Sigv Lv 14^I

Kaup varð daprt, þars djúpan,
dróttinrækt, of sóttu,
þeir es, heim, á himnum,
hás elds, svikum belldu.

Dróttinrækt kaup varð daprt á himnum, þars of sóttu {djúpan heim hás elds}, þeir es belldu svikum.

The lord-rejecting bargain was dismal in the heavens, when they sought {the deep world of towering flame} [HELL], those who committed treason.

Mss: Holm2(54v), 972ˣ(401va), 321ˣ(193), 68(52r), Holm4(49ra-b), 61(114ra), 75c(35v), 325V(62ra), Bb(184ra), Flat(116va) (ÓH); Kˣ(419v), J2ˣ(202r) (Hkr)

Readings: [1] varð: var 321ˣ, 75c, 325V;    daprt: ‘davpr’ 325V, dapr Flat;    þars (‘þar er’): so Holm4, Flat, Kˣ, J2ˣ, þats Holm2, 321ˣ, 68, 75c, 325V, þá er 972ˣ, þar 61, Bb;    djúpan: so 972ˣ, 68, Holm4, 61, 325V, Flat, Kˣ, J2ˣ, ‘diypan’ Holm2, ‘dvipan’ 75c, drúpan Bb    [2] dróttin: dróttins 321ˣ, dróttum Bb;    rækt: so Holm4, Kˣ, J2ˣ, ‘rętt’ Holm2, rétt 972ˣ, 68, 75c, 325V, Flat, reiði 321ˣ, réð 61, reit Bb;    of: om. 321ˣ, af 61, 75c, 325V, Bb, Flat;    sóttu: sóttum 61, 75c, Bb, Flat, sóttan 325V    [3] þeir es (‘þeir er’): þeim er 321ˣ, 61, 325V;    heim: blank space 68;    á himnum: á himna 972ˣ, 61, ‘al’ blank space 68    [4] hás elds: so 972ˣ, 68, Holm4, 61, 325V, Kˣ, J2ˣ, ‘has ells’ Holm2, ‘haselldr’ 321ˣ, ‘a sęllz’ Bb, hvass elds Flat;    svikum: sviku 61;    belldu: heldi 75c, beldi 325V, heldu Bb, Flat

Editions: Skj AI, 270, Skj BI, 250, Skald I, 129, NN §§2218D, 2262; Fms 4, 377, Fms 12, 91-2, ÓH 1941, I, 457 (ch. 153), Flat 1860-8, II, 291; Hkr 1777-1826, II, 285, VI, 98, Hkr 1868, 431 (ÓH ch. 171), Hkr 1893-1901, II, 382, IV, 149, ÍF 27, 295, Hkr 1991, II, 468 (ÓH ch. 161); Jón Skaptason 1983, 199, 323.

Context: As for Lv 13.

Notes: [All]: The word (or words) dróttinrækt has clearly presented problems to scribes and eds alike, and there are several interpretations. (a) An otherwise unattested adj. dróttinrækr ‘lord-rejecting’ is assumed here, comparable with hjarðrækr ‘herd-driving, able to drive a herd’, and qualifying kaup ‘bargain’. (b) Rœkt could alternatively be taken as n. adj. ‘rejected, abominable, abhorrent’, used adverbially, and acc. sg. dróttin ‘lord’ construed as object of belldu ‘dealt with’; this approach is essentially that of Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson (ÍF 27, followed by Jón Skaptason 1983, 199 and Hkr 1991). However, bella normally takes a dat. object or a construction with við. (c) Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) reads dróttinrœkð (though this has no ms. support), which he takes to mean ‘fidelity to one’s lord’. This he construes with the initial clause, and he takes the overall meaning to be ‘The reward for fidelity to their lord grew sad in heaven, since those who dealt in treason sought the deep-lying world of high-flaming fire’. (d) For acc. heim ‘world’ in l. 3, Kock (NN §2218D) reads ‘instrumental’ heimi (a reading unsupported by the mss). He would also read dróttinrétt (NN §2262), interpreted to mean ‘power’, giving the overall meaning ‘The exchange grew sad where they who practised treason against the world from out of heaven went to the high flame’s deep power’. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson takes the helmingr to refer to the Fall of the rebellious angels, as do the eds of Hkr 1991, who also equate dróttin with God. — [1, 3] daprt á himnum ‘dismal in the heavens’: There is sorrow in the heavens over the treachery. — [1] þars ‘when’: Or, as more frequently, ‘where’. This reading is adopted by most eds, but þats would also be possible: kaup varð daprt, þats … ‘that bargain turned out dismal, by which …’.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
3. Fms = Sveinbjörn Egilsson et al., eds. 1825-37. Fornmanna sögur eptir gömlum handritum útgefnar að tilhlutun hins norræna fornfræða fèlags. 12 vols. Copenhagen: Popp.
4. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
6. Flat 1860-8 = Gudbrand Vigfusson [Guðbrandur Vigfússon] and C. R. Unger, eds. 1860-8. Flateyjarbók. En samling af norske konge-sagaer med indskudte mindre fortællinger om begivenheder i og udenfor Norge samt annaler. 3 vols. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
7. ÓH 1941 = Johnsen, Oscar Albert and Jón Helgason, eds. 1941. Saga Óláfs konungs hins helga: Den store saga om Olav den hellige efter pergamenthåndskrift i Kungliga biblioteket i Stockholm nr. 2 4^to med varianter fra andre håndskrifter. 2 vols. Det norske historiske kildeskriftfond skrifter 53. Oslo: Dybwad.
8. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
9. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
10. Hkr 1991 = Bergljót S. Kristjánsdóttir et al., eds. 1991. Heimskringla. 3 vols. Reykjavík: Mál og menning.
11. Jón Skaptason. 1983. ‘Material for an Edition and Translation of the Poems of Sigvat Þórðarson, skáld’. Ph.D. thesis. State University of New York at Stony Brook. DAI 44: 3681A.
12. Hkr 1777-1826 = Schöning, Gerhard et al., eds. 1777-1826. Heimskringla edr Noregs konunga-sögor. 6 vols. Copenhagen: Stein.
13. Hkr 1868 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1868. Heimskringla eller Norges kongesagaer af Snorre Sturlassøn. Christiania (Oslo): Brøgger & Christie.
14. Internal references
15. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Óláfs saga helga’ 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. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=53> (accessed 3 May 2024)