BjHall Kálffl 1I
Alison Finlay (ed.) 2012, ‘Bjarni gullbrárskáld Hallbjarnarson, Kálfsflokkr 1’ 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. 879.
Vast ‘you were’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
þars ‘where’
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þars (conj.): where
[1] þars (‘þar er’): ‘þarr’ 75c, þá er 325VII, þar 325XI 2 b, ‘[…]’ Kˣ
vígs ‘battle’
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víg (noun n.; °-s; -): battle
bað ‘commanded’
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biðja (verb; °biðr; bað, báðu; beðinn (beiþ- Martin¹ 573, bỏþ- HákEirsp 661, cf. ed. intr. xl)): ask for, order, pray
[1] bað: batt 68, 325V, Flat
kosta ‘to be waged’
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1. kosta (verb): try, strive
vápndjarfr ‘the weapon-bold’
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vápndjarfr (adj.): [weapon-bold]
[2] vápndjarfr: vígdjarfr 61, ‘[…]pndiar[…]’ 325XI 2 b, vinreifr FskAˣ, 301ˣ
kennings
vápndjarfr arfi Haralds‘the weapon-bold heir of Haraldr ’
= Óláfr
the weapon-bold heir of Haraldr → Óláfr
notes
[All]: The battle at Bókn (Bokn) took place in December 1027 or 1028. It is also commemorated in Sigv Erlfl, which specifies the location við þrǫm Bóknar ‘off the coast of Bokn’ (st. 3/4); for the site see Note to l. 4 below and Jesch (2001a, 207).
kennings
vápndjarfr arfi Haralds‘the weapon-bold heir of Haraldr ’
= Óláfr
the weapon-bold heir of Haraldr → Óláfr
kennings
vápndjarfr arfi Haralds‘the weapon-bold heir of Haraldr ’
= Óláfr
the weapon-bold heir of Haraldr → Óláfr
kynnisk ‘becomes known’
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kynna (verb): make known, reveal
[3] kynnisk: ‘kunnþu’ 75c, ‘kunn(þu)’(?) 325XI 2 b
kapp ‘your’
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kapp (noun n.; °-s; *-): strength, vigour, courage
þitt ‘bravery’
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þinn (pron.; °f. þín, n. þitt): your
mǫnnum ‘to men’
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maðr (noun m.): man, person
við ‘off’
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2. við (prep.): with, against
Bókn ‘Bokn’
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Bókn (noun f.): [Bokn]
[4] Bókn: ‘bukn’ 73aˣ, FskAˣ, ‘bo[…]’ Tóm, ‘buenn’ or ‘bucnn’ 301ˣ
notes
[4] Bókn ‘Bokn’: A pair of islands (Vestre Bokn and Austre Bokn) in Boknafjorden, Rogaland, Norway. Útsteinn, mentioned in st. 2/4, is in the same fjord.
austr ‘east’
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3. austr (adv.; °compar. -ar, superl. -ast): east, in the east
[4] austr: of 325VII
sjalfa ‘itself’
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sjalfr (adj.): self
Gôtuð ‘You provided’
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2. geta (verb): to beget, give birth to, mention, speak of; to think well of, like, love
notes
[5] gôtuð ‘you provided’: The pl. form gôtuð contrasts with the sg. vast ‘you were’ in ll. 1 and 7, as well as sg. þitt ‘your' in l. 3, but may have been chosen for metrical reasons. Such variation between pl. or formal forms and sg. or familiar ones is common in skaldic poetry; cf. Note to st. 4/1, 3.
Gríðar ‘of Gríðr’
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Gríðr (noun f.; °dat./acc. -i): [Gríðr, Gríður]
[5] Gríðar: griða Tóm, ‘g[…]ðar’ 325XI 2 b
kennings
sóta Gríðar‘the steed of Gríðr ’
= WOLF
the steed of Gríðr → WOLF
sóta ‘the steed’
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sóti (noun m.; °-a): steed, Sóti
kennings
sóta Gríðar‘the steed of Gríðr ’
= WOLF
the steed of Gríðr → WOLF
gólig ‘splendid’
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góligr (adj.): splendid
[6] gólig fǫng til jóla: ‘goli[…]til[…]’ 325XI 2 b
fǫng ‘provisions’
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fang (noun n.; °-s; *-): grasp, tunic
[6] gólig fǫng til jóla: ‘goli[…]til[…]’ 325XI 2 b
jóla ‘Christmas’
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jól (noun n.; °; -): midwinter feast
[6] gólig fǫng til jóla: ‘goli[…]til[…]’ 325XI 2 b
notes
[6] jóla (gen. pl.) ‘Christmas’: Since the poem was composed after the reign of Óláfr Haraldsson, the reference is presumably to Christmas rather than the pre-Christian Yule; the seasonal reference is apposite, given the timing of the battle in late December.
kenndr ‘seen to be’
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kenna (verb): know, teach
vast ‘you were’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
[7] vast (‘vartv’): nær 321ˣ, ‘[…]tu’ Kˣ
fundi ‘the meeting’
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fundr (noun m.): discovery, meeting
[7] fundi: falli 61, 75c, 325VII, Bb, Flat, Tóm, 325XI 2 b
kennings
fundi flettugrjóts ok spjóta.‘the meeting of split stone and of spears. ’
= BATTLE
the meeting of split stone and of spears. → BATTLE
flettugrjóts ‘of split stone’
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flettugrjót (noun n.): [split stone]
[8] flettugrjóts: ‘flett[…]otz’ Kˣ
kennings
fundi flettugrjóts ok spjóta.‘the meeting of split stone and of spears. ’
= BATTLE
the meeting of split stone and of spears. → BATTLE
notes
[8] flettugrjóts (gen. sg.) ‘of split stone’: Fletta appears to derive from *flinta- and to mean ‘slate, stone that can be split’ (AEW: fletta 1; LP: flettugrjót); cf. ModIcel. flettigrjót (ÍO: flettugrjót); see also Note to ÞjóðA Magnfl 9/1II. As part of the determinant of the kenning, this particular kind of stone represents stones in general, used as missiles in battle.
kennings
fundi flettugrjóts ok spjóta.‘the meeting of split stone and of spears. ’
= BATTLE
the meeting of split stone and of spears. → BATTLE
kennings
fundi flettugrjóts ok spjóta.‘the meeting of split stone and of spears. ’
= BATTLE
the meeting of split stone and of spears. → BATTLE
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
Kálfr, you were east off Bokn itself, where the weapon-bold heir of Haraldr [= Óláfr] commanded battle to be waged; your bravery becomes known to men. You provided the steed of Gríðr <giantess> [WOLF] with splendid provisions for Christmas; you were seen to be first at the meeting of split stone and of spears [BATTLE].
In ÓH-Hkr, King Óláfr heads north after the death of Erlingr Skjálgsson at Bókn (Bokn). He has learned of an uprising from Agðir, Rogaland and Hǫrðaland (Agder, Rogaland and Hordaland) but is supported by chieftains including the Árnasynir; this and st. 2 are cited as evidence of their support. In Fsk the context is briefer but the purpose of the citation similar.
Stanzas 1/1-4 and 2/3-6 form a unitary stanza in Fsk. — [2]: The FskAˣ reading vinreifr með Ôleifi ‘friend-happy with Óláfr’ seems to be a version of st. 5/2 vígreifr fyr Ôleifi and is unlikely to be the more original reading.
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