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.
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.
Mss: FskBˣ(75r-v), FskAˣ(279) (Fsk); Mork(13r) (Mork); Flat(200va) (Flat); H(56v), Hr(41rb) (H-Hr)
Readings: [1] Undrs ef (‘Vndr er ef’): Undr var er Flat; reyndu: fundu Mork, Flat, kenndu H, Hr [2] ‑móts: ‑njóts Hr; viðir: vinir Hr [3] bǫrðumk: bǫrðusk Flat; 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; hugfylldir halda: herskildi seldu Mork, herskildi heldu Flat, H, Hr [6] hrafn: hrafns Mork; fekk: om. Hr; gnótt: ‘nog’ Flat [7] Nizar: Niðar Flat [8] þorðu: forðum Mork, Flat, H, fóru Hr
Editions: Skj AI, 408, Skj BI, 377-8, Skald I, 188, NN §§887, 1145; ÍF 29, 267 (ch. 57); Mork 1867, 79, Mork 1928-32, 211, Andersson and Gade 2000, 229-30, 478 (MH); Flat III, 1860-8, 363 (MH); Fms 6, 317 (HSig ch. 78).
Context: The Norwegians stood densely around Haraldr and fought bravely.
Notes: [All]: 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). — [All]: 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 | hvar herskildi heldu |
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. — [5] halda ‘protect’: For this meaning of halda (with the acc.), see Fritzner: halda 19. For a discussion of the st., see Fidjestøl 1982, 59-60.
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