Brúlf Lv 1^I

Bragningr gaf mér
brand ok Vettaland.

Bragningr gaf mér brand ok Vettaland.

The ruler gave me a sword and Vettaland.

Mss: Kˣ(264v); Holm2(15v), 325V(20rb), R686ˣ(31v), J1ˣ(169r), J2ˣ(141r), 68(15r), 61(87ra), Holm4(7ra), 75c(6v), 325VII(7r), Bb(139rb), Flat(85ra), Tóm(104v), 325IX 2(2va), 325XI 2 p(1va) (ÓH)

Readings: [1] Bragningr: ‘B[...]gnigr’ 325XI 2 p    [2] brand: brund R686ˣ, beztan brand 68, bæði brand 61, 325IX 2, ‘bæði br[…]d’ 325XI 2 p;    Vetta‑: vætta Holm2, 325V, 68, 61, Holm4, 325IX 2, væta 325V, ‘uet‑’ R686ˣ, veitta J1ˣ, J2ˣ, veita 325VII, Flat, Tóm;    ‑land: landir Holm2, J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 68, 325IX 2, ‑landit 61

Editions: Skj AI, 299, Skj BI, 276, Skald I, 141; Hkr 1893-1901, II, 96, ÍF 27, 82, Hkr 1991, I, 307 (ÓHHkr ch. 62); ÓH 1941, I, 119 (ch. 48), Flat 1860-8, II, 54.

Context: In ÓH-Hkr, this couplet is introduced as the niðrlag ‘conclusion’ of a stanza Brynjólfr composed to commemorate King Óláfr Haraldsson’s Christmas gift to him, of a gold-chased sword and a major estate called Vettaland(ir). After the citation we are told that the king gave him the title of lendr maðr ‘landed man, district chieftain’ and their friendship remained firm.

Notes: [All]: The gift of a sword is also celebrated in Hfr Lv 11^V (Hallfr 14) and Sigv ErfÓl 27, and one is wished for in Bersi Lv. According to Snorri Sturluson (ÓH-Hkr), Brynjólfr was rewarded for his loyal support of Óláfr’s territorial claims, and he and others like him may have been intended by Óláfr as a counterweight to the Swedish king’s officials in Ranríki (Andersen 1977, 119). — [2] Vettaland: Some mss of ÓH have Vettalandir here and in the prose. Although land is normally n., with lǫnd as nom./acc. pl., it occurs in place names with -ar or -ir plurals, and indeed a Vettalandir is recorded from Bohuslän, present-day Sweden, as noted in Rygh’s entries for Vetteland in Vest-Agder (Rygh et al. 1897-1936, IX, 200) and Vetteland in Rogaland (ibid., X, 98-9); it is suggested in those that these names may derive from *Vetti, a shortening of the pers. n. Vetrliði. Finnur Jónsson (LH I, 460) identified the Vettaland of Brynjólfr’s couplet with the Bohuslän place, and this would be compatible with the location of the ÓH-Hkr narrative in Ranríki (modern Bohuslän).

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
3. Rygh, Oluf et al. 1897-1936. Norske gaardnavne. 21 vols. Kristiania (Oslo): Cammermeyer etc.
4. 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.
5. 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 4^to med varianter fra andre håndskrifter. 2 vols. Det norske historiske kildeskriftfond skrifter 53. Oslo: Dybwad.
6. LH = Finnur Jónsson. 1920-4. Den oldnorske og oldislandske litteraturs historie. 3 vols. 2nd edn. Copenhagen: Gad.
7. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
8. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
9. Hkr 1991 = Bergljót S. Kristjánsdóttir et al., eds. 1991. Heimskringla. 3 vols. Reykjavík: Mál og menning.
10. Andersen, Per Sveaas. 1977. Samlingen av Norge og kristningen av landet 800-1130. Handbok i Norges historie 2. Bergen: Universitetsforlaget.
11. Internal references
12. (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 25 April 2024)
13. (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 25 April 2024)
15. Diana Whaley 2012, ‘ Bersi Skáld-Torfuson, Lausavísa’ 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. 795. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1117> (accessed 25 April 2024)
16. Diana Whaley (ed.) 2022, ‘Hallfreðar saga 14 (Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld Óttarsson, Lausavísur 11)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross, Kari Ellen Gade and Tarrin Wills (eds), Poetry in Sagas of Icelanders. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 5. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 890.
17. Judith Jesch (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Erfidrápa Óláfs helga 27’ 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. 696.