Rígsþula

Rígsþula (Rþ.) ‘Rígr’s List’, a poem in fornyrðislag, survives on pages 155–56 of the mid-fourteenth-century Icelandic Codex Wormianus (W) (AM 242 fol.), one of the manuscripts containing Snorri’s Prose Edda, where it seems to be missing both its ending and some earlier lines.¹ Its date and place of composition are uncertain. As usual for Eddic poems, Iceland is a possible country of origin, but a less likely one than in many other cases, because the social stratification described in Rþ.—aspects of which have ancient Indo-European cultural precedents—did not characterize medieval Iceland, which had no aristocracy and was subject to no king until 1262. Some degree of Irish influence is indicated by the otherwise unattested theonym Rígr, which probably derives from a declined form of Old Irish rí ‘king’. This might favour an origin in a Hiberno-Norse settlement in the British Isles, where tripartite social stratification might be found, but there was also medieval Irish influence on Iceland and Norway, for example.

The general purpose of Rþ. seems clear, albeit now highly distasteful, in its unashamed classism, ageism, sexism and racism. It is to affirm the poet’s (or his or her patron’s) view of the proper stratification of society into in-bred classes, from the uppermost of which—a class of young, fair-haired martial noblemen—stems the king. Beneath the nobles are the less refined, free peasant farmers and, at the bottom of the heap, the ugly, dark-skinned slaves who do the dirty farmwork and whose names sometimes attribute them physical deformity.

If the chronological progression from great-grandparents (slaves) to grandparents (freemen) and then parents (nobles) hints at the possibility of social advancement down the generations, the poet was certainly not at pains to emphasize it. His focus is on promulgating a racist ideology that distinguishes groups of human beings based on pigmentation and other physical features, presenting them as genealogically distinct from one another, and decreeing for them permanent places in a class hierarchy. A narrower aim was apparently to justify the king’s authority, which was won through slaughter and the possession of numinous knowledge about runes. The character Konr has runic knowledge superior even to that of his father Jarl, so that, even though he is the youngest son, Konr becomes worthier of the title of Rígr than the man whom the deity himself had sired, acknowledged, leant his name to, and instructed.

It is curious that the deity in question is, ostensibly at least, Heimdallr, a figure better known as the gods’ watchman against the incursions of giants. As it stands, Rþ. is the only surviving Old Norse text of substantial length to feature Heimdallr as its main character; there was, however, once another poem about him, as SnEGylf (27, p. 26) includes a fragment of an otherwise lost Heimdalargaldr ‘Heimdallr’s Incantation’. Furthermore, Heimdallr’s importance at a fairly early date is probably indicated by his likely identity with the world-tree Yggdrasill (Heimdallr could mean ‘(Burgeoning) Home-Tree’) and his probable depiction on the tenth-century Gosforth Cross from Cumbria, England, amid carvings likely to have been inspired by mythological Eddic poems. However, were it not for the prose introduction to Rþ., which is the only part of the text to name Heimdallr, we would probably be inclined to identify the deity who calls himself Rígr as Óðinn. For it is elsewhere Óðinn who is the wandering god of aliases and wisdom, including runes, and of kings. It is elsewhere also Óðinn who visits farmsteads and who is called Aldafǫðr ‘Father of Men/Ages’ and Alfǫðr ‘All-Father’. One scholar has argued that the prose introduction equating Rígr with Heimdallr was composed in the fourteenth century by the compiler of Codex Wormianus,2 who possibly took his cue from Heimdallr’s progenitorship of ‘greater and lesser sons’ (presumably men of different classes) in Vsp. 1 and perhaps this god’s kinship with dynasties in Hdl. 43. If so, Rþ. would not be a source of traditional information about Heimdallr.

On the other hand, Rígr’s offers of help in settings of domestic labour in Rþ., and perhaps especially his advice to the distaff-wielding Amma of stanza 16, might find parallel in an obscure eleventh- or twelfth-century inscription in Norse runes on a spindle-whorl from Saltfleetby St Clement, England.³ It seems to name Heimdallr, possibly beside Óðinn and one other figure, as helpers of a certain Úlfljót, most likely the woman who used the whorl. Óðinn was a practitioner of the type of feminine magic called seiðr, literally ‘cord, string’, which seems to have been conceptually ‘spun’. Heimdallr is elsewhere obscurely called Hallinskiði ‘Leaning Stick’, a term which might identify him as the world-tree or axis mundi, but which would also aptly describe a distaff—the wooden stick, held at an angle, from which the whorl would have hung.⁴

Synopsis

Further Reading

Bourns, T., ‘The Language of Birds in Old Norse Tradition’, JEGP 120 (2021), 209–38, https://doi.org/10.5406/jenglgermphil.120.2.0209

Cöllen, S., Heimdallr—der rätselhafte Gott: eine philologische und religionsgeschichtliche Untersuchung (Berlin: De Gruyter, 2015).

Dronke, U., ed., The Poetic Edda: Volume II. Mythological Poems (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1997).

Dumézil, G., ‘The Rígsþula and Indo-European Social Structure (1958)’, in E. Haugen, ed., Gods of the Ancient Northmen (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1973), pp. 118–25.

Dumézil, G., ‘Comparative Remarks on the Scandinavian God Heimdall (1959)’, in E. Haugen, ed., Gods of the Ancient Northmen (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1973), pp. 126–40.

Fleck, J., ‘Konr—Óttarr—Geirrøðr: A Knowledge Criterion for Succession to the Germanic Sacred Kingship’, SS 42 (1970), 39–49.

Gísli Sigurðsson, Gaelic Influence in Ireland: Historical and Literary Contacts: A Survey of Research, 2nd edn (Reykjavík: University of Iceland Press, 2000).

Hill, T. D., ‘Rígsþula: Some Medieval Christian Analogues’, Speculum 61 (1986), 79–89 [rpt. in P. Acker and C. Larrington, ed., The Poetic Edda: Essays on Old Norse Mythology (New York: Routledge, 2002), pp. 229–43].

Künzler, S., Flesh and Word: Reading Bodies in Old Norse-Icelandic and Early Irish Literature (Berlin: De Gruyter, 2016), https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110455878

Larsson, A., ‘Warriors’ Clothing in the Rigsþula’, in E. B. Andersson Strand et al., ed., North European Symposium for Archaeological Textiles X (Oxford: Oxbow, 2010), pp. 157–61.

Mulligan, A. E., ‘Prescient Birds and Prospective Kings: Further Comments on Irish Elements in the Eddic Poem Rígsþula’, Proceedings of the Harvard Celtic Colloquium 20/21 (2000/2001), 285–310.

Sayers, W., ‘Irish Perspectives on Heimdallr’, alvíssmál 2 (1993), 3–30.

Scher, S. P., ‘Rígsþula as Poetry’, Modern Language Notes 78 (1963), 397–407.

Schjødt, J. P., ‘Jarl, Konr, and Óðinn in Rígsþula’, in J. Glauser and P. Hermann, ed., Myth, Magic, and Memory in Early Scandinavian Narrative Culture: Studies in Honour of Stephen A. Mitchell (Turnhout: Brepols, 2021), pp. 33–45, https://doi.org/10.1484/M.AS-EB.5.121331

Thorvaldsen, B. Ø., Mǫgr átta møðra ok einnar: mytane om Heimdallr i lys av førestellingar om slektskap (MA thesis, University of Bergen, 2002).

Tolley, C., Shamanism in Norse Myth and Magic, 2 vols. (Helsinki: Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, 2009).

Von See, K., B. La Farge, E. Picard and K. Schulz, Kommentar zu den Liedern der Edda, Bd. 3: Götterlieder (Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter, 2000).

Young, J. I., ‘Does Rígsþula Betray Irish Influence?’, ANF 49 (1933), 97–107.

Rígsþula

1. Ár, kváðu, ganga   grœnar brautir

ǫflgan ok aldinn,   Ás kunnigan,

ramman ok rǫskvan —   Ríg stiganda.

2. Gekk hann meirr at þat   miðrar brautar;

kom hann at húsi,   hurð var á gætti;

inn nam at ganga,   eldr var á gólfi;

hjón sátu þar   hár at árni,

Ái ok Edda   aldinfalda.

3. Rígr kunni þeim   ráð at segja;

meirr settisk hann   miðra fletja,

en á hlið hvára   hjón salkynna.

4. Þá tók Edda   økkvinn hleif,

þungan ok þykkan,   þrunginn sáðum;

bar hon meirr at þat   miðra skutla,

soð var í bolla,   setti á bjóð;

var kálfr soðinn,   krása beztr;

reis hann upp þaðan,   rézk at sofna.

5. Rígr kunni þeim   ráð at segja;

meirr lagðisk hann   miðrar rekkju

en á hlið hvára   hjón salkynna.

6. Þar var hann at þat   þríar nætr saman;

gekk hann meirr at þat   miðrar brautar;

liðu meirr at þat   mánuðr níu.

7. Jóð ól Edda,   jósu vatni

hǫrundsvartan,   hétu Þræl.

8. Hann nam at vaxa   ok vel dafna;

var þar á hǫndum   hrokkit skinn,

kropnir knúar, . . .

fingr digrir,   fúlligt andlit,

lotr hryggr,   langir hælar.

9. Nam hann meirr at þat   magns um kosta,

bast at binda,   byrðar gørva;

bar hann heim at þat   hrís gerstan dag.

10. Þar kom at garði   gengilbeina;

aurr var á iljum,   armr sólbrunninn,

niðrbjúgt er nef,   nefndisk Þír.

11. Miðra fletja   meirr settisk hon;

sat hjá henni   sonr húss,

rœddu ok rýndu,   rekkju gørðu,

Þræll ok Þir,   þrungin dœgr.

12. Bǫrn ólu þau,   bjuggu ok unðu;

hygg ek at héti   Hreimr ok Fjósnir,

Klúrr ok Kleggi,   Kefsir, Fúlnir,

Drumbr, Digraldi,   Drǫttr ok Hǫsvir,

Lútr ok Leggjaldi;   lǫgðu garða,

akra tǫddu,   unnu at svínum,

geita gættu,   grófu torf.

13. Dœtr váru þær   Drumba ok Kumba,

Økkvinkálfa   ok Arinnefja,

Ysja ok Ambátt,   Eikintjasna,

Tǫtrughypja   ok Trǫnubeina;

þaðan eru komnar   þræla ættir.

14. Gekk Rígr at þat   réttar brautir,

kom hann at hǫllu,   hurð var á skíði;

inn nam at ganga,   eldr var á gólfi,

hjón sátu þar,   heldu á sýslu.

15. Maðr telgði þar   meið til rifjar;

var skegg skapat,   skǫr var fyr enni,

skyrtu þrǫngva;   skokkr var á gólfi.

16. Sat þar kona,   sveigði rokk,

breiddi faðm,   bjó til váðar;

sveigr var á hǫfði,   smokkr var á bringu,

dúkr var á hálsi,   dvergar á ǫxlum.

Afi ok Amma   áttu hús.

17. Rígr kunni þeim   ráð at segja;

. . . .

18. . . . .

19. Reis frá borði,   réð at sofna;

meirr lagðisk hann   miðrar rekkju,

en á hlið hvára   hjón salkynna.

20. Þar var hann at þat   þrjár nætr saman;

gekk hann meirr at þat   miðrar brautar;

liðu meirr at þat   mánuðr níu.

21. Jóð ól Amma,   jósu vatni,

kǫlluðu Karl,   kona sveip ripti,

rauðan ok rjóðan,   riðuðu augu.

22. Hann nam at vaxa   ok vel dafna;

øxn nam at temja,   arðr at gørva,

hús at timbra   ok hlǫður smíða,

karta at gørva   ok keyra plóg.

23. Heim óku þá   hanginluklu,

geitakyrtlu,   giptu Karli;

Snør heitir sú;   settisk undir ripti;

bjuggu hjón,   bauga deildu,

breiddu blæjur   ok bú gørðu.

24. Bǫrn ólu þau,   bjuggu ok unðu;

hét Halr ok Drengr,   Hauldr, Þegn ok Smiðr,

Breiðr, Bóndi,   Bundinskeggi,

Búi ok Boddi,   Brattskeggr ok Seggr.

25. En hétu svá   ǫðrum nǫfnum:

Snót, Brúðr, Svanni,   Svarri, Sprakki,

Fljóð, Sprund ok Víf,   Feima, Ristill;

þaðan eru komnar   karla ættir.

26. Gekk Rígr þaðan   réttar brautir;

kom hann at sal,   suðr horfðu dyrr,

var hurð hnigin,   hringr var í gætti.

27. Gekk hann inn at þat,   gólf var stráð;

sátu hjón,   sásk í augu,

Faðir ok Móðir,   fingrum at leika.

28. Sat húsgumi   ok sneri streng,

álm of bendi,   ǫrvar skepti;

en húskona   hugði at ǫrmum,

strauk of ripti,   sterti ermar.

29. Keisti fald,   kinga var á bringu,

síðar slœður,   serk bláfán;

brún bjartari,   brjóst ljósara,

háls hvítari   hreinni mjǫllu.

30. Rígr kunni þeim   ráð at segja;

meirr settisk hann   miðra fletja

en á hlið hvára   hjón salkynna.

31. Þá tók Móðir   merktan dúk,

hvítan af hǫrvi,   hulði bjóð;

hon tók at þat   hleifa þunna,

hvíta af hveiti,   ok hulði dúk.

32. Fram setti hon   skutla fulla,

silfri varða,   setti á bjóð,

fán ok fleski   ok fugla steikta;

vín var í kǫnnu,   varðir kálkar;

drukku ok dœmðu,   dagr var á sinnum.

33. Rígr kunni þeim   ráð at segja;

reis Rigr at þat,   rekkju gerði;

þar var hann at þat   þrjár nætr saman;

gekk hann meirr at þat   miðrar brautar;

liðu meirr at þat   mánuðr níu.

34. Svein ól Móðir,   silki vafði,

jósu vatni,   Jarl létu heita;

bleikt var hár,   bjartir vangar,

ǫtul váru augu   sem yrmlingi.

35. Upp óx þar   Jarl á fletjum;

lind nam at skelfa,   leggja strengi,

álm at beygja,   ǫrvar skepta,

flein at fleygja,   frǫkkur dýja,

hestum ríða,   hundum verpa,

sverðum bregða,   sund at fremja.

36. Kom þar ór runni   Rígr gangandi,

Rígr gangandi,   rúnar kendi;

sitt gaf heiti,   son kvezk eiga;

þann bað hann eignask   óðalvǫllu,

óðalvǫllu,   aldnar byggðir.

37. Reið hann meirr þaðan   myrkan við,

hélug fjǫll,   unz at hǫllu kom;

skapt nam at dýja,   skelfði lind,

hesti hleypti   ok hjǫrvi brá;

víg nam at vekja,   vǫll nam at rjóða,

val nam at fella,   vá til landa.

38. Réð hann einn at þat   átján búum;

auð nam skipta,   ǫllum veita

meiðmar ok mǫsma,   mara svangrifja;

hringum hreytti,   hjó sundr baug.

39. Óku ærir   úrgar brautir,

kómu at hǫllu   þar er Hersir bjó;

mætti hann   mjófingraðri,

hvítri ok horskri —   hétu Ernu.

40. Báðu hennar   ok heim óku,

giptu Jarli,   gekk hon und líni;

saman bjuggu þau   ok sér unðu,

ættir jóku   ok aldrs nutu.

41. Burr var hinn elzti,   en Barn annat,

Jóð ok Aðal,   Arfi, Mǫgr,

Niðr ok Niðjungr —   námu leika —

Sonr ok Sveinn —   sund ok tafl —

Kundr hét einn,   Konr var hinn yngsti.

42. Upp óxu þar   Jarli bornir,

hesta tǫmðu,   hlífar bendu,

skeyti skófu,   skelfðu aska.

43. En Konr ungr   kunni rúnar,

ævinrúnar   ok aldrrúnar;

meirr kunni hann   mǫnnum bjarga,

eggjar deyfa,   ægi lægja.

44. Klǫk nam fugla,   kyrra elda,

sæva of svefja,   sorgir lægja;

afl ok eljun   átta manna.

45. Hann við Ríg-Jarl   rúnar deildi,

brǫgðum beitti   ok betr kunni;

þá ǫðlaðisk   ok þá eiga gat

Rígr at heita,   rúnar kunna.

46. Reið Konr ungr   kjǫrr ok skóga,

kólfi fleygði,   kyrði fugla.

47. Þá kvað þat kraka —   sat kvisti ein:

‘Hvat skaltu, Konr ungr,   kyrra fugla?

Heldr mætti þér   hestum ríða

. . . . . . . . . . . .   ok her fella!

48. ‘Á Danr ok Danpr   dyrar hallir,

œðra óðal   en ér hafið;

þeir kunnu vel   kjól at ríða,

egg at kenna,   undir rjúfa.’

Rígr’s List

People say thus in ancient stories, that a certain one of the Æsir, the one who was called Heimdallr, went on his travels and, advancing along a certain sea-strand,5 came to a farmstead and named himself Rígr.6 This poem is based on that story:

1. Early,⁷ they said, there walked on green ways,⁸

mighty and ancient, a knowing Áss,9

strong and vigorous — Rígr, striding.

2. He walked on then, after that, in the middle of the way;

he came to a house, the door was at the door-frame;¹⁰

he proceeded to go inside, a fire was on the floor;

a married couple sat there, hoary,¹¹ at the hearth,

Ái12 and Edda13 in an old-fashioned head-dress.

3. Rígr knew how to give14 them advice;¹⁵

he sat himself then in the middle of the benches,¹⁶

and on either side [of him were] the married couple of the household.

4. Then Edda took a coarse loaf,

heavy and thick, bursting with husks;17

she carried it then into the midst of the dishes;

broth was in a bowl, she set it on the table;¹⁸

a calf had been boiled, the best of delicacies;

he rose up from there, decided to go to sleep.¹⁹

5. Rígr knew how to give them advice;

6. He was there after that for three nights altogether;

he walked on then, after that, in the middle of the way;

then nine months passed after that.

7. Edda bore a child, they sprinkled the swarthy-skinned one

with water,20 called him Þræll.21

8. He began to grow and to thrive well;

there was wrinkled skin on his hands,

gnarled knuckles, . . .²²

thick fingers, ugly face,

crooked back, long heels.

9. After that he started to test his strength,

to bind bast, prepare burdens;

after that he bore home brushwood the entire day.

10. There came to the yard a crook-legged one;

there was mud on her soles, her arm was sunburnt,

her nose is turned down,²³ she named herself Þír.24

11. She sat herself then in the middle of the benches;

beside her sat the son of the house,

they talked and whispered, made the bed,

Þræll and Þír, day after tightly packed day.

12. They bore children, settled down and were content;

I think they²⁵ were called Hreimr26 and Fjósnir,27

Klúrr28 and Kleggi,29 Kefsir,30 Fúlnir,31

Drumbr,32 Digraldi,33 Drǫttr34 and Hǫsvir,35

Lútr36 and Leggjaldi;37 they laid fences,

dunged fields, tended to swine,

attended to goats, dug turf.³⁸

13. The daughters were Drumba39 and Kumba,40

Økkvinkálfa41 and Arinnefja,42

Ysja43 and Ambátt,44 Eikintjasna,45

Tǫtrughypja46 and Trǫnubeina;47

from them have come families of slaves.

14. After that Rígr walked on right48 ways,

he came to a hall, the door was on the lintel;⁴⁹

he proceeded to go inside, a fire was on the floor,

a married couple sat there, they stuck to their work.

15. The man carved wood there for a weaving-beam;

his beard was well-groomed, his hair lay on his forehead,⁵⁰

[he wore] a close-fitting shirt; a chest was on the floor.

16. The woman sat there, twirled a distaff,

readied thread(?),⁵¹ prepared [it?] for [making] cloth;

a curved head-dress was on her head, a smock was on her breast,

a cloth was at her neck, ‘dwarves’⁵² at her shoulders.

Afi53 and Amma54 owned the house.

17. Rígr knew how to give them advice;

. . . .55

18. . . . .⁵⁶

19. He⁵⁷ rose from the table, decided to go to sleep;

then he laid himself down in the middle of the bed,

and on either side [of him were] the married couple of the household.

20. He was there after that for three nights altogether;

he walked then, after that, in the middle of the way;

then nine months passed after that.

21. Amma bore a child, they sprinkled him with water,

called him Karl,58 the woman wrapped him in linen cloth,

the red⁵⁹ and ruddy [boy], his eyes darted here and there.

22. He began to grow and to thrive well;

he began to tame oxen, to prepare a plough,

to build houses and to make barns,

to prepare carts and to drive a plough.

23. They drove home then the one with hanging keys,⁶⁰

the goatskin-kirtled one, married her to Karl;

she’s called Snǫr;61 she sat herself down beneath a [bridal] veil;

the married couple settled down, distributed arm-rings,

spread bed-covers and set up a household.

24. They bore children, settled down and were content;

they were called Halr62 and Drengr,63 Hauldr,64 Þegn65 and Smiðr,66

Breiðr,67 Bóndi,68 Bundinskeggi,69

Búi70 and Boddi,71 Brattskeggr72 and Seggr.73

25. And they also named [their daughters] by other names, thus:

Snót,74 Brúðr,75 Svanni,76 Svarri,77 Sprakki,78

Fljóð,79 Sprund80 and Víf,81 Feima,82 Ristill;83

from them have come families of peasant farmers.

26. Rígr walked from there on right ways;

the door was ajar, a ring was in the door-post(?).84

27. He walked inside after that, the floor was strewn;⁸⁵

a married couple was sitting [there], they looked in each other’s eyes,

Faðir86 and Móðir,87 played with [each other’s] fingers.

28. The house-man⁸⁸ sat and twisted a bowstring,

bent an elm-bow, put shafts on arrows;

and the house-woman⁸⁹ thought about her arms,

stroked her linen robe, smoothed the sleeves.

29. She straightened(?) her head-dress, a medallion was on her breast,

[she wore] a long-trained dress, a blue-coloured shirt;

her brow [was] brighter, her breast lighter,

her neck whiter than pure, freshly fallen snow.

30. Rígr knew how to give them advice;

31. Then Móðir took a decorated cloth,

32. She brought forth full dishes,

ornamented with silver, set on the table

streaked bacon(?) and pork and roasted birds;

there was wine was in a flagon, ornamented goblets;

they drank and discoursed, the day was ending.

33. Rígr knew how to offer them advice;

Rígr rose after that, prepared the bed;

34. Móðir bore a boy, wrapped him in silk;

they sprinkled him with water, had him named Jarl;90

his hair was flaxen, his cheeks bright,

his eyes were as terrible as a snakeling.

35. Jarl grew up there at the benches;

to let arrow91 fly, to brandish spears,

to ride horses, to loose hounds,

to wield swords, to practise swimming.

36. From a thicket⁹² there came Rígr walking,

Rígr walking, he taught [him]93 runes;⁹⁴

gave him his own name,⁹⁵ says he has [in him] a son;

he invited him to claim as his own ancestral fields,

ancestral fields, ancient settlements.

37. He⁹⁶ rode then from there through murky forest,⁹⁷

hoar-frosted mountains, until he came to a hall;

he began to brandish⁹⁸ his spear-shaft, he shook his shield,

he spurred his horse to leap and drew his sword;

he began to waken war, he began to redden the field,

he began to fell warriors, he won lands by fighting.

38. He alone ruled after that eighteen estates;

he began to distribute wealth, to grant to all

treasures and gems(?), slender-ribbed steeds;

he scattered rings, hewed an arm-ring asunder.⁹⁹

39. Messengers drove over moist ways,

came to the hall where Hersir100 lived;

he¹⁰¹ met a slender-fingered [maid],

white and wise — they¹⁰² called her Erna.103

40. They asked for her¹⁰⁴ and drove her home,

gave her to Jarl, she went under linen;105

they settled down together and were content with themselves,

increased their families¹⁰⁶ and enjoyed life.

41. Burr107 was the eldest, and Barn108 the second,

Jóð109 and Aðal,110 Arfi,111 Mǫgr,112

Niðr113 and Niðjungr114 — they learnt how to play —

Sonr115 and Sveinn116 — at swimming and ‘table’¹¹⁷ —

one was called Kundr,118 Konr119 was the youngest.

42. [Those boys] born to Jarl grew up there,

43. But young Konr120 knew runes,

everlasting(?)-runes and life-runes;¹²¹

more [than that], he knew how to save men,

blunt edges,¹²² calm the sea.

44. He learnt [to understand] the chirping of birds, [how] to calm fires,

put seas to sleep,¹²³ allay sorrows;

[he had]¹²⁴ the strength and endurance of eight men.

45. He disputed about runes with Ríg-Jarl,125

teased him with tricks and knew better;

then he obtained [victory] for himself and got the right

to be called Rígr, to comprehend runes.126

46. Young Konr rode through thickets and forests,

47. Then a crow said this — it sat alone on a branch:

‘Why must you, young Konr, silence birds?

. . . . . . . . . .127 and felling an army!

48. ‘Danr and Danpr128 own costly halls,

nobler inherited properties than you possess;

they know well how to ride in a long ship,

acquaint [others with] the edge,¹²⁹ inflict wounds.’¹³⁰

Textual Apparatus to Rígsþula