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skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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BjHall Kálffl 6I

Alison Finlay (ed.) 2012, ‘Bjarni gullbrárskáld Hallbjarnarson, Kálfsflokkr 6’ 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. 886.

Bjarni gullbrárskáld HallbjarnarsonKálfsflokkr
567

Hafa lézt unga jǫfra
erfð, sem til réð hverfa;
satts, at sitja knátti
Sveinn at Danmǫrk einni.
Kennduð, Kalfr, til landa
kappfúsum Magnúsi
— olluð ér, þvís stillir
jǫrð of fekk — ór Gǫrðum.

Lézt unga jǫfra hafa erfð, sem réð hverfa til; satts, at Sveinn knátti sitja at Danmǫrk einni. Kalfr, kennduð kappfúsum Magnúsi til landa ór Gǫrðum; ér olluð, þvís stillir of fekk jǫrð.

You allowed the young prince [Magnús Óláfsson] to have the inheritance that came his way; it is true that Sveinn was able to rule only in Denmark. Kálfr, you conducted the spirited Magnús to his lands from Russia; you brought it about that the ruler gained the country.

Mss: Holm2(73v), 321ˣ(279), 73aˣ(214v), Holm4(69ra), 61(129vb), 325V(88va), 325VI(41va), 325VII(41r) (l. 1), Bb(205va), Flat(127ra), Tóm(160v) (ÓH); Kˣ(497v), 39(13ra), F(37vb), J2ˣ(241r), E(3v-4r) (Hkr); FskAˣ(201), 301ˣ(73v-74r) (Fsk, ll. 5-8, 1-4)

Readings: [2] sem til réð: réð sem til Tóm;    sem: enn 61;    hverfa: ‘[…]erf[…]’ 325V    [3] satts at (‘satt er at’): ‘[…]tt at’ 325V, satt var at F, settisk FskAˣ, 301ˣ;    sitja: sína 73aˣ, snarr ept FskAˣ, 301ˣ;    knátti: kunni 61, Tóm, mátti Flat, þetta FskAˣ    [4] at: á 61    [5] Kennduð: kenndr 321ˣ, kenndi 61, FskAˣ, 301ˣ, kenndr Tóm, kenndit 39, F;    Kalfr: halfr 325V, kalf E;    landa: handa 321ˣ, 61, 325V, 325VI, Flat, ‘hanna’ Tóm, landi 39, om. E    [6] kapp‑: kafs FskAˣ, 301ˣ    [7] olluð: ǫllu 61, E, ollu J2ˣ, FskAˣ, 301ˣ;    ér: þér 321ˣ, 73aˣ, Holm4, 61, 325VI, Bb, 39, F, E, FskAˣ, 301ˣ, þeir 325V, J2ˣ;    þvís (‘þvi er’): so Kˣ, 39, F, at Holm2, 321ˣ, 73aˣ, Holm4, 61, 325V, 325VI, Bb, Flat, Tóm, J2ˣ, E, FskAˣ, 301ˣ    [8] of fekk: so 73aˣ, Kˣ, ok fekk Holm2, 321ˣ, Holm4, 61, 325V, 325VI, Bb, F, E, hann fekksk Flat, fekk ok Tóm, er fekk 39, ok fekksk J2ˣ, of fekkt FskAˣ, 301ˣ;    ór: at 321ˣ, 325VI

Editions: Skj AI, 395, Skj BI, 364, Skald I, 182Fms 5, 123-4, Fms 12, 107, ÓH 1941, I, 619 (ch. 255), Flat 1860-8, II, 374; Hkr 1893-1901, III, 13, IV, 181-2, ÍF 28, 12, Hkr 1991, II, 563 (MGóð ch. 5), F 1871, 171, E 1916, 10; Fsk 1902-3, 191-2 (ch. 37), ÍF 29, 208 (ch. 44).

Context:

In ÓH-Hkr, this stanza is placed after several chapters (in Hkr spanning the end of ÓHHkr and the beginning of MGóð) relating Kálfr’s withdrawal of support from the unpopular king Sveinn Álfífuson, son of Knútr inn ríki, his journey to Novgorod with Einarr þambarskelfir to bring the young Magnús Óláfsson out of exile and offer him the kingdom, their return to Norway, and the withdrawal of Sveinn to Denmark. In Hkr, the stanza follows, and in ÓH it precedes, the report of the death of Knútr in England (13 November 1035) and of Sveinn in Denmark that same winter. Fsk reports how the reluctance of King Jarizleifr (Jaroslav) to hand his foster-son Magnús into the power of his father’s betrayers Kálfr and Einarr is overcome by their swearing oaths of allegiance to Magnús, then cites the stanza.

Notes: [All]: Lines 1-4 and 5-8 are in reverse order in Fsk. — [1] unga jǫfra ‘the young prince’: According to Arn Magndr 1/5-6II, Magnús was not yet eleven years old when he left Russia. Unga jǫfra is grammatically pl., though it appears to denote Magnús alone. This use of pl. with sg. meaning is paralleled elsewhere, though usually in nouns formed from present participles and within man-kennings (cf. Arn Hryn 19/1II eyðendr, lit. ‘clearers’, and Note). — [2] sem réð hverfa til ‘that came his way’: Hverfa til here has the sense ‘to fall to one’s lot’ (Fritzner: hverfa til 4), referring to the inheritance that Magnús has acquired. Til is used adverbially, with the sense of til hans ‘to him’; réð (inf. ráða) is used as a pleonastic auxiliary verb. — [7] þvís ‘it … that’: At in Holm2 and other mss could be the conj. ‘that’ introducing the subordinate clause (LP: 2. at; NS §251).

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. LP = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1931. Lexicon poeticum antiquæ linguæ septentrionalis: Ordbog over det norsk-islandske skjaldesprog oprindelig forfattet af Sveinbjörn Egilsson. 2nd edn. Copenhagen: Møller.
  5. Flat 1860-8 = Gudbrand Vigfusson [Guðbrandur Vigfússon] and C. R. Unger, eds. 1860-8. Flateyjarbók. En samling af norske konge-sagaer med indskudte mindre fortællinger om begivenheder i og udenfor Norge samt annaler. 3 vols. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
  6. Fritzner = Fritzner, Johan. 1883-96. Ordbog over det gamle norske sprog. 3 vols. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske forlagsforening. 4th edn. Rpt. 1973. Oslo etc.: Universitetsforlaget.
  7. NS = Nygaard, Marius. 1906. Norrøn syntax. Kristiania (Oslo): Aschehoug. Rpt. 1966.
  8. ÓH 1941 = Johnsen, Oscar Albert and Jón Helgason, eds. 1941. Saga Óláfs konungs hins helga: Den store saga om Olav den hellige efter pergamenthåndskrift i Kungliga biblioteket i Stockholm nr. 2 4to med varianter fra andre håndskrifter. 2 vols. Det norske historiske kildeskriftfond skrifter 53. Oslo: Dybwad.
  9. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
  10. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
  11. Hkr 1991 = Bergljót S. Kristjánsdóttir et al., eds. 1991. Heimskringla. 3 vols. Reykjavík: Mál og menning.
  12. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
  13. Fsk 1902-3 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1902-3. Fagrskinna: Nóregs kononga tal. SUGNL 30. Copenhagen: Møller.
  14. E 1916 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1916. Eirspennill: AM 47 fol. Nóregs konunga sǫgur: Magnús góði – Hákon gamli. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske historiske kildeskriftskommission.
  15. ÍF 29 = Ágrip af Nóregskonunga sǫgum; Fagrskinna—Nóregs konungatal. Ed. Bjarni Einarsson. 1985.
  16. Internal references
  17. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Heimskringla’ 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=4> (accessed 29 March 2024)
  18. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Óláfs saga helga’ 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. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=53> (accessed 29 March 2024)
  19. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Fagrskinna’ 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=56> (accessed 29 March 2024)
  20. (forthcoming), ‘ Heimskringla, Magnúss saga ins góða’ 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=116> (accessed 29 March 2024)
  21. (forthcoming), ‘ Heimskringla, Óláfs saga helga (in Heimskringla)’ 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. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=152> (accessed 29 March 2024)
  22. Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Arnórr jarlaskáld Þórðarson, Hrynhenda, Magnússdrápa 19’ 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. 205.
  23. Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Arnórr jarlaskáld Þórðarson, Magnússdrápa 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, pp. 207-9.
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