ESk Geisl 25^VII

Tolf mônuðr vas týnir
tandrauðs huliðr sandi
fremðar lystr ok fasta
fimm nætr vala strætis,
áðr an upp ór víðu
ulfs nistanda kistu
dýrr lét dróttinn harra
dáðmilds koma láði.

Lystr fremðar {týnir {tandrauðs fasta {strætis vala}}} vas huliðr sandi tolf mônuðr ok fimm nætr, áðr an {dýrr dróttinn harra} lét kistu {dáðmilds nistanda ulfs} koma upp ór víðu láði.

Desirous of fame, {the destroyer {of the flame-red fire {of the street of hawks}}} [ARM > GOLD > GENEROUS MAN] was covered with sand for twelve months and five nights, before {the dear lord of princes} [= God] caused the coffin {of the good-performing feeder of the wolf} [WARRIOR = Óláfr] to come up out of the wide land.

Mss: Flat(2ra), Bb(117va)

Readings: [2] tandrauðs: so Bb, tandrauðr Flat    [6] ulfs nistanda: ulfnistanda Bb    [7] lét: so Bb, lætr Flat

Editions: Skj AI, 463, Skj BI, 433, Skald I, 214; Flat 1860-8, I, 3, Cederschiöld 1873, 5, Chase 2005, 75, 144.

Notes: [All]: St. 25 corresponds to accounts in ÓHLeg and ÓH of the translation of Óláfr’s body from its original burial place to a shrine in the church of S. Clement in Trondheim (Niðaróss); see Chase 2005, 38. — [3] lystr fremðar ‘desirous of fame’: The epithet also occurs in Pl 9/3. Einarr may imply that Óláfr’s desire for recognition is one cause of his coffin rising to the surface of the ground, though ll. 5-8 credit God with the miracle. Alternatively, and stereotypically, the epithet could refer back to Óláfr’s career as a warrior and king. — [7] lét ‘caused’: Flat has lætr ‘causes’. The use of the historic pres. tense is rare in skaldic poetry, and Bb’s reading, lét, is probably the original.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Cederschiöld, Gustaf J. Chr., ed. 1873b. ‘Bandamanna saga’. Acta Universitatis Lundensis 10.
3. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. Cederschiöld, Gustaf J. Chr., ed. 1873a. Geisli eða Óláfs Drápa ens Helga er Einarr orti Skúlason: efter ‘Bergsboken’ utgifven. Acta Universitatis Lundensis 10. Lund: Berling.
5. Chase, Martin, ed. 2005. Einarr Skúlason’s Geisli. A Critical Edition. Toronto Old Norse and Icelandic Studies 1. Toronto, Buffalo and London: Toronto University Press.
6. 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.
7. Internal references
8. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Óláfs saga helga (Legendary)’ 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=31> (accessed 19 April 2024)
9. (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 19 April 2024)
10. Jonna Louis-Jensen and Tarrin Wills (eds) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Plácitusdrápa 9’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 187-8.