[7] vart ‘scarcely’: (a) The reading vart has support in both the Óláfr and the Knútr traditions. If the translation of ll. 7-8 above is correct, with vart as the adv. ‘scarcely’, the lines mean that the men fight without armour, and hence support interpretation (b) in the Note to ll. 1, 3, 4. (b) Alternatively, vart skald could be read as ‘the cautious skald’ who does put on armour. (c) Skj B, Skald and ÍF 35 print ǫrt ‘bold’ but this variant is restricted to two or possibly three Knýtl mss and could be explained as a scribal emendation.
References
- Bibliography
- Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
- Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
- ÍF 35 = Danakonunga sǫgur. Ed. Bjarni Guðnason. 1982.
- Internal references
- (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Knýtlinga saga’ 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, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=19> (accessed 18 April 2024)