Steinn Nizv 5II
Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Steinn Herdísarson, Nizarvísur 5’ 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. 363-4.
text and translation
Undrs, ef eigi reyndu
ǫrmóts viðir gǫrva
— bǫrðumk vér ok vǫrðum
víða grund — of síðir,
hvárt hugfylldir halda
— hrafn fekk gnótt í óttu
nás fyr Nizar ósi —
Norðmenn Harald þorðu.
Undrs, ef {viðir {ǫrmóts}} reyndu eigi gǫrva of síðir—vér bǫrðumk ok vǫrðum víða grund—, hvárt hugfylldir Norðmenn þorðu halda Harald; hrafn fekk gnótt nás í óttu fyr Nizar ósi.
‘It is a marvel if the trees of the arrow-meeting [BATTLE > WARRIORS] finally did not experience fully—we fought and defended the wide land—, whether the courage-filled Norwegians dared to protect Haraldr; the raven got plenty of carrion at dawn before the mouth of the Nissan. ’
notes and context
The Norwegians stood densely around Haraldr and fought bravely.
Kock (NN §1145) argues that the Mork version is secondary, because hvar herskildi heldu lit. ‘where with the war-shield protected’ (l. 5) echoes st. 7/7 below (þeirs herskildi heldu ‘those who held the war-shield’). However, because that st. is only transmitted in Knýtl, it is difficult to see how it could have found its way into Mork (see Fidjestøl 1982, 59-60). — Mork, Flat, H and Hr offer a different version of the st., which can be rendered as follows (with Mork as the main ms.):
Undrs, ef eigi fundu
ǫrmóts viðir gǫrva,
— bǫrðumk vér — þeirs vǫrðu
víða grund, of síðir,
hvar herskildi heldu
— hrafn fekk gnótt í óttu
nás fyr Nizar ósi —
Norðmenn Haraldr forðum.
Prose order: Undrs, ef viðir ǫrmóts, þeirs vǫrðu víða grund, fundu eigi gǫrva of síðir—vér bǫrðumk—, hvar Norðmenn heldu Harald herskildi forðum; hrafn fekk gnótt nás í óttu fyr Nizar ósi. Translation: It is a marvel if the trees of the arrow-meeting [WARRIORS], who defended the wide land, finally did not learn fully—we fought—, where the Norwegians protected Haraldr with the war-shield in olden times; the raven got plenty of carrion at dawn before the mouth of the Nissan.
readings
- [1] Undrs ef (‘Vndr er ef’): Undr var er Flat
- [1] reyndu: fundu Mork, Flat, kenndu H, Hr
- [2] ‑móts: ‑njóts Hr
- [2] viðir: vinir Hr
- [3] bǫrðumk: bǫrðusk Flat
- [3] ok vǫrðum: so FskAˣ, ok vǫrðumk FskBˣ, þeir er vǫrðu Mork, H, þá er vǫrðum Flat, þeir vǫrðu Hr
- [4] síðir: ‘siði’ H
- [5] hvárt: hvar Mork, Flat, þá er H, Hr
- [5] hugfylldir halda: herskildi seldu Mork, herskildi heldu Flat, H, Hr
- [6] hrafn: hrafns Mork
- [6] fekk: om. Hr
- [6] gnótt: ‘nog’ Flat
- [7] Nizar: Niðar Flat
- [8] þorðu: forðum Mork, Flat, H, fóru Hr
sources
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.
-
OsloUB 371 folx (FskBx) — 75r - 75v
Undrs, ef eigi reyndu
images
ǫrmóts viðir gǫrva
— bǫrðumk vér ok vǫrðumk
víða grund — of síðir,
hvárt hugfylldir halda
— hrafn fekk gnótt í óttu
nás fyr Nizar ósi —
Norðmenn Harald þorðu. -
AM 303 4°x (FskAx) — 279/5 - 279/12
Undrs, ef eigi reyndu
images
ǫrmóts viðir gǫrva
— bǫrðumk vér ok vǫrðum
víða grund — of síðir,
hvárt hugfylldir halda
— hrafn fekk gnótt í óttu
nás fyr Nizar ósi —
Norðmenn Harald þorðu. -
GKS 1009 fol (Mork) — 13r/15 - 13r/15
Undrs, ef eigi fundu
images
ǫrmóts viðir gǫrva
— bǫrðumk vér þeir er vǫrðu
víða grund — of síðir,
hvar herskildi seldu
— hrafns fekk gnótt í óttu
nás fyr Nizar ósi —
Norðmenn Harald forðum. -
GKS 1005 fol (Flat) — 200va/9 - 200va/9
Undr var er, eigi fundu
images
ǫrmóts viðir gǫrva
— bǫrðusk vér þá er vǫrðum
víða grund — of síðir,
hvar herskildi heldu
— hrafn fekk †nog† í óttu
nás fyr Niðar ósi —
Norðmenn Harald forðum. -
AM 66 fol (H) — 56v - 56v
Undrs, ef eigi kenndu
images
ǫrmóts viðir gǫrva
— bǫrðumk vér þeir er vǫrðu
víða grund — of †siði†,
þá er herskildi heldu
— hrafn fekk gnótt í óttu
nás fyr Nizar ósi —
Norðmenn Harald forðum. -
GKS 1010 fol (Hr) — 41rb/11 - 41rb/11
Undrs, ef eigi kenndu
images
ǫr-njóts vinir gǫrva
— bǫrðumk vér þeir vǫrðu
víða grund — of síðir,
þá er herskildi heldu
— hrafn gnótt í óttu
nás fyr Nizar ósi —
Norðmenn Harald fóru. -
AM 51 folx (51x) — 67v/24 - 67v/24
images -
AM 301 4°x (301x) — 102v/21 - 103r/1
-
AM 761 b 4°x (761bx) — 357v/1 - 357v/8
images
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