User:Haukurth/Arinbjarnarkviða test

Arinbjarnarkviða is a skaldic poem by Egill Skalla-Grímsson in praise of his friend Arinbjörn. The poem is preserved in Möðruvallabók but not in other manuscripts of Egils saga. Some lines are lost while others may be corrupted. The metre is kviðuháttr.

Preservation
While Egils saga is preserved in a number of medieval manuscripts and fragments, only Möðruvallabók contains Arinbjarnarkviða.

Synopsis
Egill starts the poem with a description of his visit to the court of Eric Bloodaxe in York. The King receives him angrily:

The shining glare from Eirik's brow was not safe to behold nor free from terror; when the moons of that tyrant's face shone, serpent-like, with their awesome glow. (Stanza 5, Scudder's translation p. 158)

Egill offers a poem to the king, Höfuðlausn, and wins his own head as a reward. In stanzas 10-11, Egill says that Arinbjörn, "his loyal friend", was by his side in that confrontation and lifted him "above the king's anger". Stanza 12 is largely illegible in the manuscript. In stanza 13 Egill says that he owes Arinbjörn a poem for his support, an idea expanded upon in stanzas 14-15. In stanzas 16-22 describe Arinbjörn's generosity and wealth.

dear to the gods with his flock of men, friend of the sacred and pillar of the poor. (Stanza 19, p. 160-161).

Stanza 23 has only been partially read but it is possible that the poet here moved on to Arinbjörn's martial prowess. Nothing more can be read in Möðruvallabók but two remaining stanzas quoted in Óláfr Þórðarson's Third Grammatical Treatise have been assigned to the poem by scholars.