they  landed  and  used  the  island  as  a  vantage  ground. 
According  to  the  latter  authority  the  holmr  is  a  small  island  in 
Hafsfjord. 

5.  Svdfnis  salncefrar,  lit.  '  made  Svafnir's  hall  shingles  to  glitter  on 
their  backs ' — an  allusion  to  the  shields  with  which  the  roof  of  Valholl 
was  thatched.  Cf  Grimnismdl,  str.  9  (skjoldum  salr  pakipr).  Noefrar^ 
strictly  '  shingles  of  birch  wood.'  Svdfnir,  a  name  of  Othin,  cf.  Grimnis- 
mdl, str.  54 ;  Thidur,  iv,  4. 

hyggjandi,  ironical  according  to  F.  Jonsson. 

austr  hylfur.  Early  editors  (e.g.  Munch  and  Unger,  Nygaard,  Wisen) 
printed  autSkylfur,  following  ms.  F,  and  translate  'rich  men.'  Vi'gfusson 
and  F.  J6nsson  read  austkyljur  {-ir  V.).  The  former  translated  'easter- 
lings,'  and  compared  the  Kylfingar  east  of  the  Baltic.  F.  J6nsson 
translates  'Eastern  logs.'  Cf.  Diet.  s.v.  av^tkylfa.  Cf.  also  note  4  s.v. 
hilmi  e.  h.  above. 

Ja(5ar{r),  the  district  of  Rogaland  which  juts  out  to  the  south  of 
Hafsfjord,  in  the  S.W.  corner  of  Norway.  The  Austkyljur  ('Eastern 
logs')  are  those  of  the  confederates  who  had  come  from  AgSir  and 
Thelamork. 

hugtSu  d  mjo<ydrykkju.  The  passage  seems  to  suggest  that  the  author 
thought  that  the  confederates  in  question  were  more  keen  on  drinking 
than  on  fighting.  Cf  also  the  terms  (contemptuous?)  auMagSa, 
austkylfur,  and  possibly  hilmir  halsdigri.  It  is  to  be  borne  in  mind, 
however,  that  the  poem  is  probably  incomplete. 


THE  EIRIKSMAL 

1.  Drauma.  Wisen,  following  MS.  757  of  Snorri's  Edda,  reads  doema, 
'What  marvel  is  this? '  In  this  case  hugtSumk  should  no  doubt  be  trans- 
lated 'I  was  intending  to.' 

jiri  dag  liilu.  Munch  and  Unger  and  Wisen,  following  the  text  of 
Snorri'a  Edda,  have/i/r  dag  risa,  '(I  thought  I  was)  rising  before  day.' 


NOTES  187 

ValhiiU,  lit.  '  the  abode  of  wan'iors  who  have  died  in  battle.'  Cf. 
Orivinismdl,  str.  8;   Oylfaginning ,  oh.  20,   36,    38—41.    rUSja:   Icel. 

einherja(r),  cf.  Hdkonarmdl,  str.  16,  note. 

hcchi  at  stni,  etc.  In  the  homes  of  king.s  and  other  wealthy  people  it 
was  the  custom  to  make  elaborate  pri^parations  before  a  feast.  The 
walls  were  hung  with  tapestry  and  the  benches  spread  with  cloth  or  fur. 
Cf.  Thri/mskviiSa,  str.  22  ;  VegtamskviSa,  str.  6. 

boriSkcer.  Wisdn  and  F.  Jdnsson  translate  'table  service'  or 'plate.' 
lyiSra :  Icel.  leytSra. 

valkyrjur  viii  bera.  Cf.  Gylfaginmng,  ch.  36,  where  the  valkyries  are 
said  to  attend  to  the  mugs  and  table  service  as  well  as  to  the  pouring 
out  of  the  wine. 

si-ii.  F.  Jonsson  takes  svd  with  glatt ;  but  does  it  not  rather  mean 
'  under  these  circumstances '  ? 

2.  Ilvat  J^rymr,  etc.  Most  editors  (e.g.  Munch  and  linger,  Wisc'u, 
F.  Jonsson,  Holthausen,  etc.)  divide  this  strophe  between  Othin  and 
Bragi,  assigning  11.  1  and  2  to  the  former,  and  11.  3  and  4  to  the  latter. 
It  may  be  observed  however  that  Bragi's  answer  does  not  seem  to  be 
particularly  appro})riate  to  the  question,  nor  does  str.  3  harmonise  well 
with  the  opening  lines  of  str.  2,  if  the  latter  is  si)oken  by  Othin. 
Possibly  there  is  a  corru]ition  in  1.  1  ;  in  the  original  text  the  whole 
strophe  may  have  been  assigned  to  Bragi,  and  it  has  been  so  taken  in 
Nygaard's  ed.  Elsewhere  in  the  poem  the  speaker  is  generally  indicated 
by  the  phrase  '■qvad' — '  rather  than  by  the  use  of  the  vocative. 

Bragi,  the  skald  of  the  Jilsir.  Cf.  Orimnismdl,  str.  44 ;  Lokasenna, 
str.  8  ff.  ;  Gylfaginning,  ch.  26  ;  Bragarroe(Sur,  passim. 

Dalldr.  For  the  fullest  account  of  Balder's  death,  cf.  Gylfaginning, 
ch.  49. 

i  Ud'ins  sale,  i.e.  ValhiiU,  cf  str.  I  above. 

3.  Scallt  pu.  Munch  and  Unger  emend  to  skalattu  ;  so  also  Wisen  ; 
NygJiard,  skaltu ;  Holthausen  (1896)  and  F.  J6nsson  (1913)  skalatt.  Can- 
not .^callt  be  used  here  to  express  a  suggestion  in  the  mind  of  the 
speaker  ?    Cf  the  use  of  skal  in  Modern  Danish. 

/J  at,  so  Mss.  {f}6at)  followed  by  Nygaard.  Munch  and  Unger  emended 
to  pviat;  Wisen,  Holthausen  and  F.  Jonsson  (1913)  to  fivit.  The 
emended  texts  would  translate  '  Thou  must  not  talk  folly,  thou  wise 
Bragi, — for  thou  knowest  everything  well.' 

4.  Sigmundr  oc  Sinfjatli.  For  the  story  of  Sigmundr  and  Sinfjbtli  see 
Vohungasaga,  ch.  7  fit",  (cf.  Beowulf,  1.  874  ff.).    Sigmundr  was  the  father 

also  of  Helgi,  the  hero  of  the  two  HelgakvWur  Ffundingsbana,  and  of 
the  still  more  famous  SigurSr,  the  hero  of  several  poems  of  the  Edda. 

5.  pli  at  margu  lannde,  etc.  For  Eric's  adventures,  cf  the  Saga  of 
Harold  the  Fairhaired  {Ueimskringla),  ch.  34  f. 

6.  pvi...go'iSa.  For  the  phrase  /^in...vita,  cf.  Hdvamdl,  str.  38.  The 
passage  seems  to  be  anacoluthic.  The  .sentence  '  It  cannot  be  known 
(when) — '  being  cut  short  by  a  new  idea,  'the  wolf  is  (even  now) 
gazing,'  etc. 

ulfr,  i.e.  the  wolf  of  Feiu'ii',  cf.  Hdkonarmdl,  str.  20,  note. 

7.  Vivl...kominn/   Cf.  Fjiilsvinnsmdl,  str.  48. 

8.  Konongar  eni  V.  For  the  fall  of  Eric  and  the  five  kings  cf.  the 
Saga  of  Haakon  the  Good  {Heiinskringla),  ch.  4. 


188  NOTES 

THE   hAkONARMAL 

1.  GondvZ  ok  Skogul  (also  Geirskbgul,  cf.  str.  12)  are  valkyries  whom 
Othin  appoints  to  decide  the  course  of  the  battle.  Cf.  Voluspd,  str.  31; 
Orimnismdl,  str.  36,  etc. 

Oautatyr.  Gautr,  VdfoSr  (cf.  str.  5)  and  Hroptatyr  (cf.  str.  14)  are 
all  names  applied  by  Othin  to  himself  in  Orimnismal,  str.  54.  Gautatyr 
would  seem  originally  to  have  meant  the  god  (cf.  tivar,  pi.)  of  the 
Gautar,  i.e.  the  inhabitants  of  Gotaland  in  the  south  of  Sweden,  the 
Geatas  of  Beowulf.  The  word  is  also  extended  to  mean  men  in 
general.  Cf.  F.  Jonsson,  Diet.  s.v.  Cf.  also  DarratSarljotS,  str.  8,  note ; 
Sonatorrek,  str.  21. 

Yngvi  is  a  surname  of  Freyr,  from  whom  the  royal  family  of  Norway 
claimed  descent.  The  genealogy  is  given  in  Ynglingatal  and  Ynglin- 
gasaga.  at,  adv.  cf.  atvist. 

2.  Br6Sur...Bjarnar,  i.e.  King  Haakon.  Bjorn,  son  of  Harold  the 
Fairhaired  and  Svanhildr  (cf.  the  Saga  of  Harold  the  Fairhaired — 
Heimskringla,  ch.  21),  who  was  made  ruler  of  Vestfold  under  his  father 
(cf.  ih.  ch.  33),  fell  at  the  hands  of  Eric  B166ox,  his  brother,  at  Sseheimr 
(cf.  ib.  ch.  35).  He  was  called  Bjorn  the  Merchant  on  account  of  his 
trading  interests.    Cf.  also  Egils  Saga,  ch.  56,  59. 

i  hrynju  fara,  so  Vigfusson  and  F.  Jonsson,  cf.  Diets,  s.v.  fara.  Cf. 
also  F.  Jonsson's  edition  of  the  Heimskringla  (Copenhagen,  1893-1901), 
Vol.  IV,  p.  54.  This  sense  does  not  seem  to  me  to  agree  very  well  with 
str.  4  however.  Possibly  we  may  translate  '  marching  in  coat  of  mail.' 
The  reading  of  F  should  not  be  overlooked. 

dolgrdar,  em.  Holthausen ;  so  also  F.  J6nsson  (cf.  Diet.  s.v.  dolgrg), 
who  translates  ' battle-yardarm,' ' battle-rod,'  'spear.'  Cf.  however  ib. 
s.v.  dolg^r,  which  he  translates  as  '  battle-oar,'  '  sword.'  The  latter  (pi. 
dolgdrar)  is  the  reading  kept  by  most  editors,  e.g.  Nygaard  ( Udvalg  af 
den  Norrone  Literatur,  Bergen,  1875,  p.  320),  Wisen  {Carmina  Norrcena, 
Limd,  1886,  p.  16),  Wimmer  {Oldnordiske  Lcesebog'^,  Copenhagen,  1889, 
p.  2),  following  MS.  J(l).  Unger  {Heimskringla,  Christiania,  1868,  p.  104) 
keeps  the  text  of  the  Fagrskinna,  ddlgar,  transl.  '  battle,'  '  strife.'  So 
also  Munch  and  Unger  {Oldnorsk  Lcesebog,  Christiania,  1847,  p.  115). 

3.  Het.   F.  Jonsson  translates  '  had  called  upon.' 

Hdleygi,  i.e.  the  men  of  Hdlogaland,  the  northern  province  of  ancient 
Norway,  corresponding  approximately  to  the  modern  Nordland. 

Holmrygi,  i.e.  the  men  of  Rogaland  in  the  south-west  of  Norway. 
Cf.  p.  79  above.  The  name  is  identical  with  that  of  the  Rugii  (A.S. 
Holmryge,  Jordanes'  Ulmrugii)  on  the  coast  of  Pomerania. 

einbani.  F.  J6nsson  understands  this  to  mean  that  Haakon  had 
made  his  conquests  alone,  without  foreign  help.  Vigfusson  regards  ein- 
as  intensive. 

gjofii,  so  Nygaard,  Wisen,  Wimmer,  etc.,  following  mss.  J  (1),  A; 
Unger  gives  gofgi,  following  mss.  K,  B.  F.  Jdnsson  quotes  this  passage 
under  both  words  in  his  Diet. 

gengi  NortSmanna.  Cf.  the  Battle  of  Brimanburh,  1.  18,  note  s.v. 
guma  norperna. 

Eydana  (gen.),  lit.  '  Danes  of  the  Isles.'  Cf.  the  Saga  of  Haakon  the 
Good  {Heimskringla),  ch.  6 — 9. 

4.  Hrauzk  or  hervd'Sum,  etc.  From  the  Saga  of  Haakon  the  Good, 
chs.  6  and  30,  it  would  seem  to  have  been  Haakon's  custom  to  cast  off 
his  helmet  and  mail  coat  before  beginning  to  fight.  Cf.  str.  2  above,  note. 


NOTES  189 

fki/ldi...verja,  a  parenthesis.    Cf.  the  Battle  of  Brunanburh,  1.  7  ff. 

gramr.  Wimiuer  {Oldnordhk  Lcesebog,  Copenhagen,  1889,  p.  129) 
emends  to  gylti  following  the  text  of  the  second  half  of  this  strophe 
quoted  in  Skdldska parmdl ^  ch.  64. 

.s7(nV  and  ijullhjalmi.  The  gilded  helmet  appears  often  to  have  been 
the  distinguishing  feature  of  a  king  or  prince.  Cf.  the  Saga  of  Olaf 
Tiyggra.ton  (Heimskringla),  ch.  104  ;  Saga  of  St  Olaf  {ib.),  ch.  213  etc. 
Cf.'  also  Atlal-nd'a,  str.  4. 

5.  Svd...sver(y,  etc.  Haakon's  sword  was  called  'Quernbiter'  because 
with  it  he  is  said  to  have  once  cleft  a  quern-stone.  It  was  a  very  fine 
sword  with  golden  hilts.  Haakon  had  received  it  as  a  present  from 
King  Aethelstan  during  his  sojourn  in  England,  and  he  is  said  to  have 
kept  it  till  his  death.  Cf.  the  Saga  of  Harold  the  Fairhaired  {Heim- 
skn'/igla),  ch.  43. 

siklingr,  strictly  an  old  dynastic  name,  but,  like  other  names  of  this 
kind,  used  by  poets  for  'king'  or  '  prince'  in  general.  Cf.  Skdldskapar- 
mdl,  ch.  63 ;  Ifversu  Noregr  Bi/g'dist,  ch.  2. 

vdiSir  VdfaiSar,  i.e.  armour.  VdfotSr  is  Othin.  Cf.  Thulur,  iv,  5 
{Vdfu^r). 

sem...bryg(^i.  For  the  same  expression  cf.  Gongu-Hrolfs  Saga,  ch.  3 ; 
Brdlfs  Saga  Gautrekssonar,  ch.  20.  Cf.  also  Olrfk,  Heroic  Legends,  etc. 
pp.  131,  175  (trausl.  Hollander). 

glymhringar.  F.  Jonsson  adopts  the  reading  of  MS.  J.,  gylfringar, 
which  he  translates  '  sword,'  and  suggests  a  possible  connection  with 
gjalfr.    Cf.  Diet.  s.v.  gylfringr. 

gotna  (g.  pi.),  an  ancient  name  of  a  people  (the  Goths)  which  has 
come  to  be  used  merely  for  men.    Cf.  str.  1,  note  s.v.  Gautatyr. 

6.  Troddiisk  tiirgur,  etc.  Strophes  6 — 8  are  difficult  owing  to  the 
number  of  kennings  contained  in  them.  The  natural  order  of  the  words 
appears  to  me  to  be  torgur  ok  hausar  triiddusk  fyr  hartSfotum  bauga  Tys 
Nor'Smanna.  Bauga  Tyr,  lit.  'the  god  who  gives  rings'  or  'money,' 
a  kenning  for  king.  So  also  Nygaard,  Wimmer,  Holthausen,  etc. 
F.  J6nsson,  however,  holds  that  torgur  and  hausar  are  asyndetic,  and 
that  yordmanna  can  hardly  be  explained  otherwise  than  as  parallel  to 
bauga  Tys.    He  regards  the  position  of  ok  as  supporting  this  view. 

hjalta  hartSfotum,  lit.  'the  sharp  feet  of  the  hilt,'  i.e.  the  sword-blade. 
i  eyju,  i.e.  the  island  (Stordo),  the  scene  of  the  battle.  Cf.  p.  101  above. 
konungar,  perhaps  poet.  pi.  for  sing.    Cf.  however  the  reading  of  F. 

7.  Brunnu  beneldar,  etc.  Again  perhaps  poet.  pi.  for  sing.,  referring 
to  the  king's  sword.  Lit.  '  the  wound-tires  burned  in  bloody  wounds.' 
Beneldar,  a  kenning  for  'sword.'  ('f.  Skdldskaparmdl,  ch.  48:  'Axes  or 
swords  are  called  _^res  of  blood  or  of  wounds.' 

langbar&ar,  'swords'  according  to  Wisen,  F.  J6nsson  and  Holthausen; 
'halberds'  according  to  Nygaard  and  Wimmer.  According  to  the  Saga 
of  Haakon  tlie  Good  {Heimskrmgla),  ch.  28,  Haakon  was  armed  with  a 
hallierd  {ke.ija),  as  well  as  with  a  sword.  For  a  description  of  the  kesja 
see  Egilji  Saga,  ch.  53. 

svarraiyi,  a  arr.  Xey.,  lit.  'a  gymir  (myth,  personification  of  the  sea) 
of  wounds  roared  (?)  against  the  headland  of  swords.' 

a  sveriSa  nesi.  Most  editors  (e.g.  Nygaard,  Wisen,  Wimmer,  F.  J6nsson, 
etc.)  take  this  as  a  kenning  for  '  shield,'  no  doubt  on  the  analogy  of 
such  expressions  as  hauka  nes,  bauga  nes,  nes  orma,  etc.  I  have  taken 
it  to  mean  '  point  of  the  sword '  on  analogy  with  the  commoner  use 
of  nes  as  the  projecting  part  of  the  object  specified  in  the  preceding 
genitive.    Cf.  the  kenning  hryggja  nes,  '  tail.' 


190  NOTES 

flats  fleina,  lit.  '  flood  of  (i.e.  from)  darts,'  a  kenning  for  blood.  Cf. 
F.  J6nsson,  Diet.  s.v.  flotS.  Other  kennings  for  blood  are  hjor  floti,  hrce 
flo^,  sarfloS,  undaflocS. 

8.  Blendusk  vi(S  rotSnum,  etc.  So  F.  Jonsson,  Holthausen,  etc. 
Unger,  Nygaard,  Wisen,  Wimmer,  etc.,  following  K,  have  rotSnar  for 
ro&num  and  skys  for  sky  (when  the  order  would  be  vetSr  Skoglar  skys), 
translate  '  Battle  (the  storms  of  the  shield  [Skogul's  cloud])  was  joined 
(mingled)  beneath  the  canopy  of  the  reddened  shield,  it  (they)  played 
around  the  rims.' 

Skoglar  ve&r,  dtkins  ved'r{i)  (cf.  1.  iii),  kennings  for  '  battle.'  Cf.  Skdld- 
skaparmdl,  ch.  47,  63  (verse) ;  Udttatal,  str.  54. 

haugr,  here,  '  shield,'  originally  (according  to  Skdldskaparmdl,  ch.  48) 
the  circle  painted  on  the  shield. 

oddldr,  lit.  '  waves  from  the  spears,'  i.e.  blood. 

fyr  mwkis  straumi^  a  kenning  for  '  blood.' 

9.  Doglingar,  an  old  dynastic  name  like  siklingar  (cf.  str.  5).  Cf. 
Hversu  Noregr  Byg^ist,  ch.  2.  This  is  probably  another  instance  of 
poet.  pi.  for  sing.,  referring  to  the  king  alone. 

ok,  used  as  a  relative  particle.    Cf.  Vaf}>rupnismdl,  str.  5,  etc. 
skotnar.    So  Unger,  F.  J6nsson,  Holthausen,  etc.,  following  MS.  K. 
Nygaard,  Wisen,  Wimmer,  etc.  give  skornar,  '  rent,'  following  MS.  F. 

10.  es  Hdkoni,  etc.  Lit.  'Since  the  Divine  Powers  have  invited 
Haakon  with  a  great  host.' 

bond.  The  original  meaning  of  the  term  bond  (cf.  Hdvamdl,  str.  108) 
is  uncertain.  The  fact  that  hbpt  is  also  used  of  the  deities  {AtlakvWa, 
str.  28)  points  to  identity  with  '  band,'  '  chain.' 

13.  Orcenna  heiina  go&a.    Cf.  Gautrekssaga,  ch.  7. 

14.  Hermo&r  is  the  name  of  the  messenger  of  the  iEsir  who  rode 
to  Hel  to  seek  out  Balder  and  try  to  ransom  him.  Cf.  Gylfaginning, 
ch.  49.  The  HermoSr  mentioned  in  HyndluljotS,  str.  2,  is  pi'obably  a 
different  person — heroic,  not  divine — to  be  identified  with  the  Heremod 
who  is  mentioned  in  connection  with  Sigemund  in  Beowulf,  1.  901  ff. 
It  is  uncertain  which  of  the  two  is  intended  here.  Bragi  (see  below)  is 
a  god  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  the  part  played  by  these  two  persons 
is  clearly  suggested  by  that  given  to  Sigmundr  and  Sinfjotli  in  Eiriks- 
mdl,  str.  4. 

Hroptatyr.  Cf.  str.  1,  s.v.  Gautatyr,  note.  Hroptr  is  also  a  name  for 
Othin.    Cf.  Grumnismdl,  str.  8. 

sds  kappi  pykkir,  etc.  The  translation  implies  that  Othin  knows 
who  Haakon  is.  It  is  possible  to  translate  the  passage  otherwise,  viz. 
'  who  is  evidently  a  hero,'  the  implication  being  in  this  case  that  Othin 
has  not  identified  him. 

16.  Einherja{r\  the  name  given  to  the  dead  warriors  in  Valholl  who 
spend  their  days  in  fighting.  Cf.  Grimnismdl,  str.  18 ;  Vafprupnismdl, 
str.  41 ;  Gylfaginning,  ch.  38 — 41. 

f>igg  pu...ol,  etc.    Cf.  Gnmnismdl,  str.  36  ;  Gylfaginning,  ch.  39. 
dtta  broet5r.    For  a  list  (incomplete  however)  of  Harold's  sons,  cf. 
Saga  of  Harold  the  Fairhaired  {Heimskringla),  ch.  21. 

17.  Gott  es,  etc.  Lit.  '  (It  is  good)  to  reach  for  what  is  ready.'  Unger, 
following  MSS.  F,  J  (1),  gives  geirs  for  gors,  transl.  'spear.' 

18—21.  pd  pat  kyndisk,  etc.  There  is  no  doubt  a  contrast  implied 
here  between  the  happy  days  of  King  Haakon  and  those  of  Harold 


NOTES  191 

llreycloalc,  in  whoso  reign  the  poem  was  composed.  Haakon,  though  a 
C'hi'istian,  never  enforced  Christianity  on  his  subjects,  but  let  them 
worship  in  their  own  way,  thereby  oflbring  a  strong  contrast  to  Harold 
and  his  brothers.  Cf.  p.  102  f.  above.  The  ill-suppressed  hostility  of 
Eyvindr  It)  Harold  is  no  doubt  further  to  be  accounted  for  by  the 
quarrel  between  them  which  is  related  in  the  Saga  of  Harold  Orey- 
cloak  (ffeimsi-ringla),  ch.  1. 

20.  FeiiriKulfr.  Cf.  Eir/hiii<rf,  str.  6.  The  wolf  of  Fenrir  was  one  of 
Loki's  children.  It  was  proplK'siod  that  when  he  broke  loose  from  the 
fetter  and  chain  with  which  the  /Esir  had  bound  him,  he  would  devour 
Othin  and  bring  destruction  upon  the  rest  of  the  ^Esir.  That  would  be 
the  end  of  the  world  or  Ragnar^r.  Cf.  Vdhispd,  str.  47 — 58;  VafJ>riit>- 
niAmal,  str.  46,  47;  Oijl  fag  inning,  ch.  34,  51,  etc. 

21.  Dei/rfe,  from  Hdmmdi,  str.  77  f.  (Of.  the  Waiiderer,  1.  108  f.  and  n.) 
What  follows  is  a  reference  to  the  famine  and  misery  which  prevailed 
in  Norway  under  Haakon's  successors.  Cf.  the  Saga  of  Harold  Grey- 
cloak,  ch.  17. 


THE  DARRA^ARLJO^ 

1.  Vitt  es  orpit...rei(^islci),  perhaps  lit.  'The  cloth-beam's  trappings 
are  spread  wide.'  Cf.  p.  1 19  above.  The  rifr  is  the  back-beam  or  cloth- 
beam  of  the  upright  hand-loom,  cf.  RigsJ^ula,  str.  15.  The  exact  force  of 
reit^i-  is  uncertain,  owing  to  the  variations  of  the  texts  at  this  point. 
Most  scholars  (e.g.  F.  J6nsson  and  Hensler)  read  rifs  reitsisky,  following 
MS.  A  and  derive  reitSi  <  reida,  '  to  let  hang,  carry.'  The  meaning  would 
then  be  '  The  cloud  hung  on  the  cloth-beam,'  i.e.  the  wai-}).  Magnusson, 
however  {Darrad'aljo'd',  Viking  Club  Publications,  1910,  p.  14),  suggests 
that  as  the  old  genitive  of  rifr  was  not  rifs  but  rifjar,  the  sky  was 
added  by  a  late  scribe  to  fill  in  the  shortened  line.  The  word  rifr 
however  is  only  found  here  and  in  Rigspula. 

rignir  blotSi,  perhaps  from  the  loom.  Cf.  the  War  of  the  Gaedhil 
icith  the  Gaill,  p.  18.3  f.  With  the  passage  from  Njdlssaga  it  is  interest- 
ing to  compare  Sturlunga  Saga,  pp.  219,  220  (Vfgfusson,  Oxford, 
1878) : 

'  In  the  winter  after  the  battle  on  VfSines,  many  people  had  dreams. 
A  man  in  SkagafirS  dreamed  that  he  entered  a  big  house  ;  inside  sat 
two  women  covered  with  blood  and  rocking  to  and  fro.  It  seemed  to 
him  that  a  rain  of  blood  was  pouring  in  through  the  chimney.  One  of 
the  women  .sang : 

Let  us  rock,  Gu'Sr  and  Gondul,  let  us  rock  ; 
A  rain  of  blood  is  falling,  foreboding  slaughter. 
We  must  betake  ourselves  to  Rapta-hlf'5 ; 
There  sacrifice  and  oaths  will  be  offered  to  us.' 

vefr  verf^j6(5ar.  F.  Jonsson  places  a  comma  after  vefr,  and  makes 
verfj(')<yar  dependent  on  vinur,  '  which  the  friends  (f.)  of  men  will  fill 
Avith  the  red  woof  of  Randver's  slayer'  (cf.  Gk  Evfifvihes).  This  however 
is  jierhaps  a  strained  view  of  the  valkyries.  An  emendation  of  the  MS. 
readings  J>ivr  (E,  F)  /?(er  er  (A,  I) — perhaps  orig.  /«  er  through  wrong 
connection  with  ver/yjd(Tar — seems  to  be  necessary.  Heusler  suggests 
that  the  original  reading  may  have  been  (er)  ve'r  vinur  fyllum,  though 
he  has  er  /cer  vin  ur  fylla  in  his  text,  but  the  usual  emendation  to  sds 
{sd  er)  is  simpler. 


192  NOTES 

vinur...Randves  bana.  The  phrase  is  not  easy  to  explain,  though 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  whole  is  a  kenning  for  valkyries. 
Egilsson,  F.  J6nsson,  etc.,  take  Randves  bani  to  be  Jormunrekr 
(Eormenric),  who,  at  the  instigation  of  his  evil  counsellor  Bikki,  ordered 
his  son  Randverr  to  be  hanged.  (Cf.  Skdldskaparmdl,  ch.  41 ;  Saxo 
Grammaticus,  viii,  pp  336 — 338,  where  Randver  is  called  Broderus.) 
Magmisson  {op.  cit.  p.  15)  and  Bugge  {Aarb(fger,  etc.,  1899,  pp.  253-4) 
take  Randves  bani  to  be  Bikki  himself  by  whom  they  understand 
a  human  personation  of  Othin.  The  only  other  person  of  any  conse- 
quence bearing  this  name  is  Randver,  the  son  of  Rajjbarjjr  and  Au)jr 
the  Deep-minded  (cf.  E^ndhdj6&,  str.  29),  and  father  of  SigurSr  Hring, 
( Hversu  Noregr  BygSist,  ch.  3).  In  Hervarar  Saga.,  ch.  16,  he  is  said  to  be 
the  sou  of  Valdarr.  According  to  ib.  MS.  I,  he  is  said  to  have  married  Asa, 
the  daughter  of  King  Harold  en  GotrauSi  from  Norway,  and  to  have 
made  himself  king  of  Denmark  on  the  death  of  his  father  Valdarr.  He 
is  also  said  in  the  same  source  to  have  fallen  in  England  by  a  sudden 
death — '  Randverr  konungr  var&  brd^dautSr?  The  name  Randver  also 
occurs  in  the  list  of  sea  kings  in  Thidur,  str.  4. 

It  is  not  known  which  Randver  is  referred  to  in  our  poem.  In  all 
probability  the  text  is  corrupt.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  Mss.  vary  con- 
siderably, but  the  other  readings  hardly  give  an  intelligible  sense. 
Pfeiffer  keeps  the  reading  of  MS.  E.    Dietrich  reads  randversk. 

2.  ve/r,  the  threads  stretched  taut  from  the  cloth-beam  {rifr).  For 
vefr,  skaft  etc.,  cf.  p.  119  above.  In  weaving,  the  woof  threads  are 
passed  between  the  warp  threads.  These  warp  threads  hang  downwards 
and  are  weighted  at  the  bottom.  In  the  old  primitive  hand-loom  the 
weights  {kU)  were  formed  of  stones  and  attached  to  the  ends  of  the 
threads. 

hartSkljdfSr... manna.  The  Jomsvikinga  Saga  (ed.  Petersen,  Copen- 
hagen, 1882)  p.  41  contains  a  passage — no  doubt  based  on  the  first  two 
strophes  of  this  poem — in  which  Ingibjorg  relates  her  dream  to  Pdlner 
as  follows : 

'  I  dreamed  that  I  had  set  up  a  loom,  and  the  warp  was  of  flax  and 
grey  in  colour;  I  dreamed  that  the  warp  was  weighted,  and  I  stood 
beside  it  and  wove,  and  there  was  not  much  of  it  woven  as  far  as  I  could 
see.  And  when  I  sleyed  the  web,  a  weight  fell  from  the  middle  of  the 
loom,  and  I  picked  it  up  ;  and  then  I  saw  that  the  weights  were  nothing 
but  human  heads.' 

em  dreyrrekin...sk6ftum.  The  skaft  is  one  of  the  bars  or  rods 
('  heddles')  with  which  the  threads  of  the  yarn  (i.e.  the  warp)  were 
alternately  brought  forward  and  thrust  back,  so  that  the  weft  might  be 
inserted  through  the  intervening  space  or  'shed.'  The  rod  having  been 
placed  in  this  position  was  so  left  during  the  passage  of  one  strand  of 
weft  across  the  loom.  Vfgfusson  explains  the  word  as  '  one  of  the  beams 
in  the  upright  loom,'  but  this  is  clearly  erroneous ;  cf.  yllir  {ib.)  for 
which  he  oft'ers  the  same  explanation. 

yllir.  The  exact  meaning  of  this  word  is  unknown.  Magmisson, 
following  Vfgfusson,  understands  it  to  be  a  'beam  in  the  upright  loom' 
and  suggests  the  '  forebeam,'  by  which  he  means  presumably  the  lower 
beam  over  which  hang  the  weighted  ends  of  the  warp.  The  Scandinavian 
upright  loom  appears,  however,  to  have  had  only  one  beam  {rifr).  In 
Paul's  Grundriss  d.  germ.  Phil.  (Strassburg,  1900),  Vol.  in,  p.  479  the 
word  is  explained  as  an  implement  used  for  making  plush,  i.e.  a  kind 
of  teasel,  and  as  being  derived  from  idl^  'wool'— the  derivation  also 
favoured  by  Vi'gfussou. 


NOTES  193 

onon  hncliii^r.  Ilrcela  is  explained  by  Fritzner  {Ordhog.  s.r.)  a.s  tlie 
act  of  pulling  taut  the  weft  tlireuds  with  a  hnvll  between  the  warp 
threads,  so  jis  to  stretch  them  and  make  them  even.  The  krivll  '\n  a 
pointed  implement  of  bone  or  hard  wood  which  was  used  to  carry  the 
weft  into  its  proper  place.  Vfgfusson  appears  to  confuse  with  'slcyiiig' 
which  is  the  next  stage  in  the  process  of  weaving.  Magnusson's  expla- 
nation, '  provided  with  reed  made  of  arrows '  {sc.  vefr)  is  nearer  the 
mark,  though  it  involves  a  chronological  difficulty,  and  overlooks  the 
J>1.  srerd'inii  in  the  following  line,  wliere  a  single  instrument  is  certainly 
implied.    Both  words  arc  no  doubt  poet.  pi.  for  sing. 

sld,  to  '  sley '  or  '  beat '  the  threads  of  the  weft  into  theii-  proper 
place  so  that  Ciich  shall  sit  in  closejuxbiposition  to  the  last,  and  a  close, 
firm  texture  may  result.  The  implement  used  for  this  purpose  was  the 
s^-eUy,  a  sword-shaped  (cf.  Fritzner,  Ordh.)  implement  or  batten,  the 
place  of  which  in  the  modern  hand-loom  has  been  taken  by  the  '  reed.' 

3.  Gengr  Ilildr  re/a,  etc.  Hildr,  Hjorjjrimul,  etc.  are  evidently  the 
names  of  valkyries.  Hildr  is  named  among  the  valkyries  in  Viiimpd, 
str.  31  and  Grimnismdl,  str.  3G.  Svipall  is  one  of  the  names  applied  to 
Othin  in  (h-'tmaismdl,  str.  47  ;  Sanngrid'r  is  possibly  to  be  identified 
with  R<tndgriJ\  one  of  the  valkyries  mentioned  in  Grimnismdl,  str.  36. 

hjalmgagaiT,  lit.  '  the  dog  of  the  helmet,'  i.e.  the  sword,  a  aw.  \ey. 
Gagarr  is  a  Gaelic  loan-word. 

4.  Vindum  vef,  lit.  '  We  are  twisting  the  web,'  i.e.  passing  the  threads 
of  the  weft  alternately  imder  and  over  those  of  the  warp.  Vindum 
may  be  imper.  (let  us  weave),  though  on  the  whole  I  think  the  indie,  is 
more  likely.  The  vefr  darrabar  is,  of  course,  the  battle,  and  the  weaving 
of  the  web  of  spears  and  the  singing  of  the  lay  form  a  spell  by  which 
the  fate  of  the  battle  is  governed,  and  safety  ensured  for  the  '  young 
king.'  It  is  curious  that  in  the  Irish  account  of  the  battle  also  as 
related  in  the  ^yar  of  the  Gaedhil  iinth  the  Gaill,  p.  175,  superhuman 
beings  are  said  to  have  taken  an  active  interest  in  the  course  of  the 
conflict: 

'And  there  arose  a  wild...  vulture,  screaming  and  fluttering  over  their 
heads... and  the  witches,  and  the  goblins,  and  the  ancient  birds,  and  the 
destroying  demons  of  the  air  and  of  the  firmament,  and  the  feeble 
demoniac  phantom  host ;  and  they  were  sci'eaming  and  comparing  the 
valour  and  combat  of  both  parties. ' 

For  the  word  darra^ar  (nom.  darratSr)  which  occurs  also  in  Egill's 
HofutSlausn,  composed  in  936,  cf.  p.  1 15  above.  It  appears  to  be  an  A.S. 
loan-word  in  Norse,  possibly  acquired  about  this  time.  It  occurs  also  in 
AtlakvitSa,  str.  4.    Cf.  also  the  ffdttatal,  str.  52. 

sds.  I  have  kept  the  reading  of  the  Mss.,  though  it  involves 
omission  of  the  relative — an  unusual  and  awkward  construction.  Most 
editors  emend  to  pann's  ('the  web  which,'  etc.).  Heusler  emends  to 
svd  sem  ;  but  I  am  inclined  to  suspect  that  the  corruption  lies  in  the 
second  half  of  the  line. 

\ingr  konungr.    Cf.  Introduction,  p.  116  above. 

dtti  fyrri.  The  force  oi  fyrri  is  not  clear.  Is  it  the  nom.  sing,  of  the 
compar.  adj.  ('  which  the  j'oimg  king  has  been  the  first  to  own')  or  is  it 
the  compar.  adv.  ('which... has  had  previously,'  cf.  F.  J6ns.son,  Jirennu- 
Njdlssaga.,  Halle,  1908,  p.  415,  u.)'>.  Equally  uncertain  is  the  object  to  be 
understood  ;vs  governed  by  dtti.  Does  it  refer  to  battles,  or  can  it  be 
some  new  spell  being  produced  by  the  loom,  which  no  one  has  had  (i.e. 
has  had  the  benefit  of)  before?  The  edition  of  1889  suggested  hoiidum 
after  fyrri  {or  fi/ri,  cf.  Ms.  F), 

K.  13 


194  NOTES 

5.  Ok . . .fylgjum,  or  perhaps  'We  will  afterwards  aid.' 
siklingi.    Cf.  Introduction,  p.  116  above. 

hragna,  so  F.  Jonsson,  Heusler,  Asmundarson,  etc.  following  the 
emendation  of  Thorkelsson  and  Gislason.  Mss.  E,  F  read  par  sia 
hragnar.  Bragnar  is  a  poetical  word  for  warriors,  only  used  in  this 
sense  in  the  pi.  Cf.  F.  J6nsson,  Diet.  s.v.  Magnusson,  however,  follow- 
ing MS.  A,  reads  par  sd  bera,  which  involves  no  emendation,  and  trans- 
lates 'There  Gunnr  and  Gondul  saw  borne  (saw  men  bear)  bloody 
shields.' 

Gunnr  ok  Gondul,  names  of  valkj-ries.  Cf.  Hdkonarmdl,  str.  1  and 
note.  Gunnr  is  another  form  of  Gu^^r,  mentioned  in  Voluspd,  str.  31, 
etc.    The  name  first  occurs  in  the  Runic  Inscription  of  Rok. 

6.  pars  ve  va^a.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  Earl  Sigur-Sr  was  slain 
bearing  the  famous  Raven  Banner  given  to  him  by  his  witch  mother 
with  the  words  :  '  It  will  bring  victory  to  those  before  whom  it  is  borne, 
but  speedy  death  to  him  who  bears  it '  {Orhieyinga  Saga,  ch.  11).  With 
this  passage  we  may  compai-e  the  War  of  the  Gaedhil  with  the  Gaill, 
p.  155 f. :  'King  Brian  looked  out  behind  him  and  beheld. ..the  lucky, 
fortunate  banner  that  had  gained  the  victory  in  every  battle  and  in 
every  conflict  and  in  every  combat.' 

ve...vigra  manna.  I  have  taken  this  as  poet.  pi.  for  sing.,  referring  to 
the  '  young  king.'  This  interpretation  is  suggested  by  the  following  line, 
though  the  passage  may  of  course  be  taken  otherwise.  Cf .  note  to  farask 
below. 

Idturrc  eigi,  etc.  F.  Jonsson  and  Magniisson  treat  Idtum  as  imper., 
'  Let  us  not,'  etc. 

farask.  Dietrich,  followed  by  Pfeiffer,  emended  the  reading  of  MS.  F 
{her)  svaraz  to  sparaz,  '  be  spared.'  In  this  case  the  reference  would  be 
general,  and  vigra  manna  would  have  the  true  plural  sense. 

eigu  valkyrjur,  etc.  So  F.  J6nsson  in  his  edition.  In  the  Diet.,  how- 
ever, he  takes  vols  um  kostum  as  'prospect  of  slaughter.'  Magnusson 
understands  kostr  in  its  primary  sense  of  '  choice,'  and  translates  '  among 
the  doomed  our  choice  is  ample '  ['  and  therefore  we  can  afford  to  spare 
him'j.    Cf.  Grimnismdl,  str.  14. 

7.  peir  munu  lytSir,  etc.  refers  to  the  Norse  settlers  m  the  British 
Isles,  probably  with  special  reference  to  Ireland.  The  extent  to  which 
they  occupied  the  coasts  is  shown  by  the  large  number  of  place-names 
which  have  survived,  e.g.  Waterford,  Wexford,  Howth,  etc. 

utskaga.  According  to  Fritzner  and  Vfgfusson  skagi  denotes  a  low- 
lying  headland,  e.g.  the  Skaw  in  the  north  of  Jutland,  as  opposed  to 
h6fu(S,  a  high  headland,  e.g.  Howth. 

rikjum  gram.  According  to  F.  J&nsson  the  reference  here  is  to  the 
death  of  Brian  Borumh  ;  but  is  it  not  more  natural  to  connect  1.  3  with 
1.  4  which  presumably  refers  to  Earl  SigurSr?   Cf.  p.  116  above. 

8.  Ok  munu  Irar,  etc.  The  reference  here  is  probably  to  the  death 
of  Brian  Borumh.    Cf.  however  p.  116  above. 

ytum.  Ytar  was  originally  a  national  name  (like  Gotar,  etc.;  cf. 
below)  identical  with  Bede's  hui,  a  variant  of  Jotar,  but  preserved  in 
poetry  in  the  sense  of  'men'  after  its  proper  meaning  had  been  forgotten. 
Cf.  Edkonarmdl,  str.  1,  note  s.v.  Gautatyr. 

nus  vefr  oflnn,  etc.  The  connection  between  the  chanting  and  weaving 
of  the  spell"  and  the  course  of  the  battle  is  here  clearly  indicated. 

Icesjyjiill  gota,  lit.  '  news  of  the  destruction  of  men.'  So  F.  J6nsson 
and  Heusler.     Magnusson  translates  'the  news  of  the  loss  of  life.' 


NOTES  195 

VfgFusson  ami  Powell  take  la',  gotn  to  mean  'devastation  of  the 
Goths,'  which  cannot  be  right.  Ld'upjiill  i.s  a  a-rr.  \fy.,  probably  'baleful 
tidings.'   Law.  means  primarily  'fraud,  deceit,'  then  'plague,  evil.' 

Gota{r\  originally  a  national  name  (i.e.  Goths)  which  was  used  in 
poetry  in  the  sense  of  'men'  after  its  original  meaning  had  been  for- 
gotten.   Of.  I'/tum  above. 

9.  Es,  possibly  causal.    Ci.  ITrafnsmal,  str.  2,  1.  2. 
mlcnrar'i)'ir...hninu.     The  Mss.  "vary  considerably  in  their  reading.s 

at  this  point,  lieusler,  following  Dietrich,  Pfeifier,  Egilsson  and 
Thorkelsson,  adopts  the  reading  of  mss.  E,  F — spar  vdrar  springa 
kunnu,  'while  our  jjrophecies  are  fulfilled,'  i.e.  'come  true '  (the  metaphor 
in  springa  being  tixken  from  the  chips  of  divination) ;  springa,  however, 
is  not  used  in  this  sense  elsewhere.  Heusler  himself  suggests  as  an 
alternative  meaning  '  to  spread,'  and  compares  A.S.  springan.  The 
reading  in  the  text  is  that  adopted  by  Magniisson,  F.  J6nsson,  and 
Asmundarson.  Sdhivariyir  is  a  cnr.  Aey.  not  mentioned  in  the  diction- 
aries of  Egilsson,  Yigfusson  or  Fritzner  ;  but  sokn  occurs  with  a  similar 
meaning  in  other  compounds,  and  sdknvar&ir,  '  dames  of  battle,'  is  no 
doubt  identical  in  meaning  with  geirjljocj,  str.  10  below. 

10.  Sigrljdi^a  fjoW.  I  have  adopted  Heusler's  emendation  Ijot^a  for 
hljuf^a,  the  reading  of  the  Mss.  The  same  mistake  occurs  elsewhere,  e.g. 
Hyndhihljo'iS,  the  title  of  the  poem  in  the  Flateyjarhok,  Vol.  i,  p.  11. 

geirjijoba  lj6(^.  Heusler,  following  ws.  A,  reads  geirljotSa  fjbW, 
'many  spear  lays,'  or  'a  long  spear  lay.'  But  this  reading  is  surely  a 
scribal  reminiscence  of  1.  3  above.  The  readings  of  mss.  E,  F,  I  are 
perhaps  due  to  the  same  cause.  It  seems  on  the  whole  preferable  to 
emend  to  IjotS  (as  in  1.  2)  in  place  of  hlj6&,  since  'spells'  rather  than 
tunes  seems  to  give  the  sense  required. 

11.  RiSum  hestum,  etc.  Heusler  suggests  that  two  lines  have  been 
lost  after  1.  1. 


THE  SONATORREK,  ETC. 
Egill's  Poems  (pp.  129,  130) 

1.  pundar.  pundr  is  Othin  (cf.  Grimnismdl,  str.  54),  and  pundar 
gnyr  &  periphrasis  for  'battle.' 

grar.  If  we  are  to  believe  that  these  strophes  were  composed  by 
Egill  immediately  after  the  battle,  groer  must  be  taken  as  fut.,  and 
Alu<yi-  in  str.  2  rendered  by  '  I  have  covered '  etc. 

2.  Fyr  merkistangir,  lit.  '  in  front  of  the  pole  on  which  the  standard 
is  ciirried.' 

A  &ili,  one  of  the  jarls  who  opposed  Aethelstan.  With  his  brand  he 
slew  Th6r611'r.  He  was  him.self  slain  in  the  same  battle  by  Egill.  Cf. 
ch.  54. 

NaSri.  NatSr,  i.e.  'Viper,'  'Adder,'  was  the  name  of  Egill's  sword. 
Cf.  ch.  53.  Cf.  also  the  Battle  of  the  Goths  and  the  Huns,  str.  9,  note 
s.v.  Tyrfingr. 

Aleifr,  i.e.  Olaf  the  Red.    Cf.  p.  126  fl".  above. 

Hringr,  one  of  the  jarls  who  fought  against  Aethelstan's  army.  Cf. 
note  to  the  poem  on  Aethelstan,  s.v.  f>ria  jbfra  below. 

13—2 


196  NOTES 

Foldgndrr.  The  meaning  is  unknown.  In  his  ed.  of  Egilsson's  Dic- 
tionary Finnur  J6nsson  suggests  the  emend,  to  fald-gn^,  which  he  takes 
with  hjaldr^  the  whole  expression  meaning  *  the  goddess  of  the  battle- 
headgear,'  i.e.  the  valkyrie.  Then  hjaldr-fald-gndarsnerrandi  would 
mean  '  strengthener  of  the  valkyrie,'  or  '  of  battle,'  i.e.  warrior. 

Ellu,  i.e.  iEUa,  the  usurping  Northumbrian  king  who  reigned  863- 
867  and  who,  according  to  Norse  tradition,  captured  and  put  to  death 
Ragnarr  LoSbr6k.  The  description  of  Aethelstan  as  ni&  Ellu  would  not 
seem  to  be  a  particularly  happy  one. 

hofu^ha^mr.  This  word  occurs  again  in  Arinhjamarhvi^a^  str.  17, 
where  it  appears  to  mean  'grandson.' 

pria  jiifra.  The  saga  itself  would  suggest  that  the  'three  princes' 
were  Olaf,  Hringr  and  A^ils  ;  but  the  true  history  of  the  struggle  has 
become  altogether  distorted  in  Norse  tradition,  and  we  are  not  in  a 
position  to  say  who  were  the  princes  referred  to  by  the  poet.  Olaf 
himself  was  not  killed  in  Aethelstan's  lifetime. 

hyrjar  hramibrjdtr,  for  hranri-hyrjar-hrjdtr,  lit.  '  the  distributor  of  the 
fire  of  the  wave,'  i.e.  '  of  gold ' — a  common  poetic  periphrasis. 

h(Bst...hreinbraut,  lit.  'the  highest  path  of  the  reindeer,'  a  metaphor 
doubtless  borrowed  from  the  mountain  ridges  of  Norway — though  there 
were  reindeer  in  Scotland  long  after  this  time. 


The  Sonatorrek 

1.  Mjok  enim,  etc.  The  opening  of  the  poem  is  far  from  clear. 
I  have  followed  the  reading  of  M  and  W,  though  I  do  not  understand 
loftdtt.  Presumably  it  is  either  a  kenning  for  '  mind '  or  '  mouth,'  or 
else  a  term  descriptive  of  the  stock  (type)  of  poem  required.  Most 
editors  emend  the  reading  of  K  to  loftvcegi  (which  they  translate 
'pendent  weight')  and  ior  prdd'ara  read  pu/idara,  understanding  the 
passage  as  a  metaphor  from  the  steelyard.  Cf.  Vigfusson  and  F. 
Jdnsson,  Diets,  s.v.  Cf.  also  B.  M.  Olsen,  'Versene  i  Egils  Saga'  in 
Arkivfor  Nordisk  Filologi,  Vol.  xv  (1903),  p.  125. 

emm,  era.  These  apparently  are  the  forms  used  by  M  and  W. 
In  the  remaining  strophes  I  have  in  general  used  the  forms  printed  in 
V.  Asmundarson's  edition,  though  I  have  substituted  win  for  of,  since 
the  former  appears  to  be  the  form  used  in  the  Mss. ;  but  owing  to  the 
absence  of  a  satisfactory  critical  edition  it  is  very  difficult  to  ascertain 
the  exact  forms  used  in  the  mss.  for  the  most  part. 

era...pyfi,  lit.  'The  stolen  property  of  Othin  is  not  to  be  looked  for.' 
Vipurr  is  one  of  Othin's  names  (cf.  Grimnismdl,  str.  49)  and  Vifiurs 
J>^Ji  is  poetry.  Othin  is  said  to  have  stolen  the  mead  OSrcerir  from  the 
giant  Suttungr  and  given  it  to  the  ^Esir,  whence  comes  poetic  inspira- 
tion to  the  ^Esir  and  to  men.    Cf.  BragaroetSur  {Skdldskaparmdl,  ch.  1). 

2.  Fagnafmidr...nWja,  i.e.  poetiy.  Cf.  str.  1,  note  to  ViSws  pyfi. 
F.  nWja,  i.e.  the  iEsir ;  here  Othin.  Frigg  is  the  wife  of  Othin.  Cf.  the 
prose  at  the  beginning  of  Lokasenna,  and  str.  26  ib.  Cf.  also  the  strophe 
on  p.  78  above  and  note. 

drborinn  or  Jotunheimum.  Cf.  str.  1,  note.  Jotunheimar  is  the  abode 
of  '  giants '  {jotnar).    Cf.  Voluspd,  str.  8  ;  Prose  Fdda,  pass. 

3.  Lastalauss,  etc.  The  meaning  of  the  first  half  of  this  strophe  is 
obscure,  owing  apparently  to  textual  corruption  in  1.  2.  Cf.  F.  Jonsson, 
note  to  the  passage  in  the  edition  of  1894  (Halle),  p.  303,  and  V. 
Asmundarson,  ed.  of  Egils  Saga  (Reykjavik,  1910),-  p.  305  n. 


NOTES  197 

Bragi.   Cf.  Eirihsmdl,  str.  2,  note. 

jotuiis  kalif  undir,  etc.,  lit.  '  The  (blood  of  the)  wounds  of  the  giant's 
neck  are  roaring,'  etc.  The  giant  is  Vmir,  and  the  blood  which  flows 
from  his  wounds  is  the  sea.  Cf.  Va//>m/mis7)idl,  str.  21  ;  Giimnisnidl, 
.str.  40  ;   Gi/Ifaginninf),  ch.  48. 

Hiuistdurum.,  lit.  'the  doors  of  the  boat-house.'  F.  J(5nsson  thinks 
that  the  allusion  is  probably  to  the  barrow  constructed  for  Egill's  kin.s- 
men,  perhaps  because  it  stood  beside  the  sea  (on  Digranes).  Cf.  str.  25, 
note  to  a  nesi.    Cf.  also  Egils  Saga,  ch.  78. 

4.  Hiwharnar.  Early  editors,  e.g.  Dietrich  and  Pfeifter,  kept  the 
reailing  of  K  ;  Wisun  emended  to  Idgir.  V.  Asmundarson  (Reykjavik, 
1910)  prints  hra:harinn,  agreeing  with  hilmir  (cf.  note  below)  ;  Vig- 
fusson  read  hnebarinn  hlimar  and  translates  'crushed.'  F.  J6nsson,  at 
the  suggestion  of  S.  Bugge,  in  the  1894  (Halle)  ed.  gave  Icebarnar  'felled 
by  the  storm.'  In  his  Diet.,  however,  he  goes  back  to  the  reading  of  K 
and  translates  'slaet  til  lig(0'  but  suggests  that  the  word  is  probably  a 
MS.  error  for  hreggbarinn.  He  prints  the  latter  in  the  1913  (Copenhagen) 
edition,  but  omits  the  word  from  his  Dictionary. 

hlinr  marha.  The  form  hh'nr  a.s  it  appears  in  K  is  uncertain.  Early 
editors,  e.g.  Dietrich  and  Pfeifi'er,  print  hlimar,  which  they  translate 
'branches.'  Wisen  emends  to  lamSar,  but  omits  the  word  from  his 
vocabulary.  F.  .J6nsson  in  the  1894  (Halle)  ed.  gives  limar  and  trans- 
lates '  boughs  (of  the  forest),  tree.'  V.  Asmundarson  {op.  cit.  p.  245) 
gives  hilmir,  'monarch.'  In  his  Copenhagen  ed.  of  1913  F.  J6nsson  has 
altered  his  text  to  hlynir,  '  maples.'  Cf.  also  his  Diet.  s.v.  hlinnar.  Cf. 
further  B.  M.  Phillpotts,  The  Elder  Edda  (Cambridge,  1920),  p.  33. 

6.  .4  froindgartSi,  lit.  'in  the  courtyard  or  dwelling  made  of  relatives,' 
i.e.  the  sea  has  made  a  breach  in  the  defences  oftbred  by  many  kinsfolk. 
Ih.^,  frcendr  are  thought  of  as  forming  a  wall  or  barrier  round  Egill. 

7.  Ran,  the  wife  of  iEgir,  identified  with  the  sea.  Cf.  Skdlddaparmdl, 
ch.  25  ;  Volsungasaga,  ch.  14.  She  and  her  husband  are  spirits  of  the 
sea.  She  was  said  to  have  a  net  in  which  she  caught  those  who  were 
drowned.  Cf.  Skdldskaparmdl,  ch.  33  ;  also  prose  at  the  beginning  of 
Reginsmdl. 

ryskt.   The  meaning  of  the  word  is  uncertain.   Elsewhere  it  is  only 
used  reflexively,  in  the  sen.se  of  to  be  '  struck,  broken.' 
dstvinum,  probably  poet.  pi.  for  sing. 

8.  Sok...rcekak,  lit.  'prosecute  (my)  suit.' 

olsmi'iS.  The  ohmitSr,  'beer-brewer,'  is  /Egir,  the  husband  of  Rdn,  who 
was  said  to  have  brewed  ale  for  the  i.Esir.  Cf.  Hymiskvi&a,  str.  1 — 3, 
43  ;  Grimnismdl,  str.  45  ;  also  the  prose  introduction  to  Lokasenna. 

a  lira  tima.  I  have  followed  F.  J6nsson  in  the  interpretation  of  this 
phrase  which  does  not  appear  to  occur  elsewhere.  Cf.  Wisen,  Carmina 
Norroena,  p.  129. 

jEgis  mani,  i.e.  ^Egir's  bride,  viz.  Rtln  (cf.  str.  7  above,  note),  here 
]ierhaps  used  of  the  sea  generally. 

10.  minn..  Attar  xkjoldr,  lit.  '  my  shield  of  the  race.' 

afllti,  lit.  'bereft  of  life,  dead.'  Cf.  M.  6lsen,  Ark.  f.  Nord.  Filol, 
Vol.  XXXI  (1918),  p.  142. 

11.  Randviti'r,  lit.  'shield  tree,'  a  kenning  for  'warrior.' 

Hergantr  is  a  name  for  Othin.  Gautr  is  one  of  the  names  by  which 
Othin  calls  himself  in  Grimnismdl,  str.  54,  cf.  Hdkonarmdl,  str.  1,  n.  F. 
Jonsson  (who  apparently  takes  hendr  as  ace,  and  toeki  as  3  sing.), 
regards  the  name  here  as  a  kenning  for  'warrior,'  and  suggests  unz... 


198  NOTES 

tceki,  'until  he  came  to  a  warrior's  estate,  became  a  full-grown  doughty 
warrior.'  He  suggests  however  that  the  text  may  possibly  be  corrupt. 
Cf.  Diet.  s.v.  Vigfusson  and  Powell  translate  'till  the  hands  of  the 
Lord  of  Hosts  gathered  him,'  i.e.  'until  he  had  been  slain  in  battle.' 

13.  Ma  hiarnur,  unintelligible.  F.  Jonsson  suggests  mdna  brud'ar, 
and  translates  ???.  b.  hyrvind  as  'favourable  breeze  of  the  giantess,' 
which  is  supposed  to  be  a  periphrasis  for  '  soul,'  '  mind.'  Vigfusson 
and  Powell  emend  m.  b.  to  Arinbiarnar.  Cf.  note  below  s.v.  broe&ra 
Icysi. 

broe&ra  leysi,  lit.  'lack  of  (the)  brothers.'  Egill  here  seems  to  refer  for 
the  first  time  to  the  fact  that  he  has  lost  two  sons.  This  at  least  seems 
more  natural  than  to  suppose  that  he  should  be  deploring  the  fact  that 
he  had  no  brothers  of  his  own.  His  only  brother  Thorolfr  had  perished 
probably  more  than  thirty  years  before.  Vigfusson  and  Powell  read 
broeSrahleyti,  and  translate  Arinbiarnar  (cf.  note  above)  b.  hi.  as 
*  Arinbiorn's  foster-brotherhood.' 

hildr.  It  is  not  clear  whether  the  reference  is  to  'battle'  or  to 
'  litigation,'  '  quarrel.' 

14.  O5'ro?5'z,  so  F.  Jonsson.  Cf.  Diet.  s.v.  Vfgfusson,  however  (cf. 
Diet,  s.v.),  understands  'counsel  of  wisdom,'  or  'a  council  (?),'  and 
translates  the  passage  'what  other  man  shall  stand  by  my  side,  as  a 
friend,  in  the  council  ? '  i.e.  '  where  am  I  now  to  look  for  friendly  help 
and  comfort  ? ' 

of  her  giaurum.  This  half  line  is  obviously  corrupt.  Rask  reads  ef 
for  of.    Transcript  252  reads  gor-  for  giaii-. 

varfleygr.,  so  F.  J6nsson  (cf.  Diet.  s.v.).  Vigfusson  (Diet,  s.v.)  trans- 
lates '  faltering  in  flight.' 

15.  Mj6k,..selr.  This  strophe  is  obscure  throughout.  Elgjar  galga, 
inexplicable  according  to  F.  J6nsson  (cf.  Diet.  s.v.).  Asmundarson 
suggested  that  it  might  mean  'country,'  i.e.  Iceland  {Egils  ISaga,  ed. 
Reykjavik,  1910,  p.  306).  Wisen  also  understood  the  word  to  refer  to 
Iceland  (cf.  Carmina  jVon-a;na,  Lund,  1886,  Vol.  ii,  p.  54,  s.v.  elgr).  For 
a  different  interpretation  cf.  Vigfusson,  Diet.  s.v. 

niflg6(Sr,..selr.  The  meaning  is  uncertain.  For  a  discussion  of  the 
word  cf.  F.  Jdnsson,  Diet.  s.v.  niflgdSr.  Cf.  also  Valdimar  Asmundarson, 
loG.  cit. 

ni^ja  steypir.,  etc.  It  is  difiicult  to  believe  that  this  can  mean  that 
only  one  who  is  a  disgrace  to  his  relatives  will  consent  to  receive 
wergild  for  his  brother  ;  the  meaning  of  steypir  itself,  however,  is  quite 
uncertain. 

17.  Ne  pann  niS.  The  text  can  hardly  be  correct  since  the  MS. 
reading  does  not  fulfil  the  alliteration.  The  adopted  son  is  spoken  of 
not  in  relation  to  the  poet,  but  to  the  son  whom  he  has  lost. 

ni(S...ma(5r.,  lit.  (as)  a  relative  (him)  who  is  a  man  born  to  another. 

18.  Byskips.  F.  Jonsson  emends  to  byskei&s,  '  the  path  of  the  bee,' 
i.e.  'air'  or  'sky.'  Dietrich,  followed  by  Pfeiffer  and  Wisen,  understood 
byskip  as  '  ship  of  the  bee,  or  bees,'  to  which  they  attribute  the  same 
meaning.  Valdimar  Asmundarson  translates  '  air,'  '  air-dwelling,' 
'heaven.'  But  is  it  not  possible  that  the  word  is  identical  with  the 
modern  'beeskip,'  i.e.  hive  (used,  especially  in  dialects,  of  the  old- 
fashioned  domed  straw  hives),  the  reference  being  in  all  probability  to 
the  family  barrow  in  which  Bo'Svarr  was  laid  ? 

kynnis.  The  reference  is  no  doubt  to  the  members  of  the  family  who 
have  died  previously. 


NOTES  199 

19.  /frosta  hilmir,  i.e.  ^Egir ;  cf.  str.  S,  note.  Hrosti,  the  malt 
brow  ill  tlie  brewei-'s  vat  from  which  the  plants  have  been  extracted. 
Wisi''!i  emended  hilmir  to  vordr,  F.  J6nsson  to  hofundr ;  so  al.so 
V.  Asniundarson,  loc.  cit.  For  various  suggestions  by  early  editors 
see  Wison,  Canniiut  Norroena  (Lund,  1886),  Vol.  i,  p.  130. 

(/  liendi  stetidr.  V.  Asmundarson  compares  the  idioms  liggja  a  //alsi, 
standa  a  sporiS'i. 

{  drdar  </nmu,  obscure.  Wiscin  emended  to  6ro  gr.  and  translated 
'noctcm  inquietam.'   F.  Jdnsson  omits  from  his  Diet. 

rf/nii^  (F.  Jonsson  ri/nnis),  lit.  'knowledge  of  runes.'  r.  reuY,  'the 
head'  (F.  J6ns.son,  Diet.  s.v.).  Vfgfusson  translated  ' scrutiny,' '  con- 
templation,' and  r.  reid',  'the  breast'  (cf.  Diet.  s.v.  ryni). 

20.  Sun  minn,  i.e.  Gunnarr,  who  appears  to  have  died  of  sickness. 
Cf  p.  132  above.    Sottar  brimi,  lit.  'fire  of  sickness.' 

viinudi.  The  lis.  has  ndviceli  which,  according  to  B.  M.  Olsen,  would 
mean  (indulging  in)  'censuring  speech.'  The  alliteration  requires 
vdnuvli  (i.e.  the  censure  of  other  people),  as  suggested  by  Olsen  in  Arkiv 
f.  nord.  FiloL,  Vol.  xix,  p.  133. 

21.  Upp...i  Goiy/ieim.    Cf.  Introduction,  p.  133  above. 

O'auta  spjalli,  i.e.  Othin,  lit.  'friend  of  the  Gautar.'  Spjalli  is  one 
who  converses  as  a  confidential  friend.  Cf.  Hdkonarmdl,  str.  1,  note  s.v. 
Gaiitati))-. 

asi;  lit.  'iish-tree.' 

22.  Geira  dn'Min^  i.e.  Othin,  who  is  generally  represented  as  armed 
with  a  spear.  Cf.  Hdvamdl,  str.  138  ;  Ynglingasaga,  eh.  9,  etc.  For 
further  references,  cf  Chadwick,  The  Cult  'of  Othin  (Cambridge,  1899), 

p.  6  ft: 

vi/iut,  a  ciTT.  Afy.    F.  Jonsson  emends  to  vimim. 

vagna  r/aii,  i.e.  Othin.  According  to  F.  Jonsson  the  phrase  means  lit. 
'  friend  of  cars,'  riini  being  identical  in  meaning  with  spjalli  (str.  21  above). 

Sigrhofundr.  Cf  the  name  Sigtyr  commonly  applied  to  Othin,  e.g.  in 
AtlakviSa  en  Groenlenzka.,  str.  32  ;  cf  also  Ynglingasaga.,  ch.  6  ;  the 
Saga  of  Haakon  the  Good  {Heimskringla),  ch.  14,  etc. 

23.  BroSwrVilis,  i.e.Oth.\n.  Cf. Lokaserma, str.  2Q;  G //If aginning, ch.  6. 
Mims  vinr,  i.e.  Othin.    Cf  Voluspd,  str.  46  ;  Sigrclrifumdl,  str.  14  ; 

Ynglingasaga,  ch.  4,  etc. ;  Hdttatal,  in  str.  3. 

es  ei  betra  telk.  F.  Jdnsson  translates  'als  das  bessere  (als  einen 
Segen).'   But  is  a  comparison  necessarily  implied  ? 

24.  Ulfs  um  bdgi,  i.e.  Othin,  who  is  to  fight  with  Fenrisulfr,  Loki's 
sou,  at  Ragnarjsk.  Cf.  Voluspd,  str.  53 ;  Vafpnipnismdl,  str.  53  ; 
Gylfagimiing,  ch.  34 ;  Hdttatal,  str.  3. 

i'isa...ve'londum,  lit.  'By  which  I  have  made  openly  discovered  foes 
from  intriguing  (foes) ' ;  or  perhaps  veliindum  may  be  taken  substauti- 
vally,  in  which  case  the  meaning  would  be  'I  have  made  intriguers 
into  openly  known  foes.' 

25.  Troggja  bdga,  i.e.  Fenrisulfr.  Cf.  str.  23  above,  note.  Tveggi  is 
Othin.    Qi.'Viiliispd,  str.  63.    Cf  also  F.  J6ns.son,  Diet.  s.v.  Tveggi. 

njiirvanift.  Mo.st  editors  (e.g.  Wisen,  F.  J6nsson,  V.  Asmundarson) 
take  this  to  mean  '  full  sister.'  Nift  can  refer  to  any  female  relative. 
Vigfusson  compares  nipt  nara,  ' Hel,'  Hofu'Slausn,  str.  10  ;  and  nift 
Nera  (a  Norn),  HelgaKvitfa  Hundingsbana,  i,  str.  4.  The  sister  of 
Fenrisulfr  is  Hel.    Cf.  Voluspd,  str.  43,  51  ;  Gylfaginning,  ch.  34. 

o  nesi.  The  reference  is  presumably  to  the  headland  (Digranes)  on 
which  the  family  barrow  stood.    Cf  str.  3  above,  note  s.v.  naustdurxim. 


200  NOTES 

THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  GOTHS  AND  THE  HUNS 

1.  Ar  kvd?f7i,  etc.  Some  editors  (e.g.  Vfgfusson  and  Powell,  Heusler 
etc.)  believe  that  this  strophe  is  part  of  a  separate  catalogue  poem 
Ci'.  Heusler,  Eddica  Minora^  p.  Ixxxviii  f.  Heiuzel,  however,  appears  to 
regard  it  as  forming  the  introduction  to  our  poem.  Cf.  '  Ueber  die 
Hervararsaga,'  p.  500. 

Humla.  For  the  names  Humli  and  Hlo^r  we  may  cf.  Humhlus  and 
Lotherus,  the  sons  of  Dan,  the  first  king  of  the  Danes ;  cf.  Saxo,  Book 
I,  p.  16.  Cf.  also  p.  143  f  above.  For  a  discussion  of  the  various  sugges- 
tions which  have  been  made  regarding  the  former  name  cf.  Heinzel, 
'  Ueber  die  Hervararsaga,'  pp.  461  ft'.,  490  fF.  Cf.  also  V.  Jagic,  'Slavisches 
in  nordischen  Sagen,'  Archiv  filr  Slavische  Philologie,  1888,  p.  307. 

Oizur.  Gizurr  Grytingali^i  is  the  name  of  one  of  Angantyr's  vassals 
mentioned  below  in  the  prose  following  str.  12.  Cf.  note  s.v.  He  is 
perhaps  the  person  referred  to  here.  It  was  observed  by  Rafn 
{Antiquites  russes,  Copenhagen,  1850,  Vol.  i,  p.  113),  that  he  plays 
the  same  pai-t  as  Eric  in  the  version  of  the  story  given  by  Saxo,  Book 
V,  pp.  190 f.,  194 f.    Cf.  also  Heinzel,  'Ueber  die  Hervararsaga,'  p.  496 f. 

Gautum  (nom.  Gautar),  the  inhabitants  of  southern  Sweden.  Cf. 
Hdkonarvidl,  str.  1,  note  s.v.  Gautatyr. 

Anganty.  I  have  discussed  elsewhere  {Stories  and  Ballads  of  the 
Far  Past,  Cambridge,  1921,  p.  82)  the  confusion  with  regard  to 
Angantyr  in  the  Saga  of  Hervor  and  Hei^rek.  Cf.  further,  Heinzel, 
op.  cit.,  p.  494  ft". 

Valdar.  A  Valdarr,  ruler  of  the  Danes,  is  mentioned  also  in  Gu^rii- 
narkvii5a  II,  str.  20,  and  in  the  Saga  of  Hervor  and  Hei&rekr,  ch.  16, 
but  no  story  is  known  of  him.  The  name  is  of  course  identical  with 
A.S.  Waldhere.  The  hero  of  the  latter  story  is  associated  with  France, 
however,  never  with  the  Danes.  Cf.  for  further  references,  Heinzel, 
op.  cit.,  p.  500. 

Volum  Kiar.  Valar  is  the  general  term  used  for  Celtic  peoj)les 
(including  the  Romans)  in  all  Teutonic  languages.  In  Kiarr  it  is 
natural  to  see  Caesar  (cf.  Widsith,  1.  76) ;  but  the  loss  of  s  requires 
explanation,  and  the  name  has  given  rise  to  some  discussion.  Cf. 
Bugge,  ArHv,  xxvi,  p.  58  f. ;  Heusler,  Eddica  Minora,  p.  lxxxix  ; 
Heinzel,  op.  cit.,  p.  501  ft".  The  form  would  seem  to  have  come  through 
an  intermediate  language.  Heusler  points  out  that  the  metre  requires 
some  such  form  as  Caesar,  and  Heinzel  regards  the  word  as  identical  in 
origin  with  the  Sisar  in  Gautreks  Saga,  ch.  4  (in  a  verse),  'a  form 
borrowed  through  Russian.'  He  further  compares  this  form  with  the 
titles  cjesari  and  cisari  preserved  by  Russian  princes  as  late  as  the 
twelfth  century.  F'or  further  references  cf.  AtlakviSa,  str.  7  ;  Volun- 
darkvid'a,  prose  at  beginning  and  str.  16 ;  Flateyjarbdk,  Vol.  I,  p.  25  ; 
Skdldskapanndl,  ch.  64. 

Alrek.  For  a  detailed  discussion  of  the  variant  readings  and  sug- 
gested identifications  cf.  Heinzel,  op.  cit.,  pp.  507 — 512. 

2.  Hlod'r.    Cf.  Introduction,  p.  143  f.  above. 

par...i  Hunalandi,  according  to  Heinzel  an  unfamiliar  idiom  in 
Norse  poetry  (cf.  p.  142  above).  It  occurs  however  in  prose,  e.g.  in  the 
Jomsv'ikinga  Saga,  ch.  6  {Forn-Manna  Sogw,  Vol.  XI,  p.  19),  />ar  i 
Danmm'k.  The  variations  in  the  ms.  readings  here  (p.  148,  footnote  6) 
should  not  be  overlooked. 

i  Hunalandi.  Here  the  reference  is  obviously  to  the  land  occupied 
by  the  Huns  at  the  time — which  we  must  no  doubt  place  somewhere 


NOTES  201 

in  the  south  of  Russia.  Owing  to  the  extensive  conquests  subsequently 
made  by  the  Huns,  the  term  Ili'uialand  came  to  be  used  in  poetry  for 
a  vast  undefined  area,  including  Germany,  Poland,  etc. — in  fact  almost 
equivalent  to  Central  Europe.  It  is  no  doubt  in  this  latter  sense  that 
we  should  understiind  Hunlcnzkr  in  Hrafnsmdl,  str.  8,  unless  malmr 
Htinlenzkr  is  simply  a  kenning  for  gold. 

sa,Ti  oh  mety  sverilij.  The  Saga  explains :  '  There  was  an  old  .saying  at 
that  time  that  a  man  was  "born  with  weapons  or  horses."  And  the 
explanation  is  that  it  referred  to  the  weapons  which  were  being  forged 
at  the  time  when  the  man  was  born;  also  to  any  sheep... and  horses 
that  were  born  about  the  same  time.  These  were  all  given  to  high-born 
men  as  an  honour  to  them.' 

hringreiffyum.  Bugge  translates  'richly  decorated  with  rings,'  and 
compares  Atlai-vi&a,  str.  42.  F.  J6nsson  tran.slates  'supplied  with  a 
ring,'  but  suggests  that  the  word  may  have  arisen  from  a  misunder- 
standing of  hringgreypr,  'surrounded  by  a  ring  or  border.'  Cf.  arin 
greypo,  Atlakvi(ya,  str.  1  and  Sijmons  {Die  Lieder  der  Edda,  Halle, 
1906,  p.  424,  note). 

d...helgu,  so  Vigfusson,  F.  Jonsson  etc.  Bugge  (cf.  Hervarar  Saga, 
p.  362)  however  regards  mork  as  a  vague  term  for  a  district  with 
natural  boundaries  ('not  a  forest'),  and  m.  h.  as  the  'place  where  the 
king's  residence  together  with  the  chief  temple  was  situated.' 

3.  Hei&reh^s) — (nom.  sing.  Heid'rekr),  the  chief  character  in  the  Saga 
of  Hervbr  aiid  HeitSrok — the  son  of  Hofimdr,  and  father  of  Angantyr 
and  HlbSr.  The  same  name  occurs  in  the  prose  at  the  beginning  of 
Oddn'inargmtr. 

a  Arheima.  Arheimar  is  unidentified.  Cf.  p.  144  above.  Cf.  also 
Heinzel,  op.  cit.,  p.  482  f. 

4.  Segg...uti,  etc.  With  the  arrival  of  HloSr  at  Arheimar  we  may 
cf.  Atla'kvitya,  str.  1  fi'. ;  Beowulf,  11.  331—370. 

siiyfurlaa  seems  somewhat  pointless.  Can  it  be  an  unobservant 
scribe's  emendation  of  sifyforull  1 

5.  Be'iyskammi,  a  ott.  Xey.  Bugge  emends  to  hotSskdi,  and  translates 
'  warlike.'    Cf.  herskur,  vigskdr. 

6.  Rymr  vas  i  ranni.  Cf.  HamSismdl,  str.  18,  24;  Atlakvitia,  str. 
41.    With  this  scene  we  may  perhaps  compare  Jordanes,  ch.  xxxvi. 

risu...g6i^um,  i.e.  'with  the  nobly  born,'  viz.  Angantyr.  Bugge  com- 
pares Hara^'ismdl,  str.  16,  21. 

7.  Al  ok  af  oddi,  etc.  For  the  highly  artificial  diction  of  this  and  the 
following  strophe,  cf.  Atlakvity-A,  str.  5 ;  HelgakvitSa  Hundingsbana  ir, 
str.  35,  and  see  p.  142.  Vigfusson  and  Powell  think  that  the  passage 
reads  like  a  legal  formula.  This  strophe  (perhaps  str.  8  also)  employs 
poet.  sing,  for  pi. 

einum.   So  F.  Jdnsson  ;  Bugge  suggests  '  unique.' 

8.  Hris  }>at  et  mtera.  The  allusions  throughout  this  .strophe  are 
obscure.  The  word  hris  is  generally  used  of  a  smaller  thing — thicket, 
brushwood.  It  is  applied  however  to  'MyrkviSr'  in  Atlakviffa,  str.  5, 
also — here  again  in  connection  with  the  phrase  staiyi  Danpar.  Myrkvityr 
occurs  elsewhere  in  the  Edda,  e.g.  Helgakviya  Hundingsbana,  i,  str.  53 ; 
Lokasenna,  str.  42  (where  a  mythical  forest  is  referred  to).  Cf.  further 
Heinzel,  op.  cit.,  p.  481  f. 

grOf  f>d  eaa  helgu,  etc.  Olri'k  {Danmarks  Heltedigtning,  Vol.  ii,  Copen- 
hagen, 1910,  p.  236)  thinks  that  the  holy  grave  is  the  mound  in  which, 
according  to  Danish  tradition.  King   Dan  was  buried,  and  that  the 


202  NOTES 

stone  was  the  Dancerifgh  on  the  top  of  which,  according  to  the  Chronicle 
of  Leire  (cf.  p.  203),  he  had  been  crowned  king.  Cf.  also  Saxo,  Book  i, 
p.  16.  In  the  Rigs]3ula,  str.  49,  'Dan'  is  mentioned  together  with 
'  Danpr,'  which  is  there  clearly  regarded  as  a  personal  name ;  see  below. 
Cf.  also  Munch,  Norske  Folks  Hist.,  p.  248,  note ;  S.  Bugge,  Hervarar 
Saga  ok  HeitSreks,  p.  362.  For  other  suggestions  cf.  Heinzel,  op.  cit., 
p.  478  f.  Heinzel,  however,  who  places  Rei'Sgotaland,  the  scene  of  the 
poem,  in  southern  Russia,  takes  the  phrase  in  connection  with  stein 
pann  enn  fagra,  and  regards  both  as  referring  to  the  famous  Cell  of 
Kiev,  which  St  Antonius  hewed  out  with  his  own  hand  and  where 
the  Byzantine  Church  was  built  1073-1089.  The  griif  would  then  be 
either  the  grave  of  Antonius  himself,  or  the  famous  rock  tomb  of 
Askold  who  was  slain  by  Oleg  in  882.  It  seems  to  me  difficult  to 
believe  that  this  is  the  place  referred  to,  but  I  cannot  suggest  any 
explanation  of  either  griif  or  stein. 

Gotpjobu.  This  name  occurs  in  the  fragmentary  Gothic  Calendar, 
(October  23),  which  celebrates  'the  many  martyrs  among  the  Gothic 
people'  {ana  Gutpiudai). 

d  stod'mn  Banpar.  Cf.  Atlakvid'a,  str.  5  (sta&i  Banpar) ;  Rigspula. 
str.  49  {Danpr).  Cf.  also  Bugge's  note  in  his  edition  of  the  Edda, 
p.  149  f.  ;  Heinzel,  op.  cit.,  p.  472  fF. ;  V.  Jagic,  Arch,  filr  Slav.  Philol. 
Vol.  XI,  p.  305  f.  ;  etc.  The  Rigspida  gives  Danpr  as  a  personal  name, 
and  the  Atlakvi&a  also  must  have  understood  it  in  the  same  sense ;  but 
there  can  be  little  doubt  that  this  expression  originally  m.eant  '  on  the 
shores  of  the  Dniepr.'  Cf.  Gothic  ana  stapa  (d.  sg.),  A.S.  steep. 
Danaper  was  the  Gothic  name  for  the  Dniepr;  cf.  Jordanes,  eh.  5. 
Heinzel  (p.  479)  thinks  that  the  locality  here  referred  to  is  Kiev,  on 
the  Dniepr  (see  above). 

9.  Kaldrgeirr.    Cf.  Beowulf,  11.  3021,  3022. 

Tyrfing{r).  The  famous  sword  forged  by  the  dwarfs  for  King  Svafr- 
lami,  and  the  heirloom  of  his  family.  Cf.  the  Saga  of  Hervor  and 
HeitSrek,  ch.  2.  The  history  of  the  swoi'd  forms  the  connecting  thread 
of  the  saga.  It  has  been  suggested  that  the  name  is  derived  from 
iyrfj,  'resinous  fir-tree,'  owing  to  its  flaming  like  resinous  fir-wood. 
F.  J6nsson  (Diet,  s.;;.),  less  probably,  regards  it  as  connected  with  'turf 
because  it  lay  so  long  in  the  earth,  or  as  equivalent  to  'earth  found.' 
For  swords  called  by  names  ending  in  -ing  cf.  Hrunting  in  Beowulf., 
1.  1457;  Natgling,  ib.  1.  2680;  Mimming,  Waldhere,  1.  3,  etc.  etc.  The 
custom  of  calling  swords  by  personal  names  is  found  in  Celtic  as  well 
as  Teutonic  records.  Cf.  the  sword  Hipickmr  'worth  seventy  cows' 
mentioned  as  being  given  by  Guengarth  to  one  Conmogoy  in  the 
record  of  a  donation  quoted  by  Seebohm,  The  Tribal  System  in  Wales 
(London,  1904),  p.  222. 

10.  Skalka.  Cf.  p.  143  above.  Cf.  also  Bugge,  Hervarar  Saga,  p.  363. 
Heinzel's  suggestion  quoted  on  p.  143  can  hardly  be  correct ;  for  the  Old 
Irish  loan-word  scoloca  (Gael,  sgalag),  'a  servant,'  shows  that  skalkr 
must  have  had  this  meaning  in  Norse  during  the  Viking  Age. 

^  11.  A^r  a.  I  have  followed  Bugge's  emendation  with  some  doubt. 
AiSr  dtti  would  be  slightly  nearer  the  MS.  readings. 

12.   Mun  ek  urn  pik,  etc.    Cf.  Waltharius,  11.  405—407 : 
'  Hunc  ego  mox  auro  vestirem  sepe  recocto, 
Et  tellure  quidem  stantem  hinc  inde  onerarem, 
Atque  viam  penitus  clausissem  vivo  talentis.' 
According  to  the   Frankish   Chronicle   Theodoric   imposes  on  the 
Visigoths  as  a  penalty  for  having  deceived  the  Franks  'ut  veniret 


NOTES  203 

logatarius  Fraiiconmi  aedens  super  equuiu,  contuni  erectum  tciicn.s  in 
niiinum,  ante  aulatn  palatii  Alarici  et  tiim  din  Alaricus  et  Gotthi  super 
euin  solidos  jactarent,  quosque  legatuni  et  cquuni  et  cacurnine  {read 
cacunicn)  conti  cum  solidis  cooperirent.'  Cf.  J.  Clrimni,  ReclUsalter- 
thiimer  (Oottingen,  1828),  p.  672.  Cf.  also  Skulddapartndl,  ch.  39; 
Herodotus,  Book  vi,  cap.  125  ;  the  Laws  of  Howel  (  Welsh  Medieval 
Law,  ed.  A.  W.  Wade-Evans,  pp.  226,  227):  'Whoever  shall  kill  a  cat 
which  guanis  a  barn  of  a  king  or  shall  take  it  stealthily,  its  head  is 
to  be  held  downwards  on  a  clean  level  floor,  and  its  tail  is  to  bo  held 
upwards ;  and  after  that  wheat  is  to  be  poured  about  it  until  the  tip 
of  its  tiiil  be  hidden  [and  that  is  its  worth].'  Perhaps  a  relic  of  a 
similar  idea  is  to  be  found  in  such  criteria  of  measurement  as  that  on 
p.  147,  lb. 

pHiijung  GotJyji'jtSar.  According  to  Langobardic  Law  a  legitimate 
son  inhei'ited  two  thirds  of  his  father's  estate,  a  natural  son  one  third. 
Cf.  J.  Grimm,  Rec/Usalte7't/iUmer,  p.  476. 

Gizurr  Gr;jtingali(Si.  A  peo[)le  called  by  what  appear  to  be  variants 
of  this  name  is  sometimes  mentioned  by  ancient  writers  in  connection 
with  the  Ostrogoths,  with  whom  many  scholars  believe  them  to  be 
identical.  Trebellius  Pollio  refers  to  the  Trutungi  in  Chmdius  6  (i.e. 
probably  Grut{li)ungi\  cf.  Claudii  Salmasii  In  Trehellmm  Pollionern 
JVotae,  44),  while  in  Ammianus  Marcellinus,  xxxi,  cap.  3.  1,  they 
appe;ir  (more  correctly)  as  Greuthungi's),  and  in  Claudian,  In  Eu- 
iropium.  Book  li,  1.  153  as  Gruthungi{s).  The  name  also  appears  in  the 
Heimsl-ringht  in  the  form  Grfitingi\  where  it  is  used  as  the  name  of 
a  king  (in  the  Saga  of  Harold  the  Fairhaired,  ch.  5)  and  as  the  name 
of  a  district  on  the  Trondhjem  Fjord  (cf.  the  Saga  of  Haakon  the  Good, 
ch.  18,  19;  Saga  of  Olaf  fryggmson,  ch.  74). 

fdstri  HeitSreks.    Cf.  the  Saga  of  Hervor  and  Hei&rekr,  ch.  6. 

13.  J^i/jar...pyjar.  Ci.  SiguriSarkvit^a  en  skamma,&tr.\l ;  Asmundar 
Saga  Kappabana,  ch.  9  (in  a  strophe). 

a  havgi.  Cf.  'The  Chronicle  of  Leire,'  Langebek,  Script.  Rev. 
Daiiicarum,  i,  p.  224  (cf.  ib.,  p.  223,  footnote).  After  the  victory  over 
the  Germans  the  Danes  'carried  him  [Dan]  to  the  stone  which  is 
called  Dancert/gh  and  placed  him  on  the  top  of  it,  and  gave  him  the 
title  of  King.'  The  most  interesting  instance  of  the  practice  of  sitting 
on  a  mound  occurs  in  the  Saga  of  Harold  the  Fairhaired  {Heimskringla), 
ch.  8,  where  it  is  definitely  associated  with  kingship.  We  may  cf. 
further  Thrymskoii^a,  str.  5  ;  Vohcspd,  str.  42.  Further  instances  occur 
in  Skirnismdl,  str.  11  and  the  preceding  prose;  the  Saga  of  Olaf 
Tryggvason  {Forn-Manna  Sogur,  Vol.  II,  p.  59  etc.).  In  the  Mabinogion 
(transl.  Lady  Guest,  London,  1904),  p.  10,  we  are  told  that  he  who 
seated  him.self  on  a  certain  mound  could  not  leave  it  'without  either 
receiving  wounds  or  blows,  or  else  seeing  a  wonder.'  Cf.  Helgakvi^a 
Hjorvar(issonar,  the  prose  preceding  str.  6.  See  also  Bugge,  Hervarar 
Saga  ok  Heiiyreks,  p.  363;  Oln'k,  'At  sidde  pS,  hiij'  in  Danske  Studier, 
1909,  p.  1  ff. ;  B.  S.  Phillpotts,  The  Elder  Edda,  p.  189. 

o<)li/igr,  i.e.,  according  to  Bugge,  Angantyr,  as  ojjposed  to  hornungr. 

14.  Drekka  ok  dcema.  Cf.  Rigspida,  str.  31 ;  Siguri^arkvida,  str.  2. 
Cf.  also  Bugge,  Hervarar  Saga,  p.  364. 

dyrar  veigar.  Cf.  HyndliiljotS,  str.  51 ;  HelgakviiSa  Hundingsbana  il, 
str.  45. 

djarjliga,  so  iiss.  The  text  cannot  be  correct  since  alliteration  is 
wanting.  According  to  Bugge  djarfliga  is  not  used  in  early  poetry  of 
this  kind. 


204  NOTES 

Jram  bera.    Cf.  Beo^inolf,  1.  291. 

15.  Rammlega.  Here  again  alliteration  is  wanting  in  all  the  MSS. 
For  the  phrase  hildi  heyja  cf.  HelgakvitSa  Hundingsbana  i,  str.  54, 
Beowulf,  1.  425  f.  etc.  Bugge  emends  to  randir  knyja  (from  Half's  Saga., 
ch.  15). 

tolfvetra.  I  have  followed  Bugge  in  taking  this  as  gen.  pi.  of  a 
compound  adj.,  lit.  'with  a  host  of  (men)  twelve  years  old  (and 
upwards).' 

16.  Rid'a...bera,  lit.  'ride  and  bring  my  shield  to,'  i.e.  'accompany,' 
*  sujaport.'  Bugge  suggests  that  a  number  of  words  have  been  omitted 
after  bera. 

Gota  pjo^um.  The  poem  had  no  doubt  originally  the  earlier  form 
Gotna  (pjobum)  which  is  generally  used  in  the  Edda.  Cf.  Grimnismdl, 
str.  2 ;  Gripesspd,  str.  35  ;  A  tlakvic^a,  str.  20 ;  Gu^nlnarhvUt,  str.  2 ; 
Ham&ismdl,  str.  3,  22,  30.    Cf  A.S.  Gotena,  Widsith,  11.  89,  109  etc. 

17.  Svi&in.  Is  a  conflagration  implied,  or  does  svidinn  refer  to  the 
enemy's  camp  fires?   Cf.  Saxo,  Book  v,  p.  194. 

Myrkvi^ar  heiSr.  Cf  str.  8,  note  s.v.  Myrkvit5r.  For  the  form  hei&r, 
having  the  sense  of  'forest,'  cf.  Welsh  coed ;  possibly  also  the  Silva 
CcEsia  of  Tacitus,  Annals,  i,  50.  For  the  meaning  cf.  A.S.  fyrgen — with 
Go.  fairguni;  and  A.S.  weald  with  Northern  mod.  Engl.  dial,  wold; 
(cf  O.N.  vollr — where  the  meaning  is  different  again). 

18.  Yd'ra  pegna.  y^ra,  i.e.  'your  and  her':  cf  pina,  1.  2  above. 

19.  Bnid'ar  gangi.  According  to  Vi'gfusson  (Diet.,  s.v.)  this  ex- 
pression was  used  in  Christian  times  for  the  bridal  procession  of 
women,  first  to  and  from  the  church,  then  from  the  bride's  room  to 
the  stofa,  where  the  wedding  feast  was  held.  Cf.  Landstad,  Norske 
Folkeviser  (Christiania,  1853),  Vol.  iii,  p.  406,  str.  12  and  footnote  2; 
Vol.  V,  p.  854,  str.  3  and  footnote  2.  Cf  also  Bugge,  Hercarar  Saga, 
p.  365  f. 

21.  pann.  Bugge  emends  to  mann.  Possibly  the  poem  originally  had 
pann  mann;  but  I  do  not  think  that  it  is  practicable  to  restore  the 
original  words. 

22.  Eyris.  In  view  of  the  following  line  it  is  just  possible  that  the 
word  eyrir  may  here  preserve  its  original  meaning  'gold  coin'  rather 
than  'ounce'  (of  silver). 

skjallanda.  Vi'gfusson  and  Powell  suggest  the  emendation  to  skillinga. 
Bugge,  however,  understands  by  skjal.  skarfr  a  piece  of  gold  of  sufficient 
weight  to  ring  when  thrown  into  a  shield  or  bowl.  Skarfr  means  a 
piece  '  cut.'  Cf.  Aasen,  Norsk  Ordbog,  s.v.  scarv,  m.  2  ;  Friibzner,  Oldn. 
Ordbog,  s.v.  skjallr.  We  may  cf.  the  tribute  mentioned  by  Saxo  (Book 
viii,  p.  359)  as  paid  by  the  Frisians  to  the  Danes.  For  further  references 
cf.  Bugge,  op.  cit.,  p.  366. 

24.  A(  Dylgju,  etc.  The  places  mentioned  in  this  strophe  are  un- 
identified.   Cf.  p.  146  above,  cf  also  Heinzel,  op.  cit.,  p.  481  ft". 

a  DunheiM.  Heinzel  suggests  {op.  cit.,  p.  484)  that  this  may  mean 
the  basin  of  the  Danube.  The  Danube  is  referred  to  as  Dihid  in  Heilagra 
Manna  Sogur,  i,  p.  303.  It  is  scarcely  likely,  however,  that  this  region 
should  be  mentioned  here — especially  in  a  place-name  derived  from 
the  Slavonic  form  of  the  river. 

d...Josswrfj6llum,  lit.  'on  all  the  mountains  of  Jossurr.'  Cf.  however 
str.  26.    For  the  variant  forms  cf.  Heinzel,  p.  484  f. 

25.  Gnaefar...gunnfani.   Cf  HdrbartSsljdtS,  str.  40. 


NOTES  205 

26.  Hr(rse...hrorju.  The  MS.  readings  are  clo^irly  corrupt,  though  the 
general  sense  of  the  passivge  need  not  be  doubted.  Bugge  reads  hrce  se 
j/d'r  and  emends  hvorjii  to  hverri.  At  hd  '  to  battle,'  occurs  again  in  one 
of  Sighvatr's  [wenis  quoted  in  St  Ola/'s  Saga  {ll<'imsk-riiu]lu),  ch.  155. 
The  noni.  and  gender  of  the  word  arc  unknown,  unless  it  be  identiticd 
(;us  by  Vfgfus.son,  Diet.,  s.v.  Ill)  with  kd  f.,  'a  hide,'  etc.  I  am  inclined 
to  think  that  the  original  reiiding  may  have  been  hnv  hrjosi.  ytfur  at  hd 
hverjn;  of.  the  rciidings  of  MS.  u,  quoted  on  p.  158  above,  note  11.  Cf. 
Beot(ndt\  H.  277  {hrafi/l),  2488,  and  for  the  general  sense  Beowulf, 
1.  1042;  Ruin,  1.  18. 

Idti  svd..Jlein  fljuga.  The  dedication  of  an  enemy's  army  to  Othin 
before  a  battle  appears  to  have  been  a  common  practice.  Cf.  Voluspd, 
str.  24  ;  Styrhjaniar  }>dttr,  ch.  2  ;  Eyrhyggja  Saga,  ch.  44,  etc. 

27.  Arheimum.    Cf.  str.  3,  note. 

28.  miHt  es,  so  mss.  Bugge  compares  HelgakvitSa  Hundingshana,  I, 
str.  52  and  writes 

mikit  er 
mengi  l^eira. 

29.  Halir  fjortaldir.  The  prose  passage  given  on  p.  154  above  has 
fernir  fjdrir  tigir,  '  four  times  forty  men,'  whence  no  doubt  Rafn 
(Antiqui'te's  riisses.  Vol.  I,  p.  203)  inserted  XL.  before  fjortaldir  here, 
though  the  result  is  to  destroy  the  metrical  form  of  the  passage.  There 
is,  however,  a  curious  resemblance  between  the  figures  which  occur  in 
this  strophe  and  those  given  for  the  fleet  of  the  Huns  in  Saxo,  Book  v, 
p.  191,  p.  155  in  Holder's  ed.  (Cf.  Bugge,  Hervarar  Saga  ok  HeitSreks 
in  Sorri^ne  Skrifter,  286.)  Saxo's  words  are  far  from  clear — perhaps 
owing  to  a  misunderstanding  of  his  original — but  they  seem  to  imply 
that  the  numbers  were  in  some  way  quadrupled.  It  is  possible  there- 
fore that  the  author  of  the  Saga  misunderstood  the  numbers  given  in 
the  poem. 

30.  Basmir.  The  word  is  not  found  in  the  mss.,  and  the  meaning  is 
uncertain.  B\igge  adopts  from  Verelius,  and  {Herv.  Sag.,  p.  367)  suggests 
the  translation  'rings.'  He  suggested  further  that  the  word  may  be 
connected  with  hinda.  Vfgfusson  (Diet.,  s.v.)  connects  it  with  Norweg. 
basma,  twenty  threads  of  the  warp  (cf.  Aaseu,  JVorsk  Ordbog,  Christiania, 
1873,  S.V.),  and  suggests  'loom'  as  a  possible  meaning ;  but  Bugge  holds 
that  this  word  is  of  later  and  foreign  origin.  F.  J6nssou  (Diet,  s.v.), 
translates  'costly  treasure,'  and  refers  to  Bugge's  note.  In  Rigs/>nla, 
str.  39  another  an.  X«y.  masmir  occurs  in  a  very  similar  context,  but  a 
difierent  alliteration  is  required  there. 

31.  Dumr  Noma.  Cf.  Fdfnismdl,  str.  11,  12.  The  norns  were  repre- 
sented in  Norse  mythology  as  women  with  the  power  of  shaping  human 
destiny.  Cf.  Reginsmdl,  str.  2  ;  HelgakvitSa  Hundingsbaua  I,  str.  2 ; 
Oylfaginning,  ch.  15,  16;  Saxo  Grammaticus,  Daa.  Hist.  Book  vi, 
p.  223.  The  conception  is  similar  in  many  respects  to  that  of  the 
Greek  Moirai. 


APPENDIX 

The  listi  of  donations  made  by  Bishop  Leofric  to  the  ecclesiastical 
library  at  Exeter  is  as  follows  : 

Her  swutelaj)  on  {jissere  Cristes  bee  hwset  Leofric  B  h.sei]>  gedon  innto 
sancte  Petres  minstre  on  Exanceastre  j^ser  his  bisceop-stol  is.  Daet  is 
>8et  he  hsefj?  geinuod  jjeet  ser  geutod  J^ter  j^urh  Godes  fultum  and  f>urh 
his  foresprsece  7  J>iu"h  his  gsersuma.  Daet  is  serost  ]>8et  land  set  Culm- 
stoke  and  jjeet  land  set  Brancescumbe  and  set  Sealtcumbe  7  ]>set  land  set 
sancte  Maria  circean  and  fiset  laud  set  Stofordtune  and  set  Sweartan 
wille  and  j^set  land  set  Morceshille  and  SidefuUan  hiwisc  7  j^set  land  set 
Brihtricestane  (and  j^set  land  set  Toppeshame  'Seah  ^e  Harold  hit  mid 
unlage  utnam'-^)  7  jjset  land  set  Stoce  7  {jset  land  set  Sydebirig  7  ))set  land 
set  Niwantmie  7  tet  NorStune  (7  J^set  lande  set  Clift  ]>e  wid  hsefde^). 

©onne  ys  J^is  se  eaca  on  landum  )ja3t  he  hffifS  of  his  agenum  J>3et 
mynster  mid  gegodod  for  his  hlaforda  sawlum  and  for  his  agenre  J>am 
Godes  }>eowum  to  bigleafan  jje  for  heora  sawlum  J^ingian  sceolan,  )jset  is 
serost  Jjset  laud  set  Bemtune,  7  set  Esttune  7  set  Ceommenige  7  Jjset  land 
set  Doflisc  7  a^t  Holacumbe  7  set  Sudwuda,  7  he  ne  funde  j?a  he  to  j^am 
mynstre  feng  nan  mare  landes  '5e  Sider  ynn  gejjylde  wsere  'Sonne  twa 
hida  landes  set  Ide,  and  ^seron  uses  orfcynnes  nan  mare  buton  vi* 
hruf-eru. 

Donne  ys  }>is  seo  oncnawennis  )>e  he  hsef})  God  mid  gecnawen  7  sanctum 
Petrum  into  \>a,m.  halgan  mynstre  on  circlicum  madmum,  J>set  is,  })8et  he 
hsef  J>  )jider  ynn  gedon  11  b  roda  7  11  mycele  gebonede  roda  l;)utan  of^rum 
litlum  silfrenum  swur  rodum  7  11  mycele  Cristes  bee  gebonede  7  iii 
gebonede  serin  7  i  geboned  altare  7  v  silfrene  caliceas  7  iv  corjjorales 
7  I  silfren  pipe  7  v  fulle  msessereaf  7  11  dalmatica  7  iii  pistel  roccas 
7  IV  subdiacones  handlin  7  iii  cantercseppa  7  iii  canter  stafas  7  v 
psellene  weofod  sceatas  7  vii  ofer^  brsedelsas  7  11  tseppedu  7  iii  bera 
scin  7  VII  setl  hrsegel  7  iii  ricg-hrsegel  7  11  wahraeft  7  vi  msesene  sceala 
7  II  gebonede  hnseppas  7  iv  hornas  7  11  mycele  gebonede  candelsticcan 
7  VI  Isessan  candelsticcan  gebonede,  7  i  silfren  stor  cylle  mid  silfrenum 

1  The  list  here  given  is  based  on  that  which  is  bound  in  the  covers 
of  the  Exeter  Book  (cf.  p.  xii  above).  It  appears  that  several  copies  of 
this  list  have  been  made  at  different  periods  for  important  libraries.  A 
paper  co)\y  (C),  no  doubt  made  in  the  sixteenth  century  in  a  hand  which 
has  carefully  copied  that  of  the  eleventh  century  list,  is  to  be  founl  in 
MS.  101  (f.  62)  of  the  library  given  by  Archbishop  Parker  to  Corpus  Christi 
College,  Cambridge.  Further  copies  are  MS.  Auct.  D.  ii,  16,  fol.  la — 2b, 
in  the  Bodleian,  Oxford,  and  MS.  Harl.  258,  fol.  125  b  in  the  British 
Museum.  The  Ust  was  first  printed  by  Dugdale  in  Monasticon  Anglicanum 
(London,  1655,  cf.  ed.  of  1846,  Vol.  11,  p.  527)  and  was  reprinted  again  by 
J.  M.  Kemble  in  Codex  Diplomaticits  aevi  Saxonici  (London,  1839 — 1848), 
Vol.  IV,  pp.  274—276  (No.  940).  Extracts  have  also  been  published  by 
Wanley  in  Hickes's  Thesaurus  (London,  1705),  Vol.  11,  pp.  80,  279  f. ;  by 
Conybeare  in  Illustrations  of  Anglo-Saxon  Poetry  (London,  1826),  p.  199  f.  ; 
F.  E.  Warren  in  The  Leofric  Missal  (Oxford,  1883),  p.  xxi;  T.  Wright  in 
Biographia  Britannica  Literaria,  Anglo-Saxon  Period  (London,  1842 — 1846), 
pp.  38,  39 ;  etc. 

^  and...ntnam  interlinear  gloss  added  later. 

*  7... /kedde  interlinear  gloss  added  later.  *  vii  Bodl.  ^o/Bodl. 


APPENDIX  207 

storsticcan'  7  viii  lioflas  7  11  gul>faiia  7  i  more  7  vi  niid-  roca  7  i  firdwaju 
7  I  cyste;  7  |nor  luenMi  xv  Initon  vu  upp-haii^ouo  holla  7  mi  jjajr  aynd 
XIV''  upp-haiigoiie  7  xu  haiul-boUa  7  II  fuUo  iiuosse  boo  7  i  coUectanoum 
7  II  jiistel  boc  7  II  fullo  saiig-boc  7  i  nilit-sang  7  i  Ad  to  levavi  7 
I  Tropore^  7  so  f)riddan  Saltere  swa  man  siugS  ou  Rome  7  li  Ymiicras 
7  I  doorwyrSe  Blotsing-boc  7  ill  ojn*e  7  i  Engli.sc  XpoS-boc  7  II  Sumer- 
ra?diiig-bec,  7  I  winter-noding-boc  7  Regiila  C'anoniconim  7  Martiro- 
logium  7  I  Canon  on  Luedem^  7  i  Scrift-boc  on  Engliac  7  i  full  Spel-boc 
wintres  7  sumeres  7  Booties  boc  on  Engli.sc  7  /  mycel  Englifc  boc  be 
ge/iin/lcum  J^tncfum  on  Leo^wisan  gcivorht  7  he  no  fiuide  on  |)am  mynstre 
jja  be  to  feng  Boca  na  ma  butan  ane  Capitulario  7  I  foroaldodne  Niht- 
saug  7  I  Pistol-boc  7  11  forealdode  Raiding-bec  swi|)e  wake  7  i  wac  Ma)s- 
reaf.  7  j^us  fela  Leden  boca  he  beget  innto  [jam  mynstre:  Liber  Pasto- 
ralis  7  Liber  Dialogorum  7  libri  iv  Prophetarum  7  liber  Boetii  de  Con- 
solatione  7  Isagogo  Porphirii  7  i  Passionalis  7  liber  Prosperi  7  liber 
Prudentii  Psicomachio  7  liber  Prudentii  ymnorum  7  liber  Prudentii  de 
Martyribus  7  liber  Ezechielis  Prophetae  7  Cantica  Canticoriim  7  liber 
Isaie  Prophota^  on  sundron  7  liber  Isidori  Ethimologiarum  7  Passiones 
Apiorum  7  Kxpositio  Beda3  super  Evangelium  Lucio  7  Expositio  Bode 
super  Apotalipsin  7  expositio  Bede  sui)er  vii  Epistolas  Canonicas  7  liber 
Isidori  de  novo  7  veteri  Testamento  7  liber  Isidori  de  miraculis  XpT  7 
liber  Oresii  7  liber  Machabeorum  7  liber  Persii  7  Sedulies  boc  7  liber 
Aratoris  7  Diadema  Mouachorum  7  Glosa)  Statii  7  liber  Officialis 
Amalarii. 

7  ofer  his  dseg  he  ann  his  capellum  Cider  binnan  foi^  mid  him  silfum 
on  eallum  t?am  Singum  jje  he  silf  dide  mid  Godes  ))eninge  on  Ymi  gorad 
))aet  }>a  (Todos  {^eowas  \ic  j^er  binnan  beoj?  aefre  his  sawle  gemunou  mid 
heora  gebedum  and  micsso-sangum  to  Criste  and  to  sancte  Petre  and  to 
eallum  |)am  halgura  jje  }>8et  halige  minster  is  fore  gehalgod,  }>ait  his  sawle 
beo  Gode  )>e  anfengre.  7  so  -5e  ISas  gyfu  7  f>isne  unnan  wille  Godo  7 
sancte  Petre  a3tbredan  si  him  heofena  rice  aetbroden  and  si  he  ecelice 
geniJ>erod  into  helle  wite. 

^  sticcan  Bodl.  .       -  unci  Corp.  •*  xiii  Bodl. 

*  -J  II  Salteras  7  se  />r.  etc.  Bodl.  ^  leden  Bodl. 


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AT  THE  CAMBKIDOE  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 


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