Judith Jesch (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Vestrfararvísur 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. 619.
Ǫrr tegask Ôleif gerva
(allt hefr sá*) fjǫrvaltan
— konungs dauða munk kvíða —
Knútr ok Hôkun (úti).
Haldisk vǫrðr, þótt vildit
varla Knútr ok jarlar,
(dælla es) fyrst á fjalli
(fundr, ef sjalfr kømsk undan).
Ǫrr Knútr ok Hôkun tegask gerva Ôleif fjǫrvaltan; sá* hefr allt úti; munk kvíða dauða konungs. Vǫrðr haldisk fyrst á fjalli, þótt Knútr ok jarlar vildit varla; dælla es, fundr, ef sjalfr kømsk undan.
‘Bold Knútr and Hákon prove themselves ready to put Óláfr in danger of his life; he [Knútr] has all [his forces] out; I will dread the death of the king. The guardian [Óláfr] should in the first instance keep himself in the mountains, even though Knútr and the jarls hardly wanted [that]; it is easier, a meeting, if he himself gets away. ’
In ÓH-Hkr, Sigvatr speaks this stanza when he becomes aware of Knútr’s plans to attack Óláfr and of the strength of his support. In Fsk, Sigvatr is in England, on his way to Rome, and speaks this stanza when he hears of Knútr’s and Hákon’s intentions to sail from England to Norway in a bid for power there.
[5-8]: The analysis here largely follows ÍF 27, but the relationship between the clauses is uncertain and, as Finnur Jónsson (Hkr 1893-1901, IV) noted, á fjalli ‘in the mountains’ could be construed with haldisk ‘should keep himself’ (as here), or fundr ‘meeting’, or the clause introduced by ef ‘if’. Kock (NN §632) chooses fundr but like Finnur is uncertain about the overall meaning.
Text is based on reconstruction from the base text and variant apparatus and may contain alternative spellings and other normalisations not visible in the manuscript text. Transcriptions may not have been checked and should not be cited.
Ǫrr tegask Ôleif gerva
(allt hefr sá er) fjǫrvaltan
— konungs dauða †mun ec† kvíða —
Knútr ok Hôkun (úti).
Haldisk vǫrðr, þótt vildit
varla Knútr ok jarlar,
(dælla es) fyrst á fjalli
(fundr, ef sjalfr kømsk undan).
Ǫʀ tegaz Olaf gerva || allt hefer sa er fior valtan | konungs dꜹða mun ec qviþa | Knutr ok Hacon úti | haldiz vorðr þoat vildit | varla knútr ok jarlar | dælla er fyrst a fialli | fundr ef hann sialfr kømz undan
(KS)
Ǫrr tegask †ol̄† gerva
(allt hefr sá er) fjǫrvaltan
— konungs dauða munk kvíða —
Knútr ok Hôkun (úti).
Haldisk vǫrðr, þótt vildit
varla Knútr ok jarlar,
(dælla es) fyrst at á fjalli
(fundr, ef sjalfr kømsk undan).
Ǫrr tegask Óláfr gerva
(allt hefr sá er) fjǫr†valtad†
— konungs dauða munk kvíða —
Knútr ok Hôkun (úti).
Haldisk vǫrðr, þótt vildi
varla Knútr ok jarlar,
(dælla es) fyrst at falli
(fundr, ef sjalfr kømsk undan).
Ǫrr tegask Ôleif gerva
(allt hefr sá er) fjǫrvaltan
— konung dauða munk kvíða —
Knútr ok Hôkun (úti).
Haldisk vǫrðr, þótt virðit
varla Knútr ok jarlar,
(dælla es) fyrst á fjalli
(fundr, ef sjalfr kømsk undan).
Ǫrr tegask Óláfr gerva
(allt hefr sá er) fjǫr†-valltar†
— konungs dauða munk kvíða —
Knútr ok Hôkun (úti).
Haldisk vǫrðr, þótt vildit
varla Knútr ok jarlar,
(dælla es) fyrst at falli
(fundr, ef sjalf kømsk undan).
Ǫrr tegask Ôleif gerva
(allt hefr sá er) fjǫrvaltan
— konungs dauða munk kvíða —
Knútr ok Hôkun (úti).
Haldisk vǫrðr, þótt vildit
varla Knútr ok jarlar,
(dælla es) fyrst af fjalli
(fundr, ef sjalfr kømsk undan).
Ǫrr tegask †ol̄† gerva
(allt hefr sá er) fjǫrvaltan
— konungs dauða munk kvíða —
Knútr ok Hôkun (úti).
Haldisk vǫrðr, þótt vildit
varla Knútr ok jarlar,
(dælla es) fyrst á fjalli
(fundr, ef sjalfr kømsk undan).
Ǫrr tegask Ôleif gerva
(allt hefr sá er) fjǫrvaltan
— konungs dauða munk kvíða —
Knútr ok Hôkun (úti).
Haldisk vǫrðr, þótt valdit
varla Knúts ok jarli,
(dælla es) fyrst á fjalli
(fundr, ef sjalfr kømsk undan).
Ǫrr tegask †ol̄† gerva
(allt hefr sá er) fórvaltan
— konungs dauða munk kvíða —
Knútr ok Hôkun (úti).
Haldisk vǫrðr, þótt valdit
varla Knúts ok jarli,
(dælla es) fyrst á fjalli
(fund, ef sjalfr kømsk undan).
Ǫrr tegask †Ol̄† gerva
(allt hefr sá er) fjǫrvaltan
— konungs dauða munk kvíða —
Knútr ok Hôkun (úti).
haldit vǫrðr, þótt valdit
varla Knútr ok jarli,
(dælla es) fyrst á fjalli
(fundr, ef kømsk undan).
†Ort† tegask †Ol̄† gerva
(allt hefr sá er) fjǫrvaltan
— konungs dauða munk kvíða —
Knútr ok Hôkun (úti).
haldi landvǫrðr, þótt valdit
varla Knútr ok jarla,
(dælla es) fyrst á fjalli
(fundr, ef sjalfr kømsk undan).
Ǫrr tegask Ôleif gerva
(allt hefr sá er) fjǫrvaltan
— konungs dauða munk kvíða —
Knútr ok Hôkun (úti).
Haralds vǫrðr, þótt vildi
varla Knútr ok jarlar,
(dælla es) fyrst af fjalli
(fundr, ef sjalfr kømsk undan).
Ǫrr tegask Ôleif gerva
(allt hefr sá er) fjǫrvaltan
— konungs dauða má kvíða —
Knútr ok Hôkun (úti).
hallisk vǫrðr, sem vildu
varla Knútr ok jarlar,
(dælla es) fyrst á fjalli
(fundr, ef sjalfr kømsk undan).
Ǫrr tegask †Ola† gerva
(allt hefr sá er) fjǫrvaldi
— konungs dauða megum kvíða —
Knútr ok Hôkun (úti).
Haldisk vǫrðr, sem vildu
varla Knútr ok jarlar,
(dælla es) fyrst á fjalli
(fundr, er sjalfr †coms† undan).
Skj: Sigvatr Þórðarson, 5. Vestrfararvísur 3: AI, 241-2, BI, 226, Skald I, 117-18, NN §§631, 632, 2257, 3223; Hkr 1893-1901, II, 352, IV, 143-4, ÍF 27, 272-3, Hkr 1991, II, 450-1 (ÓHHkr ch. 146); ÓH 1941, I, 427 (ch. 136), Flat 1860-8, II, 277; Fsk 1902-3, 170 (ch. 28), ÍF 29, 190-1 (ch. 33); Jón Skaptason 1983, 106, 248-50.
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