Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Þjóðólfr Arnórsson, Stanzas about Haraldr Sigurðarson’s leiðangr 4’ 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. 154-5.
[1] sorgar veit ‘anguish will be felt’: Especially in light of the companion st. 3 this is likely to be an impersonal verb phrase which refers to the strain on the oars before the voyage ends, but herr ‘troop’ in l. 3 could be the understood subject. In either case the reference could be specifically to sea-battles ahead.
[1] sorgar veit ‘anguish will be felt’: Especially in light of the companion st. 3 this is likely to be an impersonal verb phrase which refers to the strain on the oars before the voyage ends, but herr ‘troop’ in l. 3 could be the understood subject. In either case the reference could be specifically to sea-battles ahead.
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sæfang (noun n.): [sea-gear [oar]]
[2] sæfang (‘siafang’): sjáfǫng F
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3. ór (prep.): out of
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1. marr (noun m.): sea
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strangr (adj.): strong
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herr (noun m.; °-s/-jar, dat. -; -jar, gen. -ja/herra): army, host
[3] herr: om. E
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2. er (conj.): who, which, when
[3, 4] þars hár heldr sjau tøgum ára til varra ‘where the oarport holds [each of] the seventy oars in place for the stroke [lit. strokes]’: The mix of sg. (hár heldr ‘oarport holds’) and pl. sjau tøgum ára til varra ‘seventy oars in place for the strokes’ is not unusual in skaldic poetry. As Jesch points out (2001, 155), hár ‘oarport, hole in the upper gunwale supporting the oar’, sometimes refers more broadly to the space occupied by the oarsman (it is taken as the whole ship in ÍF 28), and vǫrr ‘stroke, pull of the oar’ to the sea, but here the more precise meanings are likely. Finnur Jónsson took til varra as a reference to arriving at the landing-stage (Hkr 1893-1901, IV; Skj B).
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halda (verb): hold, keep
[3, 4] þars hár heldr sjau tøgum ára til varra ‘where the oarport holds [each of] the seventy oars in place for the stroke [lit. strokes]’: The mix of sg. (hár heldr ‘oarport holds’) and pl. sjau tøgum ára til varra ‘seventy oars in place for the strokes’ is not unusual in skaldic poetry. As Jesch points out (2001, 155), hár ‘oarport, hole in the upper gunwale supporting the oar’, sometimes refers more broadly to the space occupied by the oarsman (it is taken as the whole ship in ÍF 28), and vǫrr ‘stroke, pull of the oar’ to the sea, but here the more precise meanings are likely. Finnur Jónsson took til varra as a reference to arriving at the landing-stage (Hkr 1893-1901, IV; Skj B).
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til (prep.): to
[3, 4] þars hár heldr sjau tøgum ára til varra ‘where the oarport holds [each of] the seventy oars in place for the stroke [lit. strokes]’: The mix of sg. (hár heldr ‘oarport holds’) and pl. sjau tøgum ára til varra ‘seventy oars in place for the strokes’ is not unusual in skaldic poetry. As Jesch points out (2001, 155), hár ‘oarport, hole in the upper gunwale supporting the oar’, sometimes refers more broadly to the space occupied by the oarsman (it is taken as the whole ship in ÍF 28), and vǫrr ‘stroke, pull of the oar’ to the sea, but here the more precise meanings are likely. Finnur Jónsson took til varra as a reference to arriving at the landing-stage (Hkr 1893-1901, IV; Skj B).
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1. vǫrr (noun m.; °dat. verri; acc. vǫrru): oar-stroke
[3] varra: ‘uarar’ 570a
[3, 4] þars hár heldr sjau tøgum ára til varra ‘where the oarport holds [each of] the seventy oars in place for the stroke [lit. strokes]’: The mix of sg. (hár heldr ‘oarport holds’) and pl. sjau tøgum ára til varra ‘seventy oars in place for the strokes’ is not unusual in skaldic poetry. As Jesch points out (2001, 155), hár ‘oarport, hole in the upper gunwale supporting the oar’, sometimes refers more broadly to the space occupied by the oarsman (it is taken as the whole ship in ÍF 28), and vǫrr ‘stroke, pull of the oar’ to the sea, but here the more precise meanings are likely. Finnur Jónsson took til varra as a reference to arriving at the landing-stage (Hkr 1893-1901, IV; Skj B).
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1. hár (noun m.; °; -ir): oarport
[3, 4] þars hár heldr sjau tøgum ára til varra ‘where the oarport holds [each of] the seventy oars in place for the stroke [lit. strokes]’: The mix of sg. (hár heldr ‘oarport holds’) and pl. sjau tøgum ára til varra ‘seventy oars in place for the strokes’ is not unusual in skaldic poetry. As Jesch points out (2001, 155), hár ‘oarport, hole in the upper gunwale supporting the oar’, sometimes refers more broadly to the space occupied by the oarsman (it is taken as the whole ship in ÍF 28), and vǫrr ‘stroke, pull of the oar’ to the sea, but here the more precise meanings are likely. Finnur Jónsson took til varra as a reference to arriving at the landing-stage (Hkr 1893-1901, IV; Skj B).
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sjau (num. cardinal): seven
[4] sjau tøgum: so F, E, H, ‘lxxxgom’ Kˣ, ‘lxxgom’ J2ˣ, ‘víj tígir’ 570a, ‘vj́·tigum’ Hr
[3, 4] þars hár heldr sjau tøgum ára til varra ‘where the oarport holds [each of] the seventy oars in place for the stroke [lit. strokes]’: The mix of sg. (hár heldr ‘oarport holds’) and pl. sjau tøgum ára til varra ‘seventy oars in place for the strokes’ is not unusual in skaldic poetry. As Jesch points out (2001, 155), hár ‘oarport, hole in the upper gunwale supporting the oar’, sometimes refers more broadly to the space occupied by the oarsman (it is taken as the whole ship in ÍF 28), and vǫrr ‘stroke, pull of the oar’ to the sea, but here the more precise meanings are likely. Finnur Jónsson took til varra as a reference to arriving at the landing-stage (Hkr 1893-1901, IV; Skj B).
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tigr (noun m.; °-ar/-s(DN II (1309) 80¹², etc.); -ir, acc. -u): a ten of, a decade; a ten of, a decade
[4] sjau tøgum: so F, E, H, ‘lxxxgom’ Kˣ, ‘lxxgom’ J2ˣ, ‘víj tígir’ 570a, ‘vj́·tigum’ Hr
[3, 4] þars hár heldr sjau tøgum ára til varra ‘where the oarport holds [each of] the seventy oars in place for the stroke [lit. strokes]’: The mix of sg. (hár heldr ‘oarport holds’) and pl. sjau tøgum ára til varra ‘seventy oars in place for the strokes’ is not unusual in skaldic poetry. As Jesch points out (2001, 155), hár ‘oarport, hole in the upper gunwale supporting the oar’, sometimes refers more broadly to the space occupied by the oarsman (it is taken as the whole ship in ÍF 28), and vǫrr ‘stroke, pull of the oar’ to the sea, but here the more precise meanings are likely. Finnur Jónsson took til varra as a reference to arriving at the landing-stage (Hkr 1893-1901, IV; Skj B).
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1. ár (noun f.; °-ar, dat. u/-; -ar/-ir(LandslBorg 151b²¹)): oar
[3, 4] þars hár heldr sjau tøgum ára til varra ‘where the oarport holds [each of] the seventy oars in place for the stroke [lit. strokes]’: The mix of sg. (hár heldr ‘oarport holds’) and pl. sjau tøgum ára til varra ‘seventy oars in place for the strokes’ is not unusual in skaldic poetry. As Jesch points out (2001, 155), hár ‘oarport, hole in the upper gunwale supporting the oar’, sometimes refers more broadly to the space occupied by the oarsman (it is taken as the whole ship in ÍF 28), and vǫrr ‘stroke, pull of the oar’ to the sea, but here the more precise meanings are likely. Finnur Jónsson took til varra as a reference to arriving at the landing-stage (Hkr 1893-1901, IV; Skj B).
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norð- ((prefix)): northern, Norwegian < Norðmaðr (noun m.): Norwegian
[5] Norð‑: norðr Hr
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maðr (noun m.): man, person < Norðmaðr (noun m.): Norwegian
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2. róa (verb): row
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naðr (noun m.): snake
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nagla (verb): [nailed]
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straumr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-; -ar): stream, current
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2. inn (art.): the
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hegla (verb): [hail-beaten]
[6] heglða: ‘helgda’ E, ‘hellda’ 570a
[7, 8] úts, sem líti innan arnarvæng ‘[looking] out, it is like seeing an eagle’s wing from within’: (a) Innan is here taken as an adv. The viewpoint may be imaginatively that of the oarsmen (Jesch 2001a, 155) or that of someone looking innan ‘from the land’ at the scene út ‘out at sea’; either way there is mild tautology. (b) Innan could alternatively qualify arnarvæng ‘eagle’s wing’ (so Poole 1991, 60). For innan plus acc. rather than gen., cf. innan hverja vík ‘in every bay’, st. 5/8. (c) A further possibility is to take út ‘out’ with the róa cl.: the men row out onto the hail-beaten current (so Skj B and ÍF 28). Skj B reads unnar (so H, Hr) rather than innan in l. 7, hence straum unnar ‘current of the wave’ (bølgeström), but this assumes a disjointed l. 7, and innan has stronger ms. support (as Kock pointed out, NN §872).
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sem (conj.): as, which
[7, 8] úts, sem líti innan arnarvæng ‘[looking] out, it is like seeing an eagle’s wing from within’: (a) Innan is here taken as an adv. The viewpoint may be imaginatively that of the oarsmen (Jesch 2001a, 155) or that of someone looking innan ‘from the land’ at the scene út ‘out at sea’; either way there is mild tautology. (b) Innan could alternatively qualify arnarvæng ‘eagle’s wing’ (so Poole 1991, 60). For innan plus acc. rather than gen., cf. innan hverja vík ‘in every bay’, st. 5/8. (c) A further possibility is to take út ‘out’ with the róa cl.: the men row out onto the hail-beaten current (so Skj B and ÍF 28). Skj B reads unnar (so H, Hr) rather than innan in l. 7, hence straum unnar ‘current of the wave’ (bølgeström), but this assumes a disjointed l. 7, and innan has stronger ms. support (as Kock pointed out, NN §872).
[7, 8] úts, sem líti innan arnarvæng ‘[looking] out, it is like seeing an eagle’s wing from within’: (a) Innan is here taken as an adv. The viewpoint may be imaginatively that of the oarsmen (Jesch 2001a, 155) or that of someone looking innan ‘from the land’ at the scene út ‘out at sea’; either way there is mild tautology. (b) Innan could alternatively qualify arnarvæng ‘eagle’s wing’ (so Poole 1991, 60). For innan plus acc. rather than gen., cf. innan hverja vík ‘in every bay’, st. 5/8. (c) A further possibility is to take út ‘out’ with the róa cl.: the men row out onto the hail-beaten current (so Skj B and ÍF 28). Skj B reads unnar (so H, Hr) rather than innan in l. 7, hence straum unnar ‘current of the wave’ (bølgeström), but this assumes a disjointed l. 7, and innan has stronger ms. support (as Kock pointed out, NN §872).
[7, 8] úts, sem líti innan arnarvæng ‘[looking] out, it is like seeing an eagle’s wing from within’: (a) Innan is here taken as an adv. The viewpoint may be imaginatively that of the oarsmen (Jesch 2001a, 155) or that of someone looking innan ‘from the land’ at the scene út ‘out at sea’; either way there is mild tautology. (b) Innan could alternatively qualify arnarvæng ‘eagle’s wing’ (so Poole 1991, 60). For innan plus acc. rather than gen., cf. innan hverja vík ‘in every bay’, st. 5/8. (c) A further possibility is to take út ‘out’ with the róa cl.: the men row out onto the hail-beaten current (so Skj B and ÍF 28). Skj B reads unnar (so H, Hr) rather than innan in l. 7, hence straum unnar ‘current of the wave’ (bølgeström), but this assumes a disjointed l. 7, and innan has stronger ms. support (as Kock pointed out, NN §872).
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1. ǫrn (noun m.; °arnar, dat. erni; ernir, acc. ǫrnu): eagle < arnarvængr (noun m.): °eagle’s wing
[7, 8] úts, sem líti innan arnarvæng ‘[looking] out, it is like seeing an eagle’s wing from within’: (a) Innan is here taken as an adv. The viewpoint may be imaginatively that of the oarsmen (Jesch 2001a, 155) or that of someone looking innan ‘from the land’ at the scene út ‘out at sea’; either way there is mild tautology. (b) Innan could alternatively qualify arnarvæng ‘eagle’s wing’ (so Poole 1991, 60). For innan plus acc. rather than gen., cf. innan hverja vík ‘in every bay’, st. 5/8. (c) A further possibility is to take út ‘out’ with the róa cl.: the men row out onto the hail-beaten current (so Skj B and ÍF 28). Skj B reads unnar (so H, Hr) rather than innan in l. 7, hence straum unnar ‘current of the wave’ (bølgeström), but this assumes a disjointed l. 7, and innan has stronger ms. support (as Kock pointed out, NN §872).
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vængr (noun m.; °; -ir/-jar): wing < arnarvængr (noun m.): °eagle’s wing
[8] ‑væng: vængs 570a
[7, 8] úts, sem líti innan arnarvæng ‘[looking] out, it is like seeing an eagle’s wing from within’: (a) Innan is here taken as an adv. The viewpoint may be imaginatively that of the oarsmen (Jesch 2001a, 155) or that of someone looking innan ‘from the land’ at the scene út ‘out at sea’; either way there is mild tautology. (b) Innan could alternatively qualify arnarvæng ‘eagle’s wing’ (so Poole 1991, 60). For innan plus acc. rather than gen., cf. innan hverja vík ‘in every bay’, st. 5/8. (c) A further possibility is to take út ‘out’ with the róa cl.: the men row out onto the hail-beaten current (so Skj B and ÍF 28). Skj B reads unnar (so H, Hr) rather than innan in l. 7, hence straum unnar ‘current of the wave’ (bølgeström), but this assumes a disjointed l. 7, and innan has stronger ms. support (as Kock pointed out, NN §872).
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járn (noun n.; °-s; -): iron, weapon
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Sorgar veit, áðr slíti |
Anguish will be felt, before the troop whips the sea-gear [oar] out of the powerful sea, where the oarport holds [each of] the seventy oars in place for the stroke [lit. strokes]. The Norwegians row the snake [ship] nailed with iron on the hail-beaten current; [looking] out, it is like seeing an eagle’s wing from within.
This follows st. 3 with no link in Hkr, but with brief links in HÍ and H-Hr.
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