Anon (Hsona) 1^II

This couplet, Anon (Hsona) 1, in hexasyllabic runhent metre (see SnStHt 88^III; SnE 1999, 35-6) is preserved in mss Kˣ, F, E, J2ˣ and 42ˣ of HsonaHkr, in H, Hr (H-Hr) and in Mork (SslembMork). It is anonymous in all mss. Kˣ is the main ms.

Varðat vel við styrju
Vatn-Ormr í Portyrju.

Vatn-Ormr varðat vel við styrju í Portyrju.

Vatn-Ormr (‘Water-Ormr’) didn’t behave well in the battle in Portør.

Mss: Kˣ(648r), F(71va), E(53v), J2ˣ(349r), 42ˣ(41v) (Hkr); H(120r), Hr(78vb) (H-Hr); Mork(34r) (Mork)

Readings: [1] Varðat vel við styrju (‘Varð eigi væl við styrio’): ‘[...]io’ Mork;    við: fyri 42ˣ    [2] í: á Hr

Editions: Skj AI, 594, Skj BI, 595, Skald I, 290; ÍF 28, 310 (Hsona ch. 5), F 1871, 329, E 1916, 187; Fms 7, 214 (Hsona ch. 5); Mork 1867, 212, Mork 1928-32, 423, Andersson and Gade 2000, 378, 492 (Sslemb).

Context: In the summer of 1137, Sigurðr slembidjákn ‘Fortuitous-deacon’ (?) Magnússon returns to Norway via Denmark from the Hebrides (or Orkney). He harries in the regions around Oslofjorden and lies with his ships in Portør, waylaying merchant ships. The men of Tønsberg muster a force that comes upon Sigurðr and his men unawares, and Sigurðr flees on one ship. Vatn-Ormr Dagsson’s ship is the closest to Sigurðr’s, but, rather than engaging in fighting, Vatn-Ormr backs off.

Notes: [2] Vatn-Ormr ‘(“Water-Ormr”)’: The brother of Ingi Haraldsson’s retainer, Grégóríus Dagsson. See Genealogy XI in ÍF 28. For Grégóríus, see ‘Biographies of Other Dignitaries’ in Introduction to this vol., as well as ESk Ingdr 2-4 and ESk Elfv. — [2] Portyrju ‘Portør’: Located on the southern coast of Norway, close to Kragerø in Telemark.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Fms = Sveinbjörn Egilsson et al., eds. 1825-37. Fornmanna sögur eptir gömlum handritum útgefnar að tilhlutun hins norræna fornfræða fèlags. 12 vols. Copenhagen: Popp.
3. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. Andersson, Theodore M. and Kari Ellen Gade, trans. 2000. Morkinskinna: The Earliest Icelandic Chronicle of the Norwegian Kings (1030-1157). Islandica 51. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press.
5. Mork 1928-32 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1928-32. Morkinskinna. SUGNL 53. Copenhagen: Jørgensen.
6. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
7. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
8. E 1916 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1916. Eirspennill: AM 47 fol. Nóregs konunga sǫgur: Magnús góði – Hákon gamli. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske historiske kildeskriftskommission.
9. SnE 1999 = Snorri Sturluson. 1999. Edda: Háttatal. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. Rpt. with addenda and corrigenda. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
10. Mork 1867 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1867. Morkinskinna: Pergamentsbog fra første halvdel af det trettende aarhundrede. Indeholdende en af de ældste optegnelser af norske kongesagaer. Oslo: Bentzen.
11. Internal references
12. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Hulda-Hrokkinskinna’ 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=84> (accessed 20 April 2024)
13. (forthcoming), ‘ Heimskringla, Haralds saga Sigurðssonar’ 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=142> (accessed 20 April 2024)
14. Kari Ellen Gade 2009, ‘ Einarr Skúlason, Elfarvísur’ 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. 565-7. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1142> (accessed 20 April 2024)
15. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Anonymous Lausavísur, Lausavísur from Haraldssona saga 1’ 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. 836.
16. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Einarr Skúlason, Ingadrápa 2’ 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. 563-4.
17. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Snorri Sturluson, Háttatal 85’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1196.