Bersi Ólfl 2^I

Diana Whaley (ed.) 2012, ‘Bersi Skáld-Torfuson, Flokkr about Óláfr helgi 2’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 792.

text and translation

notes and context

This follows Ólfl 1 (see Context), with no intervening words.

[5-8]: The overall sense is clearly that the speaker will never campaign with a nobler lord (fylgja út dýrra manni), and there appears to be a man-kenning involving boða ‘offerer’ as a base-word (matching that in st. 1/6) and a ship-kenning formed from hranna ‘of waves’ plus elgs ‘elk’ (l. 5) or hests ‘horse’ (l. 7, Kˣ, Holm4). Beyond that the helmingr is problematic especially because of the presence in the majority readings of two animal terms, elg- ‘elk’ and hest- ‘horse’ (both largely guaranteed by the metre), and because the identity of hríð- or rið- in l. 6 is uncertain. (a) In the solution tentatively proposed above, the reading hæst ‘tallest, highest’ in l. 7 found in J, 325VI and 325VII is emended to gen. sg. hæsts (encouraged by hests in Kˣ and Holm4) and understood to qualiy elgs ‘of the elk’. ‘Rið-’ in most mss in l. 6 is taken as a verbal prefix meaning ‘riding’ or ‘swinging, swaying’ (cf. riðmarar ‘riding horses’ in a ship-kenning in Tindr Hákdr 1/7). Hence riðboða hæsts elgs hranna is ‘riding offerer of the tallest elk of the waves [SHIP > SEAFARER]’. Retaining -boða gives a dat. sg. governed by fylgja ‘follow’ in apposition to manni ‘man’. The rhyme of short vowel on long in rið- : síð- would be paralleled in Bersi 1/7 hapts : keyptak. (b) The overload of kenning elements can alternatively be resolved by assuming two separate kennings, and one way of doing this underlies Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson’s solution in ÍF 27, followed in Hkr 1991. He takes hests hranna ‘horse of the waves [SHIP]’ as an adverbial gen. of place, i.e. ‘on a ship, by ship’, expanding on út ‘out (on expeditions)’ (Bjarni cites NS §141; cf. also Poole 2004). Elgs is read as an Óðinn-heiti, for which Bjarni cites an interpretation of Egill St 15^V (Eg 86) and an interpretation of the present line in ÍF 2, 252 n. Hence Elgs hríðboða is ‘offerer of Óðinn’s storm [(lit. ‘Óðinn’s storm-offerer’) BATTLE > WARRIOR]’, taken in apposition to dýrra manni ‘a man more excellent’. The overall construal is thus Munk eigi fylgja út síðan hranna hests Elgs hríðboða, dýrra manni, which (replacing the kennings by their referents) would translate: ‘I will not afterwards follow on expeditions by ship a warrior, a man more excellent [than Sveinn]’. This has the advantage of requiring no emendation, but it does demand of the audience that they would apprehend elgs in an unusual sense and hranna hests in an unusual syntactic function. (c) Another construal also assumes two kennings but in a different configuration: hríðboði elgs read as boði elgs hríðar ‘offerer of the elk of the sea [SHIP > GENEROUS RULER]’ (paralleled in Anon Óldr 17/3), with emendation of boða to boði in order to supply an apostrophe, and with manni hests hranna ‘man of the horse of the waves’, hence ‘seafarer’ or ‘ship’s champion’, understood as the object of fylgja ‘follow’. This is the solution proposed by Kock in NN §686B, C. However, confidence in the latter construction depends on one’s confidence in Kock’s claimed parallels, and a bare manni seems stylistically more likely. Further, none of the numerous mss has boði, and although hríð can mean ‘sea’ (Þul Sjóvar 2/3^III; LP: hríð 4), it much more frequently refers to ‘storm’ or ‘(phase in a) battle’. (d) Finnur Jónsson in Skj B (developing an idea already mooted in Hkr 1893-1901, IV) makes two small emendations: of elgs to elds in l. 5, and of -boða to -boði in l. 6, to produce hranna hests elds hríðboði ‘offerer of the storm of the fire of the horse of the waves [(lit. ‘storm-offerer of the fire of the horse of the waves’) SHIP > SHIELD > BATTLE > WARRIOR]’. However, there are numerous objections to this, as noted by Kock (NN §686A): the emendation to elds is against all mss; it destroys a perfectly good rhyme; and it assumes that ‘fire of the ship’ can mean ‘shield’, something that Finnur himself presents with caution in LP: hríðboði. (e) Some of these problems are obviated by emending elgs instead to olgs ‘fire’ (LP, AEW: olgr; Þul Elds 3/1^III), hence hríðboða olgs hests hranna ‘offerer of the storm of the fire of the horse of the wave [(lit. ‘storm-offerer of the fire of the horse of the waves’) SHIP > SHIELD > BATTLE > WARRIOR]’.

readings

• [1] raunir: ‘raunr’ or ‘rannr’ J1ˣ, raun 68
• [1] hefk (‘hef ec’): hefði R686ˣ
• [1] sénar: séna 68
• [2] snart: svart 325VI, 75a
• [2] rekninga: rækjandi 61, ‘rækinga’ 325V, 325VII, Flat, Tóm, ‘retningara’ Bb
• [2] bjartar: so R686ˣ, J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 325VI, 75a, 61, Holm4, ‘kiartar’ Kˣ, ‘briartar’ Holm2, bjartir 68, hjarta 325V, 325VII, Flat, ‘biart(ir)’(?) Bb, ‘harta’ Tóm
• [3] sval‑: snar‑ 325V
• [3] ‑tungur: ‘‑tungro’ R686ˣ
• [4] saman: so all others, sama Kˣ
• [4] fórum (‘foro’): vru 61
• [4] vér: vit J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 68, 61, Holm4, 325V, 325VII, Bb, Flat
• [4] stórar: stórir Holm2, R686ˣ, 68, stórum J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 61, stóra Bb
• [5] Elgs: ‘ægls’ J1ˣ
• [5] munk (‘man ec’): mun J1ˣ, J2ˣ
• [5] fylgja: ‘flylgia’ R686ˣ
• [6] riðboða: ríðanda 325V
• [6] rið‑: so Holm2, R686ˣ, J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 325VI, 75a, Holm4, Bb, hríð Kˣ, 68, 325VII, Flat, Tóm, skíðs 61
• [7] hæsts: hests Kˣ, Holm4, helzt Holm2, 68, Bb, ‘h(ꜹ)st’(?) R686ˣ, hæst J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 325VI, 325VII, hest 75a, 325V, Flat, Tóm, heldr 61
• [7] at: á J2ˣ, 68
• [7] hverjum: ‘hveri(ui)’(?) J1ˣ, hvrum 68, hvru 61
• [7] kosti: vildag 61
• [8] manni: manna 325VII, Bb, Tóm

sources

Text is based on reconstruction from the base text and variant apparatus and may contain alternative spellings and other normalisations not visible in the manuscript text. Transcriptions may not have been checked and should not be cited.

• AM 36 folx (Kx) — 253r/15 - 253r/22

  Sveins raunir hefk sénar,
  snart rekninga †kiartar†
  þars svaltungur sungu,
  — sama fórum vér — stórar.
  Elgs munk eigi fylgja
  út hríðboða síðan
  hests at hverjum kosti
  hranna dýrra manni.

  Sveins rꜹ́nir hef ec sénar | snart rekninga kiartar | þar er sval tungur sungo | sama foro ver storar | elgs man ec eigi fylgia | ut hriþ boða siþan | hestz at hveriom costi | hraɴa dyʀa maɴe.

  (DW)

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• Holm perg 2 4° (Holm2) — 13r/8 - 13r/10

  Sveins raunir hefk sénar,
  snart rekninga †briartar†
  þars svaltungur sungu,
  — saman fórum vér — stórir.
  Elgs munk eigi fylgja
  út riðboða síðan
  helzt at hverjum kosti
  hranna dýrra manni.

  Sveins ravnir hefi ec senar snart rec | ninga briartar þar er svaltvngvr svngv saman foro vit stoʀir . elgs mon ec eigi fylgia | ut riðboða siþan hellzt at hveriom kosti hranna dyʀa manni.

  (VEÞ)

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• UppsUB R 686x (R686x) — 26r/7 - 26r/11

  Sveins raunir hefði sénar,
  snart rekninga bjartar
  þars sval†-tungro† sungu,
  — saman fórum vér — stórir.
  Elgs munk eigi †flylgia†
  út riðboða síðan
  †h(ꜹ)st† at hverjum kosti
  hranna dýrra manni.

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• AM 37 folx (J1x) — 159v/18 - 159v/21

  Sveins †raunr† hefk sénar,
  snart rekninga bjartar
  þars svaltungur sungu,
  — saman fórum vit — stórum.
  †ægls† mun eigi fylgja
  út riðboða síðan
  hæst at †hveri(ui)† kosti
  hranna dýrra manni.

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• AM 38 folx (J2x) — 135v/26 - 136r/2

  Sveins raunir hefk sénar,
  snart rekninga bjartar
  þars svaltungur sungu,
  — saman fórum vit — stórum.
  Elgs mun eigi fylgja
  út riðboða síðan
  hæst á hverjum kosti
  hranna dýrra manni.

  images
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• Thott 972 folx (972x) — 88va/13 - 88va/20

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• AM 325 VI 4° (325VI) — 11rb/26 - 11rb/29

  Sveins raunir hefk sénar,
  svart rekninga bjartar
  þars svaltungur sungu,
  — saman fórum vér — stórar.
  Elgs munk eigi fylgja
  út riðboða síðan
  hæst at hverjum kosti
  hranna dýrra manni.

  images
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• AM 75 a fol (75a) — 1vb/2 - 1vb/7

  Sveins raunir hefk sénar,
  svart rekninga bjartar
  þars svaltungur sungu,
  — saman fórum vér — stórar.
  Elgs munk eigi fylgja
  út riðboða síðan
  hest at hverjum kosti
  hranna dýrra manni.

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• AM 321 4°x (321x) — 54/24 - 54/26

  Sveins raunir hefi ec senar: snart recninga biartar. þar er | sualtungr sungu saman forom ver storar. elgs mun ec eige fylgia | ut riðboða siþan. hest at hueriom kosti. hranna dyʀa mannni. |

  (VEÞ)

• AM 68 fol (68) — 12r/17 - 12r/17

  Sveins raun hefk séna,
  snart rekninga bjartir
  þars svaltungur sungu,
  — saman fórum vit — stórir.
  Elgs munk eigi fylgja
  út hríðboða síðan
  helzt á hvrum kosti
  hranna dýrra manni.

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• AM 61 fol (61) — 84vb/33 - 84vb/36

  Sveins raunir hefk sénar,
  snart rækjandi bjartar
  þars svaltungur sungu,
  — saman vru vit — stórum.
  Elgs munk eigi fylgja
  út skíðsboða síðan
  heldr at hvru vildag
  hranna dýrra manni.

  Sueins raunir he | fi ek sienar . snart rækiandi biartar . þar er sval tungur sungu . saman voro við storum | elgs mvn ek eigi fylgia ut skiðs boða siþan . helldr at huarv uilldag . hranna | dyʀa manni.

  (VEÞ)

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• Holm perg 4 4° (Holm4) — 5ra/18 - 5ra/21

  Sveins raunir hefk sénar,
  snart rekninga bjartar
  þars svaltungur sungu,
  — saman fórum vit — stórar.
  Elgs munk eigi fylgja
  út riðboða síðan
  hests at hverjum kosti
  hranna dýrra manni.

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• AM 325 V 4° (325V) — 16va/22 - 16va/27

  Sveins raunir hefk sénar,
  snart †rækinga† hjarta
  þars snar-tungur sungu,
  — saman fórum vit — stórar.
  Elgs munk eigi fylgja
  út ríðanda síðan
  hest at hverjum kosti
  hranna dýrra manni.

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• AM 325 VII 4° (325VII) — 5r/37 - 5r/39

  Sveins raunir hefk sénar,
  snart †rækinga† hjarta
  þars svaltungur sungu,
  — saman fórum vit — stórar.
  Elgs munk eigi fylgja
  út hríðboða síðan
  hæst at hverjum kosti
  hranna dýrra manna.

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• Holm perg 1 fol (Bb) — 135va/3 - 135va/3

  Sveins raunir hefk sénar,
  snart †retningara biart(ir)†
  þars svaltungur sungu,
  — saman fórum vit — stóra.
  Elgs munk eigi fylgja
  út riðboða síðan
  helzt at hverjum kosti
  hranna dýrra manna.

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• GKS 1005 fol (Flat) — 83vb/20 - 83vb/23

  Sveins raunir hefk sénar,
  snart †rækinga† hjarta
  þars svaltungur sungu,
  — saman fórum vit — stórar.
  Elgs munk eigi fylgja
  út hríðboða síðan
  hest at hverjum kosti
  hranna dýrra manni.

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• GKS 1008 fol (Tóm) — 102v/9 - 102v/9 [1-2, 6-8]

  Sveins raunir hefk sénar,
  snart †rækinga harta†
  þars svaltungur sungu,
  — saman fórum vér — stórar.
  Elgs munk eigi fylgja
  út hríðboða síðan
  hest at hverjum kosti
  hranna dýrra manna.

  images
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