ESk Lv 1^II

Þér hefk, þengill Mœra,
— þinns vegr mikill — segja,
(ert) svát eigi skortir,
(allfróðr) sǫgu góða.
Eigis Ívarr, bauga
— enn sitt kyrr hjá henni —
fægirjóðr, af Fljóðum
fingrmjór kominn hingat.

{Þengill Mœra}, hefk góða sǫgu segja þér, svát eigi skortir; vegr þinns mikill; ert allfróðr. {Fægirjóðr bauga}, eigis fingrmjór Ívarr af Fljóðum kominn hingat; sitt enn kyrr hjá henni.

{Lord of the Mœrir} [NORWEGIAN KING = Sigurðr], I have good tidings to tell you, so that there is no lack of it; your glory is great; you are most wise. {Reddener of shields} [WARRIOR], slender-fingered Ívarr af Fljóðum (‘from Fløan’) has not come here; continue to stay quietly with her.

Mss: Mork(29r) (Mork); H(105v), Hr(70va) (H-Hr)

Readings: [1] þengill: ‘þeíng’ Hr    [7] Fljóðum: fljóði H

Editions: Skj AI, 482-3, Skj BI, 454, Skald I, 223-4; Mork 1867, 181, Mork 1928-32, 375, Andersson and Gade 2000, 341, 489 (Msona); Fms 7, 137 (Msona ch. 32).

Context: King Sigurðr jórsalafari ‘Jerusalem-farer’ Magnússon sends his retainer, Ívarr af Fljóðum, to Ireland on a mission, and in Ívarr’s absence he consorts with Sigríðr Hranadóttir, Ívarr’s wife. The st. is recited in response to Sigurðr’s question as to whether Ívarr has returned to Norway.

Notes: [All]: Mork is the main ms. In Mork and H-Hr, the st. is incorporated into Þinga saga or Þinga þáttr, an account of the legal dealings between Sigurðr and his brother, King Eysteinn Magnússon. The st. must have been recited before 1116, because Sigurðr’s brother, Óláfr (d. 22 December 1115), is one of the characters in the prose narrative. — [3] ert ‘you are’: This is one of the earliest attestations (c. 1115) of a rhotacised -r- in the sg. pres. indic. of the verb vera/vesa ‘to be’ (see Note to [All] above and also ESk Hardr 2/2 above). — [3] svát eigi skortir ‘so that there is no lack of it’: Skj B takes this cl. with vegr þinns mikill ‘your glory is great’, which complicates the w. o. unnecessarily. — [5, 7] fægirjóðr bauga ‘reddener of shields [WARRIOR]’: Lit. ‘a person who is occupied with reddening shields’ (in blood). Skj B and Skald emend to fægihrjóðr bauga ‘a person is occupied with destroying or dispensing rings’, i.e. ‘generous man’ (see also LP: fægirjóðr). The first element of the cpd is derived from the weak verb fægja ‘perform, be occupied with sth.’ (see LP: fægja). Baugr ‘ring’ was the boss of a shield, here used pars pro toto for ‘shield’ (see Falk 1914, 140-1). — [7] af Fljóðum ‘af Fljóðum (“from Fløan”)’: Located in Skatval, in Stjørdalen, Trøndelag, Norway.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
3. Fms = Sveinbjörn Egilsson et al., eds. 1825-37. Fornmanna sögur eptir gömlum handritum útgefnar að tilhlutun hins norræna fornfræða fèlags. 12 vols. Copenhagen: Popp.
4. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. Falk, Hjalmar, ed. 1914a. Sólarljóð. Videnskapsselskapets skrifter II. Hist.-filos. kl. 7. 2 vols. Kristiania (Oslo): Dybwad.
8. Mork 1928-32 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1928-32. Morkinskinna. SUGNL 53. Copenhagen: Jørgensen.
9. 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.
10. Internal references
11. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Hulda-Hrokkinskinna’ 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=84> (accessed 24 April 2024)
12. (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 24 April 2024)
13. (forthcoming), ‘ Heimskringla, Magnússona saga’ 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=149> (accessed 24 April 2024)
14. Not published: do not cite ()