Sigv Austv 3I
R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Austrfararvísur 3’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 587.
Vasa ‘It was not’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
[1] Vasa (‘Vara’): Vara ek 68
notes
[1] fý*st ‘[my] desire’: (a) The mss all read fyrst ‘first’, but this spoils the skothending and makes for strained sense. Editors including Árni Magnússon (in 761bˣ), Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) and Jón Helgason (1968, 45) have therefore emended to fýst, which in pronunciation may not have been far distant from fyrst. (b) The eds of ÍF 27 and Hkr 1991, as well as Jón Skaptason (1983, 84) retain fyrst, hence, in Jón Skaptason’s translation, ‘It was not the first [time] … that we met with disaster …’. (c) Kock (NN §2471) proposes frest ‘delay’, producing the sense ‘there was no delay when I fled …’.
en ‘’
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4. en (conj.): than
es ‘when’
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2. er (conj.): who, which, when
[1] es (‘er’): so R686ˣ, 325VI, 75a, 73aˣ, 68, 61, Holm4, 75c, Flat, Tóm, Kˣ, Bb, en Holm2, 325VII
rannk ‘I ran’
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2. renna (verb): run (strong)
rastar ‘’
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1. rǫst (noun f.; °rastar; rastir): (a measure of distance)
rastir ‘leagues’
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1. rǫst (noun f.; °rastar; rastir): (a measure of distance)
[1] rastir: rastar Tóm, Bb
notes
[1] rastir ‘leagues’: The length of a rǫst is not known for certain; it varied according to the terrain.
reiðr ‘angry’
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4. reiðr (adj.; °superl. -astr): angry
of ‘through’
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3. of (prep.): around, from; too
skóg ‘the forest’
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skógr (noun m.; °-ar/-s, dat. -i; -ar): forest
at ‘’
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3. at (prep.): at, to
Eiðum ‘Eiðar’
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Eiðar (noun f.): Eiðar
notes
[2] Eiðum ‘Eiðar’: It is maintained by Noreen (1922a, 73) and Finnur Jónsson (1932, 13) against most others that sg. Eið (st. 2/1) and pl. Eið or Eiðar designate different places. Beckman (1923, 332) explains the pl. as referring collectively to Stora and Lilla Edet in Bohuslän. Note that Snorri understood the sg. and pl. forms to refer to the same place: see the Context to the preceding stanza, with its pl. form in comparison to the sg. one in the stanza itself. On the difficulties of establishing Sigvatr’s route, see Introduction.
maðr ‘’
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maðr (noun m.): man, person
notes
[3] menn of veit ‘people know’: The expression, lit. ‘people knows’, with numerical disagreement of subject and verb and a sense such as ‘to be sure’, is idiomatic: see CVC: maðr B. 2. The expression is considered a late intrusion in the text by Noreen (1923, 36, citing Konráð Gíslason 1892, 177). But the decidedly unheroic context suggests the possibility that Sigvatr was here reaching for a comic effect. He seems, somewhat comparably, not to have been averse to using innovative anglicisms: see the Notes to sts 16/2, 16/8 and 19/3.
notes
[3] menn of veit ‘people know’: The expression, lit. ‘people knows’, with numerical disagreement of subject and verb and a sense such as ‘to be sure’, is idiomatic: see CVC: maðr B. 2. The expression is considered a late intrusion in the text by Noreen (1923, 36, citing Konráð Gíslason 1892, 177). But the decidedly unheroic context suggests the possibility that Sigvatr was here reaching for a comic effect. He seems, somewhat comparably, not to have been averse to using innovative anglicisms: see the Notes to sts 16/2, 16/8 and 19/3.
væí(ti) ‘’
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2. veita (verb): grant, give
veita ‘’
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1. vita (verb): know
veit ‘know that’
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1. vita (verb): know
[3] veit: veita 325VI, 75a, 73aˣ, ‘væí(ti)’(?) 325VII
notes
[3] menn of veit ‘people know’: The expression, lit. ‘people knows’, with numerical disagreement of subject and verb and a sense such as ‘to be sure’, is idiomatic: see CVC: maðr B. 2. The expression is considered a late intrusion in the text by Noreen (1923, 36, citing Konráð Gíslason 1892, 177). But the decidedly unheroic context suggests the possibility that Sigvatr was here reaching for a comic effect. He seems, somewhat comparably, not to have been averse to using innovative anglicisms: see the Notes to sts 16/2, 16/8 and 19/3.
fǫr ‘’
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fǫr (noun f.): journey, fate; movement
at ‘’
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4. at (conj.): that
[3] at mœttum: at mœtum R686ˣ, Flat, Tóm, fǫr mœtum 325VI, 75a, 73aˣ, ek at mœttum 68, at ek mœti 61, at ek mœtta Kˣ
ek ‘’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
mœtum ‘’
mœttum ‘we met’
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mœta (verb): meet
[3] at mœttum: at mœtum R686ˣ, Flat, Tóm, fǫr mœtum 325VI, 75a, 73aˣ, ek at mœttum 68, at ek mœti 61, at ek mœtta Kˣ
meinum ‘’
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mein (noun n.; °-s; -): harm, injury
tolf ‘twelve’
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tolf (num. cardinal): twelve
einum ‘’
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2. einn (pron.; °decl. cf. einn num.): one, alone
at ‘’
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4. at (conj.): that
á ‘’
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3. á (prep.): on, at
Hykka ‘I think not’
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2. hyggja (verb): think, consider
[5] Hykka (‘Hycc a‑’): hykk á Holm2, R686ˣ, 325VI, 75a, 73aˣ, 68, 61, Holm4, Flat, Kˣ, hygg á 75c, 325VII, Tóm, hykk at Bb
fott ‘’
enn ‘’
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2. enn (adv.): still, yet, again
en ‘’
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4. en (conj.): than
án ‘was without’
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án (prep.): without
[5] án: en Holm2, R686ˣ, 972ˣ, 325VI, 75a, 61, 75c, 325VII, Flat, Bb, enn 73aˣ, 68, Holm4, Tóm, Kˣ
notes
[5] án ‘without’: The mss all have en ‘but’ (or enn ‘again, still’), which the eds of ÍF 27 and Hkr 1991 (and so Ternström 1871 and Jón Skaptason 1983, 84) would preserve. They read Hykk á ‘I think ... on’ (retaining the word division of the mss), rather than normalised Hykka ‘I think not’, and take the meaning of the helmingr to be, ‘I think, however, that we went there keenly on foot that day, but sores appeared [in] blotches on both soles of the king’s men’, which gives inferior sense.
flettum ‘’
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flet (noun n.): platform, floor
flestum ‘’
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fleiri (adj. comp.; °superl. flestr): more, most
flekkum ‘sores’
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flekkr (noun m.): stain, defect
[5] flekkum: flettum 972ˣ, flestum 325VI, 75c, 325VII, Flat, Tóm
fell ‘landed’
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falla (verb): fall
sár ‘a wound’
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sárr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): sore, painful; wounded
á ‘on’
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3. á (prep.): on, at
til ‘’
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til (prep.): to
vára ‘’
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várr (pron.; °f. ór/vár; pl. órir/várir): our
hvat ‘’
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hvat (pron.): what
nara ‘’
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nári (noun m.; °-a): °lyske
hvára ‘each’
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2. hverr (pron.): who, whom, each, every
[6] hvára: hvat 61, vára 325VII, ‘nara’ or ‘vara’ Flat
hatt ‘’
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3. hár (adj.; °-van; compar. hǽrri, superl. hǽstr): high
hvatt ‘’
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hvatr (adj.; °-ari, -an; -astr): keen, brave
hvast ‘keenly’
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hvass (adj.; °-an; -ari, -astr): keen, sharp
[7] hvast: hvatt 325VI, Holm4, 75c, 325VII, Flat, ‘hatt’ Tóm
gǫngum ‘’
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2. ganga (verb; geng, gekk, gengu, genginn): walk, go
gegnir ‘’
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gegna (verb): encounter, mean
gengu ‘’
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2. ganga (verb; geng, gekk, gengu, genginn): walk, go
gengum ‘we travelled’
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2. ganga (verb; geng, gekk, gengu, genginn): walk, go
[7] gengum: gǫngum 75a, gegnir 61, gengu Flat, Tóm
þangat ‘’
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þangat (adv.): there, thither
þann ‘that’
notes
[8] þann : mǫnnum: The full rhyme (aðalhending) of a and ǫ or á and ô (cf. sts 7/8, 10/4 etc.) may be an archaism. For a conspectus of its occurrence in Sigvatr’s poems, see Höskuldur Þráinsson (1970, 18-19).
dag ‘day’
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dagr (noun m.; °-s, dat. degi/dag/dagi(Thom¹ 332¹n.); -ar): day
konungs ‘of the king’s’
[8] konungs‑: konung 68, 61, Bb
margir ‘’
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2. margr (adj.; °-an): many
manni ‘’
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maðr (noun m.): man, person
manna ‘’
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maðr (noun m.): man, person
mǫnnum ‘men’
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maðr (noun m.): man, person < konungsmaðr (noun m.)
[8] ‑mǫnnum: so 325VI, Holm4, 75c, Tóm, Kˣ, Bb, manni Holm2, R686ˣ, 972ˣ, 75a, 73aˣ, margir 68, manna 61, Flat, ‘man[…]’ 325VII
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After crossing the river, they travel through Eiðaskógr (Eidskogen), and Sigvatr speaks this stanza.
[8] þann dag ‘that day’: Jón Skaptason (1983) would have this phrase depend on fell ‘fell, landed’, i.e. ‘appeared’ in l. 6.
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