ESk Eystdr 2^II

Mun, sás morði vanðisk,
margillr, ok sveik stilli,
síð af slíkum rôðum
Símun skalpr of hjalpask.

Margillr Símun skalpr, sás vanðisk morði ok sveik stilli, mun of hjalpask síð af slíkum rôðum.

The very wicked Símun skálpr (‘Sword-sheath’), who practised murder and betrayed the ruler, will be saved late by such actions.

Mss: Kˣ(670v), F(75rb), E(59v), J2ˣ(361v), 42ˣ(50v-51r) (Hkr); FskAˣ(388) (Fsk); H(127r), Hr(83ra) (H-Hr)

Readings: [3] af: of FskAˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 475, Skj BI, 447, Skald I, 220; ÍF 28, 346 (Hsona ch. 32), Andersson and Gade 2000, 404 (Hsona), F 1871, 347, E 1916, 207; ÍF 29, 341 (ch. 101); Fms 7, 251 (Hsona ch. 29).

Context: Eysteinn Haraldsson was killed by his one-time retainer, Símun skálpr Hallkelsson (21 August 1157).

Notes: [All]: Símun was married to Eysteinn’s half-sister, Máría, and thus Eysteinn’s brother-in-law (see Genealogy II.4 in ÍF 28). He had been Eysteinn’s retainer but defected to Eysteinn’s half-brother, Ingi. When, in August of 1157, Ingi and his men set out to look for Eysteinn in the forest near Foss (on the eastern side of Oslofjorden), Símun found him hiding in some bushes. Although Eysteinn begged him to help him get away, Símun ordered his execution. Eysteinn then lay down on his stomach with his arms stretched out and told them to strike their blows in the shape of a cross on his back. The execution resembles that of Earl Waltheof of Northumbria (see Fsk, ÍF 29, 294; ‘Biographies of Other Dignitaries’ in Introduction to this vol. and ÞSkall Valfl), and, like Waltheof, Eysteinn was also rumoured to be a saint after his death: …ok kalla menn hann helgan. Þar sem hann var hǫggvinn ok blóð hans kom á jǫrð, spratt upp brunnr, en annarr þar undir brekkunni, sem lík hans var nattsætt ‘…and men call him a saint. Where he was executed and his blood fell on the ground, a well sprang up, and another one sprang up beneath the hill where his body had been laid out overnight’ (ÍF 28, 345). According to Hkr, many miracles took place at Eysteinn’s grave until his enemies poured dog broth on it (ibid.). — [3] síð ‘late’: Litotes; meaning that he will never be absolved for this action. Salvucci (2006, 869) suggests that he will obtain absolution after spending a period of atonement in purgatory, which is less likely given the early date of this text (the notion of purgatory was quite late in developing in medieval Europe). For the heinous crime of high treason, see also Notes to Þflekk Lv l. 12 and Rv Lv 32/2.

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. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
6. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
7. E 1916 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1916. Eirspennill: AM 47 fol. Nóregs konunga sǫgur: Magnús góði – Hákon gamli. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske historiske kildeskriftskommission.
8. ÍF 29 = Ágrip af Nóregskonunga sǫgum; Fagrskinna—Nóregs konungatal. Ed. Bjarni Einarsson. 1985.
9. Salvucci, Giovanna. 2006. ‘Between Heaven and Hell: The Konungasǫgur and the Emergence of the Idea of Purgatory’. In McKinnell et al. 2006, II, 866-75.
10. Internal references
11. (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 16 April 2024)
12. (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 16 April 2024)
15. Kari Ellen Gade 2009, ‘ Þorkell Skallason, Valþjófsflokkr’ 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. 382-4. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1422> (accessed 16 April 2024)
16. Kari Ellen Gade 2009, ‘ Þorgeirr flekkr, Lausavísa’ 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. 9-10. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1432> (accessed 16 April 2024)
17. Judith Jesch (ed.) 2009, ‘Rǫgnvaldr jarl Kali Kolsson, Lausavísur 32’ 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. 608-9.