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Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Bót Lv 1^II

Judith Jesch (ed.) 2009, ‘Bótólfr begla, Lausavísa 1’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 629-30.

Bótólfr begla Lausavísa 1

Ferr ‘has gone’

(not checked:)
fara (verb; ferr, fór, fóru, farinn): go, travel

at ‘to hunt’

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3. at (prep.): at, to

foglum ‘birds’

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fugl (noun m.): bird

harri ‘The lord’

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1. harri (noun m.; °-a): lord

firar ‘men’

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firar (noun m.): men

neyta ‘are using’

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neyta (verb): use, enjoy

vel ‘well’

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vel (adv.): well, very

skeyta ‘shooting-weapons’

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skeyti (noun n.; °; -): arrow, missile

vôn ‘expectations’

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ván (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -/-u; -ir): hope, expectation

á ‘has’

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2. eiga (verb; °á/eigr (præs. pl. 3. pers. eigu/eiga); átti, áttu; átt): own, have

heiðar ‘of the heath’

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3. heiðr (noun f.; °heiðar, dat./acc heiði; heiðar): heath

kennings

hœna heiðar
‘the chicken of the heath ’
= GAME BIRD
the chicken of the heath → GAME BIRD

notes

[3, 8] hœna heiðar; lynghœsn ‘the chicken of the heath; the heather-chicken’: The most likely bird for Rǫgnvaldr to be hunting in this area is the Red Grouse (Berry 2000, 160).

hœna ‘the chicken’

(not checked:)
1. hœna (noun f.; °-u): hen

kennings

hœna heiðar
‘the chicken of the heath ’
= GAME BIRD
the chicken of the heath → GAME BIRD

notes

[3, 8] hœna heiðar; lynghœsn ‘the chicken of the heath; the heather-chicken’: The most likely bird for Rǫgnvaldr to be hunting in this area is the Red Grouse (Berry 2000, 160).

hnakkadytts ‘of a neck-blow’

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hnakkadyttr (noun m.): [a neck-blow]

und ‘beneath’

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3. und (prep.): under, underneath

notes

[4] und bakka ‘beneath the slopes’: The farm-name Knarrarstaðir, in the form Knarston, was in use until modern times but became incorporated into Lingro farm, whose name means ‘clearing among the heather’ (Marwick 1952, 99). A few miles to the west of Lingro, the land rises to the kind of heathlands which would be appropriate for fowling.

bakka ‘the slopes’

(not checked:)
1. bakki (noun m.; °-a; -ar): bank, slope

notes

[4] und bakka ‘beneath the slopes’: The farm-name Knarrarstaðir, in the form Knarston, was in use until modern times but became incorporated into Lingro farm, whose name means ‘clearing among the heather’ (Marwick 1952, 99). A few miles to the west of Lingro, the land rises to the kind of heathlands which would be appropriate for fowling.

Þar ‘where’

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þar (adv.): there

verðr ‘is being’

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1. verða (verb): become, be

[5] verðr: lætr Flat

almr ‘The bow’

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almr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): bow, elm-bow

es ‘’

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2. er (conj.): who, which, when

olmir ‘the frenzied’

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olmr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): fierce, furious

kennings

olmir stafir undlinns [ok]
‘the frenzied poles of the wound-serpent [and] ’
= WARRIORS
the wound-serpent [and] → SWORD
the frenzied poles of the SWORD → WARRIORS

und ‘of the wound’

(not checked:)
1. und (noun f.; °; -ir): wound < undlinnr (noun m.): [wound-serpent]

kennings

olmir stafir undlinns [ok]
‘the frenzied poles of the wound-serpent [and] ’
= WARRIORS
the wound-serpent [and] → SWORD
the frenzied poles of the SWORD → WARRIORS

und ‘of the wound’

(not checked:)
1. und (noun f.; °; -ir): wound < undlinnr (noun m.): [wound-serpent]

kennings

olmir stafir undlinns [ok]
‘the frenzied poles of the wound-serpent [and] ’
= WARRIORS
the wound-serpent [and] → SWORD
the frenzied poles of the SWORD → WARRIORS

linns ‘serpent’

(not checked:)
linnr (noun m.): snake < undlinnr (noun m.): [wound-serpent]

kennings

olmir stafir undlinns [ok]
‘the frenzied poles of the wound-serpent [and] ’
= WARRIORS
the wound-serpent [and] → SWORD
the frenzied poles of the SWORD → WARRIORS

linns ‘serpent’

(not checked:)
linnr (noun m.): snake < undlinnr (noun m.): [wound-serpent]

kennings

olmir stafir undlinns [ok]
‘the frenzied poles of the wound-serpent [and] ’
= WARRIORS
the wound-serpent [and] → SWORD
the frenzied poles of the SWORD → WARRIORS

stafir ‘poles’

(not checked:)
stafr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -; -ir): staff, post, stave, stick

kennings

olmir stafir undlinns [ok]
‘the frenzied poles of the wound-serpent [and] ’
= WARRIORS
the wound-serpent [and] → SWORD
the frenzied poles of the SWORD → WARRIORS

finnask ‘meet’

(not checked:)
2. finna (verb): find, meet

notes

[6] finnask ‘meet’: Both Skj B and Skald emend to finna ‘find’, presumably on the grounds that the refl. form of the verb does not take an acc. object, giving a basic sense of ‘the warriors find the game-bird’. ÍF 34, 258 keeps the reading of both mss and construes the sentence somewhat awkwardly as ‘the warriors find for themselves a game-bird (to hunt)’. Bibire (1988, 239) also keeps the ms. reading but translates ‘where the frenzied staves of the wound-serpent ... meet grouse’. A further possibility is to construe the verb as reciprocal and olmir stafir undlinns and lynghœsn as parallel subjects, giving ‘the warriors [and] the game-bird meet’. This is the solution adopted here, while recognising that none is entirely satisfactory.

land ‘the land’

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land (noun n.; °-s; *-): land

[7] land: lǫnd Flat

verr ‘defends’

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3. verja (verb): defend

lofðungr ‘the prince’

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lofðungr (noun m.; °; -ar): king, leader

brandi ‘with his sword’

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brandr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): sword, prow; fire

lyng ‘the heather’

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lyng (noun n.; °dat. -vi/-i; -): heather < lynghœns (noun n.): [heather-chicken]

[8] lynghœsn dreginn: lynghæns dregit Flat

kennings

lynghœsn
‘the heather-chicken ’
= GAME BIRD
the heather-chicken → GAME BIRD

notes

[3, 8] hœna heiðar; lynghœsn ‘the chicken of the heath; the heather-chicken’: The most likely bird for Rǫgnvaldr to be hunting in this area is the Red Grouse (Berry 2000, 160).

hœsn ‘chicken’

(not checked:)
hœns (noun n.; °-; -): °høne, (I) høns < lynghœns (noun n.): [heather-chicken]

[8] lynghœsn dreginn: lynghæns dregit Flat

kennings

lynghœsn
‘the heather-chicken ’
= GAME BIRD
the heather-chicken → GAME BIRD

notes

[3, 8] hœna heiðar; lynghœsn ‘the chicken of the heath; the heather-chicken’: The most likely bird for Rǫgnvaldr to be hunting in this area is the Red Grouse (Berry 2000, 160).

dreginn ‘drawn’

(not checked:)
2. draga (verb; °dregr; dró, drógu; dreginn/droget(Hirð NKS 1642 4° 146v²⁹; cf. [$962$])): drag, pull, draw

[8] lynghœsn dreginn: lynghæns dregit Flat

kyngjum ‘frequently’

(not checked:)
kyngjum (adv.): [frequently]

notes

[8] kyngjum ‘frequently’: According to LP, this hap. leg. is either the adverbial dat. of a n. pl. noun kyngi (which is not defined) and means i høj grad ‘to a great degree’ or a m. noun kyngr related to a Norw. word meaning ‘clump’, though how the latter would work in this context is not made clear. In ÍF 34, the word is taken as an adverbial form from the dat. pl. of a f. noun kyngja ‘a great quantity’, and thus to mean ‘frequently’. A f. noun kyngi or kyngja with this meaning is recorded in ModIcel. (Sigfús Blöndal 1920-4, 427; ÍO: kyngi), but the adverbial form is not. ÍO suggests a meaning með rykkjum ‘with tugs, jerks’ for the OIcel. adverbial form and this could be appropriate here. But in the absence of other instances of this word, the translation proposed in ÍF 34 is the most likely and is adopted here.

Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses

verse
prose

Erlendr Haraldsson, who has just seen off Haraldr Maddaðarson in a fight nearby, arrives at Knarrarstaðir where Rǫgnvaldr is staying with Bótólfr. When they ask where Rǫgnvaldr is, Bótólfr replies that he had been there the previous night and recites this st. when the troop insist that he must know where Rǫgnvaldr is. They head off to chase him and Rǫgnvaldr escapes.

This event takes place in 1154 (ÍF 34, lxxxix). Rǫgnvaldr has made common cause with his fellow jarl Haraldr Maddaðarson, while their rival Jarl Erlendr Haraldsson is supported by Sveinn Ásleifarson. While Erlendr and Sveinn plan an attack on both of the other jarls, Rǫgnvaldr slips away to his own estates during a storm. Erlendr defeats Haraldr the next day and then pursues Rǫgnvaldr. Bótólfr’s st. misleads the pursuers and gives Rǫgnvaldr a chance to escape.

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