Þjóðólfr Arnórsson (ÞjóðA)
11th century; volume 2; ed. Diana Whaley;
1. Magnússflokkr (Magnfl) - 19
2. Stanzas about Magnús Óláfsson in Danaveldi (Magn) - 14
3. Runhent poem about Haraldr (Run) - 4
4. Sexstefja (Sex) - 32
5. Stanzas about Haraldr Sigurðarson’s leiðangr (Har) - 7
6. Fragments (Frag) - 5
7. Lausavísur (Lv) - 11
Þjóðólfr Arnórsson (ÞjóðA) is listed in Skáldatal (SnE 1848-87, III, 254, 262) among the poets of Magnús inn góði ‘the Good’ Óláfsson and Haraldr harðráði ‘Hard-rule’ Sigurðarson, and virtually all his extant poetry seems to have been composed in honour of them, or in association with them; hence it dates from the period 1035-1066. The text of Skáldatal in AM 761 a 4°ˣ (SnE 1848-87, III, 259) also credits Þjóðólfr with poetry for Haraldr Þorkelsson, son of Þorkell inn hávi ‘the Tall’ and one of the Dan. magnates present in Norway during the reign of Sveinn Álfífuson (1030-35). No identifiable fragments of this remain, but if true the tradition would suggest that Þjóðólfr was born not much later than 1010. Hemings þáttr Áslákssonar (Hem) has him die at the battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066, and there is no record of him after that date, though Lv 11 has the air of being composed after the battle. Þjóðólfr was, according to Skáldatal and Fsk (ÍF 29, 245), the brother of another skald, Bǫlverkr Arnórsson (Bǫlv), and according to Sneglu-Halla þáttr (Snegl) in Flat (1860-8, III, 415), was from an undistinguished family in Svarfaðardalur, northern Iceland. The same þáttr (p. 421) names his father not as Arnórr but as Þorljótr, in the context of a scurrilous anecdote told against Þjóðólfr by Sneglu-Halli (SnH), who also taunts him with having composed the otherwise unknown Sorptrogsvísur ‘Dustbin Vísur’. The þáttr nevertheless describes him as accomplished (menntr vel) and courteous (kurteis maðr), highly favoured by King Haraldr and chief of his poets (haufutskꜳlld sitt, p. 415). Þjóðólfr’s poetry, rich in allusion and imagery, has continued to be widely admired, and it gains colour and vigour from the fact that he participated in many of the campaigns he depicts. It undoubtedly also reflects the fact that he was one of an exceptional circle of poets patronised by Haraldr (see Turville-Petre 1968), and much of his poetry shares topics and imagery with that of his contemporary Arnórr jarlaskáld (Arn), though there is no account of the dealings between these two. Þjóðólfr figures in several anecdotes centring on poetic composition: see Contexts to Lv 2-6, though we have no way of knowing whether he was so touchy about his reputation as the Context to Lv 4, and Snegl, would suggest; he also features as a go-between figure in Brands þáttr ǫrva, which cites no poetry. For brief biographies of Þjóðólfr see, e.g. SnE 1848-87, III, 578-9; LH 1894-1901, I, 627-32; Hollander 1945, 189-96.
In addition to the works edited here as Þjóðólfr’s, there have been further attributions to him. Þfagr Sveinn 7 is attributed to Þjóðólfr in Mork (1928-32, 165-6) and Flat (1860-8, III, 341), but to Þorleikr fagri in other sources; ÞKolb Eirdr 17I is attributed to Þjóðólfr in the U ms. alone, and Þfisk Lv 3 is attributed to him in F. Further, Flat, by citing Okík Magn 1 after ÞjóðA Magnfl 18 without announcing a change of skald implicitly assigns the latter to Þjóðólfr. We might perhaps also imagine Þjóðólfr having a hand in Anon (HSig) 2, the st. collaboratively composed by Haraldr’s men. A further set of six sts presented are anonymous in the medieval sources but are presented in this edn as Halli XI Fl (for reasons explained in Halli Biography below). These are printed among Þjóðólfr’s works in CPB II, 210-11 and listed under his name in SnE 1848-87, III, 583-4; Poole also finds ‘the ascription to Þjóðólfr Arnórsson … tempting, on stylistic grounds’ (1991, 75).
Preserved mainly in the kings’ sagas, above all in Hkr, Þjóðólfr’s oeuvre presents exceptional problems of reconstruction, which are discussed at some length in the Introductions to the individual poems or sets of sts. The chief problem is that Þjóðólfr certainly composed a major dróttkvætt poem for each of his patrons Magnús (Magnússflokkr, Magnfl) and Haraldr (Sexstefja, Sex), but that in each case there is also a set of sts that may or may not belong in the main encomium. The decision has been taken here to print them separately: fourteen sts depicting the aftermaths of Magnús’s major battles at Århus (Áróss) and Helgenæs (Helganes) are presented as ‘Stanzas about Magnús Óláfsson in Danaveldi’ (Magn), and seven describing the launch of Haraldr’s great levied fleet from Nidelven (the river Nið) as ‘Stanzas about Haraldr Sigurðarson’s leiðangr’ (Har). As a reference aid, the arrangement of Þjóðólfr’s oeuvre in SkP and Skj is shown here.
SkP | Skj | 1-14 | 1-14 | 15 | Náði jarl at eyða | 19 | 16 | Rǫnn lézt, ræsir Þrœnda, | 20 | 17 | Hizig laut, es heitir | 21 | 18 | Flýði jarl af auðu, | 22 | 19 | Háðisk heilli góðu | 25 | Stanzas about Magnús Óláfsson in Danaveldi (ÞjóðA Magn) SkP | Skj | 1 | Hrauð leifs mǫgr áðan | Magnfl 15 | 2 | Misst hafa Sveins at sýnu, | Magnfl 16 | 3 | Gær sák grjóti stóru | Lv 1 | 4 | Spurði einu orði | Magnfl 17 | 5 | Saurstokkinn bar svíra | Magnfl 18 | 6 | Hrindr af hrókalandi | Lv 2 | 7 | Menn eigu þess minnask, | Lv 3 | 8 | Skjǫld bark heim frá hjaldri | Magnfl 23 | 9 | Bauð leifs sonr áðan | Magnfl 24 | 10 | Nú taka Norðmenn knýja, | Lv 4 | 11 | Brum jǫrn at œrnu | Lv 5 | 12 | Svíðr of seggja búðir | Lv 6 | 13 | Fjǫrð lét fylkir verða | Lv 7 | 14 | Ek hef ekki at drekka | Lv 8 | Runhent poem about Haraldr (ÞjóðA Run) SkP | Skj | 1-5 | 1-5 | 6 | Þjóð veit, at hefr háðar | 7 | 7 | Stólþengils lét stinga | 6 | 8 | Ok hertoga hneykir | 25 | 9 | Reist eikikjǫlr austan | 8 | 10 | Vatn lézt, vísi, slitna, | 9 | 11 | Gegn skyli herr, sem hugnar | 10 | 12 | Frn hefr sveit við Sveini | 11 | 13 | Lét vingjafa veitir | 12 | 14 | Fast bað fylking hrausta | 13 | 15 | Alm dró upplenzkr hilmir | 14 | 16 | Flest vas hirð, sús hraustum | 15 | 17 | Sogns kvðu gram gegnan | 16 | 18 | Sveinn át sigr at launa | 17 | 19 | Nús of verk, þaus vísi, | 18 | 20 | Létu lystir sleitu | 19 | 21 | Tók Holmbúa hneykir | 20 | 22 | Gagn brann greypra þegna; | 21 | 23 | Fœrði fylkir Hǫrða, | 22 | 24 | Áræðis naut eyðir | 23 | 25 | Refsir reyndan ofsa | 24 | 26 | Mǫrk lét veitt fyr verka | 26 | 27 | Ǫrð sær Yrsu burðar | 27 | 28 | Lét hræteina hveiti | 32 | 29 | Blóðorra lætr barri | 30a | 30 | Geirs oddum lætr greddir | 30b | 31 | Gera vas gisting byrjuð | 29 | 32 | Hár skyli hirðar stjóri | 35 | Stanzas about Haraldr Sigurðarson’s leiðangr (ÞjóðA Har) SkP | Skj | 1 | Skeið sák framm at flœði, | Lv 18 | 2 | Slyngr laugardag lǫngu | Lv 19 | 3 | Rétt kann rœði slíta | Lv 20 | 4 | Sorgar veit, áðr slíti | Lv 21 | 5 | Eigu skjól und skógi | Lv 22 | 6 | Hléseyjar lemr hvan | Lv 23 | 7 | Haraldr þeysti nú hraustla | Lv 24 | SkP | Skj | 1 | Nús valmeiðum víðis | Lv 9 | 2 | Jarl/Ǫrr lætr, odda skúrar | Sex 28 | 3 | Ganga él of Yngva | Sex 31 | 4 | Snart við sæþráð kyrtat | Sex 33 | 5 | Útan bindr við enda | Sex 34 | SkP | Skj | 1 | Leiða langar dauða | Lv 10 | 2 | Sumar annat skal sunnar | Lv 11 | 3 | [Logit hefr Baldr at Baldri] brynþings fetilstingar | Lv 12 | 4 | Mildingr rauð í móðu | Lv 13 | 5 | Varp ór þrætu þorpi | Lv 14 | 6 | Sigurðr eggjaði sleggju | Lv 15 | 7 | Haddan skall, en Halli | Lv 16 | 8 | Út stendr undan báti | Lv 17 | 9 | Ǫld es, sús jarli skyldi | Lv 25 | 10 | Skalka frá, þótt fylkir | Lv 26 | 11 | Ǫld hefr afráð goldit | Lv 27 | Reconstructions of the Þjóðólfr corpus are offered by Finnur Jónsson in SnE 1848-87, III, 579-90, which is the basis (almost unchanged) for Skj (AI, 361-83, BI, 332-53), and the Skj ordering is retained in Skald (I, 168-77); other major contributions are by Guðbrandur Vigfússon in CPB (II, 198-212) and by Fidjestøl (1982, 133-43, 172).
The principal eds consulted in the course of re-editing Þjóðólfr’s poetry for SkP are listed for each st., and are of two main types: eds of the skaldic corpus (Finnur Jónsson’s in Skj AI, 361-83; BI, 332-53 and Ernst Albin Kock’s in Skald I, 168-77, supported by numerous NN) and eds of the various prose works in which the poetry is preserved. Extracts are also included in anthologies, articles and other works including (with ten or more sts): CPB II, 198-212; Kock and Meissner 1931, I, 57-60; Hollander 1945,190-6 (annotated translations only), Poole 1991, 59-63; and (with seven sts) Turville-Petre 1976, 97-102. Such works as these, together with others containing comment on the poetry, are cited as appropriate in the Notes.
notes
|
Magnússflokkr —
ÞjóðA MagnflII
Diana Whaley 2009, ‘ Þjóðólfr Arnórsson, Magnússflokkr’ 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. 61-87. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1443> (accessed 21 May 2022)
stanzas: 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
Skj: Þjóðolfr Arnórsson: 1. Magnúsflokkr, omtr. 1045 (AI, 361-8, BI, 332-8); stanzas (if different): 15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25
SkP info: II, 77-8 |
old edition
introduction
edition
manuscripts
transcriptions
concordance
search
files
| 11 — ÞjóðA Magnfl 11II
edition
interactive
full text
transcriptions
old edition
references concordance
Cite as: Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Þjóðólfr Arnórsson, Magnússflokkr 11’ 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. 77-8. Mjǫk bað Magnús rekka
mannr rǫskliga annan
— hǫrð þrifusk boð, þars bǫrðusk —
bǫðský framar knýja. |
|
Magnús bað rekka mjǫk, mannr annan rǫskliga, knýja {bǫðský} framar; hǫrð boð þrifusk, þars bǫrðusk.
Magnús urged heroes strongly, one man [urging] another boldly, to drive {battle-clouds} [SHIELDS] onwards; stern commands brought results where they fought.
Mss: Kˣ(514r), 39(17ra), F(40va), E(8r), J2ˣ(252r) (Hkr); H(11r), Hr(10rb) (H-Hr)
Readings: [2] mannr rǫskliga annan: mjúklyndr á mar synda H, Hr; mannr (‘maðr’): so E, J2ˣ, mann Kˣ, ‘m̄’ 39, F; rǫsk‑: ‘ros‑’ F, ‘rǫks‑’ E [3] boð: bratt F, borð H, Hr; þars (‘þar er’): þá er E, J2ˣ, er H, en Hr; bǫrðusk: barðisk F, bǫrðumsk E [4] framar: framan H, Hr; knýja: ‘hnya’ Hr
Editions: Skj: Þjóðolfr Arnórsson, 1. Magnúsflokkr 11: AI, 363-4, BI, 334-5, Skald I, 169, NN §851; Hkr 1893-1901, III, 55, IV, 196, ÍF 28, 49, Hkr 1991, 588 (Mgóð ch. 30), F 1871, 186, E 1916, 27; Fms 6, 78 (Mgóð ch. 38), Fms 12, 134.
Context: Feeling the
pace slackening in the battle of Århus (Áróss) (see sts 8-10), Magnús dashes
out of the shield-row, eggs on his men and joins the hand-to-hand fighting in
the prow. His men follow suit in egging each other on in a great battle-roar.
Notes: [All]: The meaning of the helmingr is clear enough: someone urged others to drive shields onwards (bað ... knýja bǫðský framar) where they fought (þars bǫrðusk), and the commands brought results (boð þrifusk). However, there are some interdependent points of difficulty or grammatical ambiguity (as well as some which are less integral to the helmingr as a whole, and which are treated separately below), and the solutions adopted determine whether it is Magnús or his men who are most prominent in the st. In l. 1, the most natural interpretation is that Magnús is nom., subject to bað ‘urged’ and that rekka ‘heroes’ is acc. pl., object to bað. However, Magnús could be construed as acc. or gen. (i.e. Magnúss), and rekka as gen. pl. In l. 2 the Hkr scribes have hesitated between mann / maðr ‘man’ and menn ‘men’, readings which might all have arisen from mannr, and the aðalhending guarantees either nom. sg. mannr or acc. sg. mann. If mannr is the correct reading, it must be the subject of bað ‘urged’, and if Magnús is also nom., the two subjects must be assumed to share bað ‘urged’ as their single predicate. If acc. mann is the correct reading it would have to be qualified by annan ‘another man’, a sg. phrase in parallel with pl. rekka. There are two main ways of construing the helmingr with these difficulties in mind. (a) In the solution adopted in the text above, l. 1 is taken the most obvious way, as adv., verb, subject and object in a single cl., mjǫk bað Magnús rekka, lit. ‘strongly urged Magnús the heroes’. Line 2 is taken as an informal variant on this, with repetition of bað understood, hence mannr rǫskliga annan ‘one man boldly (urged/urging) another’, which could either still refer to Magnús or could represent his men passing on the incitement. Line 3 then forms a neat coupling of intercalated cl. and subordinate cl., each complete in itself. A solution along these lines is adopted by Kock, though see the Note to l. 3 below. (b) mannr rekka Magnúss (ll. 1-2) could be taken as a single noun phrase, and subject of the verb bað, hence ‘[each] man among Magnús’s heroes urged ...’ (so ÍF 28 and Hkr 1991). This is also an attractive solution, though the phrase is slightly tautological. (c) Finnur Jónsson (Hkr 1893-1901, IV and Skj B) takes mjǫk bað mannr annan knýja rǫskliga bǫðský framar together, ‘one man strongly urged another to drive shields boldly onwards’ (and hǫrð ‘stern, hard’ is taken with boð ‘commands’ in Hkr 1893-1901, IV and with bǫðský ‘shields’ in Skj B). This makes good sense, but leaves boð Magnús rekka þrifusk as a unit, which entails the audience deducing that Magnús rekka in l. 1 are not, respectively, the subject and object of bað in the same l. but are instead a gen. phrase belonging with hǫrð þrifusk boð in l. 3, hence ‘the commands of Magnús’s heroes brought results’. (d) The H-Hr reading mjúklyndr á mar synda ‘gentle-minded to swim on the sea (?)’ would follow on grammatically from l. 1 but is not compatible with the helmingr as a whole. — [3] hǫrð boð þrifusk ‘stern commands brought results’: Even if these three words are taken together as a complete cl. (and they are not in Skj B), there are multiple possibilities. ÍF 28 translates ekki skorti eggjanir ‘there was no shortage of incitement’ (cf. a similar rendering in Hkr 1991), while Kock, taking the H, Hr reading borð ‘shields’ rather than the Hkr reading boð ‘commands’, arrives at hǫrð þrifusk borð ‘a grip was taken on the hard shields’ (Skald; NN §851). But although the verb þrífa can mean ‘grip’, the middle voice þrífask usually means ‘flourish, prosper’. — [3] hǫrð (n. pl.) ‘stern’: This is here interpreted, as by several previous eds, as qualifying boð n. pl. ‘commands’. It could otherwise qualify bǫðský ‘battle-clouds [SHIELDS]’ (l. 4) (so Skj B, where the assumption complicates an already complicated construction). — [3] þars bǫrðusk ‘where they fought’: This subordinate cl. describes the entire situation of the helmingr, but in punctuating the text it is necessary to attach it to one cl. rather than the other. Skj B chooses the alternative option.
|
|