ESk Ingdr 2^II

Alls engi þarf Inga
arngrennir þat kenna,
— hverr spyri satt frá snerru
seggr — at gram bitu eggjar.
Bǫð gatat stillir stǫðvat
styrjarmildr, þótt vildi;
fús vas fjǫrspell vísa
fylkis sveit at veita.

{Alls engi arngrennir} þarf kenna Inga þat, at eggjar bitu gram; hverr seggr spyri satt frá snerru. Styrjarmildr stillir gatat stǫðvat bǫð, þótt vildi; sveit fylkis vas fús at veita vísa fjǫrspell.

{Not one eagle-feeder} [WARRIOR] needs to blame Ingi for the fact that sword-blades bit the prince; let each man hear the truth about the attack. The battle-generous lord was unable to stop the onslaught, although he may have wanted to; the ruler’s retinue was eager to inflict death upon the leader.

Mss: Mork(37v) (Mork); FskAˣ(383-384) (Fsk)

Readings: [2] arn‑: ulf‑ FskAˣ    [3] frá: af FskAˣ    [5] stǫðvat: ‘stovat’ FskAˣ    [7] fjǫr‑: so FskAˣ, ‘fiar‑’ Mork;    vísa: ræsi FskAˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 476, Skj BI, 448, Skald I, 220; Mork 1867, 235, Mork 1928-32, 458, Andersson and Gade 2000, 401, 495 (Hsona); ÍF 29, 337 (ch. 99).

Context: Stanzas 2-4 describe the slaying of Sigurðr munnr ‘Mouth’ Haraldsson by Ingi’s retainer, Grégóríus Dagsson, in Bergen (10 June 1155). In Mork, this st. is recited in response to a question posed by Eysteinn Haraldsson when he arrives in Bergen three days after the killing, whereas it is cited in Fsk to document Ingi’s lack of participation in this undertaking (see Introduction above).

Notes: [1, 2] þarf kenna Inga þat ‘needs to blame Ingi for the fact’: The slaying of Sigurðr munnr was prompted by some of Sigurðr’s men killing a servant of Ingi’s retainer, Grégóríus Dagsson, and one of Ingi’s own men, Sigurðr skrúðhyrna ‘the Ornament-cornered’. Grégóríus urged Ingi to retaliate, and, although he was initially reluctant to resort to violence, he finally acquiesced. All prose narratives agree that Ingi was part of the raid against Sigurðr. According to Mork (1928-32, 457) and Hkr (ÍF 28, 341), Sigurðr went outside when the house he was in came under attack. He called on Ingi to grant him a truce, but he was hewn down immediately. Fsk (ÍF 29, 336) states that Ingi wanted to give Sigurðr quarter, but that Ingi’s men did not listen and killed him nonetheless. — [2] arngrennir ‘eagle-feeder’: Ulfgrennir ‘wolf-feeder’ (so FskAˣ) is an equally good reading. — [7] fjǫrspell ‘death’: Lit. ‘life-destruction’. — [7] vísa ‘the leader’: Ræsi ‘ruler’ (so FskAˣ) is syntactically and metrically possible.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
3. 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.
4. Mork 1928-32 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1928-32. Morkinskinna. SUGNL 53. Copenhagen: Jørgensen.
5. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
6. ÍF 29 = Ágrip af Nóregskonunga sǫgum; Fagrskinna—Nóregs konungatal. Ed. Bjarni Einarsson. 1985.
7. Mork 1867 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1867. Morkinskinna: Pergamentsbog fra første halvdel af det trettende aarhundrede. Indeholdende en af de ældste optegnelser af norske kongesagaer. Oslo: Bentzen.
8. Internal references
9. (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)
10. (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)
11. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Morkinskinna’ 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=87> (accessed 16 April 2024)